Hi, I'm Dr. Ellen Hendrickson, and welcome to the first ever bonus episode of the savvy psychologist.

Last week we covered six myths about domestic violence and I got a strong but welcome reaction from several

listeners who wrote in and asked me to add myth number seven. Only women get abused.

Now before we bust the myth and it is indeed a myth, I do feel

compelled to say that last week's episode deliberately addressed myths about abusive men.

To quote myself, the episode was, quote, specifically for women in

relationships with the Ray Rice's of the world, here are six myths about

abusive men. Like most of the nation, I was appalled by the events in the NFL and I felt the need to speak out to women in similar situations.

That said, there are many men out there who get physically, emotionally, and even sexually abused by female

partners, including a male listener who wrote in and described his current struggle to get out

of a physically abusive marriage and protect his children in the process.

Men like our listener are not alone.

A national report released just last month by the CDC found that violence by an intimate partner,

including being beaten, kicked, hit with an object or

deliberately burned, had been experienced at least once by 22% of women and

14% of men. And it gets more complicated. There are two types of domestic violence.

One is called intimate terrorism. Intimate terrorism is about controlling the

other person through violence and fear and it's

perpetuated in 97% of cases by men 3% of the time by women. Victims of intimate

terrorism are more likely to get injured, get hit frequently, have symptoms of

PTSD, and to miss days of work.

The other type is called situational couple violence.

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