Blind to Betrayal: Why We Fool Ourselves We Aren't Being Fooled
If the cover-up is worse than the crime, blindness to betrayal can be worse than the betrayal itself. Whether the betrayer is an unfaithful spouse, an abusive authority figure, an unfair boss, or a corrupt institution, we often refuse to see the truth order to protect ourselves. This book explores the fascinating phenomenon of how and why we ignore or deny betrayal, and what we can gain by transforming "betrayal blindness" into insight.
- Explains the psychological phenomenon of "betrayal blindness", in which we implicitly choose unawareness in order to avoid the risk of seeing treachery or injustice
- Based on the authors' substantial original research and clinical experience carried out over the last decade as well as their own story of confronting betrayal
- Filled with fascinating case studies involving unfaithful spouses, abusive authority figures and corrupt institutions, to name a few
In a remarkable collaboration of science and clinical perspectives, Jennifer Freyd, one of the world's top experts on betrayal and child abuse, teams up with Pamela Birrell, a psychotherapist and educator with 25 years of experience.
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Book details
- Author
- Jennifer Freyd
- Imprint
- Trade Paper Press, an imprint of Turner Publishing Company
- Published
- Pages
- 224
- Formats
- Paperback
- Subjects
- Self-Help › Abuse
- Topics
- betrayal blindness · self-deception · psychological denial · trauma and abuse · infidelity · institutional betrayal · emotional abuse · recovery and healing
- ISBN-13
- 9780470604403
About the author
JENNIFER J. FREYD, PhD, is a psychologist and researcher whose work on betrayal trauma, DARVO, institutional betrayal, and institutional courage spans over 200 articles and op-eds. Her books include Blind to Betrayal and Betrayal Trauma: The Logic of Forgetting Childhood Abuse.
Freyd holds a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation, and the 2021 Christine Blasey Ford Woman of Courage Award from the Association for Women in Psychology.
When not writing, Freyd serves as Founder and President of the Center for Institutional Courage and holds professorships at the University of Oregon and the University of Washington. Her research directly underpins the theories of institutional courage and betrayal that define her books.