Blog
Our Award-Winning Documentary about Children and Domestic Violence Makes International Debut
The Children Next Door screening at Prestigious Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival in Greece The Children Next Door, an Award-Winning documentary sponsored by Children of Domestic Violence and released last fall, made its international debut at the prestigious...
How Trauma Rewires the Brain
Experiencing trauma can significantly rewire the brain, as hormones are released in excess due to stress. Fortunately, therapy can provide an understanding of emotions, helping to restore balance to the brain. This article features input from Licensed Psychologist and...
The Adversity Faced in Childhood That Has No Name
Did you know that growing up facing adversity in your childhood home has an impact on your life that can last well into your adult years? The adversity negatively wires a developing brain. This can cause us to struggle with our relationships, emotions, behaviors, and...
SHARING Our Stories Helps Us Unlearn the LIES of CDV and Discover the TRUTHS
For most of us who’ve grown up with domestic violence, just knowing that our “issues” stem from our childhood isn’t enough. Perhaps you’ve already made that connection. But whether you have or haven’t, it helps to be able to actually see a possible path out of...
A 3 Simple Question Test to Determine If You Grew Up Living with Domestic Violence
Did you grow up in a home living with domestic violence? That question doesn’t get asked very often, but we must ask it of ourselves and of those we care about. Because if the answer is yes, you should know that it has an impact on a life. Did your parents or...
How Do We Unlearn the Lies Learned in Childhood?
Every day we have opportunities to unlearn lies we may have learned. Many of the lies that we believe about ourselves were seeded in childhood. Especially if you grew up in violent home. A home in which the violence could have been physical or nonphysical. Those...
Can Adversity in Childhood Create Emotional Strength?
The same adversities you faced in your childhood home that led you to believe LIES about yourself also allowed you to develop skills and abilities that others don't have. These skills -- or gifts -- are inside each of you and are found by replacing the LIES you...
Because of the Adversity I Faced in Childhood, There’s Nothing I Can’t Do!
By Brian F. Martin and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Ph.D. A 16-year-old who grew up experiencing adversity in childhood said this to Brian Martin several years ago, and he included her story in his book, Invincible: The 10 Lies You Learn Growing Up With Domestic Violence...
4 Things I Learned About Childhood Adversity at a High Security Prison
This April, I was inside a high security prison. The plan was to talk to the men there about the work CDV does and to educate them on the connection between childhood adversities and the potential impact. While I believe I educated them, they also educated me....
The Chilling 911 Call You Won’t Hear During the Super Bowl
A friend who works with me at cdv.org texted me the link to a domestic violence ad that will run during the Super Bowl and said, “watch this.” I did. As I watched, I found my heart rate increasing, I was holding my breath and as it ended, I felt tears in my eyes. I...