Advocates and therapy
Working with your advocate
An advocate helps with shelter, protective orders, legal steps and a full safety plan. We do the therapy. Each is better at its own part.
If you do not have an advocate yet, we help you reach one. If you do, you decide how much we talk with them, and you can change that at any time.
How it works
Referrals go out from us: we send you to advocates
We do not take intake from agencies about you
We coordinate only after you sign a release
No one is contacted without you knowing
In practice
How we work beside an advocate
Referrals go out
When you need shelter, a protective order, legal help or a full safety plan, we point you to an advocate and, if you want, help you make the first call.
You make first contact
We do not accept referrals that share your name or story. You write or call us yourself, in a way that is private for you.
A release, in writing
If you want us to speak with your advocate, you sign a release naming what we may share and for how long. You can end it at any time.
No contact with your partner
We do not contact your partner or anyone you name unless you ask in writing, or the law requires it. We do not offer couples sessions with someone who has hurt you.
Where to turn
Who does what
National Domestic Violence Hotline
Answers 1-800-799-7233, any time. Advocates there can help you plan, and find a program near you.
Make a safety planA program near you
Local programs offer shelter, protective-order help and legal advocates. The hotline can connect you to one in South Dakota.
Find a programPrairie Dawn
Therapy, once you want it: EMDR, body-based work and grounding, at your pace.
Write to us
Questions
Questions about advocates
Can my advocate come, or talk with you?
If you work with an advocate, we can talk with them only after you sign a release that says what we may share and for how long. You can end it at any time. We do not take referrals that share your details: you make first contact yourself.
Will anyone know I am coming?
We do not call, text or mail anything unless you choose it, and the contact form asks how it is private to reach you, including whether a voicemail is fine. The quick exit button leaves this site at once, but your browser may still keep the history, so use a private window or another device.
What is confidential, and what are the limits?
What you share stays in the session. The law sets limits: serious risk of harm to you or to someone else, and suspected abuse of a child or a vulnerable adult. If children are in your home, we talk about this at the start. We explain the limits in writing before you begin.
You do not have to do this alone
Reach an advocate now, or write to us when you are ready for therapy.