Globally respected expert in coercive control, domestic violence and domestic abuse

‘Dr Emma Katz is the world’s leading expert on coercively controlling abuse and children’

Professor Joan Meier, Professor of Law and Director of the National Family Violence Law Center, George Washington University Law School.

'Dr. Emma Katz, a world-leading domestic violence expert'

Ma Kyung-hee, The Korea Times.
Dr Emma Katz provides presentations and training on coercive control and domestic violence and abuse
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Expert On Coercive Control

One of the world's leading experts on how coercive control affects children and mother-child relationships

Expert Witness

Expert witness work in cases where parents/children have experienced coercive control

1-1 Online Recovery Coaching

For domestic abuse survivors - help survivor parents to coach children to recover & strengthen their parent-child relationships

Expert Speaking

Emma operates as a trainer and presenter on domestic abuse for organisations.

Online Training Courses

Receive online training

Expert On Coercive Control

A world leading academic expert on how coercive control affects children and mother-child relationships

Dr Emma Katz can be contacted at dremmakatz@gmail.com

Expert Speaker

Dr Katz provides presentations and training for organisations on coercive control and domestic violence

What People Are Saying

Professional feedback on Dr Emma Katz

‘Dr Katz’s presentation was highly informative and enlightening. All of the attendees were extremely satisfied. I would recommend Dr Katz be approached to facilitate training on this subject matter as she is clearly very knowledgeable about domestic violence and abuse in its many guises and the impact it has on women and children.’
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland
‘I absolutely LOVED the Emma Katz training. So unbelievably helpful, I have been using it so much already. It really defined for me the difference between coercive control and someone who is a user of violence. The way Emma described coercive control impacting on multiple facets of victims-survivors’ life/functioning really helped me to understand many of my clients’ situations a lot better. We see so much coercive control in our agency, so having more knowledge about it is extremely precious and really does inform my practice and impacts outcomes for clients and their children. I was completely enthralled for the entire session. My colleagues who also did the training felt the same as me and raved about it.’
Women’s Caseworker and Programme Facilitator at Family Violence Agency in Tauranga, New Zealand
‘Your presentation was powerful, clear, credible and relevant.’
George Washington University, USA
National Family Violence Law Center
‘Extremely satisfied… very enlightening and really helped the audience understand what coercive control is and how to recognise it.’
Warwickshire Federation of Women’s Institutes, England
'There was so much positive feedback from the team after your presentation – in particular around how we can adapt our language to place responsibility on the perpetrator, use the terms 'co-victims' and 'co-survivors' to talk about mothers and children, and start to talk about DARVO with other professionals. The team also came up with ideas of how to work closer with mum and child, and how to create opportunities for fun and healing together. It really set the tone for the day and was hugely appreciated by all.'
Fran Ellis, CEO, Rising Sun Domestic Violence and Abuse Service, UK
'It was certainly one of the most popular seminars we have hosted and definitely lived up to the hype.’
Yorkshire Social Work Teaching Partnership, England

Dr Katz's Book

Coercive Control in Children’s and Mothers’ Lives

Coercive control is a severe form of domestic violence experienced by millions of children worldwide. It involves a perpetrator using a range of tactics to intimidate, humiliate, degrade, exploit, isolate and control a partner or family member. Some coercive control perpetrators use violence, others do not.

Drawing on interviews with children and mothers who have experienced coercive control-based domestic violence, this groundbreaking book sheds light on the impacts of coercive control on children, how it is perpetrators who must be held accountable for those impacts, and how resistance by children and mothers occurs. Resistance happens in everyday life, not just in response to incidents of violence. Breaking free from coercive control is not a one-off event but a sustained battle for safety and recovery in which child and adult survivors need supports and professional interventions that work.

Written accessibly for students, researchers, practitioners, survivors of domestic violence, and anyone with a general interest in the topic, the book provides a child-centered perspective to revolutionize our understanding of how children are affected by coercive control-based domestic violence.

Order Now
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Now Available On Audible

Dr Katz’s Popular Articles on Coercive Control

Readers' Feedback on Dr Katz's Articles

"You validate the experience of coercion, restoring life to our exhausted bodies. Your work gathers truth, and a reminder that we aren’t crazy, and we are not alone. Thank you"
"I'm in a coercive control relationship and trying to get out. These posts are so helpful."


