Workshops
Training for Therapists: Understanding Psychological Manipulation and Coercive Control​
Counter offers in-depth workshops for therapists, counsellors, and mental health professionals who want to deepen their understanding of psychological manipulation (PM) and coercive control (CC). Led by Star Spider, a former member of a high-control group and a specialist in recovery and prevention, these workshops offer essential tools for identification, intervention, and recovery.
To book a workshop, please contact us at star@thecounterproject.org.
Identification, Countering, Recovery and Red Flags of Psychological Manipulation and Coercive Control
This full-day (8-hour) training is grounded in Counter’s comprehensive toolkits and enhanced with lived experience, case study analysis, and participatory discussion.
Participants will explore:​
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Signs, stages, and red flags of PM and CC
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Motivations for involvement: community, connection, and purpose
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Steps to intervention and strategies for prevention
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Recovery after exit, including physiological, cognitive, and emotional healing
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Complex topics such as ideology, whistleblowing, false memories, and being born into coercive environments
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A wide range of manipulative relationships and groups, with contemporary and historical examples
The workshop includes in-depth case studies throughout, offering space to reflect, ask questions, and learn directly from field experience.​
Learning Outcomes
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Define and distinguish psychological manipulation and coercive control
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Identify behavioural patterns and warning signs
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Understand the stages of involvement and reasons for exit
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Learn targeted intervention techniques
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Explore prevention through community, education, and meaning-making
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Gain practical tools for recovery and support
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Engage with complex ethical and diagnostic challenges
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Build confidence supporting survivors and their loved ones
Format & Delivery Options
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Online via Zoom
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In-Person at your organization’s space (must include screen and sound setup)
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In-Person (rented venue) for an additional fee
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Workshops can be delivered in one full day (approx. 8 hours) or broken into shorter sessions over multiple days.
Pricing
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$200 per person
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Minimum fee: $1,000
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For groups over 5 participants, the rate drops to $150 per additional person
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All participants receive PDF toolkits, certificates of completion for CE credit and access to resource lists.
About the Facilitator
Star Spider is a philosopher, educator, and survivor of a high-control group. With over a decade of experience studying psychological manipulation and coercive control (PM and CC), she brings a blend of lived experience, academic insight, and practical tools to her work.
Star is the founder of Counter, an organization dedicated to prevention, education, and recovery from PM and CC. Star holds a degree in philosophy with a minor in psychology from Toronto Metropolitan University and has designed university-level courses on various topics.
Her workshops draw from research, real-world case studies, and personal insight, offering participants a grounded, compassionate, and deeply informed approach to this complex and urgent field.
Ready to bring this training to your team?
To book a workshop, please contact us at star@thecounterproject.org.