Family Scapegoating Abuse Education™

The Global Home for Forensic FSA Research and Systemic Recovery From Complex Relational Trauma

“You are not a broken person. You are a person in a broken system.” — Rebecca C. Mandeville, LMFT

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The Founding Research Supporting FSA

Welcome. I’m Rebecca C. Mandeville, the psychotherapist and researcher who first identified and named Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA)™.

For over a decade, my work has focused on moving the conversation beyond “narcissistic villains” and toward a rigorous understanding of systemic dysfunction. Whether you are a survivor seeking to reclaim your identity or a clinician looking for peer-reviewed frameworks, you have found the primary source for FSA education.

Recovering from the Shaming Scapegoat Narrative

In the current trauma-recovery landscape, scapegoating is often reduced to a simple “personality clash.” My research reveals a more complex reality: FSA is a structural defense mechanism used by dysfunctional families to manage intergenerational stress.

I provide the tools to help you transition from the Identified Patient to the Sovereign Self. My approach utilizes the Identity Reconstruction Framework™ and the Self Restoration Framework™ to address the specific mechanics of complex trauma, toxic shame, and the damaging “scapegoat narrative.”

The Science of FSA: A Research Summary

As the primary architect of FSA theory, my work bridges the gap between clinical observation and academic validation. My findings demonstrate that FSA is not a “debated emotional dynamic,” but a medically relevant systemic trauma.

  • Quantitative Validation: Co-author of the first peer-reviewed quantitative studies on FSA (2024, 2025).
  • Proprietary Nomenclature: Creator of the terms Family Scapegoating Abuse, The Scapegoat Narrative, and Righteous Rage.
  • Intergenerational Mapping: Specialized research into how FSA drives C-PTSD and Attachment Trauma across generations.

[View Peer-Reviewed Studies & Full Research Archive]

Rebecca C Mandeville Fsa Scapegoat Expert

Rebecca C. Mandeville is a licensed clinician and world-renowned expert on the ‘invisible’ systemic phenomenon she named Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA). Her pioneering research on systemically-driven scapegoat abuse in families revealed that FSA (which is typically intergenerational in regard to its scope and impact) can lead to a range of issues, including Complex PTSD, Attachment Trauma, Betrayal Trauma, Impostor Syndrome, and Toxic Shame. 

Research summary included near the bottom of this page.

Learn More About Rebecca

⚖️ Intellectual Property & Permissions

As the founding researcher of Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA), I retain all rights to the terminology, methodologies, and pedagogical structures presented on this site.

Usage Notice: Attribution is required for all non-commercial use of my work. Commercial use, public distribution, or the inclusion of my trademarked frameworks in training materials requires explicit written permission. Scroll to the bottom of this page to learn more.

Help Raise Awareness About FSA

Scapegoating occurs when one family member is unjustly blamed, criticized, or targeted for negative treatment by other family members. The consequences of systemic scapegoating abuse can be severe and may lead to emotional, psychological, and relational difficulties for the targeted family member. You can help me in my mission to raise global awareness about the insidious reality of Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) by sharing this website with others.

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Feeling stuck in your FSA recovery? You may benefit from a Single-Session Consultation to discuss your family situation.

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Intro’ to FSA

My bestselling self-help book, Rejected, Shamed, and Blamed, will help you understand what happened to you in your family.

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FSA Self-Test

It is a myth that scapegoating in families is always overt and obvious. My original research on Family Scapegoating abuse (FSA) revealed it is typically systemic, insidious and subtle. To make matters even more challenging, children in families that scapegoat are often conditioned to tolerate this form of ‘invisible’ (psycho-emotional) abuse, making FSA an extremely difficult form of systemic maltreatment for adult survivors to recognize and recover from.

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How It Started…

“I never could have imagined that when I published my introductory book on Family Scapegoating Abuse that it would resonate with tens of thousands of people around the world. Over the years, I’ve received countless emails and messages thanking me for providing a means of discussing this form of insidious systemic abuse via the unique terms and nomenclature I created during the course of my original FSA research. I hope that you also feel validated and seen via this first book on FSA.”

Rebecca C. Mandeville, LMFT, CCTP

Haven’t yet read Rejected, Shamed, and Blamed? This Universal Book Link (UBL) will lead you to an online store where you can purchase it securely. Only Amazon carries the paperback and hard cover versions. Note: Tantor Media distributes the audio version through Amazon and other online shops: https://books2read.com/intro2fsa

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Healing the Scapegoat Wound on Substack

Subscribing to my Substack is free. You’ll receive an online FSA Education Guide in your ‘Welcome’ email when you subscribe, which provides more FSA recovery resources. My latest articles will be delivered to your inbox.

