Help Others

Interested in getting involved?   Write mail@icsamail.com

Get involved with ICSA!

The most basic way in which to help others is to support ICSA financially so that ICSA volunteers can continue their work helping, educating, and researching. 

You may also volunteer your time and expertise. Without volunteers, ICSA would be a shadow of what it is today. 

Over the years many hundreds of persons (former group members, families, mental health professionals, researchers, clergy, educators, lawyers, and others)  have contributed by speaking at our conferences and other events and/or by writing for our journals, magazines, and newsletters. There are far too many persons to list - see People Profiles.  Visit our conference archive folder to see abstracts and biographical sketches of presenters. And peruse our list of articles published in ICSA periodicals to get a sense of the number of people who have contributed through writing. The peer reviewed articles in this list have depended upon volunteer editorial review boards who evaluate article submissions,. Others have made artistic contributions.

If any of the involvement actions below interest you, contact ICSA.

Scroll down for details on specific ways in which your involvement with ICSA can help others..

Opportunities to Meet and Work with Others

ICSA Members have a number of methods by which they can network with others who share their interest in cultic groups:

Research Opportunities

ICSA’s Research Committee runs a preconference workshop for researchers prior to ICSA’s annual conference. Members of the broader research network also communicate informally about research studies and plans. Students, in particular, can get advice and guidance.

ICSA also can sometimes help researchers obtain subjects for their studies.

Researchers may present their findings at ICSA conferences and submit articles to its academic journal, International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation (IJCAM) or its magazine, ICSA Today.

ICSA encourages book projects among its volunteers. 

Opportunities to Present

Opportunities to Publish

ICSA has two periodical to which members (and nonmembers) may make submissions:

ICSA Today (IT) - a magazine that has much flexibility with regard to types of submissions. In addition to articles on a variety of subjects and styles (popular, professional, column), ICSA Today publishes poetry and art.  Author guidelines.   Sample issue. 

International Journal on Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation (IJCAM) is an academic journal open to submissions that adhere to academic standards. Submissions are peer reviewed. 

Opportunities to Train

Currently, ICSA's training opportunities are found at our conferences and workshops.

When one gets to know specific ICSA members, one may also arrange individualized training (e.g., mental health supervision) outside of ICSA.

ICSA's Research and Mental Health Networks also try to provide educational advice to current or prospective graduate students. Our graduate study page lists programs and professors interested in cultic studies.

In the future, ICSA hopes to develop online training modules.

Opportunity to Contribute Art, Literary, Music

ICSA invites former members of high-demand groups to share their personal stories and reflections - whether in narrative, poetic, or visual forms - at conferences, on the Web, and in our magazine, ICSA Today

ICSA has found that artistic expressions related to the feelings of former cultic group members can sometimes capture or reveal subtleties that elude analytic writing.

Artistic creations, with their added emotional dimension, shed light on the reality of life in a high-demand organization and its effects on individuals. Creating art work also provides an empowering experience to the artists, giving them the chance to tell their own stories in their own ways.

Currently, ICSA offers three outlets for artistic contributions: