The Rising Beyond Podcast
Are you ready to thrive as you are coming out of a toxic or abusive relationship? Join Sybil Cummin, a licensed professional counselor who has specialized in working with victims and survivors of domestic violence and narcissistic abuse for over a decade and runs a membership community for women on their healing journey. On this podcast you will finally feel understood and your experience will be validated as you learn tangible strategies to handle family court, coparent with your abuser, improve your connection with your children, and heal from the trauma of narcissistic abuse and domestic violence.
Episodes
217 episodes
Ep 207: How to Create a Parenting Plan That Protects You and Your Kids with Cat Climaco
What happens when a parenting plan leaves too much room for interpretation?In this episode, we’re talking about one of the biggest mistakes survivors make during divorce and custody negotiations: agreeing to vague parenting plans that un...
Ep 206: Waiting for the Shoe to Drop: Why Survivors Stay on Edge Even When Things Are Quiet
What if the reason you can’t relax… is because your body learned that calm never lasted and does not mean you are safe?In this episode, I’m talking about something so many survivors experience after coercive control and domestic violence...
Bonus Coaching: When Your Ex Suddenly Becomes the “Perfect Parent” During a PRE Evaluation
What happens when the parent who was minimally involved suddenly becomes “Parent of the Year” once court professionals start watching?In this Friday Coaching Corner episode, we’re talking about a situation many protective parents quietly...
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Ep 205: Children as Collateral Damage in Family Court | The Hidden Impact of Post-Separation Abuse
We don’t talk enough about the real collateral damage of broken systems.And it’s not just survivors.It’s our kids.In this episode, I’m naming something that so many of you are living through but rarely see acknowledged out ...
Ep 204: Why Context Matters in Abuse Cases and How an Expert Witness Can Help with Carol Ann Peterson, PhD
What actually happens when domestic violence cases enter the courtroom?In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Carol Ann Peterson—expert witness, consultant, and longtime advocate—who brings a behind-the-scenes look at how abuse is understood...
Ep 203: Anger After Trauma: What Do You Do With It?
A lot of survivors feel exhausted for a long time.Physically tired.Mentally overloaded.Emotionally drained.And then one day, something shifts.Anger shows up.And what surprises many people is not just the ange...
Ep 202: Inside Family Court: What Domestic Violence Assessments Actually Do with Lisa Fontes
What actually happens in a domestic violence assessment? And how do you know if you even need one?In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Lisa Fontes, an expert in coercive control and domestic violence assessments, to talk about somethin...
Ep 201: The Healing Plateau: Why Progress Slows Down After Abuse and Trauma
At some point in healing, a lot of people hit this moment:You were making progress.You were starting to feel a shift.And then… it feels like nothing is happening anymore.It can feel confusing. Frustrating. Even dis...
Bonus Coaching: Afraid CPS Will Believe Your Ex? What Protective Parents Need to Know
When child protection gets involved, it can feel like everything your ex threatened is starting to happen.Many survivors were told: “If you leave, I’ll make sure everyone thinks you’re unstable—and I’ll take the kids.”So ...
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Ep 200: Epistemic Injury: The Trauma of Not Being Believed
Sometimes the deepest wound isn't just what happened to you.It's what happens when you try to explain it, and no one believes you.In this episode, we are talking about epistemic injury — a form of harm that happens when your reali...
Ep 199: Changing the System From the Inside: A Law Enforcement Perspective on Domestic Violence with Captain Eric Threlkeld
What if the most important parts of your story were never being asked about?Many survivors share a similar fear when the call in law enforcement for help:What if they only look at what happened that day… and not everything that l...
Ep 198: Religious Betrayal: When Faith Communities Don’t Recognize Abuse
What happens when the place you expected to find support becomes another place where you feel unseen?In this episode, we talk about religious betrayal and how it shows up for survivors of coercive control and domestic abuse. Many survivo...
Ep 197: Manufactured Crazy: When an Abuser Provokes the Reaction They Later Use Against You
Have you ever felt like your ex keeps pushing and pushing until you finally react… and then suddenly you’re the problem?In this episode, we’re talking about what I often call manufactured crazy — when someone intentionally provo...
Bonus Coaching Session: When Your Parenting Plan Needs More Specificity (and Your Attorney Pushes Back)
What do you do when you know vague parenting plan language will create problems, but your attorney says you’re asking for too much detail?In this Bonus Coaching episode, we look at a common situation many protective parents face: trying ...
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Ep 196: Hope After 12 Years of Post-Separation Abuse: Jennifer’s Story
There is something many survivors quietly wonder but don’t always say out loud:Will this ever end?Will my kids be okay?Will I ever feel like myself again?In this episode, I sit down with Jennifer, who spent over a decade n...
Ep 195: Why Emotional Intelligence Matters More Than Ever After Coercive Control
Have you ever walked out of a court hearing, a meeting with a professional, or even a hard parenting moment and thought, “Well, that didn’t come out the way I meant it?”Maybe your anxiety came out sharp. Maybe yo...
Ep 194: Why the Jeffrey Epstein Coverage Is So Triggering for Survivors
How are you, really? With the Jeffrey Epstein coverage everywhere, many survivors are feeling triggered, angry, betrayed, and exhausted. The language in the media. The redactions. The victim blaming. The protection of powerful people. It is a r...
Ep 193: Trust Your Gut: Reclaiming Safety After Coercive Control
We have been conditioned to be polite over safe. To make others comfortable even when our bodies are signaling danger. To be small, sweet, accommodating.That conditioning increases risk for women, especially survivors of coercive control...
Bonus Coaching Session: When Abusive Exes Team Up: Custody Threats, Coercive Control, and What to Do
A mother of three is navigating ongoing post-separation abuse from two different ex-partners. After disagreeing with a proposed school and therapist change, her second ex escalated with threats of full custody, weaponizing her trauma history an...
Ep 192: Disability Rights in Family Court: What Survivors with Anxiety or PTSD Need to Know (Part 1)
Family court is one of the most overwhelming environments a trauma survivor can face.For some survivors, the idea of court brings intense anxiety, panic, or shutdown. For others, it feels like a space where they must perform calm and com...
Ep 191: What the Research Shows About Family Court, Abuse, and Child Safety with Joan Meier & Danielle Pollack
What happens when survivors of domestic violence and coercive control enter family court isn’t just anecdotal — it’s documented, researched, and deeply concerning.In this episode of The Rising Beyond Podcast, Sybil is joined by ...
Ep 190: Parentification After Abuse: When Children Are Asked to Carry Adult Emotions
What happens when one parent leans on a child emotionally and you are determined not to do the same?Many protective parents notice it quietly at first.Their child starts worrying about the other parent.They feel responsible for a...
Ep 189: “High-Conflict” Divorce, Mediation, and Child-Centered Parenting Plans with Laura Lorber
Parenting plans, mediation, and negotiations are some of the most stressful parts of divorce — especially when abuse, coercive control, or high conflict are involved.In this episode of The Rising Beyond Podcast, Sybil is joined ...
Bonus Coaching Session: When Facts Don’t Matter: Parenting a Child Aligned With an Abusive Ex
In this Friday Coaching Corner, Sybil responds to a protective mother navigating ongoing post-separation abuse involving her highly gifted, autistic teenager. The abusive co-parent has repeatedly pulled the child into adult financial and legal ...
Ep 188: Custody Evaluations Explained: What Evaluators Look For and What Can Go Wrong
Custody evaluations tend to bring up two very different reactions for survivors.For some, the idea of an evaluation is terrifying, especially if they have heard stories about how much power evaluators hold and how often survivors feel mi...