A checklist detailing techniques used by abusers to enforce compliance, based on Albert Biderman's framework for understanding coercive methods.
Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
An editable Microsoft PowerPoint version of the resource.
This resource presents coercive techniques used by abusers to manipulate their victims into compliance. Drawing upon the framework developed by psychologist Albert Biderman, originally aimed at understanding methods used by foreign armies to extract false confessions, this tool is applicable to various forms of psychological abuse. Victims of domestic violence and childhood abuse frequently report these methods being used against them, and discussion with traumatized clients can help to reduce experiences of self-blame.
Therapists benefit from understanding coercive methods as they work with individuals experiencing psychological or physical abuse. This resource provides:
Victims coerced through manipulation and control.
Survivors dealing with past coercive environments.
Individuals subjected to control by their partners.
Victims of various coercive circumstances without specific diagnostic labels.
Use as a psychoeducational tool to inform clients about coercive techniques.
Utilize the checklist for evaluating the client's experiences with coercive control.
Initiate therapeutic conversations using the examples provided.
Encourage clients to reflect on their experiences and the impact of these techniques.
Albert Biderman’s framework for understanding coercive control was originally developed in the 1950s to explain how prisoners of war were manipulated into giving false confessions. Biderman identified a systematic set of techniques designed to break down resistance, increase compliance, and create dependence on the captor. These methods — such as isolation, degradation, exhaustion, and the enforcement of trivial demands — were not random acts of cruelty, but deliberate psychological strategies with clear objectives.
Since then, Biderman’s model has been widely applied beyond the context of wartime captivity, particularly in the fields of trauma therapy, domestic abuse, and forensic psychology. Contemporary research confirms that the same mechanisms appear in abusive domestic relationships, cults, trafficking situations, and emotionally manipulative family systems. Abusers use these techniques to create confusion, undermine autonomy, and cultivate emotional dependence, making it harder for victims to leave or recognize their treatment as abuse.
Therapists working with survivors of coercive environments often find that clients struggle with self-blame, minimization of their experiences, and internalized shame. Psychoeducation about coercive methods can be transformative — it helps clients understand that their responses were shaped by manipulative systems rather than personal weakness or consent.
