Emotional Abuse Survivor Annette Oltmans of The MEND Project Recently Featured on Close Up Radio

LAGUNA BEACH, CA, UNITED STATES, September 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Years ago, when Annette Oltmans and another family member had equally unsettling experiences, she wasn’t sure how to identify what she was going through or how to explain it to others. It wasn’t until she read numerous books and scholarly studies that she saw how limited resources were for others like her. That is why she founded The MEND Project, a nonprofit organization that helps people suffering from emotional abuse find the clarity they need to heal.

Annette spent the next year interviewing hundreds of survivors of hidden forms of emotional abuse and manipulation, sometimes referred to as covert emotional abuse. Hidden forms of emotional abuse are hard to name and describe because they can be subtle behaviors, such as blame-shifting, gaslighting, false accusations, minimization, and so forth. In her interviews, Annette found that survivors were often highly confused and stressed, unable to determine the root cause of their relationship problems. Annette spent the next four years beta-testing language in community training sessions she conducted with survivors, domestic violence advocates, first responders, clinicians, and religious and secular organizations. Through evaluations and feedback, she determined what language resonated most with survivors and helped them break free from the confusion that hindered them from making sound decisions or taking next steps.

The MEND Project provides a comprehensive website with tools and resources, a YouTube channel with free webinars, and online self-paced courses that bring clarity to survivors and responders. The course for licensed clinicians is sanctioned by The American Psychological Association for continuing education hours.

Annette often says that clarity is the first necessary step to healing. The MEND Project is a go-to place for survivors to gain education, heal, and regain their strength and agency. Clarity and knowledge are essential to determine next steps to improve their lives, whether they decide to stay or leave.

Covert emotional abuse is the common thread in all relational abuse cases. That means that schoolyard and online bullying, sexual harassment, workplace sabotage, and even child molestation involve hidden forms of emotional abuse. Think of Dr. Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics and the hundreds of survivors who were manipulated into trusting Larry Nassar. He groomed them through lies and manipulation and used the words he used to describe these so-called medical treatments as legitimate. You may also remember how these young women and girls experienced Double Abuse by Michigan State University, USA Gymnastics, and the FBI when each of these institutions failed to believe or support them. The MEND Project also teaches on the subject of Double Abuse because so many survivors of various forms of abuse are often not believed and pushed into further oppression and isolation. This secondary layer of harm exacerbates the survivor’s trauma and is said to often be worse than the original abuse.

It takes tremendous courage for a victim of abuse to speak up or reach out for help. They instinctively know that if they aren’t believed, they will be wrongly judged instead, causing significant trauma and leading them to a place of hopelessness and despair. The MEND Project takes great care to train responders to interface with survivors using trauma-informed best practices. The resources offered by Annette and her team help with vocabulary too, so that the person experiencing upsetting behaviors can articulate what they are experiencing to better advocate for themselves.. Most victims of abuse, including physical abuse, often say that the emotional abuse was much worse. It made it very difficult to uncover the root cause of their relationship problems.

In coming to this podcast, Annette hopes to raise awareness overall and let survivors and responders know there is help available. She wants to reveal what emotional abuse and manipulation can be like and why it is so damaging. It is hard to recognize the signs of abuse without the bruises she says, and while physical wounds eventually heal, emotional ones last.

Annette is appearing in a Close Up Radio series on The Most Empowering Women in America, and the work she does certainly is empowering to others. In her course for survivors, she helps them transition from a victim to survivor and to thriving. The healing process entails a lot of soul searching to empower themselves, learn to trust the inner voice, and learn to emotionally disengage from those who cause harm and their demeaning dialogue.

The comprehensive services of The MEND Project go far beyond identifying patterns, behaviors and language, and become useful for a continual healing journey. MEND often says clarity is the first necessary step to healing. Until a person understands what is happening, they will remain in prolonged states of high stress and confusion, or what are known as trauma states.

Annette Oltmans endured years of covert emotional abuse in her marriage. The original harm she experienced was compounded when she encountered spiritual and institutional abuse from her church community. The goal of The MEND Project, a 501 c 3 charitable organization, is to educate, equip, and restore all who are impacted by emotional abuse and to train those who interface with them personally or professionally. They proudly offer a variety of tools, media, and training courses, including ones dedicated to educating professionals. These resources include real-life questions and answers, and tools to gain deeper insight into how to navigate difficult, confusing, or abusive relationships. There is also a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@themendproject) with videos on topics like how to be the parent your child needs now. Trauma Bonds, Complex PTSD, and approximately 70 additional webinars. Learn more in this interview.

Close Up Radio recently featured Annette Oltmans, founder of The MEND Project, in an interview with Jim Masters on Tuesday September 15th at 3pm Eastern

Listen to the Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-up-radio-spotlights-emotional-abuse-survivor/id1785721253?i=1000790297355
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-close-up-radio-242020413/episode/close-up-radio-spotlights-emotional-abuse-survivor-annette-oltmans-of-the-mend-project-345504274
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2pnIZjuKRmtbwP2CiJECsG

For more information about Annette and her work, visit www.themendproject.com

Lou Ceparano
Close Up Television & Radio
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