‘Abuse and Trauma’ at Psychology, Philosophy and Real Life, Page 5

How does it happen that intelligent people stay with abusive therapists or self development leaders or healers for so long, becoming more and more dependent, and giving them more and more money?

Therapy creates a situation in which someone by definition in distress or wanting to change meets a professional who says they have the knowledge and skills to help the other, and thus charges money for a service, which is extremely hard to define. The power differential is built in and the potential for abuse is great.

Dr Carver’s thoughts — and his thoughtful replies — on manipulators and controllers in relationships continue to resonate with our readers. It seems that experience with this type of behaviour (‘loser’ behaviour, for short) is widespread, and consistent themes are being reported by people from all walks of life. This thread continues the discussion.

We sure didn’t foresee that a couple of blog posts about Dr Joe Carver’s article called ‘Are You Dating a Loser?’ would wind up attracting some 260 comments from readers. But now that we’ve had to split the discussion thread 4 times — and brought Dr Carver on board as Consulting Clinical Psychologist with his own regular column — we’re pretty sure he’s on to something.

That’s according to CounsellingResource.com readers, many of whom have found themselves in relationships with what psychologist Dr Joseph Carver has dubbed “The Loser”. With over 170 comments, Dr Carver’s article about The Loser has become one of our most popular; we’re opening up a new discussion thread for readers interested in Dr Carver’s insights.