Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Kate Amber MSc is a researcher, speaker, trainer, consultant and turnaround expert in coercive control and domestic abuse/violence in the contexts of family abuse, human trafficking, gangs, extremist groups, religions, workplace abuse, and psychological maltreatment. She holds post graduate certifications in violence and abuse prevention executive leadership, and coercive control, and professional certifications in human rights, ADA advocacy, the Homicide Timeline, and the Danger Assessment. Ms. Amber is trained on the Safe & Together CORE Model at the intersection of domestic violence and child abuse, and assesses cases for different types of abuse and the short and longterm risks involved for adults and children traumatized by it. Ms. Amber's Quicksand Model™ of Coercive Control (QSM™) is a synthesis of 70 years of research and theory on coercive and controlling abuse of power and the trauma it causes. Ms. Amber speaks, conducts research, and trains mental health, law enforcement and legal professionals internationally on the QSM™, the only current model that applies across all environments where coercive control can occur. Whether coercive control is occurring within a family, workplace, school, club, organization, group or government entity, it can be extremely destructive to the productivity of the individual target as well as the entire team. Coercive control covers a range of psychologically abusive behaviors that entrap the victim and constrict their liberty and autonomy. The QSM™ addresses the harmful and traumatizing impacts of coercive control on adult and child victims, making these often invisible tactics, visible. Ms. Amber's lived experience of coercive control in multiple contexts is critical to her understanding of the pattern of behaviors coercive controllers exhibit, and this experience has been integrated into the QSM™ to provide mental health, law enforcement and legal professionals with the tools needed to detect, intervene in and prevent coercive control. While current legislation on coercive control in the US is relatively new, Ms. Amber understands the foundational aspects of the pattern, which are closely related to terrorism, torture and kidnapping, and which date back in research more than 70 years. The QSM™ integrates the fields of neuroscience, trauma, partnership and domination systems, psychology, sociology, biology, human rights, and intimate terrorism to effectively and holistically address and dismantle discrimination and oppression within families, organization, groups and systems worldwide. Ms. Amber specializes in custody, civil and criminal cases that involve aspects of coercive control, domestic violence, cult-like dynamics, child abuse, child sexual abuse, false accusations, undue influence, human trafficking, and hostile work environments, including cases that involve human rights violations, grooming, coercion or any type of consent violation, psychological manipulation, discrimination or oppression. To date Ms. Amber has worked on upwards of forty-five cases providing assessments, reports and/or expert testimony in twenty five US states.