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About My Substack

Dearest Rebecca, Your work has been a life-saver for me and has changed everything in positive ways after a lifetime of FSA, for which I never had a name until I found you with your wonderful research, website, videos, book and our precious community which provides healing support from and for survivors like me. Knowing I can come to this community when things seem bleak has added a layer of peace that has made it much more possible for me to function in my daily life. Hearing about your own personal struggles with FSA has also provided a new way of healing where there is no one-up, one-down dynamic as I’ve experienced in the past with well-intentioned therapists. Your humanity, as you create, offer and share these groundbreaking truths, and your transpersonal viewpoint has bolstered my faith in life, in goodness, and in my own capacity to overcome adversity. Well done dear sister. Thank you! – Healing the Scapegoat Wound Paid Community Member

The results of my research compel a fundamental shift in how practitioners—both clinicians and medical professionals—diagnose and treat survivors of complex systemic relational abuse, including Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) . Our quantitative, peer-reviewed data provides the essential scientific validation required to move FSA from a debated emotional dynamic to a medically relevant diagnosis. – Rebecca C. Mandeville, LMFT, CCTP

Summary of Research- Rebecca C. Mandeville, LMFT

Summary of Qualitative and Quantitative Research on Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA)

The term Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) was coined by psychotherapist and clinical researcher Rebecca C. Mandeville. Mandeville’s work is foundational to the field, and she has collaborated with other researchers to study this insidious systemic phenomenon. Her recent peer-reviewed quantitative studies serve to further legitimatize the devastating reality of FSA and recovery challenges survivors face. Mandeville’s work is seen as foundational to the field, providing a crucial linguistic and conceptual framework that is now used world-wide by adult survivors, clinicians, and researchers.

Key researchers and their contributions

Rebecca C. Mandeville

As the central figure in FSA research, Mandeville’s work includes: 

  • Creating and defining the term ‘Family Scapegoating Abuse’ (FSA): This has provided a crucial framework for understanding the systemic psycho-emotional abuse that occurs when a dysfunctional family unfairly targets one member with blame and criticism.
  • Qualitative research: Through her clinical practice and studies, she identified that FSA often leads to Complex Trauma (C-PTSD), Betrayal Trauma, Complicated Grief; Anxiety Disorders; Depressive Disorders; Impostor Syndrome; and Toxic Shame.
  • Quantitative research: In 2024, she co-authored (with Doctoral Research Scholar Dr. Kartheek R. Balapala and his team) the first peer-reviewed quantitative study on Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA), followed by a second study in 2025 (scroll down for links to these studies, which were published in peer-reviewed health and medical journals in Europe and Asia).
  • Authoring content: Mandeville wrote Rejected, Shamed, and Blamed: Help and Hope for Adults in the Family Scapegoat Role, which details her findings and provides resources for survivors. She also publishes new articles about FSA regularly on her Healing the Scapegoat Wound Substack and is a licensed Healthcare Partner on YouTube via her Beyond Family Scapegoating Abuse channel.
  • A Unique Nomenclature: Other terms coined by Mandeville as a result of her original FSA research that enhance survivor and clinician discussions include ‘family scapegoat trauma’; ‘scapegoat narrative’; ‘righteous rage’; and ‘scapegoat grief’.

Key findings from the research of Rebecca C. Mandeville

  • Complex trauma and other effects of FSA: Mandeville’s research revealed that many FSA survivors suffer from complex trauma as a result of chronic systemic relational trauma; betrayal trauma; attachment trauma; anxiety; depression; and toxic shame. As such, FSA results in a variety of psycho-emotional symptoms and social impediments, including feeling that the world is an unsafe place, emotional dysregulation, a sense of not belonging anywhere, and difficulty forming healthy, secure relationships. 
  • Systemic dynamics: The research reveals that scapegoating is a systemic issue often fueled by intergenerational trauma, projection, and the splitting of family roles, where one child is designated as the “scapegoat”. 
  • Clinical consequences: Survivors often report a long history of seeking treatment for various diagnoses like depression, anxiety, or personality disorders without the root cause of the scapegoating being identified. 
  • Impact on relationships: FSA can lead to a distorted relationship with oneself and others, self-doubt, difficulty expressing emotions, and a tendency to engage in “fawning” or people-pleasing behaviors due to the betrayal trauma and toxic shame experienced within their family-of-origin. 

Dr. Kartheek R. Balapala

Co-authored quantitative studies: As a research fellow and MD, Dr. Balapala co-authored the first peer-reviewed quantitative study on FSA with clinician and Family Systems researcher Rebecca C. Mandeville in 2024. This study was published in the European Journal of Public Health Studies. Mandy Sizalobuhle Mpofu, Research Scholar, also co-authored this study.

