In this Friday Coaching Corner, Sybil responds to a protective mother navigating ongoing post-separation abuse involving her highly gifted, autistic teenager. The abusive co-parent has repeatedly pulled the child into adult financial and legal conflicts, framing the protective parent as the cause of manufactured crises and positioning himself as the victim and rescuer.

Over time, the child has become increasingly aligned with the abusive parent — repeating legal language, expressing contempt toward court-ordered support, rejecting care from the protective parent, and threatening legal consequences when demands aren’t met. This episode explores what happens when a child is placed in an impossible loyalty bind and the emotional toll this takes on both the child and the protective parent.

Questions Answered in This Episode

• How do you respond when your child has been weaponized against you and genuinely believes the abusive parent’s narrative?
• How can a protective parent hold boundaries when their child uses legal threats, contempt, or adult language learned from the abusive parent?
• What does staying connected look like when your child is rejecting you to remain loyal to the abusive parent?
• How can protective parents grieve the loss of connection without collapsing, over-explaining, or losing themselves in the process?

Want your question featured in a future Friday Coaching Corner? Send a short paragraph explaining your situation and 2–3 specific questions to info@risingbeyondpc.com.

Join me on February 18th at 12pm MST for the Parenting to Combat Coercive Control Live Workshop for protective moms focused on protecting and repairing the parent–child relationship: https://mailchi.mp/risingbeyondpc/coercive-control

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Custody evaluations tend to bring up two very different reactions for survivors.

For some, the idea of an evaluation is terrifying, especially if they have heard stories about how much power evaluators hold and how often survivors feel misunderstood or mischaracterized.

For others, a custody evaluation feels like hope. It can feel like the moment they will finally be seen, believed, or taken seriously after months or years of being dismissed.

Both reactions make sense.

In this episode, we break down what custody evaluators are actually supposed to assess, where the process often breaks down, especially in cases involving coercive control or post-separation abuse, and what options survivors may have if the evaluation does not reflect their reality.

This episode is not meant to scare you or tell you to expect the worst.
It is about understanding the process well enough to reduce surprises and protect yourself emotionally and strategically.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Rocks in a Jar technique: https://youtu.be/ibqemrMJe2w (If you're short on time, scroll to 10:30 in the video)
• Project Justice USA: https://www.projectjusticeusa.com/

Join me on February 18th at 12pm MST for the Parenting to Combat Coercive Control Live Workshop for protective moms focused on protecting and repairing the parent–child relationship: https://mailchi.mp/risingbeyondpc/coercive-control

Please leave us a review or rating and follow/subscribe to the show. This helps the show get out to more people.

If you want to chat more about this topic I would love to continue our conversation over on Instagram! @risingbeyondpc

If you want to support the show you may do so here at, Buy Me A Coffee. Thank you! We love being able to make this information accessible to you and your community.

If you've been looking for a supportive community of women going through the topics we cover, head over to our website to learn more about the Rising Beyond Community. - https://www.risingbeyondpc.com/

Where to find more from Rising Beyond:
Rising Beyond Facebook
Rising Beyond LinkedIn
Rising Beyond Pinterest

If you're interested in guesting on the show please fill out this form - https://forms.gle/CSvLWWyZxmJ8GGQu7

Enjoy some of our freebies!

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Should you keep trying to repair a relationship, or is it time to walk away? If you’ve found yourself repeatedly questioning the level of toxicity in your relationships — with a parent, sibling, friend, or even a new romantic partner — this episode will help you sort through the tug of war inside your body and mind.

For many survivors of narcissistic abuse, the end of an abusive marriage doesn’t magically clarify all of the other relationships in your life. Instead, it often brings more confusion. You may start noticing behaviors you once excused, feeling drained after interactions, or wondering whether you are seeing red flags or simply overreacting because of your trauma history. And when you’re already carrying the emotional weight of post-separation abuse and rebuilding your life, the question “Should I mend this relationship or should I go?” can feel overwhelming.

To help bring clarity, I sit down with Kate King, LPC, who offers a grounded framework for checking in with your authentic self to decide whether a relationship can be repaired with boundaries or whether it’s healthier — and safer — to step away. We talk about:

• What your nervous system is trying to tell you about a relationship
• How your trauma history influences the way you assess safety
• What repair actually looks like in healthy relationships
• The signs that it may be time to move on
• How to begin healing through the body, not just the mind

Kate also shares insights from her upcoming book, Mend or Move On: A Guide to Healing or Leaving Toxic Relationships (coming January 2026), including how survivors can use it to navigate these complex decisions with more confidence and compassion.

If you’re wrestling with whether to give someone another chance, set firmer boundaries, or let go completely, this conversation offers clarity, direction, and deep validation.

Connect with Kate:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theradiantlifeproject
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@TheRadiantLifeProject

Please leave us a review or rating and follow/subscribe to the show. This helps the show get out to more people.

If you want to chat more about this topic I would love to continue our conversation over on Instagram! @risingbeyondpc

If you want to support the show you may do so here at, Buy Me A Coffee. Thank you! We love being able to make this information accessible to you and your community.

If you've been looking for a supportive community of women going through the topics we cover, head over to our website to learn more about the Rising Beyond Community. - https://www.risingbeyondpc.com/

Where to find more from Rising Beyond:
Rising Beyond Facebook
Rising Beyond LinkedIn
Rising Beyond Pinterest

If you're interested in guesting on the show please fill out this form - https://forms.gle/CSvLWWyZxmJ8GGQu7

Enjoy some of our freebies!

• Choosing Your Battles Freebie
• Canned Responses Freebie
• Mic Drop Moments Freebie
• ...