The Abuser's Playbook- A Workshop on Protecting Yourself

Join us for a workshop on what every woman needs to know about red flags when dating, how to protect yourself during marriage and how to navigate divorce.

Learn more with coercive control expert and therapist Dr. Christine Cocchiola and divorce coach/ journalist Amy Polacko authors of "FRAMED:Women in the Family Court Underworld!"

Christine Marie Cocchiola, DSW, LCSW is an expert on the experiences of adult and child victims of coercive control. She is a college professor teaching social work for over twenty years, and has been a social justice advocate since the age of nineteen, volunteering for a local domestic violence/sexual assault agency. She received her doctorate in clinical social work from New York University, working under the tutelage of Dr. Evan Stark researching the experiences of adult and child victims of coercive control. As a protective parent and researcher, she has utilized her clinical expertise as a trauma trained therapist creating programs to educate protective parents, attorneys, court professionals, coaches, and advocates. Her Protective Parenting Program guides protective parents on fortifying their attachment with children harmed by an abusive parent. She educates on these topics on her YouTube channel and as a host of the Perfect Prey Podcast. Dr. C is an invited guest, speaking internationally on the topic of coercive control and also testifies in support of legislation for the protections of adult and child victims of coercive control. She makes her home in Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills. Follow Dr. C on IG @dr.cocchiola_coercivecontrol. Learn more about Dr. C here: www.coercivecontrolconsulting.com.

Amy Polacko is an award-winning journalist, investigative reporter, and divorce coach who survived a narcissist nightmare. After her own experience, she formed Freedom Warrior Coaching to become the guide she wished she had. Amy earned a Master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of Journalism and was part of the Pulitzer Prize winning reporting team covering the TWA Flight 800 crash for Newsday. She has coached hundreds of women going through divorce, runs a support group and writes for national news outlets about coercive control, domestic abuse, divorce, online dating, and singlehood. Her work has been featured in HuffPost, Ms. Magazine, The Washington Post, Newsweek, NBC News, The Independent, and Observer. Amy helps women take their power back before, during, and after divorce. She created a digital course “Divorce Decoded” to educate divorcing women about the process, warnings about family court, how to divorce a narcissist, and tips for avoiding devastating mistakes. Learn more about Amy here: www.freedomwarrior.info

Like all Southbury Public Library programs, this event is free to attend and open to anyone regardless of town of residency. Registration is required.. For more information about this program, please email Rebecca at rrandall@biblio.org or call the reference desk at 203-262-0626 ext 2.