Welcome to Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) Education™
I’m Rebecca C. Mandeville, the world’s leading expert on the insidious systemic phenomenon
I named Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA).
Website undergoing revisions but you’re encouraged to take a look around as I prepare for the launch
of my new online educational programs with community peer-support features.
“You’re not a broken person.
You’re a person in a broken system.”Rebecca C. Mandeville, LMFT, CCTP
Understanding the FSA Dynamic
About Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA)
FSA stands for Family Scapegoating Abuse, a form of systemic psycho-emotional abuse that occurs within dysfunctional family units. In this dynamic, one family member, the ‘scapegoat’, is unfairly singled out, blamed, and shamed for all of the family’s internal problems, dysfunctions, and hidden anxiety.
the Function of the Scapegoat
The scapegoat serves as a psycho-emotional “pressure valve” for the dysfunctional or narcissistic family system, diverting attention away from the real underlying issues such as addiction, mental illness, intergenerational trauma, and/or personality disorders impacting the system and its family members, including parents.
- The Role Is Assigned, Not Earned: The individual does not do anything inherently wrong to deserve this treatment. The role is unconsciously assigned to them by ‘the system’, often based on arbitrary factors like birth order or being the Empath “truth teller” who challenges the family’s denial.
- A “False Narrative” Is Created: The family unconsciously colludes to create and then support a false, defamatory story (the “scapegoat narrative'”) about the targeted individual, labeling them as “the problem” (e.g., “difficult,” “crazy,” or “a liar”).
- Mechanisms of Abuse: FSA as a dynamic is an insidious and invisible form of systemic psycho-emotional abuse. It can be both overt and subtle, and often involves constant criticism, invalidation and reality distortion (gaslighting), isolation, and emotional neglect. In some cases, FSA can involve physical and/or sexual abuse.
Effects and Recovery
Being the target of FSA can have profound and long-lasting psychological and emotional effects, often leading to Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), betrayal trauma, toxic shame, Impostor Syndrome, depression, and anxiety, as revealed by my original research. Survivors typically struggle with self-doubt, low self-esteem, and have difficulty forming healthy boundaries and satisfying relationships in adulthood.
Recovering from the destructive impact of family scapegoating abuse typically involves first recognizing this form of systemic abuse, understanding that the blame was systemic and not personal, and seeking trauma-informed therapy and FSA-savvy peer-support communities.
Breaking free from the cycle of chronic, complex systemic relational abuse and attendant trauma involves setting firm boundaries that prioritize self-care, which may include minimal or no contact with scapegoating family members.
FSA Recovery Architecture
Thirty years ago, while working at the heart of Silicon Valley’s high-tech sector, I identified a profound symmetry that traditional psychology had overlooked: Family systems operate similarly to database architectures. I recognized that the ‘Family Scapegoat’ is trapped in a Relational Model, forced to serve as a repository for systemic ‘data’ that isn’t theirs. I developed a Systemic Migration process to move survivors into an ‘Object-Oriented’ state of being—what I call an ‘Encapsulated’ or ‘Inviolate’ Self. This is my original framework for recovery: moving from a ‘Functional’ existence to an Encapsulated one.
— Mandeville Theory of Systemic Identity Architecture (Mandeville, 1998)™
Read my book on FSA, Rejected, Shamed, and Blamed, to learn more.
Scroll down to learn about my unique FSA Recovery Model
From Shattered To Sovereign
Introducing The Kintsugi Self-Integration Method™
A Trauma-Informed Pathway to Deep Healing for Survivors of Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA)
Reconstructing Identity & Restoring the Integral Self
Kintsugi Self-Integration Method for FSA Recovery™
The Migration Path: From Relational Scapegoating to Sovereignty
If the family system is a legacy database that has “broken” your identity into relational fragments, recovery requires a total Systemic Migration.
This is where the Kintsugi Self-Integration Method for FSA Recovery™ begins. By applying the logic of Encapsulation, we identify and delete the corrupted narrative—those malicious “data packets” of labels, blame, and shame injected into your system by the legacy family database. We recognize that this data is not your true Source Code.
In the Japanese art of Kintsugi, broken pottery is mended with gold, making the repaired vessel more beautiful and resilient than the original. In my FSA recovery architecture, this is not a metaphor—it is a method.
FSA survivors have had their ‘original vessel’ (their self-identity) shattered by the family system’s ‘corrupted data.’ Most traditional therapies try to glue the old pieces (’parts’) back together, but the cracks remain weak. The constant management and negotiation with repressed or ‘split-off’ sub-personalities can be exhausting—it is a direct internal mirror of the hyper-vigilant ‘damage control’ we once used to survive dangerous family members.
Through the Golden Joinery of self-integration, we instead take the fractured pieces of your relational past and re-integrate them into a singular, Encapsulated or Inviolate Self. This is a state where your identity is no longer a “record” in a toxic system, but a Sovereign Object: self-contained, self-defined, and structurally protected from external overwrites. This is a structured path to reclaiming your Sovereign Reality: the process of returning to the core, Inviolate Self you have always been—the person you were before your family system attempted to co-opt and define you.
Whether you are just beginning to name your experience or are ready to dismantle the final layers of a ‘scapegoat narrative’ that was never a reflection of you, I invite you to engage with this work more deeply. You can find the clinical foundations of my framework in my book, or you can join me on Substack for ongoing FSA-focused transmissions and archival insights. By staying connected there, you will be the first to receive priority notification when our new online education community platform launches—a dedicated space for those ready to move from ‘recovery’ into an experience of their full, integral self.
Stay in touch to be notified of my free introductory 7-day FSA Healing Protocol, coming in early 2026. It’s the perfect way to familiarize yourself with my unique FSA Recovery pathway as I help you heal from the Outside-In. (Regarding the Kintsugi Self-Integration Method™: My 12-course Kintsugi Identity Reconstruction and Self Restoration™ two-part online course bundles for scapegoat survivors will be released by 2027.)
Take the one-page FSA questionnaire (self-test) to see if you may have been impacted by FSA; then ensure you’re notified of my upcoming launch dates by joining me on my Substack. You can also scroll down to grab a copy of my free ‘FSA Education Guide’ below – it’s a website you can bookmark and share with others, including any health professionals you work with who may benefit from knowing about FSA and its physical and psycho-emotional effects.
Begin the process of Integral Self Restoration
Introductory ‘Quick-Start’ Guide on FSA
I don’t just research and write about Family Scapegoating Abuse – I’ve lived it. I therefore know on an experiential level how devastating this form of ‘invisible’ abuse can be. But healing from FSA’s soul-crushing effects IS possible! Below is my free introductory guide on FSA – a website you can bookmark and share with others.
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The Inviolate Self Project™
From Shattered to Sovereign.
Coming in 2027
Kintsugi Identity Reconstruction & Self Restoration™ Launch