046 The Grief No One Names: IPV and the Mother-Child Bond

The Grief Between a Mother and Her Child

About this episode:

This conversation explores an often-overlooked consequence of intimate partner violence (IPV): the disruption of the mother-child relationship and the profound grief that can follow. Abuse can begin altering this relationship long before the abusive partnership ends — affecting attachment, emotional availability, parenting, trust, and the child's perception of the mother. Even after the abuse ends, the relationship may remain deeply changed and, in some cases, may never be fully repaired. We examine IPV as a family-system injury and sit with the grief of losing the relationship a mother and child once had — or might have had under different circumstances.

About our guest: Michelle Chaney

- Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC)

- Certified Associate Counselor–Alcohol and Drug (CAC-AD)

- Certified Clinical Trauma Professional

- Certified Grief-Informed Professional

- Licensed psychotherapist and founder of Healthy Connections Counseling, LLC

- Clinical expertise in trauma, grief and loss, IPV, attachment, and complex relationship dynamics

- Integrative, trauma-responsive approach to emotional well-being across the lifespan

What we discuss: