This article was originally published on Psych Central as an advance preview of my book on family scapegoating abuse (FSA), Rejected, Shamed, and Blamed. To comply with Amazon’s publishing requirements, I am no longer able to offer portions of my book for free online. Visit my blog to see more articles on family scapegoating and…
FSA Educational Articles
DARVO to the 100th Power…
As the world watches in horror, Vladimir Putin provides us with an astounding example of Dr. Jennifer Freyd’s brilliant concept of ‘DARVO’, (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender), which I wrote about in a recent article. This is an excerpt from an article today in Reuters: Russia continued its assault on Ukraine Sunday morning on…
FSA Recovery Coaching Training for Licensed Therapists and Certified Coaches
FSA RECOVERY COACHING TRAININGFor Licensed Therapists & Certified Coaches FSA RECOVERY COACHING TRAINING WITH REBECCA C. MANDEVILLE, MFT Dear Practitioner: I am currently in the process of putting together online training courses on what I named Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA). I hope to have the initial courses available in 2023. If you’d like me to email…
To Meet Publishing Requirements, This Free Preview Chapter From My Book ‘Rejected, Shamed, and Blamed’ Is No Longer Available
Visit my blog to read more articles on family scapegoating. -Rebecca C. Mandeville
DARVO and Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA): When the Abused Are Revictimized by Their Abuser
One of the more baffling and incomprehensible aspects of being scapegoated by family is being the target of mentally and emotionally abusive behaviors; reacting to the abuse appropriately (e.g., expressing hurt, confusion, anger, setting boundaries, etc), and then discovering that the person who committed the harmful or abusive acts views themselves as the victim – not the one they harmed.
The Healing Power of a ‘Victim Impact Statement’ for FSA Survivors
As you consider how being the victim of family scapegoating abuse has changed your life, you may use the following suggestions and questions to guide you. Do be aware that thinking and writing about something so painful may be difficult for you. Pace yourself and don’t feel that you need to complete your FSA Victim Impact Statement in one sitting…
When Your Family Invalidates Your Experiences of Abuse and Complex Trauma
It is difficult enough to bear the burden of traumatic childhood experiences and its long-term physical, emotional, and mental effects. For adult survivors of family scapegoating abuse (FSA), this difficulty is magnified by the fact that their reports of abuse or trauma are typically denied, dismissed, and invalidated by their family due to their being in the ‘identified patient’ role…
Your Input Needed for My Next Book on FSA…
As some of you know, I have been busy ‘crunching’ a tremendous amount of data related to qualitative research I have been conducting on what I named family scapegoating abuse (FSA) for over ten years now. I plan to publish a book with my research results in 2022, but also thought this would be a…
10 Strategies for Navigating Holiday Family Gatherings
It is common to have high expectations when thinking of reuniting with family you haven’t seen for a long time. Alternatively, you might fear that your worst expectations will be realized if you get together with nuclear and/or extended family members for a holiday celebration.
Radical Acceptance and Family Scapegoating Abuse Recovery
Many people are familiar with Kubler-Ross’s ‘Five Stages of Grief’, which are Denial; Anger; Bargaining; Depression; Acceptance. In my model for family scapegoating abuse (FSA) recovery (which I will expand upon in an upcoming book), I use the term ‘radical acceptance’ versus ‘acceptance’ to describe a late-stage healing concept that is critical to the FSA adult survivor’s full recovery from systemic family abuse.