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Understanding Coercive Control: The Pattern of Power – CPD Accredited

Understand the dynamics of coercive and controlling behaviour and its impacts on survivors.

Coercive control is an extremely dangerous and highly misunderstood form of domestic abuse. Often occurring without any physical violence, it can completely undermine a survivor’s independence, confidence, identity and safety. Coercive and controlling behaviour is strongly linked to serious harm and homicide, and can be insidious and difficult to spot. 

IDAS invites you to join our CPD-accredited course designed to help professionals recognise the signs of coercive and controlling behaviour and ensure that survivors are able to access support swiftly and safely.

This engaging and interactive training provides professionals from a wide range of sectors with the practical tools and understanding to identify patterns of control, challenge common misconceptions and support victims with confidence and compassion.

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Course content

This session will build your understanding of coercive control with a wide range of information, including:
  • Coercive control and the law (Serious Crime Act 2015)
  • The power dynamics of coercive and controlling relationships
  • Examples of coercive and controlling behaviours used by perpetrators
  • The impacts of these behaviours on adults and children
  • Understanding the coercive control cycle in relationships
  • Official data on coercive control reports, convictions and deaths
  • What this means for survivors
  • The Homicide Timeline and Victim Suicide Timeline as described by Prof. Jane Monckton Smith
  • Real life examples of coercive control harm and fatalities
  • Facilitating disclosure in a trauma-informed way
  • Supporting clients to gather evidence of abuse
  • Safety planning principles.
All IDAS training sessions include opportunities for reflective discussion with your fellow learners, collaborative working and putting your learning into practice.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this CPD-accredited course, participants will be able to:

Understand the signs and impacts of coercive control.

Recognise common abusive tactics used by perpetrators.

Understand legislation around coercive control.

Explain the impacts of living under coercive and controlling behaviours.

Support survivors using trauma-informed approaches.

Encourage clients to gather and document evidence effectively.

Signpost and refer individuals to appropriate support services.

Challenge myths and misconceptions surrounding coercive control.
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Certification

This course is CPD accredited, enabling participants to demonstrate ongoing professional development while gaining practical knowledge that can be applied immediately within their role. On completion of the course, you will have the opportunity to receive a CPD certificate of completion for your records.
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Course dates

Please ensure you are available to attend all guided learning days before booking your place. Attendance at all guided learning sessions is required to successfully complete the course. You will see that independent learning is also scheduled and you will be invited to join a structured lightly guided study day, but this is not compulsary.

Oct
22
Understanding Coercive Control: The Pattern of Power – CPD Accredited
10:00 am
Jan
19
Understanding Coercive Control: The Pattern of Power – CPD Accredited
10:00 am
Mar
9
Understanding Coercive Control: The Pattern of Power – CPD Accredited
10:00 am
Can’t make these dates? None available? Register your interest and we’ll contact you when new dates are released.

Frequently asked questions

Our live training is designed for professionals and volunteers working across a wide range of sectors, including health, social care, education, housing, criminal justice, local authorities, charities and community organisations. Each course page explains who the training is intended for and whether any previous knowledge or experience is recommended.

Most of our courses are delivered live online by experienced IDAS trainers, allowing you to learn from wherever you are. We also offer face-to-face training and bespoke sessions for organisations. The course page will confirm how your chosen course is delivered.

Our scheduled courses are delivered live, giving you the opportunity to learn alongside other professionals, ask questions and take part in discussions. We also offer a growing range of on-demand resources through our Learning Hub and Resources section.

Yes. Our training is designed to be interactive, and there will be opportunities to ask questions, contribute to discussions and learn from real-life examples shared by our experienced trainers.

Yes. Participants who attend the course will receive a certificate of attendance after the training has been completed.

Many of our courses are CPD accredited. Where this applies, it will be clearly stated on the individual course page, together with the number of CPD hours awarded.

You’ll need a reliable internet connection and a computer, laptop or tablet with speakers. A webcam and microphone are recommended so you can fully participate in discussions, although requirements may vary depending on the course.

Simply choose one of the upcoming course dates and complete the online booking process. If there are no suitable dates available, you can register your interest and we’ll let you know when new dates are released.

Absolutely. Many organisations book training for teams of staff. Simply select the number of places you require during booking, or contact us if you’d like to discuss larger group bookings.

If a course isn’t currently scheduled, you can register your interest by following the link under the Course dates list. We’ll contact you when new dates become available.

Yes. We regularly work with organisations to deliver tailored domestic abuse training that reflects their sector, workforce and learning objectives. If you’re looking for training for your team or organisation, please take a look at our bespoke training page.

