The Rising Beyond Podcast
Are you ready to thrive as you are coming out of a toxic or abusive relationship? Join Sybil Cummin, a licensed professional counselor who has specialized in working with victims and survivors of domestic violence and narcissistic abuse for over a decade and runs a membership community for women on their healing journey. On this podcast you will finally feel understood and your experience will be validated as you learn tangible strategies to handle family court, coparent with your abuser, improve your connection with your children, and heal from the trauma of narcissistic abuse and domestic violence.
The Rising Beyond Podcast
Ep 202: Inside Family Court: What Domestic Violence Assessments Actually Do with Lisa Fontes
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What actually happens in a domestic violence assessment? And how do you know if you even need one?
In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Lisa Fontes, an expert in coercive control and domestic violence assessments, to talk about something many survivors are navigating but don’t fully understand — how these evaluations and expert witnesses show up in family court.
If you’ve ever been told to “get an expert” or wondered if that would help your case, this conversation will give you a clearer picture of what that actually means and when it might (and might not) be helpful.
We also talk about the reality that many survivors face in family court — where experiences like coercive control, sexual coercion, and post-separation abuse are often misunderstood, minimized, or not given the weight they deserve.
Inside this episode, we talk about:
• What a domestic violence or coercive control assessment actually looks like
• The difference between an expert witness and a subject matter expert
• When an expert can be helpful in family court — and when they may not be necessary
• Why self-report assessments can be unreliable in abuse cases
• How coercive control and sexual abuse often go unrecognized in legal settings
• What “manufactured” claims and “provoke and record” tactics can look like
• The misuse of the term “parental alienation” and how it shows up in court
• Why post-separation abuse is often missed — and why that matters
• How to evaluate whether an expert witness is actually qualified
• The growing trend of survivors pursuing civil cases for damages
This episode is especially relevant if you are navigating family court, dealing with custody issues, or trying to figure out how to advocate for yourself in systems that may not fully understand abuse.
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