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ICSA
Conference Handbook
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
June 26 – June 29, 2008
Table of Contents
Talks by Title
Abstracts
Biographical Sketches
Copyright International
Cultic Studies Association,
2008
P.O. Box 2265
Bonita Springs, FL 34133
www.icsahome.com
mail@icsamail.com
Views expressed in ICSA
publications, conferences,
workshops, Web sites, and
other communication venues
are those of the author(s)
or speaker(s) and are not
necessarily shared,
endorsed, or recommended by
ICSA or any of its
directors, staff, or
advisors.
A
Causal Model of Some
Perceived
Socio-Psychological and
Academic Factors As
Determinants of Cult
Membership Among University
Students in Southwestern
Nigeria
Adesoji A. Oni, Ph.D.; Kola
Babarinde, Ph.D.
A
Survey of Legal and
Legislative Professionals in
Pennsylvania
Edward Lottick, M.D.
After the Cult: Who Am I?
Leona
Furnari, M.S.W.
[This session is for
ex-members only.]
An
Empirical Examination of
Psychological Symptomatology
Among Different Coercive
Group Types
Paul R. Martin, Ph.D.;
Nicole Gullekson; Brian
Uhlin; Lindsay Orchowski
An
Investigation into Cult
Pseudo-personality and How
it Forms
Gillie
Jenkinson, M.A.
Aum
Shinrikyo: Its Current
Situation- Are they still
dangerous? Where are they
going? Former and current
members on Death Row. What
is the government doing?
Taro Takimoto, Esq.; Masaki
Kito, Esq.
Authentic Writing and Cult
Recovery
Daniel Shaw, LCSW,
Moderator; Fred Poole; Marta
Szabo
Avoiding Legal Entanglements
When Writing
Takashi Yamaguchi, Esq.
Boundaries: Recognition and
Repair After Leaving a
Destructive Cult
Rosanne
Henry, M.A., L.P.C.
[This session is for
ex-members only.]
Charisma in Absentia:
Comparing Recruitment
Session Leadership
Strategies of Cults and New
Religious Movements
Joshua Rosenblum, M.A.
Child Sexual Abuse in Cults:
Can It Be Prevented?
Kimberlee Norris, Esq.
Coping with Triggers
Carol Giambalvo; Joseph
Kelly
[This session is for
ex-members only.]
Cults and Creativity: The
Last Draw
Dana Wehle, L.C.S.W., M.F.A.;
Gillie Jenkinson, M.A.;
Colleen Ruseell, L.M.F.T.
Cults and NRMs in Modern
Literature
Dennis King
Cults on Campus: Case of the
JMS in Japanese Universities
Yoshihide Sakurai, Ph.D.
Cults on Trial: Issues for
the Forensic Mental Health
Cult Expert
Steve K. D.
Eichel, Ph.D.
[This session is for
mental-health professionals
only.]
Cults, the Law, and
Government: A Discussion
Moderator: Michael Kropveld;
Marci Hamilton, J.D.;
Francois Bellanger, Ph.D.;
Masaki Kito, Esq.; Stephen
Mutch, Ph.D., LL.B.; Alan
Scheflin, J.D., LL.M.
Decline of the Gentle Wind
Project: How Former Members
Withstood a Lawsuit and
Secured a Victory for Free
Speech
James Bergin, M.A.; Judy
Garvey; Arthur Dole, Ph.D.;
Cathleen Mann, Ph.D.
Ill Wind: Deposition
Concerning the Gentle Wind
Project
Arthur A. Dole, Ph.D., ABPP
The Role of the Expert in
Civil Litigation Against
Cults: A Winning Case
Against the Gentle Wind
Project from Maine
Cathleen A.
Mann, Ph.D.
Deprogramming: A 24-Year
Follow-up
Gabriel Brandis; Steve K. D.
Eichel, Ph.D., ABPP
Description of
Pre-Conditions of Cultic
Personality Dependence:
Results of Ukrainian
Research into Nontraditional
Religious Activity
Olena Lischynska, Ph.D.
Disconfirming Inaccurate,
Self-Limiting Beliefs
Internalized Through Thought
Reform with Corrective
Emotional Experience
Colleen Russell, L.M.F.T.
Dissociation and Depression
in Treatment-Seeking Former
Members of Contemplative
Cults
Donna
Adams, Ph.D.
Dissociation and Self-Harm
in Cultic Groups
Sharon K. Farber, Ph.D.
Distinguished Legal Lecture:
Religion, the Truth, and the
Public Good
Marci Hamilton, M.A., J.D.
Divorce and Cults
Marybeth Ayella, Ph.D.;
Carol Diament
Educate, Communicate and
Persevere: Coping with a
Cult Experience
Walter and Julie Jacobs;
Joseph Szimhart
Elements of Harmful Cult
Activity: An Exit
Counselor’s Working Model
Joseph Szimhart
Ex-Member Debriefing
Carol Giambalvo
[This session is for
ex-members only.]
Exploring and Developing a
Model and Theory of
Totalistic Identity in
Ex-Cult Members
Rod Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.;
Paul Martin, Ph.D.
Four
Approaches to Helping
Families
Lois Svoboda, M.D., LMFT,
Moderator; David Clark;
Joseph Szimhart; Joseph
Kelly/Patrick Ryan; Steve
Hassan, M.Ed., LMHC, NCC
Group and Individual
Counseling with Cult
Survivors from a Long-Term
Trauma Theory Perspective
Michael
Martella, M.F.T.
Growing Up in Cults: The
Special Issues of Children
in Cults and
Second-Generation Cult
Members
Joyce
Martella, M.A., Moderator;
Juliana Buhring; Donna
Collins; Michael Martella,
MFT; Gina Catena, MS, CNM,
NP
Advocating for Children’s
Rights
Juliana Buhring
A Climate of Fear
Donna Collins
The Masks We Wore
Michael Martella, MFT
Post-Cult Identity Issues
for Second-Generation Adults
Gina Catena, MS
History of Japanese Lawyers
Against Spiritual Sales and
the Japan Society for Cult
Prevention and Recovery
Shuji
Nakamura Esq, Masaki Kito
Esq, Taro Takimoto Esq.
How
Grief Becomes
Disenfranchised When Losing
a Child
Rosanne
Henry, M.A., L.P.C.
How
to Set Up and Facilitate a
Support Group
William Goldberg, M.S.W.,
L.C.S.W.; Lorna Goldberg,
M.S.W., L.C.S.W.
Identity Construction of
Children Growing into Closed
Religious Environments
Lorraine Derocher
Informal Case Presentations
and Group Supervision—for
Psychotherapists Working
with Former Cult Members
Daniel Shaw, LCSW
Introductory Workshop for
Mental-Health Professionals
Rosanne
Henry, M.A., L.P.C.
[This session is for
mental-health professionals
only.]
Jehovah’s Witnesses: Being
Freed from Disabling Hooks
Dan Clark
Manipulating Other People’s
Marriage for Money
Randy
Kandel, Ph.D., J.D.
Mind
Control in the Cult
“Orizzonti Nuovi”: A
Schismatic Group of The
Family—A Survey of Internal
Sources
Dr. Cristina Caparesi
Myths, Misnomers, and Missed
Signals: Demystifying Cult
Research
Janja Lalich, Ph.D.,
Moderator; Miriam Boeri,
Ph.D.; Stephen A. Kent,
Ph.D.
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.
Novel Unsupported Therapies:
Pseudoscientific and
Cult-Like Characteristics
Monica Pignotti, MSW,
Moderator; James D. Herbert,
Ph.D.; Jean Mercer, Ph.D.
Novel Therapies and
Extraordinary Claims: Being
a Good Consumer
James D. Herbert
Children and Cult-like
Therapy Groups
Jean Mercer
Thought Field Therapy: A
Former Insider’s Experience
Monica Pignotti
Opening Keynote Address: The
Violent Outcomes of
Ideological Extremism: What
Have We Learned Since
Jonestown?
Janja Lalich, Ph.D.
Optional Discussion Session:
Born or Raised
Michael
Martella, M.A.; Joyce
Martella
[This session is for people
born or raised in
high-demand groups only.]
Parental Alienation Syndrome
and the Cult of Parenthood
Amy J. L. Baker, Ph.D.;
Discussants: William
Goldberg, M.S.W.; Lorna
Goldberg, M.S.W.
Phoenix Project: Ex-Member
Art and Literary Works
Diana Pletts
Polygamy and Government:
Policies, Powers, and
Limitations of State and
Local Governments
Livia Bardin, M.S.W.; Jane
Irvine, ACSW, LCSW; Paul
Murphy
Polygamy: Recent
Developments
Andrea Moore Emmett; Laura
Chapman; Sylvia Mahr
Problems with Justification:
How to Critique Cults
Without Asking "How Abusive
Was Your Experience?”
Alicia Juskewycz
Psychological Violence
Strategies of the ETA
Terrorist Network in the
Basque Country: An
Exploratory Study
Javier
Martín-Peña; Álvaro
Rodríguez-Carballeira; Jordi
Escartín; Clara Porrúa;
Federico Javaloy
Psychotherapy Facades and
Legal Charades: My
Adventures in the Land of
Undue Influence
Sheila Rae Bradley
Public Policy and Cults in
Europe
Francois Bellanger, Ph.D.
