Understanding Abusive Relationships
What you'll learn
- Learn why abusive relationships are so common
- Understand the tools abusers use which makes it difficult to leave the relationship
- Grasp how a target's strengths and "super traits" may actually work against them and keep them in abusive relationships
- Choose better partners by understanding the dynamics and red flags of abusive relationships
- Understand why emotional, financial, and verbal abuse is more prevalent -- and damaging in some ways -- than physical abuse
- Distinguish between dysfunctional and abusive relationships and help determine if the target's growth and empowerment can effect any change
- Learn the differences and similarities between male and female abusers and male and female targets
- Determine if an abusive individual has the capacity to change
- Recognize an abuser's skewed reality, and comprehend why this is so destructive to the mental health of the target
Requirements
- This course is appropriate for men and women ages 16 and older. No prior knowledge of intimate partner violence or abusive relationships is necessary.
Description
This course explains the complexities of abusive relationships and the pervasiveness of abuse as a global epidemic. Whether abuse is physical, verbal, psychological, or financial -- and regardless of the gender of the abuser or target -- this course is aimed at reducing intimate partner abuse through education and empowerment.
The instructor shares unique insights to the burning question: "Why don't victims leave?" Students will comprehend how an abuser's tactics and a target's vulnerabilities creates a powerful bond that is dysfunctional and can be difficult to escape.
This course also sheds light on the fact that targeted individuals are often robust and successful prior to this relationship, yet become systemically weakened over time. Topics such as abuse by proxy, alienation from one's children, and the shift from physical abuse to more sophisticated types of abuse is taught, as well.
Lastly, the instructor illustrates the personality structure of both abusers and targets, and the type of mate an abuser is apt to choose. Students will learn practical advice for avoiding potential abusers, determining whether their partner can change, and supporting loved ones who may be in abusive relationships at present.
Through PowerPoint slides and accompanying lecture, the instructor shares her insights and clinical expertise from her research into abusive relationships and her nearly two decades of experience as a psychotherapist.
This 75-minute course is structured into six segments and is appropriate for men and women age 16+.
Who this course is for:
- This course is best suited for men and women ages 16 and older. Because abuse is so common and affects every age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, and sexual orientation, it is prudent for all of us to learn how to spot and stay away from abusive individuals.
Course content
- Preview08:10
Instructor
![Amanda Somberg, MFT](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 64 64"%3E%3C/svg%3E){kind=avatar}
- 4.7 Instructor Rating
- 28 Reviews
- 133 Students
- 1 Course
Amanda Somberg, M.A., MFT, is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in the State of California (CA #41275). She teaches, writes, and speaks frequently about the dynamics of abusive relationships and narcissistic abuse. Amanda presented her workshop titled "New Insights into Abusive Relationships" at the 51st Annual California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists (CAMFT) Conference in May, 2015.
Amanda graduated from the University of California, Berkeley (B.A., English) and John F. Kennedy University (M.A., Clinical Psychology). She maintains a private psychotherapy and mediation practice in Walnut Creek, California. Amanda is the mother of a teenage son.