The holidays are marketed as the most wonderful time of the year, yet they are often anxiety-provoking, even for people with relatively healthy family relationships. For trauma survivors, December can feel less like a Hallmark movie and more like a psychological crime scene, especially for those with a long-standing family scapegoat subscription.

The family scapegoat is most likely not the brother still living in Grandma’s basement; not the aunt who cries when the spotlight drifts from her casserole; and not the cousin who treats every gathering like an audition.

Scapegoat roles are often assigned based on arbitrary factors such as resemblance to a parent, physical characteristics, appearance, birth order,

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