Religious Conflict
Resolution for Families
Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.;
Patrick Ryan
Resiliency and Post
Traumatic Growth in the
Healing Journey Toward
Recovery
Doni Whitsett, Ph.D.,
L.C.S.W.
Risk
Factors for Therapists
Working with Individuals and
Families Who Have Been
Affected by Destructive
Cults
Linda J. Dubrow-Marshall,
Ph.D.
Roundtable on Theoretical
Developments in the Field of
Undue Influence and Cults
Rod Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.,
Facilitator; Janja Lalich,
Ph.D.; Paul Martin, Ph.D.;
Alan Scheflin, J.D., LL.M.;
Benjamin Zablocki, Ph.D.
Secular vs. Religious:
Identity Issues for
Individuals Exiting
Bible-based Cults
Wendy and Doug Duncan
Self-Report Measures of
Psychological Abuse
Carmen Almendros, Ph.D.,
Moderator; José Antonio
Carrobles, Ph.D.; Rod
Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.;
Kimiaki
Nishida, Ph.D.; Álvaro
Rodríguez-Carballeira,
Ph.D.
Significant Cult Legal Cases
in Japan
Masaki Kito, Esq.; Takashi
Yamaguchi, Esq.; Yukari
Yamamoto
Since You've Been Gone: A
reading of a new play about
the cult experience, to be
followed by audience
discussion
D. W. Gregory
Sociological Analysis of
Former Adherents and
Families of Former
Adherents: Discourse About
Leaving New Religious
Movements in Spain
María del
Mar Ramos-Lorente, Ph.D.;
Pedro Castón-Boyer, Ph.D.
Special Lunch Discussion
Session: On Going to College
or Graduate School After a
Cult Experience
Moderator: Janja Lalich,
Ph.D.
Special Session for Born or
Raised (Second Generation)
Michael Martella, MFT; Joyce
Martella
[This session is for
second-generation ex-members
only.]
Starting Out: A Discussion
of Key Practical Issues
People Face When They Leave
Cults—Housing, Employment,
Education, Social Skills,
And So On
Livia
Bardin, M.S.W.
Steve Hassan Reflects on 30
Years of Activism
Steven A. Hassan, M.Ed.,
LMHC, NCC
Terrorism and Cultic
Studies: A Brief Overview
Michael D.
Langone, Ph.D.
The
Anti-Cult Cult
Ginger Zyskowski; Carol
Giambalvo
The
Boundary between Cultic and
Benign in Spiritual Groups
Elliot Benjamin, 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
The
Development and Empirical
Examination of the Lifton
Scale
Paul R. Martin, Ph.D.;
Nicole Gullekson
The
Marginals: People on the
Boundary of a New Religious
Movement
Eileen Barker, Ph.D.
The
Problem of “Sectarian
Mentality” Within Church
Communities
Piotr Tomasz Nowakowski,
Ph.D.
The
Puzzle of Brainwashing
Janja Lalich, Ph.D.;
Benjamin Zablocki, Ph.D.
Pruning the Brainwashing
Concept in Order to Save It
Benjamin Zablocki, Ph.D.
Now You See It, Now You
Don't: Why We Need to
Recognize Brainwashing and
Its Close and Distant
Cousins
Janja Lalich, Ph.D.
The Red
Mosque: A Case Study of How
Religion Can Evolve into a
Terrorist Cult
Ana
Ballesteros Peiró; M. Jesus
Martin Lopez; Jose Manuel
Martinez
The
Socialization of Women into
a Polygamous Lifestyle: The
Experience of Canadian
Fundamentalist Mormons
Marie-Andrée
Pelland, Ph.D.; Dianne
Casoni, Ph.D.
The
Use of Coercive Influence by
the Tough Love Industry
Philip Elberg, Esq.; Maia
Szalavitz
The
Wellspring Treatment Model
for Victims of Cults and
Cultic Relationships
Paul R. Martin, Ph.D.; Donna
Adams, Ph.D.
Thirty Years of Treatment
for Individuals and Families
Affected by Psychologically
Manipulative Groups (GMP):
An Epidemiological
Perspective
Núria Ribas;
Josep Maria Jansà; Luca
Basile; Inma Sánchez; Vega
González; Miguel Perlado;
Esther Maté; Marga Cano;
Teresa Fernández
Update on Cult Legal Cases
and Issues in Japan
Masaki Kito, Esq.; Shuji
Nakamura, Esq.; Takashi
Yamaguchi, Esq.; Reiko
Higashi, Esq.
