Therapy for Healing From Emotionally Abusive Relationships: Heal from Coercive, Controlling and Emotionally Abusive Relationships
You are not imagining it — and you are not alone.
Emotional abuse and coercive control leave deep, invisible wounds. The confusion, self-doubt, and lingering anxiety you are experiencing are real. At Cove Counseling Group, we specialize in helping adults break free from the trauma of emotionally abusive relationships. If you have experienced or survived gaslighting, manipulation, control, or subtle psychological abuse, we’re here to help you heal.
“What Is an Emotionally Abusive Relationship?”
An emotionally abusive relationship is a relationship in which one partner, the abuser, uses coercion and other manipulation tactics to assert power and control over the other partner.
Emotional abuse can be overt or extreme (i.e. name calling, use of intimidation or threats) or covert (i.e. constant criticism, gaslighting, use of guilt and shame). The latter, covert abuse, is often difficult to detect because it typically occurs gradually over time and is nuanced in nature.
What Is Emotional Abuse?
Emotional abuse doesn’t always involve profanity, name-calling, or yelling. It’s often more nuanced and involves a pattern of behavior that is coercive and controlling in nature. Emotional abuse strips away your sense of self and erodes your self-worth. Common tactics include:
Gaslighting — denying your reality or making you question your reality
Isolation — cutting you off from friends, family, and general support system
Controlling behaviors—efforts to limit and infringe on your autonomy and privacy
Blame-shifting —blaming you for their negative moods, reactivity and distress
Regular criticism —targeted, systematic criticism designed to create shame, distort your self-perception, and magnify your insecurities.
If this feels familiar, you don’t have to face it alone. Schedule a confidential consultation today — we’re here to support your healing.
Emotional Abuse vs. Healthy Conflict
While conflict in a relationship is normal, in an emotionally abusive relationship the abuser creates and uses conflict to assert power and control over you.
Healthy conflict involves:
Open and honest communication: Both partners feel safe expressing their thoughts and feelings without fear of punishment or consequence.
Shared responsibility: Each person acknowledges their role in the conflict and works collaboratively toward resolution.
Mutual trust and respect: Disagreements are navigated with care for each other’s well-being and emotional safety.
Willingness to repair and reconnect:After conflict, both partners actively work to restore connection and understanding.
Setting and honoring boundaries Each person respects the other's emotional, physical, and relational limits—even in moments of tension.
Emotional abuse involves:
Complete disregard for your feelings and experiences: Your feelings are regularly minimized, dismissed, or invalidated.
Pushing back on or ignoring your boundaries: When you express a need or limit, the other person challenges it, mocks it, or violates it repeatedly.
Coercive, controlling, and manipulative tactics: These may include guilt-tripping, gaslighting, love-bombing, withdrawal, or threats.
Isolating you from support: When your partner tries to limit your contact with friends, family, or other important support persons in your life.
Creating a climate of fear, guilt, or obligation: When you feel like you’re constantly “walking on eggshells” around your partner.
The Invisible Wounds of Emotional Abuse
Although emotional abuse doesn’t leave visible wounds or bruises, its impact is very real. Many survivors experience:
Anxiety, depression, or symptoms of PTSD
Guilt, shame, and/or persistent fear and anxiety
A damaged sense of self-worth
At Cove Counseling Group, we understand the lasting impact of this kind of trauma — even long after the relationship ends.
Locations We Serve
We offer in-person trauma therapy in San Diego for individuals who value face-to-face connection and support in a calming, welcoming space.
Our office is centrally located in Mission Valley, with easy access to major freeways and just minutes from neighborhoods like Hillcrest, North Park, University Heights, and other nearby communities.
Whether you're looking for trauma therapy close to home or during your workday, our convenient location makes it easier to prioritize your healing.
Our Specialized Approach to Healing
We are a trauma-focused, trauma-informed group practice offering:
EMDR Therapy for addressing the deeper, underlying wounds that make it difficult to move forward in a meaningful full way
Parts Work (Internal Family Systems) to reconnect with your true self and wounded parts
Attachment-Focused Therapy to rebuild trust in yourself and others
A compassionate, validating space where your story can be witnessed and your experience honored
Our therapists specialize in working with survivors of emotional abuse, narcissistic abuse, and coercive control.
Meet Our California Based Trauma-Informed Therapists
At Cove Counseling Group, all of our therapists are trauma-informed—and several specialize in trauma recovery, including complex PTSD and attachment wounds. Each brings a unique approach, but all share a commitment to helping you feel safe, seen, and supported.
