Episode 177: Coercive Control with Dr. Christine Cocchiola

The Divorce Survival Guide Podcast

We are talking about a complex and insidious topic this week: coercive control. Dr. Christine Cocchiola, a Coercive Control Advocate, Educator, Researcher, and Survivor, shares her incredible wisdom with us. She explains how coercive control is the foundation of most domestic abuse and is often non-physical with offenders using “power over” to abuse their victims psychologically, legally, financially, and sexually.

Dr. Christine Marie Cocchiola is a Board Member of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, has supported policy codifying coercive control, and has a small private practice, primarily serving victims and survivors of coercive control. She is also the creator of the Protective Parenting Program, supporting protective mothers on their journey to healing their children.

Show Highlights

• What is coercive control?
• Why Depp v Heard is a case study in coercive control (3:50)
• When coercive controllers begin to lose control, the number one thing they seek is revenge (8:50)
• The global impact of high-profile cases that revolve around coercive control (13:22)
• DARVO: an acronym used to describe a common strategy of abusers (24:16)
• How coercive controllers gain and retain control - what are their patterns? (28:14)
• The goal of the abuser is to wear away at your autonomy (29:43)
• How to avoid coercive control and other abusive situations or leave an abusive relationship (44:35)
• The legislation and criminalization of coercive control (49:45)

Learn more about Dr. Cocchiola:

Dr. Christine Marie Cocchiola, DSW, LCSW is a Coercive Control Advocate, Educator, Researcher & Survivor. Coercive Control, the foundation of most domestic abuse, is often non-physical with offenders using “power over” to abuse their victims psychologically, legally, financially, and sexually and where children are involved, use of the children as pawns. She is a college professor teaching social work at CT Community College for the last 20 years and also an adjunct instructor at NYU. Her expertise is in the areas of intimate partner violence, trauma, and child abuse, developing and presenting workshops on these topics both nationally and internationally. Christine, a Board Member of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, has supported policy codifying coercive control and has a small private practice, primarily serving victims and survivors of coercive control. She is the creator of the Protective Parenting Program, supporting protective mothers on their journey of healing their children.

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