Dr. Jill Ricke contributed the following:
Dr. Jill Ricke, a licensed Psychologist in private practice discusses the psychological and emotional abuse that the psychopath inflicts on their victims. The physical abuse that occurs to victims of domestic violence has been highly publicized and readily available to the public over the past ten to fifteen years following the high profile murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and the ensuing trial of OJ Simpson. The emotional and psychological abuse in domestic violence is typically paired with physical violence, however the psychopathic individual relies on the psychological abuse to control and manipulate their victims. Often, there is no physical abuse from the psychopath which makes it difficult for the victim to perceive the psychological or emotional abuse as “abuse.”
When involved in a relationship with a psychopath the initial stages of the relationship are very different from what you would expect in an abusive relationship. The psychopath will find a vulnerable person and CHARM them, (charm is a learned behavior used to hide something that they do not want you to find out) treat them like gold, tell them wonderful things like how beautiful they are, how lucky they are to have found them, etc. The charming behavior distracts a person from cues that might otherwise alert you to the underlying personality disorder. After the psychopath is assured that their victim is totally in love with them, the abuse starts very slowly and gradually builds in frequency and violence.
The Q & A of this session will address and identify the types of psychological and emotional abuse that the psychopath inflicts on its victims.