Abusive Behavior Therapy

Beverly Hills Abusive Behaviour Therapy

Abusive Work Environments

The stress involved in working in the Entertainment Industry can take a heavy psychological toll.

Abusive behavior is tolerated and sometimes even implicitly encouraged. For those in certain environments, developing the ability to withstand verbal abuse equates to walking through a kind of a kind of hazing ritual many bosses themselves had to endure at one time in their careers and so it is perpetrated upon others, similar to children who are abused by elder siblings or parents in a dysfunctional family system.

Typical psychologically abusive bosses or co-workers include those who are degrading and devaluing, terrorizing, corrupting, exploiting, verbally abusive and isolating. If someone is exposed to this environment for years (or months for some people) the parallel between the kind of damaging psychological responses we see in children who are abused and adults in a work environment they feel they cannot escape is often similar.

Symptoms such as depression, anxiety and dissociation, along with a reluctance to acknowledge the abuse, are typical reactions. Relationships suffer, substance abuse is common and psychological disorders begin to develop.

Dissociation and denial are frequently employed in abusive situations in order to forget about the mistreatment and to survive. But there are repercussions to this. In an abusive situation, a kind of paranoid, fearful culture starts to set in. Not only are anxiety levels raised, but some people in this situation subconsciously internalize the abuse and begin to believe they are to somehow to blame for it, even though they know intellectually this isn’t true. Invalidating experiences become part of the everyday, grinding away at self-esteem. If the environment mirrors early childhood experiences, it can be even more debilitating.

There are ways to deal with these environments so that they don’t become so overwhelming. You can learn to understand your part in the dance and what part belongs to someone. Developing strategies is essential to healthy psychological survival and long term success.

 

We practice and serve Beverly Hills, Century City, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Studio City, and the surrounding areas in California.

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