Reasons to Support the Aftermath Foundation

We are working to reduce the impact of people with psychopathic traits on others. We provide help to people who are trying to recover from experiences of abuse in relationships with psychopathic people. We provide information to help people spot those with psychopathy to help people avoid traumatic relationships. We have heard from many people that just recognizing that another person’s behavior fits a recognized pattern can help them to make sense out of that person’s behavior. Such a discovery can be important in figuring out that you are not going crazy; someone is really doing these confusing, demoralizing, and abusive things to you.

We help people at multiple levels. We try to help by providing accurate information about psychopathy, by publicizing some of the key research findings that can help you understand what might be happening to you, and to share what scientists have learned about treating psychopathy. We publish summaries of research articles, we solicit direct information from researchers, and we have (occasional) conversations with researchers where they share their work and its implications. Moreover, we provide translations of this information (as we can) in 15 different languages.

In addition to these kinds of resources, we provide several other kinds of resources on our website, from posts about how to cope with people with psychopathic traits, to answers to important questions about psychopathy (e.g., can psychopathy be identified in childhood), to direct reports from those who have survived these relationships. These posts, Through the Eyes of Survivors, speak directly about people’s lived experiences. In addition, we host a Survivors’ Forum, a place where you can read about what others have written, pose questions for the community, and talk directly with people who are likely to understand what you have gone through. Keep in mind that we do not allow people to post using their own names because not everyone who goes to the internet has your best interests at heart! We take protecting your privacy very seriously, so we do ask that you generate a username that is not easily connected with your name and address before you can use the forms.

We also help people even more directly. Our Help Committee answers questions people send us, tries to help people to use the website (and forum), and makes referrals to mental health professionals who understand psychopathy. Keeping in mind that we are not always able to find a suitable professional in your area, we do our best, and we do not charge any fees for this work.

As noted elsewhere (see President’s report), we have also begun providing support groups for survivors of abusive relationships with people with psychopathy. Our impressions from those who have attended is that these groups are extremely valuable to the survivors who participate. Even though every case of abuse is unique, and everyone brings a unique set of strengths and weaknesses to all their relationships, people who have been victimized by people with psychopathy also have something in common (including how they have been mistreated and manipulated). Yet so many victims and survivors feel completely alone, and it can be very valuable to see that there are others out there struggling with some similar issues. We also do not charge money for these support groups.

Even so, we do have bills to pay. We have to pay for insurance so that we can provide these programs. We also pay for web hosting and for the plug-ins that make our website work. In addition, we have bills related to the distribution of our newsletter, and for the videos on our website. If you appreciate the value of the work we are doing (and you can afford it), please consider supporting us.