Cults, Culture & Coercion with Dr. Steve Hassan Understanding Coercive Control in Families with Dr. Christine Cocchiola
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Sep 16, 2024 Dr. Christine Cocchiola, a tenured social work professor and licensed clinical social worker who studies coercive control, discusses authoritarian family dynamics and nonviolent abuse. She explains gaslighting, parental indoctrination, trauma bonds, and how abusers weaponize children. The conversation highlights assessing coercive patterns, repairing fractured attachments, and survivor stories from her book Framed.
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Long Hidden Abuse Despite Expertise
- Dr. Christine Cocchiola stayed married to an abuser for nearly 28 years before recognizing coercive control.
- She taught domestic abuse but didn't identify her own situation because it lacked obvious physical violence.
Coercive Control Beyond Physical Violence
- Coercive control often operates without overt physical violence yet still aims to exert power and control.
- It uses gaslighting, intimidation, stalking, and other tactics to erode autonomy.
Assess The Human Environment Immediately
- Assess every client or couple for the human environment and coercive dynamics at intake.
- If clinicians miss that context, they miss the core of the presenting problems.
