The Rising Beyond Podcast

Ep 66: Breaking Down Coercive Control with Guest Kate Amber, MS

Season 1 Episode 66

What the heck is coercive control anyway?  If you have experienced domestic violence or narcissistic abuse, you have experienced coercive control.  And it’s likely that you have experienced it in ways and by people and systems that are outside of your romantic relationship.

In this episode, I have an expert on coercive control, Kate Amber, MS that is going to break it all down for you.  We look at the most common challenges that survivors face as they work through the larger systems and she shares her BioPsychoSocial Quicksand Model as a framework for how professionals in the system can identify coercive control in these cases.

In this model we look at the D's:

  • Double Standards
  • Double Binds
  • Double Team
  • DARVO

The E's:

  • Ensnare
  • Entrap
  • Exploit
  • Preventing Escape

And the F's:

  • Force
  • Fraud
  • Fear

These are all used to maintain control over the target.

Kate Amber holds a Master of Science in the Psychology of Coercive Control from the University of Salford, a post-graduate certification in Executive Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania in Violence and Abuse Prevention, a Certification in Human Rights Consulting from the US Institute of Diplomacy & Human Rights and an ADA Advocacy Certification from Equal Access Advocates.

Ms. Amber founded End Coercive Control USA (ECCUSA) to help educate and transform the systems designed to assist persons harmed by coercive control, and restore their dignity, autonomy and freedom. She is an international speaker, consultant, trainer, writer and expert witness on domestic abuse, extremist groups and coercive control. Ms. Amber’s master’s research and dissertation, for which she was awarded Distinction, focused on her BioPsychoSocial Quicksand Model™ of Coercive Control (The PSQM™), a synthesis of seventy years of research and theory in domestic abuse, human trafficking, cults, gangs, extremist groups and torture.

Kate was recently awarded the Purple Ribbon Award for Survivor of the Year from Domestic Shelters and the Student Achievement Award for Postgraduate Student in the Directorate of Psychology & Sport, from the University of Salford for her dissertation and research on the BioPsychoSocial Quicksand Model™. Kate’s organization, ECCUSA, also received a Purple Ribbon Award for Outstanding Community Presentation or Education fr


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