"Engel doesn't just describe-she shows us the way out."
-Susan Forward, author of Emotional Blackmail Praise for the emotionally abusive relationship
"In this book, Beverly Engel clearly and with caring offers step-by-step strategies to stop emotional abuse. . . helping both victims and abusers to identify the patterns of this painful and traumatic type of abuse. This book is a guide both for individuals and for couples stuck in the tragic patterns of emotional abuse."
-Marti Loring, Ph.D., author of Emotional Abuse
and coeditor of The Journal of Emotional Abuse
"This groundbreaking book succeeds in helping people stop emotional abuse by focusing on both the abuser and the abused and showing each party what emotional abuse is, how it affects the relationship, and how to stop it. Its unique focus on the dynamic relationship makes it more likely that each person will grasp the tools for change and really use them."
-Randi Kreger, author of The Stop Walking on Eggshells Workbook
and owner of BPDCentral.com
The number of people who become involved with partners who abuse them emotionally and/or who are emotionally abusive themselves is phenomenal, and yet emotional abuse is the least understood form of abuse. In this breakthrough book, Beverly Engel, one of the world's leading experts on the subject, shows us what it is and what to do about it.
Whether you suspect you are being emotionally abused, fear that you might be emotionally abusing your partner, or think that both you and your partner are emotionally abusing each other, this book is for you. The Emotionally Abusive Relationship will tell you how to identify emotional abuse and how to find the roots of your behavior. Combining dramatic personal stories with action steps to heal, Engel provides prescriptive strategies that will allow you and your partner to work together to stop bringing out the worst in each other and stop the abuse.
By teaching those who are being emotionally abused how to help themselves and those who are being emotionally abusive how to stop abusing, The Emotionally Abusive Relationship offers the expert guidance and support you need.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments. Introduction.
Part One: Identifying and Understanding Emotional Abuse.
1. Emotional Abuse?The Destroyer of Relationships.
2. Patterns of Abuse.
3. Not All Emotionally Abusive Relationships Are Alike.
4. Patterns That Begin in Childhood: Why We Abuse and Why We Take It.
Part Two: Stopping the Abuse.
5. Action Steps for Those Being Abused.
6. Action Steps for the Abusive Partner.
7. Action Steps for the Abusive Couple.
8. When Your Partner Has a Personality Disorder.
9. When Your Abusiveness Stems from Your Personality Disorder.
Part Three: Where Do You Go from Here?
10. Should You Stay or Should You Leave?
11. Preventing Emotional Abuse in the Future.
12. Continuing to Recover.
Epilogue.
References.
Further Reading.
Websites and Chat Rooms.
Index.
About the Author :
BEVERLY ENGEL is an internationally recognized therapist with an expertise in abuse, women's issues, relationships, and sexuality. She is the author of several nonfiction books, including Loving Him without Losing You, Honor Your Anger, The Power of Apology, and The Emotionally Abused Woman. Engel has appeared on many national television shows, including Oprah, Donahue, Ricki Lake, Sally Jessy Raphael, and others.