*Read our first FSA quantitative study at https://oapub.org/hlt/index.php/EJPHS/article/view/202/202

Dr. Kartheek R. Balapala also collaborated on a second quantitative study with Family Systems and Scapegoat Abuse expert Rebecca C. Mandeville; Research Scholar Dr Suriyakala Perumal Chandran; and researcher Chanda Chisanga, which focused on how Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) affects women with Postpartum depression (PPD).

*Read our second FSA quantitative study at https://oapub.org/hlt/index.php/EJPHS/article/view/232/232

In Summary: Mandeville’s research on Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) shows it’s a severe form of family dysfunction where one child absorbs the family’s negativity, leading to complex trauma (C-PTSD) in the victim, marked by anxiety, depression, low self-worth, and relationship issues, often fueled by generational trauma, and results in deep emotional wounds like toxic shame and identity confusion, requiring trauma-informed healing. The abuse involves a distorted “scapegoat narrative” and systemic blame, impacting mental health, self-perception, and future relationships, even extending into adulthood as siblings perpetuate the narrative. 

Core Concepts, Unique Nomenclature, & Dynamics Associated With FSA

  • Systemic Mechanism: Scapegoating is a structural defense mechanism for dysfunctional families (not just narcissistic ones) to manage overwhelming stress or trauma, often involving intergenerational patterns.
  • Scapegoat Narrative: A false, defamatory story created by the family that labels the child as the problem, which becomes deeply ingrained, causing identity confusion and internalized shame.
  • Righteous Rage (a form of Functional Anger): Anger that is a direct, proportional, and self-affirming response to a real and systemic injustice (like FSA). This anger serves as a vital signal and motivator for differentiation and boundary setting.
  • Perpetuation: Even after a parent’s death, siblings, especially the “golden child,” may continue the narrative to maintain family balance. 

Psychological & Emotional Impacts (C-PTSD)

  • Complex Trauma: The chronic nature of FSA leads to C-PTSD, disrupting self, emotional regulation, and relational capacity.
  • Mental Health: High rates of anxiety, depression, chronic stress, and suicidal ideation.
  • Self-Perception: Profound low self-esteem, self-doubt, toxic shame, guilt, and feelings of worthlessness.
  • Emotional Dysregulation: Difficulty trusting, expressing emotions, and feeling safe, leading to fawning or people-pleasing behaviors. 

Transcend the Damaging Scapegoat Narrative

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It is never too late to begin recovering from Family Scapegoating Abuse. Reclaim your story – reclaim your life!

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Bird soar
Rebecca C. Mandeville

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. This is because the headwind provides the necessary airflow over the wings to generate lift. Recovering from Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) is difficult, to be sure, but with time, patience, and consistent effort, trust that you will eventually soar…”

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🛑 Important Notice Regarding use of My Intellectual Property

Thank you for visiting, sharing, and engaging with the resources on this site! Your support in raising awareness about Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) is highly valued.

Please be aware that the specific term, concept, and content surrounding ‘Family Scapegoating Abuse’ (FSA) have been developed, researched, and copyrighted by Rebecca C. Mandeville, founder of Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) Education.

Why Permission is Needed to Use My FSA Content

I ask that you respect my intellectual property rights for the following reasons:

  • Protecting Integrity: My materials, including the term ‘Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA), are designed to provide specialized, reliable, and consistent information and resources. Unauthorized use or modification can dilute the term’s meaning and potentially misrepresent the underlying research-supported concepts.
  • Copyright Protection: All original text, articles, structure, and the specific application and definition of Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) are protected under copyright law.

How to Share and Use My FSA Work Appropriately

  • Attribution is Required: If you reference or quote the concept, definition, or specific term Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) in a non-commercial work and your quote is 100 words or less, please provide clear and visible credit back to me and this website. *Example: “The concept of Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) as defined here is based on the work of clinician and researcher Rebecca C. Mandeville at https://www.scapegoatrecovery.com.”
  • Use for Personal Awareness: You are encouraged to use the concepts for personal understanding and discussion for non-commercial purposes, using the above attribution.
  • Commercial/Public Use Requires Permission: You must obtain explicit, written permission from me before using the term Family Scapegoating Abuse / FSA or any content derived from this site for:
    • Any commercial purpose (e.g., in a book, paid course, or for-profit resource).
    • Public distribution or publication (e.g., in a non-accredited educational resource, blog post, or training material) that goes beyond simple reference and attribution.

EMAIL ME FOR PERMISSION: I’m passionate about helping people understand and recover from FSA. If you plan to create commercial or non-commercial content (articles, podcasts, books, videos, etc.) that references Family Scapegoating Abuse and/or FSA and/or my FSA research and related content and educational material, you must email me to request permission to use my copyrighted work (this includes translations of my content).

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in protecting my ability to continue developing and sharing these vital resources.

– Rebecca C. Mandeville, LMFT, CCTP

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