Child and mother sabotage – or CAMS – is a different way to describe a form of coercive control where dads try to alienate children from their mothers. It’s sort of parental alienation adjacent, but it’s important to be careful when you use the words parental alienation. While I recognize that parents can and do...
What is child and mother sabotage?
If you’re asking whether he’s gaslighting you, the answer is almost certainly yes. Right? I mean, when it comes to abusers, nothing is up to chance. It’s intentional and he’s doing it on purpose. It’s designed to impact you in the most cruel way possible. The thing about gaslighting is that it often happens in...
With so much technology nowadays, stalking is just … too easy. We see a lot of devices used to keep track of partners (or former partners), but there’s also good, old-fashioned, boots-on-the-ground stalking, too. So, what can you do? Well, it depends on the behaviors. And, I should also mention, before we get too...
Emotionally, going through a divorce or custody case (or, worse, a divorce AND custody case) is easily one of the most difficult things that you will face in your adult life. Many therapists even liken the experience of going through divorce to a death – it’s just that traumatic. Even a good divorce –...
I don’t want to be accused of being dramatic, at least not where divorce and safety is concerned. I totally get that this probably isn’t a topic that you want to discuss, but if yours has been a difficult marriage, it’s a good idea to move forward keeping your safety in mind. You absolutely should...
It’s October again, which means that it’s domestic violence awareness month. Before I started working in family law, I’m not sure I realized how prevalent domestic violence actually is. It’s not all dramatic cases where there are protective orders, either. I can’t get over – even now, after over 12 years in practice –...
There are not many things scarier than finding yourself in an abusive situation – except, of course, if you have minor children who are surrounded by it, too. Once you decide that it’s not getting better and it’s time to do something about it, you probably started researching protective orders. In Virginia, there are...
Everyone wants an aggressive attorney. A pit bull. A shark. Those are the terms I hear the most often. “Someone who’ll fight for me,” they say. I get it! Obviously, when you hire an attorney, you want to feel like that person is cool and confident, and will have your back in any situation. ...