Alongside our live training, we provide a growing collection of articles, videos, downloadable resources and best practice guidance through our Learning Hub and Resources section, helping you continue your professional development long after your course has finished.

Related e-learning courses

If you’d like to explore this subject in more depth, these self-paced online courses cover related topics that complement this training.

Woman looking concerned at her phone while sitting on a bus
Webinar on Demand: Understanding and Responding to Domestic Stalking
Webinar on Demand: Domestic Abuse and the use of Sexual Violence
Domestic Abuse Essential Training with Noreen Akhtar
Domestic abuse essential training
Accredited IDVA training programme

Related live training

These live, trainer-led courses explore related themes and are recommended to broaden and strengthen your understanding of the topics covered in this training.

There are no upcoming training events.
There are no upcoming training events.
There are no upcoming training events.
Nov
4
Domestic Abuse Awareness for Professionals: Seeing the Whole Picture – CPD Accredited
10:00 am

Related resources

Explore related articles, videos and resources from IDAS and other trusted organisations to deepen your understanding of the topics covered in this training.

View all resources
The trainer was fantastic, with demonstration of a great mix of down to earth communication style and subject matter expertise. Listening to contributions and drawing out existing expertise with ease, offering very thoughtful reflections to promote deeper thinking and learning. She is clearly passionate and motivated and brings positive energy and enthusiasm to this challenging topic.
I found the trainer really engaging with a great presenting style and I'm looking forward to the next sessions. I'm keen to undertake further training with IDAS as well.
One of the most personable yet knowledgeable facilitators I've experienced, with an incredibly natural and comfortable presenting style, space for questions and interruptions without loss of flow.
I thought the course as a whole was extremely slick and professionally delivered. I enjoyed it very much.
As an ex-trainer myself, I really appreciated the style of delivery and management of the group. The course covered everything it needed to, at a good pace, in an inclusive way. The groupwork was managed effectively, and everything ran to time. Thank you so much.
I will be better equipped to identify and respond to cases of domestic abuse effectively and sensitively. I will be able to recognise the signs of abuse more readily and provide appropriate support and resources to survivors, empowering them to seek help and take steps towards safety and healing.
The trainer created an incredibly open and safe environment which fostered really useful discussion and real-world examples of practice. It was a really comprehensive overview which felt thorough and not rushed – a rarity with these types of training topics!
The training was so good! Really engaging and easy to follow, the hours flew by. I will definitely recommend to colleagues. Thank you
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‘Hysterical’

Calling women ‘hysterical’ if they appear distressed, upset or disturbed often discounts their experiences. Other labels used can include, but are not limited to, “unstable” or “over-reacting”, “unable to keep their emotions in check”.  These statements are routed in sexism.

Another thing to note is that the description of being hysterical is provided by the alleged abuser. Often abusers will try to manipulate professionals in a bid to sabotage the victims’ credibility and to minimise or detract from the abuse.

Language is extremely important in documentation as the documentation will provide a narrative of what is happening and will often determine what course of action will be needed next.

Documentation may be called for as evidence in both civil and criminal cases, including family court for protective orders or child contact arrangements.

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‘Male appeared calm and assisted with enquiries’
We cannot assume that because one party displays anger and aggression or is less in control of their emotions that they are a primary perpetrator. It is a myth that perpetrators “lose control” or have anger management issues when they abuse their partners. Domestic violence is the most often, the opposite of losing control; perpetrators know what they are doing and use their abusive tactics of choice to maintain dominance in the relationship.
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Verbal argument only
It is important to remember that many couples argue, but for an argument to escalate to the point that the neighbours fear for a person’s safety that they phone the police on the emergency number, this should warrant further in-depth investigation. Statements such as “verbal argument only” will minimise harm and fear caused by verbal abuse. In turn it will also minimise the victims experience of the incident. The danger of using language that may minimise an abusive incident is that it will send a message to victims that the act was not abusive and if the victim felt it was abusive then they are over-reacting. Over time, this can lead to an escalation of abuse if the warning signs are not spotted, or intervention is not offered at the earliest opportunity. Furthermore, the statement ‘Verbal Argument Only’ suggests that only physical violence is worthy of investigation. However, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 defines domestic abuse as:  Behaviour is “abusive” if it consists of any of the following—
  • (a)physical or sexual abuse;
  • (b)violent or threatening behaviour;
  • (c)controlling or coercive behaviour;
  • (d)economic abuse (see subsection (4));
  • (e)psychological, emotional or other abuse;
The act makes it clear that verbal abuse is part of domestic abuse.
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