Q: My boyfriend and I have lived together for nearly five years. He doesn’t seem to fit the accepted profile of an “abuser.” He isn’t jealous and doesn’t seek to isolate me or control money. Still, he is verbally abusive, and his temper is genuinely terrifying: he throws/smashes things. He has hit me once, after [...]

Q: I need to know if my therapist (LCSW) is being abusive. Here are some of the things she’s done that make me think this might be the case. She diagnosed my immediate family members with Narcissistic Personality Disorder without ever having met them. In many sessions, she has said things like “Your mother doesn’t [...]

Q: I am incredibly guilty and shameful about something. I have been with my boyfriend for 2 years. Before him, I had a very unhealthy dating life which really scarred me for life. I love my boyfriend more than I ever imagined I could love anyone. We are planning on getting married very soon. We’ve [...]

Q: I am a 30-year-old married woman with a Histrionic mother. My mom wasn’t always as bad as she is now, but after I moved out on my own at age 24 she has become really crazy. I don’t know what to do or where to turn anymore. My husband has had it with her, [...]

Q: I am from the Philippines, and as a child I was outgoing and friendly. I used to have a lot of playmates, and I even played in the streets without concern until late. Then, one day on a vacation, my cousin did something unimaginable to me while I lay down next to his bed [...]

Q: Over the past few months, I have found myself either submerged in depression or consumed with anger over issues that would appear inane to most people. For instance, I got irritated when a friend who learned that I was jogging again suddenly decided to take it up, too. And my painstakingly-planned holiday became the [...]

Q: My mother-in-law is a very cunning woman, and she has weird personality traits. She is generally very sweet to outsiders and showers them with unnecessary praise. And she never says anything bad to me directly. However, she makes me feel like an outsider in my own house. She is obsessive-compulsive about cooking and housework, [...]