Patterns of Power - Practical Skills for Coercive Control

Capability Levels: Emerging; Evolving; Established

This short course is designed to give you the knowledge and confidence to recognise, respond to, and refer cases of coercive control. Using a practical, scenario-based approach, you will learn to identify patterns of control in relationships, support victim-survivors with trauma-informed strategies, and collaborate on safety planning and referrals tailored to their needs.

The course is structured around three key sections:

• Recognise – Learn how to identify coercive control.
• Respond – Name and validate the lived experiences of victim-survivors, and work in a supportive, trauma-informed way.
• Refer – Apply evidence-based tools and structured practices to assess and manage risk, build knowledge of referral pathways, including how to facilitate warm referrals that connect people with the right local services and specialist support.

With tip sheets, case studies, and real-world scenarios woven throughout, this course is designed to be hands-on and directly applicable to your day-to-day work.

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify coercive control by noticing a pattern of control in relationships.
2. Collaborate with victim survivors to implement trauma-informed support, safety plans and referrals tailored to their needs.
3. Validate and name the lived experiences of victim survivors.
4. Share information about the perpetration pattern of coercive control with victim-survivors.
5. Apply evidence-based tools and structured professional practices to manage risk.
6. Collate a range of referral pathways that are relevant to the locality and experiences of the people you work with.
7. Facilitate warm referral pathways.

AASW Credential: Family Violence