A structured framework for survivor-facing work.
Decision-support tools that complement therapy, advocacy, and legal practice.
The Abuse Survivor's Toolbox is a structured decision-support system developed to help survivors regulate urgency, organize complex information, and build practical next steps — particularly when stress, trauma, and institutional pressure are interfering with their capacity to think and decide clearly.
It is designed to integrate with the work clinicians, advocates, and attorneys are already doing. It does not replace that work; it strengthens the conditions under which it happens.
When clients have structure for what they're carrying, the work between you can move faster and go deeper.
What the system addresses
Survivors of abuse, coercive control, and complex trauma are routinely asked to make consequential decisions while operating with diminished cognitive bandwidth, fragmented information, and high emotional load. The toolkits give clients an external structure to hold what they're working through — reducing the cognitive load on both the client and the professional supporting them.
How it's used in practice
In session
Working alongside a client
A shared structure for organizing what a client is carrying, surfacing patterns, and setting next-step priorities together.
Between sessions
Containing the work
A place for clients to hold information, observations, and questions outside session time — reducing rumination and improving recall.
Group programs
Shared scaffolding
Common language and frameworks across cohorts in survivor-support, post-separation, and trauma-informed programs.
Legal & advocacy
Preparing for high-stakes contexts
Tools for organizing timelines, documentation, and decision factors before court appearances, agency meetings, or protective order proceedings.
Why professionals use it
- It reduces cognitive overload and supports sustainable decision-making over time
- It gives clients language and structure for experiences that are difficult to articulate
- It supports continuity between contacts, particularly when sessions are spaced
- It distinguishes between what a client knows, suspects, and is responding to
- It does not replace clinical or legal work — it makes that work more focused
Collaboration options
The system is available to individual professionals, programs, and institutions through several pathways:
Private resource pages
Curated client-facing pages with selected tools, available to professionals for use with their own caseload.
Training & implementation
Guided sessions on integrating the toolkits into existing clinical, advocacy, or legal practice.
Program integration
Adaptation of the system for organizational programs, cohorts, or specialized populations.
Staff education
In-service training for teams supporting survivors, on the dynamics the toolkits are designed to address.
Institutional licensing
Multi-user and organization-wide licensing for hospitals, nonprofits, legal services, and academic institutions.
About the author
The Abuse Survivor's Toolbox was developed by Mariela Haack, an attorney and survivor whose work draws on both her legal background and her direct experience navigating coercive control and its aftermath. The framework is informed by research on trauma, decision-making under stress, and survivor-centered practice. Read more about the project →
Get in touch
Explore collaboration
For inquiries about training, implementation, licensing, or referral relationships, please reach out directly. I respond personally to professional inquiries.
Contact →DISCLAIMER: The resources on this site are for educational and organizational support only and are not a substitute for professional medical, mental health, or legal advice.