Trust is a topic that comes up every day with my clients. Usually when we talk about trust in their marriages we’re talking about overcoming lies or infidelity. They usually want to know if they can trust their spouse again. Or they ask “How can I trust her again?”

I have tried talking to her, ignored the situation, threatened to leave, but nothing changes. I’ve tried to get her to go to counseling, but she won’t go. I have told her what I need until I am blue in the face. Nothing’s ever going to change.

Women are not the only ones who experience abusive relationships. Many men do too, and you can imagine how difficult it is for them to even wrap their minds around that they would be in an abusive relationship. Yet when we try to define it or decide if we are actually in one, things become a bit less clear.