Some children have learned that survival is suppression. They sit quietly and say nothing happened, or that it wasn’t that bad. And family court professionals falsely assume everything is okay.  Custody shifts and children are stuck in unsafe homes.  But silence is not safety. Denial is not the truth. What looks like a child protecting a parent is far more often a child protecting themselves from further abuse and neglect.  They are the ones that have to go home to this paren

In family court, one of the most damaging confusions is between a victim of abuse and a person with a victim mentality. On the surface, both may appear distressed, reactive, or emotional. But psychologically, they operate from completely different places, one from survival, the other from manipulation. Understanding this difference isn’t just semantic. It determines whose voice gets believed, whose evidence gets minimized, and whose narrative shapes the court’s perception of

Divorcing someone who operates through coercive control isn’t a “high-conflict divorce.” It’s not two people struggling to communicate or...

Family courts are often viewed as protectors of children’s best interests. Yet, despite their good intentions, they sometimes get it...