Psychological Abuse

This resource is one sections compiled for resources regarding personal safety. To access the other sections, you can follow our link here, it will take you to the introductory resource on Safety which contains a directory to the other sections.

These topics contain content that may be triggering to some, if you feel that you are in crisis please reach out to one of the following or go here for a list of crisis and helplines available in your area.

For Indigenous Peoples, Hope for Wellness: 1-855-242-3310 Available 24/7

For Trans people of all ages, Trans LifeLine: 1-877-330-6366 Available 24/7

For Youth 20 and under, Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 Available 24/7

For people with thoughts of suicide, Suicide Prevention and Support: 1-833-456-4566 Available 24/7

Safety is not limited to our physical well-being; feeling emotionally and mentally safe is just as important as feeling physically safe. There are many things that impact our emotional and mental safety, but psychological abuse is abuse that specifically targets our mental and emotional safety.

Psychological abuse is the methodological destruction of a person’s self-esteem and/or their sense of safety; and often occurs in relationships with power imbalances. Psychological abuse best describes when a person is trying to frighten, control or isolate another person.

It can include, humiliation, criticization, shaming someone, controlling another person, blaming people for things they didn’t do, denying that they have done anything wrong, neglection, and isolating people from those who care about them.

Emotional Abuse

_{Copyright ©2020 Dr. Henry Cloud}

Resources:

If someone is making you feel unsafe, remember that it is not your fault and that you are not alone. Please consider reaching out for help.

• If you need someone to talk to, you can reach a professional counsellor at Kids Help Phone 24/7 by either calling 1-800-668-6868, or by texting “Connect” to 686868
• If you are in need of immediate mental health counselling and/or crisis intervention, you can reach a professional and culturally competent counsellor at Hope for Wellness 24/7 via their online chat counselling services, or by calling 1-855-242-3310
• If you are trans or Two-Spirit and you are in crisis or need to talk to someone who understands what you are going through, you can reach call the Trans Lifeline at 1-877-330-6366. While their operators are guaranteed to be on call during the following hours, operators are also frequently available during off-hours, so please call whenever you need to
  • Eastern: 10am – 4am
  • Central: 9am – 3am
  • Pacific: 7am – 1am
• If you are under the age of 30 and are either in crisis or in need of someone to talk to you can access the ca crisis and emotional support through their online chat portal or by texting them at 778-783-0177, from 6pm – 12am PST 365 days a year

If you are in crisis, you can reach out to Crisis Services Canada either by calling them 24/7 at 1-833-456-4566 or by text at 45645 from 4pm – 12 am EST