New Scapegoat Survey: I’m excited to announce that I am now conducting research for my next book. You are invited to take this anonymous survey.
FSA Educational Articles
June 2023 Newsletter – FSA Education
Dr. Erin Watson, wrote an excellent article I’d like to pass along to you, with her permission. In this article, Dr. Watson addresses a question that both she and I are asked frequently by new FSA adult survivor clients: “How long before I am healed?”
How the Scapegoat Child Develops a ‘False’ Self
An important, sometimes even critical, aspect of recovering from family scapegoating abuse (FSA) is to recognize that you may have developed a ‘false’ or ‘survival’ self very early in life to survive a hostile or threatening family environment.
The Dual Layers of Betrayal Trauma For Survivors of Family Scapegoating Abuse
Betrayal is at the heart of being scapegoated. Betrayal is the constant in all the examples shared in this article. When exploring our scapegoating histories we see that our trauma doesn’t just come from the hurtful actions, the cruel words, the painful neglect and humiliations, or the psychological wounds wielded out by family members. Our trauma extends beyond tangible incidents: It permeates our psyches and our physiology…
Scapegoating as Family Betrayal (Video)
Abuse of any type can result in the victim experiencing complex trauma and betrayal trauma, which can in turn lead to dissociation….
The Impact of Disenfranchised Grief on Scapegoat Survivors
Those who were cast in the role of “identified patient” in their dysfunctional or abusive family system are subjected to pains and losses that in many cases have no clearly defined name, and are not even on the radar of the professionals and clinicians brought in to help. Furthermore, the scapegoat’s pains are often ignored, denied and even used against them by those who claim to care about them and love them most…
Scapegoating in Narcissistic vs Dysfunctional Families
Access video discussion on my YouTube channel @beyondfamilyscapegoatingabuse.
Scapegoating and The Fantasy of Vindication and Validation
For many scapegoated adults, the difficult reality is that repair and reunion with their family simply isn’t possible. For some, it is a conscious choice to stay away from their toxic family system as attempting to re-integrate would result in further psycho-emotional injury. Others were unceremoniously ‘ejected’ from their family-of-origin when they began to assert boundaries or call out the abuse, making any type of reconciliation both undesirable and impossible.
Cutting Ties With Scapegoating Family: A Trauma-Informed View
In this week’s article I share one of the biggest myths about going no contact with family and how I handle issues related to ending contact with scapegoating family members in a trauma-informed manner.
Stay tuned…
Based on feedback, this clinically-oriented guest author post will be revised to more directly address narcissism versus abusive narcissism as related to the experiences and treatment needs of family scapegoating abuse survivors. Thank you for your comments and suggestions!