The Institute’s Research History

1990-1991 Victimization and Treatment Issues

The Institute (then called Bridgework) began their interest with research as early as 1991 in our first book Counseling Victims of Violence First Edition’where we researched and catalogued appropriate crisis, short term, and long term approaches to victimizations creating a treatment consideration for various typologies of victimization.

Late 1990’s Historical Data Collection on Relational Dynamics of Personality Disordered Relationships

The Institute (then called Bridgework) was involved in Historical Qualitative research, gathering data over a number of years on relational dynamics of personality disordered relationships.

2007 Case Study Research on A Survivor’s Relational Dynamics with a Cluster B Partner

The Institute expanded their development of relational dynamics theory of Pathological Love Relationships first through an in depth Case Study Qualitative Research of a survivor’s relationship with a Cluster B disordered partner.

2007 Grounded Theory Research Outcome on Relational Dynamics in a Pathological Love Relationship

This lead to the development of a Grounded Theory outcome related to Pathological Love Relationship dynamics documented in our White Paper articles on our website and in the first book ever written about the relationship dynamics about women in relationships with psychopaths in the First Edition Women Who Love Psychopaths book. This theory helped to explain the early, mid, late, and post relationship dynamics as well as the impact of these dynamics on the survivor leading to aftermath symptoms.

2007 Aftermath Symptom Survey

During the writing and evaluation of aftermath symptoms for the book Women Who Love Psychopaths First Edition, The Institute conducted a Symptom Survivor Survey to document types of aftermath trauma-specific reactions, responses, and symptoms.

2007 Grounded Theory Outcomes on Cognitive Dissonance as Psychological and Neuro Injury & Self Perception Injury

Both the Relational Dynamics Theory and the Aftermath Symptom Survey influenced the development of a qualitative Grounded Theory Outcome on Cognitive Dissonance as the primary psychological injury from Pathological Love Relationships and its self-perception schematic distortion impact. This theory was described in White Paper articles on our website, in our books, products, digital products, power points and other teaching materials.

2008 Temperament Character Inventory Assessment—Research on Women’s Personality Traits in Relationships with Cluster B/Psychopathic Partners

During the writing of the First Edition Women Who Love Psychopaths book, The TCI (Klonninger) was used on a female sample of 75 women for personality trait elevations.  The outcomes of that research developed our theory of the Women’s ‘Super Traits’ reflecting proclivities to being attracted to, and tolerant of, psychopathological partners.  Trait-targeting Theory was also discussed. This was the first documented research of women’s personalities in relationships with pathological partners. The outcome was published in the First Edition book, as White Paper articles on our site, on other Psychology-oriented sites.

2010 Expanded Theory Development Related to Relational Dynamics, Hypnotic/Trance/Suggestibility of Survivors, Word and Language Differentials in Pathological Relationships, Pathological Dichotomous Behavior and the Development of Cognitive Dissonance as Trauma, Personality Super Traits of women in relationships with Cluster B partners.

2nd Edition of Women Who Love Psychopaths enhanced the expansion of the relational dynamics, postulated hypnotic and trance influences, highlighted word and language differentials between pathological and non-pathological partners, and theorized that pathological dichotomous behavior impacted the development of cognitive dissonance as presenting trauma.  Expanded understanding on personality Super Traits taken from Case Studies was also expounded on, in the book, White Paper articles, in training materials, and widely on the internet.

2014 Quantitative Empirical Collaborative University Research: Personality Traits of Women in Relationships with Cluster B/Psychopathic Male Partners, Purdue University

Collaboratively performed with Purdue University, utilizing the Five Factor Model and Five Factor Form, a large sample of over 600 women completed the research supporting earlier research with The TCI that personality ‘super’ trait elevations exist in multiple domains. This is the first university supported research on this population of women in pathological love relationships.  Findings are currently in the process of publication.