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Conference - Agenda

    2008 Annual International Conference

    University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    June 26-29, 2008.


Time

Event

Room / Track

8:00 a.m.

9:00 p.m.

Bookstore

Phoenix Project Exhibit

Thursday - Sunday

 

Thursday, June 26 – Pre-Conference Workshops

9:00 – 10:00

Registration

10:00 – 5:00

Workshop for Former Group Members

Carol Giambalvo; Joseph Kelly

[For ex-members only]

Ex-Member

10:00 – 5:00

Workshop for Family Members

Michael Langone, Ph.D.; Patrick Ryan; Lois Svoboda, M.D., LMFT

Family

10:00 – 5:30

Workshop for Mental Health Professionals

Testifying in Court (William Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.) – 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Clinical Issues: Working with First-Generation Former Cultists (Rachel Bernstein, MS.Ed., LMFT) – 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Clinical Issues: Working with Second-Generation Former Cultists (Leona Furnari, M.S.W.; Michael Martella, M.F.T.)– 1:15 – 2:15 p.m.

Clinical Issues: Working with Families (Linda Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.; Roberta Eisenberg, M.S.W.) – 2:15 – 3:15 p.m.

Clinical Roundtable for Mental Health Practitioners (Facilitator: Gillie Jenkinson, M.A.) – 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.

[For mental health professionals only]

Mental Health

varies

Lunch

varies

Break

5:00 – 7:00

Dinner Break

7:00 – 9:00

Optional Discussion Session: Born or Raised

Michael Martella, M.A.; Joyce Martella

[Session is only for people born or raised in high-demand groups.]

Ex-Member

7:00 – 9:00

Introductory Workshop for Mental Health Professionals

Rosanne Henry, M.A., L.P.C.; et al.

Mental Health

7:00 – 9:00

Research Network Meeting 

Rod Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.

Research

7:00 –

11:00

Special Evening Events and Evening Social with Free Refreshments

 

7:00 – 10:00

The Phoenix Project Exhibit

 

Friday, June 27

8:00 – 9:00

Registration

9:00 – 9:30

Welcome and Introduction

Phil Elberg; Michael D. Langone, Ph.D

Awards

William Goldberg, M.S.W.

 

9:30 – 10:30

The Violent Outcomes of Ideological Extremism: What Have We Learned Since Jonestown?

Janja Lalich, Ph.D.

Keynote Address

10:30 –11:00

Break

11:00 – 12:30

Coping with Triggers

Carol Giambalvo; Joseph Kelly

[For ex-members only]

Ex-Member

The Boundary Between Cultic and Benign in Spiritual Groups

Elliot Benjamin, Ph.D.

Alcoholics Anonymous: The Disorganized Cult?

Kevin Garvey

Group

Cults on Trial: Issues  for the Forensic Mental Health Cult Expert (Steve K. D. Eichel, Ph.D., ABPP

[For mental health professionals only]

Mental Health

Modeling Variables Relevant to Cult Recruitment and Continued Participation

Elisabeth Robbins, Ph.D., LMFT, LMHC

A Survey of Legal and Legislative Professionals in Pennsylvania

Edward Lottick, M.D.

How to Critique Cults without Asking “How Abusive” My Childhood Was

Alicia Juskewycz

Research

Myths, Misnomers, and Missed Signals: Demystifying Cult Research

Janja Lalich, Ph.D., Moderator

The Naming Game: Why Academics Should be Concerned about Terms

Miriam Boeri, Ph.D.

What the Scholars Missed and Why they Missed Them: A Retrospective Examination of Several Major “Cult” Stories from the End of the Twentieth Century

Stephen A. Kent, Ph.D.

Research

How Grief Becomes Disenfranchised When Losing a Child  

Rosanne Henry, M.A., L.P.C.

Family

Influence, Law, and Ethics in the 21st Century

Alan Scheflin, J.D., LL.M.; Discussants: .; Francois Bellanger, Ph.D.; Rod Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.; Masaki Kito, Esq; Paul Martin, Ph.D.

