The following is a list of places to check out for information on abuse of all kinds. I have attempted to place an emphasis on emotional abuse, simply because I was hard-pressed to find information on it originally, and I wanted to gather what I could into one place. I have also included a book list, as well as a couple of newsgroups that I have found useful in recovery. As I mentioned, however, I am not a mental health professional. I am a layperson who wanted to learn more about a subject which directly concerned her, and I am providing this information for laypeople who have the same idea. I am NOT a healer, nor am I anyone's therapist, nor would I even presume to be.

Given those disclaimers, I hope the information here presented proves useful.

Web Sites

• Blain Nelson's Webpages on Abuse
• SafetyNet Domestic Violence Resources-- Part of Cybergrrl's web page. Includes statistics, bibliographies, information on domestic violence resources by state, and links to other sites.
• New Standard Domestic Violence Page
• Mental Health Info Link-- So far, the most comprehensive list I've found on mental health information, including abuse, depression, and so on. Compiled by Online Psychological Services. WARNING: contains java. Nothin' wrong with java, just might make the link a little slow.
• Bob King on Abuse Includes a very well-written analysis of different kinds of abuse.
• A.C.O.A Life Issues Resource Page

For even more resources than I could possibly list here, go to a search engine like Yahoo or AltaVista, and do a search using keywords like "emotional abuse", "domestic abuse", or whatever topic you'd like to learn about. There are countless webpages out there dedicated to and run by survivors; there are even a number of webrings on the subject.

Book List

• Robert Ackerman, Perfect Daughters
• Susan Brownmiller, Against Our Will
• Timmen Cermak, A Time to Heal [Deals with ACOA issues]
• Beverly Engel, Divorcing a Parent
• Patricia Evans, Verbal Abuse: How to Recognize it and How to Respond
• Patricia Evans, Verbal Abuse Survivors Speak Out
• Steven Farmer, Adult Children of Abusive Parents
• Susan Forward, Toxic Parents
• Harville Hendrix, Getting the Love You Want
• Harriet Lerner, The Dance of Anger
• Wendy Maltz, The Sexual Healing Journey [I highly recommend this one to anyone healing from sexual abuse. It covers a detailed program for how to reclaim your own sexuality. Very comprehensive and understanding.]
• Jane Middleton-Moz, Shame and Guilt
• Alice Miller, For Your Own Good
• Robin Warshaw, I Never Called it Rape

Newsgroups I Have Found Useful

• alt.abuse.recovery -- a newsgroup for survivors of all kinds of abuse: emotional, physical, sexual, and so on.
• alt.sexual.abuse.recovery -- a group for survivors of primarily sexual abuse, although any survivor is welcome there. Make sure that you read the FAQ and pay attention to netiquette when posting, however; the subject matter is extremely difficult, and there are people at widely varying stages of recovery who post there. Some of the stories and accounts must be spoilered in order not to risk triggering people, and are very hard to bear reading. But I have never encountered such a remarkable group of survivors as the ones on ASAR.
• alt.recovery.adult-children -- a group for Adult Children of Alcoholics, as well as adult children of other abusive parents. Sparsely populated for awhile, but it has been growing recently.
• alt.recovery.codependency -- a group for recovering codependents.

There are also a variety of other groups; I don't recall all of them. Some are in the alt. hierarchy, others are in the soc. hierarchy. You'll have to check out all the groups to see what's available.

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