"This is astoundingly, heartbreakingly good."
"I've never been validated in any way before and had come to believe that I am the terrible mother he says I am. Thank you for your work. It changed my life."
"If you've been a victim of coercive control, I'd strongly recommend Dr Emma Katz’s research and insights. One of the best things I did was sign up to Emma's Substack."
"I wish I could show this to every court professional who said things to me, such as: 'What are you so afraid of?'"
"Another great article putting words to the manipulative & often powerfully subtle tactics used by abusers to undermine victims. Thank you for the extensive research that has bought such clarity to the widely misunderstood foundations of domestic abuse."
"Your words are so powerful, erasing misconceptions & shifting the conversation in both legal and health settings for survivors globally."
"Your work is literally saving lives."


"I'm so glad that I've come across your articles, and so glad that you are doing this work."
"Thank you for this very important article. You have been very influential in my life and in the lives of so many others when it comes to understanding coercive control and abuse"
"This is one of the most thought-provoking and important articles from our sector this year. Thank you, Dr Emma Katz, for your vital work, written with so much care and love for survivors."
"Dr. Katz tells it like it is. She knows the ins and outs of coercive control and domestic violence, and her writing is informed and full of clarifying explanations and anecdotes. If the general public could read more of Katz's work, we might soon find we'd cured our societies of this systemic violence against women."
"This is incredibly informative, insightful, powerful, and NECESSARY..."
"I appreciate your work as it not only deepens my understanding but also sparks thoughtful questions that challenge and inspire me to grow in my practice. Your insights encourage me to look at things from different angles, pushing me to explore new possibilities and refine my approach."
"I subscribed to your Substack because I just HAD to have the consistent validation!!"
"Every time I read your articles, I have another way to help people get it. I am BEYOND grateful for your work!!"
"I support your work because it is validating me and helping me decode my own experience and giving me strength to navigate my way through this."
"Your posts are so powerful and spot on. I love how they each stand on their own, yet your thoroughness and consistency of message remain."
"The more we speak about it the less alone and blameworthy we can feel. Your research and reporting are crucial."
"I am living the coercive control experience right now and find it difficult to talk to people in my life about issues. Your writing is like talking to a friend! So validating and encouraging!"
'Dr. Emma Katz writes with huge insight and wisdom. Read her, follow her.'
'Your work is essential for a mother trying to cope and escape coercive control.'
'I support your work and expertise because I feel validated, seen, and supported. In learning more about your research, I hope to protect my daughter.'
"I am always excited to read your posts when they come out. They are always so informative, well written and validating."
"Brilliant - every piece you write is just so tremendously necessary."
"Just when I think I've read and seen and heard everything about coercive control, and understand what I endured, along comes another one of Dr. Katz's excellent articles...and now I'm sitting in my laundry room, weeping and feeling so grateful to have my experience summed up so accurately yet again."
"After listening to your podcasts I know that you are an open, down-to-earth and kind person, and that you never blame the victim. I'd like to add that your subscription fee is moderate. Like your writing, it is accessible to almost everyone."
"Currently divorcing a man who has led a full on double/triple life for at least 20 years. I've been manipulated and exploited for so long I need recalibration to determine normalcy, validation that I'm not crazy, and language to defend myself through the divorce process."
"As the protective parent in the thick of the divorce and custody case I have felt helpless as I witness my ex manipulating my kids and trying to turn them against me. Your words have helped me stay focused."
"I am a 25 year old man that experienced extreme abuse from my biological father almost my entire life until I escaped his abuse just earlier this year and all if this information is so new and amazing and I just wanted to say thank you for making this information so cheap and accessible."
"I so love your empowering writing. Thank you Emma, you have done so much for me."
"After reading this, I realized I’m an excellent mother… and I so deeply appreciate you explaining it to me. I’m in tears. Even the most well intentioned, loving family members don’t fully understand it the way you do."
"Your work is exceptional and vital."
"Wow, Emma. I feel like I’ve had a really good talking to as to why things are not my fault. I love it, thank you!"
"You have put my experience into words that I now can understand and explain to others. This means so much to me."
"Thank you for this article, Dr Katz. I’ve read it once and will be going back to reread it — there is so much to take in. I found it both validating and enlightening."
"A life changing read."

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