Legal

12:30 – 2:00

Lunch

 

 

Special Lunch Discussion Session: On Going to College or Graduate School After a Cult Experience

Moderator: Janja Lalich, Ph.D. (Meet at the conference bookstore.  If you haven’t already, e-mail Dr. Lalich at jlalich@csuchico.edu).  Open only to ex-members.

place

2:00 –

3:30

Starting Out: A Discussion of Key Practical Issues People Face When They Leave Cults—Housing, Employment, Education, Social Skills, etc.

Livia Bardin, M.S.W.

Ex-Member

Authentic Writing and Cult Recovery

Daniel Shaw, LCSW, Moderator; Fred Poole; Marta Szabo

Ex-Member

The Use of Coercive Influence by the Tough Love Industry

Phil Elberg, Esq.; Maia Szalavitz

Group

Risk Factors for Therapists Working with Individuals and Families Who have been Affected by Destructive Cults

Linda J. Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.

The Continuum of Influence in Addictions Treatment: From Therapeutic Alliance to Undue Influence

Linda J. Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.; Roberta Eisenberg, M.S.W.; Steven Eisenberg

Mental Health

Dissociation and Depression in Treatment-Seeking Former Members of Contemplative Cults

Donna Adams

An Empirical Examination of Psychological Symptomatology among Different Coercive Group Types

Paul R. Martin, Ph.D.; Nicole Gullekson, Brian Uhlin & Lindsay Orchowski

The Wellspring Treatment Model for Victims of Cults and Cultic Relationships

Paul R. Martin, Ph.D.; Donna Adams

Research

Religious Conflict Resolution for Families

Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.; Patrick Ryan; Ronald Loomis

Family

History of Japan’s National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales and the Japan Society for Cult Prevention and Recovery

Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Esq.; Shuji Nakamura, Esq; Masaki Kito, Esq; Taro Takimoto Esq.

Legal

3:30 –4:00

Break

4:00 –5:30

Special Session for Born or Raised (Second Generation)

Michael Martella, MFT; Joyce Martella

[For second-generation ex-members only]

Ex-Member

After the Cult: Who Am I?

Leona Furnari, M.S.W.

[For ex-members only]

Ex-Member

Novel Unsupported Therapies: Pseudoscientific and Cult-Like Characteristics

Monica Pignotti, MSW, Moderator; James D. Herbert, Ph.D.; Jean Mercer, Ph.D.

Group

Psychological and Relational Harm in People Affected by Cults: A Preliminary Analysis

Miguel Perlado, Inma Sánchez, Luca Basile, Josep Mª Jansà, Núria Ribas, Vega González, Esther Maté, Marga Cano

Cults and Creativity   

Dana Wehle, L.C.S.W.

Mental Health

The Marginals: People on the Boundary of a New Religious Movement

Eileen Barker, Ph.D.

Mind Control in the Cult “Orizzonti Nuovi”: A Schismatic Group of The Family – A Survey of Internal Sources

Dr. Cristina Caparesi

The Problem of “Sectarian Mentality” Within Church Communities

Piotr Tomasz Nowakowski, Ph.D.

Research

Writing Case Studies

Sharon Farber, Ph.D.

Writing as a Tool for Healing from the Trauma of a Cult Experience

Kristen DeVoe

Avoiding Legal Entanglements When Writing

Takashi Yamaguchi, Esq.

Miscellaneous

Polygamy and Government: Policies, Powers and Limitations of State and Local Governments

Livia Bardin, M.S.W.  Jane Irvine, ACSW, LCSW; Paul Murphy

Legal

5:30 – 7:00

Dinner Break

7:00 –11:00

Special Evening Events and Evening Social with Free Refreshments

 

7:30 – 9:00

Since You've Been Gone: A reading of a new play about the cult experience, to be followed by audience discussion