Patterns in Abusive Relationships
Two clients present in opposite ways. One will not stop rescuing, and cannot see that the rescuing is what keeps the situation alive. The other will not stop apologising, and reshapes themselves around whoever they are with. They look like different problems. Underneath, both are avoiding the same thing, which is a problem that would have to be named and solved.
Leo DeBroeck’s argument across these six hours is that abusive and codependent relationships are not defined by cruelty on one side or weakness on the other. They are defined by problems that never get resolved, and by help that goes to the consequences instead of the cause. The cycle, the roles, the control and the guilt all grow in the space where problem solving should be. Once you can see that, the interventions stop looking like a grab bag and start pointing the same direction.
This is the full-length version, combining both of DeBroeck’s three-hour sessions with additional depth and more time on questions. It covers dependent personality disorder and why the familiar picture of the passive, agreeable client is only half of it, relationship roles and how an ordinary division of labour slides into control, the research on conflict and stress hormones, the wheel of power and control, screening instruments, the pro-dependence reframe, and the questions he uses to get clients to define trust, love and commitment before anything gets built on those words.
You’ll walk away with
- A way to get clients to define trust, love and commitment in their own words, before you build an intervention on terms that mean opposite things to each partner
- A fuller picture of dependent personality disorder, including how the same fear of abandonment produces compliance in one client and rigid control in another
- The reason a client with dependent traits often feels more anxious away from an abusive partner than with them
- A method for mapping relationship roles with a couple, and showing them how a preference becomes control of the money, the friendships and the decisions
- The link between conflict, stress hormones and problem-solving capacity, and what it means for when a couple should attempt a hard conversation
- Confident use of the wheel of power and control, plus its equality version for clients who cannot yet look at the first one, and judgement about when to show the cycle of abuse at all
- Three screening instruments for dependent traits and codependency, useful as conversation openers as much as measures
- The pro-dependence reframe, which lets you describe the pattern without the client hearing a word they take as an accusation
- A test a family can apply themselves for whether they are helping with the cause or helping with the consequences, and why accountability is a more workable frame than tough love
- Worked case material covering safety planning, financial control, visa status, suicide threats used inside a relationship, and what to do when a client wants to go back
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CPD Information For Mental Health Professionals
Enjoy complete flexibility with 100% self-paced learning you can access anytime, anywhere, and on any device. This course is included with your Tatra Training membership, along with every other course in the library.
Course Duration: 6 learning hours
Certificate and CPD hours: On completion you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion to support your CPD records. Your certificates are yours to keep.
Assessment: Complete a short quiz at the end (80% pass mark), which you can resit as many times as needed.
Revisit Anytime: Come back to the course as often as you like while your membership is active, whenever you want a refresher for practice.
CPD Eligibility: This program may be suitable for CPD for professionals such as:
- Psychologists
- Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- Social Workers
- Community Workers
- Mental Health Nurses
- General Practitioners (GPs)
- Occupational Therapists
CPD requirements vary between professional bodies, so please check with your association or credentialing body to confirm you can claim CPD hours/OPD points for this program and what evidence they require.
Course Content
Meet Your Instructor
Children and adolescents experiencing suicidal ideation, complex trauma, and severe behavioral challenges - and the practitioners who work with them - can need more than generic therapeutic approaches to navigate these high-risk situations successfully. Leo DeBroeck has dedicated his career to developing practical, evidence-based interventions for the most vulnerable young people, becoming an internationally recognised expert who has worked across every level of care from intensive inpatient settings to school-based services.
As President and Founder of Counselor's Choice Award LLC and Licensed Mental Health Counselor with Child Mental Health Specialist credentials, DeBroeck brings unique expertise that bridges clinical practice with professional education and product development. His MS in Clinical Psychology with thesis research on suicide factors, combined with his CBT Plus certification from the University of Washington and Harborview Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress Center, demonstrates his commitment to understanding the complex factors that put young people at risk. His published children's therapy books and scientific research on suicidality in young adults reflect his ability to create practical resources that help both clinicians and families navigate difficult conversations about mental health.
DeBroeck's expertise spans child and adolescent mental health, suicide prevention and assessment, trauma therapy, ADHD treatment, codependency, abusive relationships, grief counseling, and addiction counseling. His approach recognises that effective work with high-risk youth requires understanding family systems, school environments, and community resources while maintaining safety as the primary concern. He specialises in cases requiring intensive intervention, situations where standard outpatient therapy hasn't been sufficient, and training practitioners to work confidently with suicidal and severely traumatised children and adolescents.
What sets his training apart is real-world crisis experience combined with practical resource development. DeBroeck doesn't just teach theory - he shows practitioners exactly what to do and say in high-risk situations, drawing from years of intensive inpatient work and wraparound services. His development of therapeutic tools and children's therapy books demonstrates his understanding that effective intervention often requires creative, engaging approaches that meet young clients where they are.
For your practice, expect to gain specific suicide assessment techniques, tools for engaging resistant adolescents, and frameworks for coordinating care across multiple levels of intervention. His approach particularly benefits clinicians working with high-risk youth, those needing confidence in crisis situations, or practitioners wanting to develop expertise in intensive mental health services.
Quick Win: DeBroeck's "safety scaling" technique helps practitioners quickly assess suicide risk while building therapeutic rapport with adolescents - which helps create a foundation for honest communication about difficult topics while maintaining appropriate clinical vigilance.
Qualifications
- MS, Clinical Psychology (thesis: factors in suicide)
- Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Washington State
- Child Mental Health Specialist (CMHS), Washington State
- Mental Health Professional (MHP)
- CBT Plus Certified, University of Washington and Harborview Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress Center
Leadership & Business
- President & Founder, Counselor's Choice Award LLC, Washington State, current
- Continuing Education Course Provider, USA, Australia, Canada, UK, current
- Product reviewer for counseling and therapeutic tools
- International trainer and course developer
Professional Experience
- Mental Health Therapist, Community health center, Washington State (full-time with Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists team)
- Therapist, Intensive inpatient program, Spokane, Washington (children and adolescents focus, several years)
- Experience across multiple levels of care: long-term inpatient care, WISe wraparound intensive services, school-based therapy services, outpatient clinical settings
Clinical Specialties
- Child and adolescent mental health across all levels of care
- Suicide prevention, assessment, and intervention
- Complex trauma therapy for children and adolescents
- ADHD treatment and symptom management
- Codependency and relationship abuse recovery
- Grief counseling and loss processing
- Addiction counseling for adolescents and families
- Neglect and abuse recovery interventions
- Self-confidence building and resilience development
Ready to work confidently with high-risk children and adolescents while developing the crisis intervention skills essential for intensive mental health practice? Discover how Leo DeBroeck's evidence-based, practical methods can help you provide effective care across all levels of treatment intensity while maintaining safety and building genuine therapeutic relationships.
Feedback & Reviews
This course includes:
- Lessons 5
- Topics 0
- Duration 6 hours
- Quizzes 1
- Language English