Psychotherapist in clinical practice
Dr. Neal works clinically with people living with psychological abuse and its effects, and her books draw directly on findings from that practice.
About the author
Dr. Avery Neal
Internationally published author, researcher and psychotherapist, and a leading expert on psychological abuse and its effects on women's mental and physical health.
Dr. Avery Neal's first book, If He's So Great, Why Do I Feel So Bad?, gave readers the language to recognize subtle abuse and has been published in twelve languages. More than 20,000 people worldwide have taken her courses, which are also used by clinicians, universities and organizations.
Her second book, Loving You Shouldn't Be Hurting Me, deepens that work. Drawing on current research and findings from her clinical practice, it examines how psychological abuse harms the nervous system, the body and the mind, and introduces the Neal Method and her CLEAR framework for recovery.
Her work now extends beyond individual clinical practice to the broader healthcare system. She is advancing the clinical and medical recognition of psychological abuse — a form of harm that remains largely unassessed and unidentified in healthcare settings — and has developed assessment and identification tools where none previously existed. Through partnerships with hospitals, health systems and health plans, she brings her psychoeducational programs directly to patients so that recognizing psychological abuse and supporting recovery become part of care.
Credentials and expertise
Leading expert on psychological abuse
Her focus is psychological abuse and its effects on women's mental and physical health — an area that remains largely unassessed in healthcare settings.
Internationally published author
Her first book, If He's So Great, Why Do I Feel So Bad?, has been published in twelve languages. Her second, Loving You Shouldn't Be Hurting Me, publishes September 17, 2026.
Course author for clinicians and the public
More than 20,000 people worldwide have taken her courses, which are also used by clinicians, universities and organizations.
Assessment tools where none existed
She has developed assessment and identification tools for psychological abuse and is building the practical resources frontline clinicians need to recognize it in their patients.
Health system partnerships
Through partnerships with hospitals, health systems and health plans, she brings psychoeducational programs directly to patients so that recognizing psychological abuse becomes part of care.
Media and conference work
Her writing and interviews have appeared on Oprah.com and in Counseling Today and Best Self Magazine, and she has spoken at conferences alongside leading experts in psychology.
The Neal Method and the CLEAR framework
Her recovery work is organized around the Neal Method and the CLEAR framework, introduced in Loving You Shouldn't Be Hurting Me.
The book
Loving You Shouldn't Be Hurting Me
Dr. Avery Neal's research-backed guide to recognizing psychological abuse and healing its effects on the body and the mind.
Keep reading
Signs of psychological abuse in a relationship
The patterns that show up long before anyone calls it abuse.
Psychological abuse vs. emotional abuse
How the two terms overlap, and where clinicians draw the line.
Healing from psychological abuse
The Neal Method and the CLEAR framework for recovery.
What is emotional abuse?
The definition, the common signs, and why it is so hard to name.
Am I being psychologically abused?
Ten questions that help you see a pattern you may be explaining away.
Coercive control: signs and examples
How control narrows money, movement, contact, and your own account of events.
Psychological abuse glossary
Clear definitions of gaslighting, coercive control, trauma bonding, DARVO and more.