Centered Survivor
A green ceramic bowl mended with a gold seam, resting on linen in soft window light.

Intimate partner violence recovery

The strength is already yours. We build from there.

Strength-based recovery for survivors of intimate partner violence, and licensed training for the people who serve them.

Built for conditions many programs skip: when the danger is not fully behind you.

Door one

I am a survivor of intimate partner violence

Find out how our groups work, who they are for, and how to hear when one opens, on your terms.

For survivors Door two

I serve survivors: clinician, advocate, organization, or researcher

Licensed practitioner training, program delivery for your clients, and research partnerships.

For practitioners and researchers

For survivors

A recovery program that begins with what you already carry.

Centered Survivor is a structured group program for adults who have experienced intimate partner violence. It is not about fixing you. It is about naming the capacities that grew under pressure and building on them.

This is for you if

  • You are an adult who has experienced intimate partner violence, recently or long ago.
  • The harm may still be happening in other forms: coercive control, post-separation abuse, money entanglement, stalking, or the court system.
  • You are physically safe enough to take part in a group.
  • You are a practitioner, advocate, or helper who is also a survivor.

Open to people of all genders. LGBTQ+ inclusive. United States participants only at this time.

How a group works

1

Self-expression

Structured practices for finding and saying your own voice, at your own pace, without performance pressure.

2

Expressive arts

Creative practice as a way to process, not as an art class. No experience needed.

3

Journaling with prompts

Guided writing that helps you notice change in your thinking, relationships, and sense of self.

4

Somatic practice

Body-based tools from yoga therapy that support regulation and a felt sense of safety and choice.

The shape of a cohort

  • Three months, up to 20 participants.
  • Twelve sessions of 90 minutes: six in person at a partner location, six online.
  • Groups run through partner organizations and research sites. Join the interest list and we will tell you when one opens near you or online.

What this is not

  • It is not a crisis service, therapy, or legal advice.
  • It does not promise an outcome. Growth is one possible result of this work, not a guarantee.

Join the interest list

Our approach

Antifragile resilience, taught for ongoing threat.

Most recovery programs assume the danger is in the past. For many survivors it is not. Centered Survivor teaches strengths-based skills for people who may still be responding to present harm, and it helps participants map their whole situation: mental, emotional, legal, financial, and physical.

Coercive controlPressure that continues without a single visible incident.
Post-separation abuseHarm that follows you after you leave, through contact, children, or money.
System harmCourts, agencies, and processes that can add to the injury.

Seven strengths the program helps name and build on

DeterminationSelf-relianceResilienceCourageEmpathyResourcefulnessDiscernment

For practitioners and researchers

A licensed, research-built protocol for the people who serve survivors.

Bring Centered Survivor to your clients through trained, licensed staff, through a program delivered by our lead instructor, or through a research partnership. Many practitioners are survivors themselves, and the training treats that dual identity as central.

Clinicians and allied health

Therapists, counselors, social workers, nurses, yoga therapists, and movement and somatic practitioners.

Advocates and organizations

Domestic violence agencies, shelters, legal and community programs that want a structured recovery offering.

Researchers and universities

Teams studying IPV recovery that need a defined protocol and measurable outcomes.

Practitioner training and licensure

Train your clinicians to deliver the protocol, then certify and license them. Cohorts begin with four or more clinicians.

  • Your choice of format: a longer weekend with virtual sessions, fully virtual, or a three-month virtual track with live meetings and recorded modules.
  • Certification exam and first-year licensing are included when a cohort commences.
  • Annual license covers membership, required continuing education, digital assets for participants, updated materials, and translations.

Program delivery for your clients

Our lead instructor delivers the full survivor program to your participants, with no practitioner training required.

  • Three months, up to 20 participants.
  • Six in-person sessions on location and six virtual sessions, 90 minutes each.
  • You may record in-person sessions for internal use with participants' signed consent.
  • Delivery available within 60 to 180 days of agreement.

Research partnerships

Built to be tested. Outcomes are studied with quantitative measures, participant reports, and interviews.

  • Open to research partnerships with universities and community research teams.
  • A companion survivor app, GEMS, is in development. Read more.
  • Outcomes are shared with partners in plain language, with participant privacy protected.
A calm training room with a loose circle of chairs, folded blankets, and a low table in warm daylight.

Materials in your clients' language

Participant materials are available now in English and Spanish. More languages are coming.

EnglishSpanish French (coming soon)Portuguese (coming soon)Creole (coming soon)Hindi (coming soon)Mandarin (coming soon)Korean (coming soon)

Request a partnership proposal

Lead instructor

Kellie Adkins, MS

Certified yoga therapist. Designs the Centered Survivor protocol and teaches it.

Built on trauma-informed principles

SafetyPhysical, emotional, and digital.
ChoiceEvery practice is optional and adjustable.
VoiceParticipants direct their own recovery.
TransparencyClear about what the program is and is not.
Peer supportLearning alongside others who understand.
Cultural humilityAttention to history, identity, and context.

Privacy and safety

Built so you can leave quickly and leave no trace here.

Many visitors are worried that someone may be watching. This site is designed around that.

A safety exit on every screen

  • The Quick exit button stays at the top right of every page, including on a phone.
  • Click it, or press the Escape key three times, and this site is replaced by another page at once. The Back button does not return you here.
  • A website cannot erase your browser history. For the most privacy, open this site in a private or incognito window.

Zero tracking

  • No analytics, no cookies, no tracking pixels, and nothing stored in your browser.
  • No advertising, social media, video, or map scripts. Every file this site uses, including its fonts, is served from this site.
  • The forms ask for as little as possible, and never for details of your situation.

Limits worth knowing: your internet provider, employer, or anyone who controls your device or network may still see that you visited. If you think your device is monitored, use one you trust, such as a library computer or a friend’s phone. Like any website, ours is served by a hosting provider that may keep basic technical logs. We do not use them to identify or follow visitors. Read the full privacy policy and terms of use.

Get in touch

Choose the path that fits you.

Please do not share details of your situation in this form. Nothing here is a crisis service. How we handle what you send. If you are in danger, call 1-800-799-7233 or 911.

Thank you. You are on the interest list. We will contact you only in the way you chose, and only when a group opens. To be removed at any time, write to privacy@centeredsurvivor.com from the same address.