Coercive Control Course
Taking Mei-Ling’s course was a transformative experience. As both a survivor and someone who works professionally with protective mothers navigating the legal system, this training was not only validating personally—it was empowering professionally.
The course helped me put a name to many of the tactics I experienced and have witnessed in my clients’ cases. Coercive control is often invisible to outsiders and difficult to articulate, especially in court. Mei-Ling’s training broke these dynamics down in a way that was accessible, evidence-based, and practical.
One of the biggest takeaways for me was realizing how many victims struggle to describe their abuse simply because they don’t have the language or framework. This training made it clear how vital it is to give survivors tools to name their experiences. The toolkit workbook is equally impactful—structured, easy to follow, and trauma-informed.
I would highly recommend this training to any protective mother, advocate, or professional working in family court system. This training is something that I believe can change how coercive control is recognized, understood, and ultimately addressed in legal proceedings— C.G.
Testimonials
“I recently had the opportunity to take Mei-Ling Ellerman’s course on coercive control, and I cannot recommend it enough for survivors of domestic violence.
This course is incredibly insightful, breaking down the complexities of coercive control in a way that is both educational and empowering. Mei-Ling’s expertise and compassionate approach provide a safe space to understand the patterns of abuse that often go unnoticed but have lasting impacts.
For survivors, this course is not just informative it’s validating. It sheds light on the psychological and emotional aspects of abuse, helping individuals recognize the signs and reclaim their power. Most importantly, it highlights the significance of the new coercive control law, which is a critical step in protecting survivors from further violence and holding abusers accountable.
If you or someone you know has experienced domestic violence, I highly recommend taking this course. The knowledge gained here can truly be life-changing. Thank you, Mei-Ling, for your dedication to advocating for and educating survivors!” --N
This workshop is filled with concise, clear material that helped me with personal healing, as well as, strategizing boundaries for myself as I limit my relationship with my ex/ the father of my children. Mei-Ling’s compilation of material reflects hours of her work and was compelling for waking me from my stupor that “it is fine” or “not so bad.” Please take this course. It’s important for us to wake up to the power inequality that has produced coercive control in the toolbox of too many domestic relationships. I needed this course and am still digesting all that I learned!” --J.
The coercive control training was worthwhile for me. It validated a lot of what I've been through and helped me pick up on behaviors that I didn't realize fit into the larger pattern. It also put new things on my radar, especially about what my children have gone through, and offered concrete ways to support their healing and build skills around critical thinking. Some of the material is heavy and it takes something out of you to go that deep, but Mei-Ling delivers it in a calm, clear way, which helped. I learned some tips on how to use what I learned to frame my narrative for court. Mei-Ling is very organized and well researched and I have already been referring back to the slides she prepared. She is responsive to participants' contributions, requests for what to cover in the training, and even requests outside of the training. I admire her using her skill set to contribute to the evidence base around coercive control so that there will be more recent publications for women to cite. --A
Course on Coercive Control for Women
COERCIVE CONTROL COURSE
Please check the hours for each day as they may differ. I will send the zoom link to participants ahead of time before each day of training. Please also read the FAQS.
Summary of Class Dates/Times
Class 1: Coercive Control over the Protective Parent
Tuesday Sept. 9 10-2pm
(4 hours including 1/2 hour lunch break)
Class 2: Participant Introduction and Sharing Session
Wed. Sept. 10 10-11:30am
( 1.5 hours)
Class 3: How Abusive Parents Manipulate Systems and Discredit and Silence Protective Parents
Friday Sept. 12 10-12 noon
(2 hours)
Class 4: Coercive Control over Children
Tuesday Sept. 16 10-2pm
(4 hours including 1/2 hour lunch break)
Class 5: Intro to Challenging Coercive Control Workbook and Session on Legislative Advocacy
Tuesday Sept. 23 10-12pm
(2 hours)
Class 6: Q&A and Workbook Review
Tuesday Sept. 30 10:30-12 noon (1.5 hours)
Detailed Class Schedule
Class 1: Coercive Control over the Protective Parent
Tuesday Sept. 9 10-2pm
(4 hours including 1/2 hr lunch break)
This training will introduce you to the coercive control model, which explains an abusive parent’s motivation, and all their seemingly confusing and contradictory abusive and controlling behavior. You will learn about how and why abusive parents use tactics of coercive control to disguise their abuse; victim-blame; harm the survivors; erode their independence, sense of safety, and self-identity; coerce them into changing their behavior; remove resources that would help them escape the relationship; and damage the protective parent’s ability to recognize the abuse for what it is. We will study the most common forms of coercive control over women and how they work, in order to help you identify and describe them.
Class 2: Participant Introduction and Sharing Session
Wed. Sept. 10 10-11:30am
( 1.5 hours)
Following the introductory class, this session offers participants the opportunity to meet up and share their experiences. If they wish, they can start to use the coercive control language to frame their experiences, to find commonalities, and learn from each other.
