Dr. Avery Neal launches abuse screening tools alongside new book

Dr. Avery Neal has published a new book on how psychological abuse affects physical and mental health and is rolling out screening tools, clinician training and patient courses to hospitals, health plans and behavioral health teams this October. The launch aims to help medical staff spot abuse earlier in settings where patients already seek care.

Why it matters: - Psychological abuse is common, often missed in medical settings, and linked to chronic health problems that can drive higher care use and costs. - Dr. Avery Neal’s new book and training products aim to help hospitals, physicians and behavioral health clinicians identify abuse earlier and respond with a clearer care pathway. - Women with recent nonphysical-only abuse carry 33% higher annual health care costs than women with no history of abuse.

What happened: - Dr. Avery Neal announced the publication of Loving You Shouldn't Be Hurting Me: Psychological Abuse and Its Effects on Physical and Mental Health from Post Hill Press. - The book was released during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. - Neal is licensing screening tools, clinician training and patient courses to hospitals, healthcare organizations and health plans this October. - The book is available at the book website, on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

The details: - Neal describes the book as the first to explain how psychological abuse harms the nervous system, the body and the mind. - The book focuses on how chronic manipulation, control and fear affect the nervous system over time. - The final section introduces the Neal Method™ and the CLEAR Framework™, a five-phase clinical model built on clarity, liberation, empowerment, autonomy and regulation. - Neal has developed a Medical Screening Tool for specialty departments and a Therapist Assessment for behavioral health. - Neal is licensing those tools with a nine-module training curriculum for nurses, physicians, frontline care teams and behavioral health clinicians. - Licensed therapists can also pursue the Psychological Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence Certification and the Neal Method™ Certification in the CLEAR Framework™. - Neal’s patient offerings include three courses: Recognizing Psychological Abuse, Healing After Psychological Abuse and Trauma and Anxiety Recovery. - Organizations can host the patient courses under their own name so care teams can offer them privately and on demand. - More than 20,000 people have taken the courses. - The book is published in trade paperback, ISBN 979-8-89565-960-1, and priced at $19.99. - The book includes a foreword by Dr. Alex Howard.

Between the lines: - Neal is trying to move psychological abuse screening from advocacy into routine care. - The push centers on settings where patients already present with symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain and illnesses that do not resolve. - Neal says most patients do not use the word abuse and most clinicians have not been taught to look for psychological abuse. - In one emergency department study, 77% of intimate partner violence victims were never identified. - Half of Americans report experiencing psychological abuse from a partner. - Neal says the book, tools and training are meant to give clinicians a structured path from recognition to recovery that fits work they already do. - Lois P. Frankel, PhD, said every survivor, loved one and professional who supports them should read the book.

What's next: - Neal is positioning the book, screening tools and training as Domestic Violence Awareness Month resources for organizations planning staff and patient programming. - Neal says the materials are ready for hospitals and health plans that want to identify psychological abuse and support patients during care. - Neal is available for interviews on psychological abuse, intimate partner violence, women’s health and trauma recovery. - More information is available at averyneal.com and averynealcourses.com.