In writing this post, I must first admit to the occasionally partaking in the most guilty of reality TV pleasures — the Real Housewives franchise. Most of these episodes revolve around elaborate parties and the petty, grade-school grievances of the “who said what behind whose back” variety.

But last Monday’s “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” turned to after-school-special seriousness when the ladies confronted one of the housewives about her physically abusive husband.

The scene was messy, painful to watch and, above all, real.

Here's a link to the most dramatic scene of the episodes.

Take away the ridiculous pretense of a tea party in a Beverly Hills mansion, and the conversation these women had is one that happens everyday among girlfriends in living rooms all across the country. So says Angela Hale, a spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

“Part of what the show is doing is (showing) real conversations that may be going on among friends,” Hale said.

In coordination with Bravo, the network that airs the show, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is using the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” as a teachable moment. Each episode comes with a PSA with the organization’s toll free help hot line (1-800-799-SAFE). Anytime the organization makes a national appearance such as these PSAs, Hale said they receive a boost in phone calls.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is also blogging about the scenes that have references to domestic violence, offering explanations on how the cycle of abuse works. The blog addresses some of the tough issues that the women on the show — and any friend of a person who is being abused — have to grapple with:

• The victim says she is leaving, but than stays with the abuser.

• The abuser has always been perfectly nice to them.

• How do they know what to believe when they’ve never witnessed any of the abuse?

Those questions are answered, as well as how the other housewives could have handled the situation differently. The main message that the organization wants to send is for friends to be supportive and help the person being abused to find a safe way out of the relationship.

“It is important to remember to believe what your friends are saying and help intervene, if that means calling police or going to a shelter,” Hale said. “Come up with a safe plan to take them away from that situation.”

As for what is next for the Real Housewives, the last episode was cutoff before the intervention ended. Hale said the organization has requested an advanced copy of the next one, which airs Monday at 8 p.m. and fully expects the discussion of domestic abuse to continue. And judging from this preview clip, it does.

When the episode airs, Hale said they will have domestic abuse experts ready to answer the phones.

“The goal is to get people to join in on the conversation, to talk about what happened. This is one more tool to let people know we are here,” she said.