Class 3: How Abusive Parents Manipulate Systems and Discredit and Silence Protective Parents
Friday Sept. 12 10-12 noon
(2 hrs)
This class will help you to understand the bigger picture, and how an abusive parent uses tactics to discredit and silence the protective parent within systems such as the Court or schools. We will study these tactics, which include allegations of DARVO and parental alienation, and the use of gender bias and a protective parent’s own trauma responses. Participants will learn how abusers are often “invisible” to the systems while they blame their victims, which not only allows the abuse to continue unchecked but elevates the risk of losing custody. Understanding these abusive tactics will help to identify and reframe them as part of your narrative.
Class 4: Coercive Control over Children
Tuesday Sept. 16 10-2pm (4 hours including 1/2 hr lunch break)
For this class, we will study how an abusive parent’s tactics are used against the children, both pre- and post-separation. We will also look at how psychological abuse and undermining parent-child relations work, which includes attempts to ally the children with the abuser. Participants will learn about signs of children’s trauma, the risks that the abuser presents, and aspects of law pertinent to custody and coercive control. Finally, we will explore ways to support children who experience coercive control.
Class 5: Intro to Challenging Coercive Control Workbook and Session on Legislative Advocacy
Tuesday Sept. 23 10-12 noon (2 hours)
This class will introduce the workbook, a valuable resource, which you can use to identify and pull together your experiences of coercive control. There are guiding questions to help you think through each form of control, sections for you to create narratives for yourself and your children, and additional sections to help you strategize and think through DARVO attempts to silence you in different venues. After the class, you will be sent the workbook. I will also present on how coercive control legislation was passed in MA, to help participants who want to advocate for protective legislation in their own states.
Class 6: Q&A and Workbook Review
Tuesday Sept. 30 10:30-12 noon (1.5 hours)
After you have completed the five classes and had the opportunity to start working through the toolkit, you will have 1.5 hours to ask Dr. Ellerman your questions, and we will talk about how to apply what you have learned. You will also learn a great deal from the discussion.
Sept. 2025 Course fee: $550
This 6-class course will educate survivors about coercive control, so they can use their knowledge to advocate for themselves and their children. Instead of relying on experts, lawyers, or coaches to identify the complex forms of abuse then create their narratives and arguments for them, the protective parents themselves must be trained. Because coercive control is such a new legal concept in the US, most legal professionals may understand how coercive control is defined, but have not yet developed the ability to help their clients identify subtle patterns of abuse and the resulting non-physical harms to both the safe parent and children. If protective parents are trained, they can bring their narratives and counter-strategies to help the professionals working on their case. No one else will work harder on their case and with more care than the safe parent, only they truly understand what is at stake.
The course will be taught live over Zoom and will not be recorded for safety purposes. A portion of the fee for the training will go towards funding coercive control research, education, and advocacy efforts. We are testing a new price—for a limited time, we are taking $150 off the course price, and have added 5 more class hours. Participants who purchase the 14 hour course, for the equivalent cost of hiring a lawyer for one hour, will gain a solid, practical, and detailed foundation in coercive control that they can then use to educate, advocate, protect, and heal.
What documents will the participants receive?
The Challenging Coercive Control Toolkit Workbook which will retail for $69, you will receive for free
Detailed PPT slides from each class
List of forms of coercive control and examples
Exercises that we complete in class, which help you to think through coercive control
What are the 6 class dates? The first week there are three meetings, one is more optional, then the last three classes meet once a week. Sept. 9 (Tuesday), Sept. 10 (Wed), Sept. 12 (Friday), Sept. 16 (Tuesday), Sept. 23 (Tuesday), Sept. 30 (Tuesday).
How do I sign up for the training? Click on the button below the course description to join the course. You will be asked to provide some background information which will help me to customize the classes, and to keep the course a safe and empowering space for the participants.
One Day Training
This is a 4-hour training created for women whose current or former partners are abusive and controlling. It will explain the coercive control model, the many varied forms of abuse and control used against survivors, and the impacts. I will also discuss the favored tactics used by abusers post-separation, such as DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender). The training will give you a foundation for understanding and describing your experiences of pre- and post-separation abuse and control.
This will be a lecture format, 4 hours with a 30 min break. You will also receive a list of forms of coercive control with definitions and examples, which you can use to compare with your and your children’s experiences to create a narrative.
This training is provided periodically. If you are interested, please contact me directly at dvresearchadvocacy@gmail.com
1 Day Training Fee: $200
FAQs for Coercive Control Course
Who is this course for? This course is for women, who are the majority of survivors of coercive control, but I also invite non-binary/genderqueer individuals and trans men to participate.
Safety: The course will be taught live for safety reasons, and will not be recorded. Each participant is asked to fill out a brief survey which will gather information about their interests and which will help screen out those who are not protective parents.
What have you done to make your course more accessible?
I am testing a significant reduction in the cost of the course, and offer a limited number of scholarships for survivors based on severe financial hardship, likely as a result of coercive control. Please write to me directly if you need a scholarship.
How many courses will you offer this year?
I will likely teach 3-6 courses over the next year, depending on the demands of my research.
FAQs for 1 Day Training
This 4-hour training will not be recorded, it will be taught live over zoom. The number of participants is limited to 75. I offer a few scholarship spots based on financial need. Please contact me directly.