The Problem With Coercive Control |
“Coercive control” is the term for a diabolical relationship pattern that can have devastating consequences. It occurs when one person unreasonably interferes with another person’s free will and liberty (Pisarra, 2022). The seriousness of coercive control is being increasingly acknowledged, and in some places, it is now a criminal offence.
As heinous as coercive control is, the dynamics of controlling may be key to understanding what is occurring. Since the 1960s, control science explained by Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) (Powers, 2005), has been a growing field of research and practice with applications in areas such as neuroscience, mental health, human development, education, and business. PCT recognizes control as a fact of nature in the same way that gravity and magnetism are facts of nature (Powers, 2008).
From a PCT perspective, control is not domination. In fact, domination interferes with control, at least for those who are dominated. In PCT-land, control is also not about blame or responsibility. Control is simply the defining feature of living.
Controlling is making things be the way you want. It involves monitoring what is going on; comparing that to what you want to be going on; and acting to make is and want as close as possible (Powers, 1998). Every........