| Psychological abuse | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Psychological violence, emotional abuse, mental abuse |
| Specialty | Psychiatry, clinical psychology |
Psychological abuse, often known as emotional abuse or mental abuse or psychological violence, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another person to a behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, clinical depression or post-traumatic stress disorder amongst other psychological problems.[1][2][3]
It is often associated with situations of power imbalance in abusive relationships, and may include bullying, gaslighting, abuse in the workplace, amongst other behaviors that may cause an individual to feel unsafe.[2][3] It also may be perpetrated by persons conducting torture, other violence, acute or prolonged human rights abuse, particularly without legal redress such as detention without trial, false accusations, false convictions, and extreme defamation such as where perpetrated by state and media.