Introduction

Abstract

When I decided to retrain as a counsellor early in 2007, I had no idea that writing was to become such a large part of my life. At that time, even beginning a 2,000-word essay felt daunting. As I began my course, my focus was firmly on counselling practice and I felt fortunate that the counselling placements I was offered provided the opportunity to work with abused clients. However, what began as simple curiosity to find ways to improve my practice ultimately became a five-year exploration of what domestic violence (DV) counselling clients found helpful in their recovery, involving many thousands of written words.