Male clients in high-conflict matters can feel more challenging to work with than they should be.
Professional Development can change that.
For Family Law Firms
CPD-eligible Workshops
Stand Again provides in person or virtual workshops for your legal teams, that are applicable for Substantive Law or Professional Skills CPD Units.
When Clients Undermine Their Own Cases
You want the best possible outcome for your client.
You build a sound legal strategy, prepare them for what's ahead, and give clear advice.
But some male clients in high-conflict matters struggle to hold the line. They:
- Fail to recognise and articulate the coercive control they have experienced.
- React to provocation and send the message that hands the other side ammunition.
- Present poorly in mediation or court - shut down, defensive, or visibly distressed.
- Make impulsive decisions that contradict your advice.
- Spiral instead of regrouping after setbacks.
Without understanding what's driving their behaviour, even good legal strategy can be undone by a client who can't hold steady.
How This Affects Outcomes
When a client can't regulate through proceedings, everyone pays the price.
- The client damages his own credibility and negotiating position.
- Matters take longer because he can't engage constructively with settlement.
- Your team spends time on emotional support that isn't billable and isn't your expertise.
- The outcome suffers - and often, so do the children caught in the middle.
That’s where Stand Again comes in.
FOUNDATIONAL INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP
Working with Male Victims of Coercive Control
2 hours (1 or 2 sessions) | 2 CPD units (Substantive Law & Professional Skills)
Up to 15 attendees
This workshop equips your team to recognise what you're seeing in male clients, draw out what you need for their case, and keep them aligned with legal strategy when their nervous system is working against them.
What we cover:
- Recognising coercive control in male clients - a framework for recognising the patterns of abuse and impact to the client
- Drawing out information from men who are shut down - questions that open him up vs questions that close him off
- Engaging without pushing him away - what keeps him open vs what makes him withdraw
- Likely areas of dysregulation that may damage cases – and how to address the underlying driver
- Keeping him steady through proceedings - what to say and what not to say when he's dysregulated
- Recovering after a misstep – how to debrief and regroup with him so he’s realigned to the strategy
Learning outcomes:
Participants completing this workshop will be able to:
- Recognise coercive control presentation in male clients
- Draw out information from clients without triggering withdrawal
- Deliver advice and frame strategy in ways that maintain trust
- Explain provocation and reactive abuse in terms clients can act on
- Pre-brief clients for high-stress moments
- Recover the relationship and realign strategy after missteps
Sample slides from the Foundational Workshop
DEEP DIVE INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS
These shorter interactive sessions build on the foundational workshop, going deeper on specific challenges your team encounters.
WHY HE DOESN'T TRUST YOU YET
60 minutes
1 CPD unit (Professional Skills)
Up to 8 attendees
He's not following advice. He's protecting her. He's minimising what happened.
This isn't obstruction — it's conditioned behaviour. This session unpacks what's driving his resistance and how to work with it.
Covers:
- Trauma bonding.
- Why he defends her.
- How advice-giving can mirror her control.
- Building trust with someone whose trust has been weaponised.
THE
COERCIVE CONTROL LANDSCAPE
90 minutes
1.5 CPD units (Substantive Law)
Up to 8 attendees
A deeper look at tactics, domains, and patterns.
Builds your team's ability to identify, name, and articulate what your client experienced in ways that translate to court.
Covers:
- The nine domains of control.
- How tactics compound.
- Pattern recognition versus incident focus.
- Building coherent narratives.
- Language that aims to resonate with judges and evaluators.
WHEN SHE LEFT VS
WHEN HE'S LEAVING
60 minutes
1 CPD unit (Professional Skills)
Up to 10 attendees
Two clients, two presentations. When she initiated, he's confused, defending her, hoping for reconciliation.
When he's leaving, he's further along, possibly activated and ready to fight.
Covers:
- How recognition differs.
- What each means for engagement.
- The client who doesn't see himself as a victim versus the one ready to fight.
DEFENDING THE CLIENT WHO FOUGHT BACK
60 minutes
1 CPD unit (Substantive Law)
Up to 8 attendees
He shouted. He shoved. He sent messages he regrets.
Now it's evidence against him. Courts see the reaction, not the coercion that preceded it.
Covers:
- What reactive abuse is.
- Provocation as tactic.
- Presenting context to courts.
- Helping him understand his own reactions.
“You have been mentally coerced in a way that invades your analytical thinking and quietens your instinct...”
- Don Hennessy
For Client Support Organisations
Coercive Control Self-Assessment Tool for Men
If your organisation supports men affected by family violence, this tool is free to use.
The CCSAT-M: Free for Organisations
The CCSAT-M (Coercive Control Self-Assessment Tool for Men) is a free, private, browser-based self-assessment tool that helps men recognise whether the patterns in their relationship are consistent with coercive control.
It was developed by Stand Again using a three-layer detection model that goes beyond behaviour counting to identify the internal control mechanism (Fear, Obligation, Guilt), structural entrapment (Dependency Enclosure), and breadth of impact across seven life domains. It produces a domain-based interpretation with three pathways, each calibrated to the combination of signals detected.
The tool is free. No data is stored. No account is needed. Everything runs in the browser and disappears when the page is refreshed or closed.
Embed It on Your Site
Stand Again provides tailored versions of the CCSAT-M as a self-contained code block that your web team can embed directly on your website. No special software or integrations are required.
The assessment, scoring, and interpretation remain unchanged. The resource links in the results are tailored to your country and your services, so the men completing it on your site are directed to support that is relevant to them.
The tool is provided free of charge. The only requirement is attribution to Stand Again as the developer of the CCSAT-M.
Link to It
If embedding is not practical, you are welcome to link to the live tool from your resource pages, directories, or client materials [https://www.standagain.com.au/stage-1-educate/self-assessment/].
No permission is needed. The tool is publicly accessible.
Methodology Paper
A methodology paper documenting the theoretical grounding, instrument design, interpretation logic, and proposed validation approach is available on request.
Researchers and clinicians interested in the framework are also welcome to request a copy.