Eisen Blackstone Group, LLC

12/19/2025

The December holidays are often portrayed as a time of joy, togetherness, and celebration.

But for many adults and children living with domestic violence, the season brings heightened danger rather than comfort. Research consistently shows that domestic violence incidents increase during the holidays, creating urgent safety concerns for survivors and their families.

Abusive behavior includes emotional manipulation, economic control, isolation from friends and family, threats, intimidation, and coercive control.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, confidential support is available 24/7 through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or by texting “START” to 88788.

The most important gift we can offer survivors is patience, respect for their autonomy, and unwavering support for whatever decisions they make about their own safety. Sometimes the most helpful thing we can do is simply let someone know: I see you, I believe you, and I’m here whenever you need me.

Blog Post: The December holidays are often portrayed as a time of joy, togetherness, and celebration. But for many people living with domestic violence, this season brings heightened danger rather than comfort. Research consistently shows that domestic violence incidents increase during the holidays...

12/18/2025

'Tis the season for empathy, love and grace.

For co-parents, the holiday season can bring both joy and tension. While the holidays are often portrayed as a time of perfect family harmony, for many households it’s a logistical puzzle. From deciding where the kids will spend the holidays to managing different family traditions, co-parents face the challenge of balancing fairness with flexibility. It can also cause a mix of emotions in kids.

Get the real story about co-parenting during the holidays with some good tips for navigating the magic of the season, via Parents.
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The holiday season can be tough on everyone when parents are separated. But one mom shares how she found peace.

12/11/2025

With reliable research regarding coercive control in intimate relationships showing that it causes devastating harm and may predict future physical violence, domestic abuse advocates have called upon U.S. jurisdictions to address it. Other countries such as the United Kingdom, Wales, Ireland, France, Scotland, and Canada (Ontario) provide coercive control protection.

Several US states have laws in place to protect victims:

Connecticut (June 2021) signed into law what is recognized as the most comprehensive law of protection
California (September 2020) has a statute that allows evidence of coercive control as evidence of domestic violence in family court.
Hawaii (September 2020) prosecutes a coercive control offense
Coercive control protection bills are currently pending in New York, Maryland, and South Carolina

Learn more about this pattern of abuse used by one partner to maintain power over the other, and in some cases, over children, via Psychology Today.

Coercive control protective laws take seriously psychological abuse. It is detrimental to well-being and a precursor to possible future physical violence.

12/09/2025

On our quest to help children in abusive situations, we are working to become trauma certified. Here are some key takeaways from last week's Conference:

🫶Coercive control is often hard to see, but if clinicians screen for it first, they have a high chance of identifying all abuse present.

🫶 Coercive control punishes the children the most. They are the smallest and biggest victims.

🫶 And, for most mental health professionals, there is no required education on abuse, making these signs all the harder to see.

These are great motivators to get informed, get educated, and get motivated to make a change for children who suffer from abuse and coercive control at the hands of a parent. Learn more about our services and mission at dcchildrensinstitute.org

12/05/2025

Strong emotional bonds help children learn how to manage their own feelings and behaviors and develop self-confidence. They help create a safe base from which they can explore, learn, and relate to others.

This type of strong connection between children and their caregivers is called “secure attachment.” Securely attached children are more likely to be able to cope with challenges like poverty, family instability, parental stress, and depression.

Recent analysis shows that about 6 out of 10 children in the U.S. develop secure attachments to their parents. The 4 out of 10 kids who lack such bonds may avoid their parents when they are upset or resist their parents if they cause them more distress; sadly, these kids are more prone to serious behavior problems.

Learn how you can create a positive parenting environment to help your kids thrive, whether you're parenting in one home or two.

Resources and info available via National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Parents have an important job. Raising kids is both rewarding and challenging. Being sensitive, responsive, consistent, and available to your kids can help you build positive, healthy relationships.

12/02/2025

It's and as a grassroots nonprofit, we are hopeful and grateful for your support!

Since 2022, we've been working hard to provide child-centered interventions for families, helping them navigate the emotional and logistical challenges of family transitions through the court system. We emphasize the mental health and well-being of children by, first and foremost, advocating for children’s mental, physical, and emotional health.

With your gift of ANY size, we will be one step closer to launching our next cohort of parenting classes and judicial training. Thank you for supporting our organization and working toward !

dcchildrensinstitute.org