The Rising Beyond Podcast
If you're trying to protect your children while navigating an abusive ex, this podcast is for you. Because leaving the relationship didn't end the abuse, and no one prepared you for what came next.
The Rising Beyond Podcast is for protective mothers navigating the overwhelming reality of sharing children with someone who continues patterns of manipulation, coercive control, or emotional abuse after separation. Join Sybil Cummin, licensed professional counselor, who has spent the last decade helping survivors and their children navigate this incredibly difficult chapter. Every week, we share trauma-informed education, nervous system insights, protective parenting strategies, and honest conversations about family court, post-separation abuse, and healing, so you can feel more confident, more grounded, and better equipped to protect both your children and yourself.
Whether you're in the middle of family court, struggling with parenting alongside someone who continues patterns of control, or simply trying to become the parent you want to be after everything you've survived, you'll find validation, practical guidance, and hope here.
The Rising Beyond Podcast
Ep 212: When Couples Therapy Causes Harm | Understanding Coercive Control in the Therapy Room with Frances Russell, LMFT
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What if the therapy that was supposed to help actually made things worse?
For many survivors of coercive control, couples therapy doesn't bring clarity, it deepens confusion, self-doubt, and shame.
In this episode, I'm joined by licensed marriage and family therapist Frances Russell to talk about why traditional couples therapy can be harmful when coercive control or domestic violence is present. We discuss what survivors should know, what therapists often miss, and why understanding patterns of power and control—not just isolated incidents—is essential.
Whether you're a survivor wondering why couples therapy didn't work or a mental health professional wanting to better recognize coercive control, this conversation offers practical insights and compassionate validation.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Why couples therapy can unintentionally reinforce coercive control.
- How neutrality can cause harm when abuse is present.
- The subtle signs therapists should be watching for.
- Why assessment for coercive control is an ongoing process—not a one-time intake questionnaire.
- The difference between incident-based and pattern-based thinking.
- What survivors can do if they're looking back and realizing therapy caused additional harm.
- Considerations for therapists when ending couples therapy due to safety concerns.
- What to know about therapy notes, confidentiality, and family court.
About Frances: Frances works as a therapist for both individuals and couples, and specializes in trauma recovery, helping people rebuild trust in themselves, others and life after experiences that have shattered it. She works with clients who want to process childhood abuse and neglect as well as others who come in to process recent, traumatic experiences between themselves and their partner. She primarily uses Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) with couples and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with individuals.
In addition to being a therapist, Frances is a trauma-informed yoga instructor with Comeback Yoga, an organization that supports veterans and their families. Frances also teaches graduate students at Regis University and her courses include Crisis, Trauma and Loss and Human Growth and Development.
In her free time, Frances enjoys staying active and getting outdoors through running, backpacking and skiing. She is also always on the lookout for new restaurants and recipes.
Register for the Free Webinar Series - Why Co-Parenting Feels Like a Trap here - https://mailchi.mp/risingbeyondpc/coparenting
Please leave us a review or rating and follow/subscribe to the show. This helps the show get out to more people.
If you want to chat more about this topic I would love to continue our conversation over on Instagram! @risingbeyondpc
If you want to support the show you may do so here at, Buy Me A Coffee. Thank you! We love being able to make this information accessible to you and your community.
If you've been looking for a supportive community of women going through the topics we cover, head over to our website to learn more about the Rising Beyond Community. - https://www.risingbeyondpc.com/
Where to find more from Rising Beyond:
Rising Beyond Facebook
Rising Beyond LinkedIn
Rising Beyond Pinterest
If you're interested in guesting on the show please fill out this form - https://forms.gle/CSvLWWyZxmJ8GGQu7
Enjoy some of our freebies!