Update on the International
Churches of Christ and the
Reemergence of Kip McKean
David Clark
Workshop for Family Members
Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.;
Ron Loomis; Patrick Ryan
Workshop for Former Group
Members
Carol Giambalvo; Joseph
Kelly
[This session is for former
members of cultic groups
only.]
Workshop for Mental Health
Professionals
Clinical Issues: Working
with Families
Facilitators: Linda Dubrow-Marshall,
Ph.D.; Roberta Eisenberg,
M.S.W.
Clinical Issues: Working
with First-Generation Former
Cultists
Rachel
Bernstein, MS.Ed., LMFT;
Discussant: Lorna Goldberg,
M.S.W.
Clinical Issues: Working
with Second-Generation
Former Cultists
Leona
Furnari, M.S.W.; Michael
Martella, M.F.T.
Clinical Roundtable for
Mental Health Practitioners
Gillie Jenkinson, M.A.,
Facilitator
Testifying in Court
William
Goldberg, M.S.W.
Writing As a Tool for
Healing from the Trauma of a
Cult Experience
Kristen
Skedgell, M.Div., L.C.S.W.
Writing Case Studies
Sharon Farber, Ph.D.
A Causal Model of Some
Perceived
Socio-Psychological and
Academic Factors As
Determinants of Cult
Membership Among University
Students in Southwestern
Nigeria
Adesoji A. Oni, Ph.D.; Kola
Babarinde, Ph.D.
One of
the challenges facing
Nigerian higher education is
cultism. Secret cults have
developed into a
socio-cultural menace and
assumed a disturbing
dimension in recent times on
Nigerian university
campuses. Cultism breeds
gruesome acts of
destruction, deviance,
violence, and homicide. This
study constructed and tested
a model for providing a
causal explanation of cult
membership in terms of
socio-psychological and
academic factors among
university students in
Southwestern Nigeria, with a
view to developing an
empirical approach that
would further add to an
informed understanding of
the problem and its
solutions. An ex post facto
research method using
correlational design was
adopted for the study. Four
research questions were
generated and answered.
Since cult-related crises
have a regional significance
and are pronounced in
southern Nigerian campuses,
seven hundred and ninety
(790) subjects using a
stratified quota sampling
technique were randomly
drawn from the 10 federal
and state universities in
Southwestern Nigeria. A
multipurpose cult membership
scale with six validated sub
scales were used; namely,
“Student Information sub
scale (r=0.80),” “University
Staff sub scale (r=0.83),”
“University Senior
Counseling Officers’ sub
scale (r=0.81),” “University
Chief Security Officers’ sub
scale (r=0.74),” “Divisional
Police Officers’ sub scale
(r=0.69)” and “Dean of
Students’ Affairs’ sub scale
(r=0.86).” Data collected
were subjected to
confirmatory causal modeling
using multiple regression
and path analysis at .05
alpha level. The findings
showed that 44.6% of the
variability in cult
membership (X10)
was accounted for by all the
nine predictor variables
taken together. Only four of
the variables—gender
involvement (X1),
social status (X2),
aggression (X8),
and academic performance (X9)
had significant direct
causal effect on cult
membership (X10).
Gender involvement has the
highest contribution ß
=-.321, (12.73%), followed
by Academic Performance
ß=.287, (11.38%), Aggression
ß=-.109, (4.32%), and lastly
Social Status ß=-.099,
(3.92%). The other five
variables—Family background
(X3), Suppression
of organized students’ union
(X4), Peers’
motivation (X5),
Spiritual Power (X6),
and Self concept (X7)—do
not have significant direct
effect on the dependent
measure. In all, there were
22 significant pathways
through which the perceived
socio-psychological and
academic factors showed
variations in cult
membership. The influence of
gender involvement and
social status underscores
the need for parents to pay
attention to their wards and
also monitor their progress
in schools through visits
and regular demands for
their moral and academic
reports. The reported direct
and indirect influence of
aggression and academic
performance on cult
membership underscores the
need for academic programs
in the universities to be
strengthened with the view
to keeping students
intellectually engaged and
avoiding victimization,
intimidation, and
suppression of any form. The
school curriculum from
primary to post-secondary
schools should be reviewed
and revamped to embrace
civic, religious, and moral
education that will reflect
belief systems, norms, and
values of the society.
A Survey of Legal and
Legislative Professionals in
Pennsylvania
Edward Lottick, M.D.
Having
done surveys of health
professionals in 1992 and in
2004, and having presented
results in subsequent
forums, it seemed logical to
broaden perspectives by
surveying an entirely
different occupational
configuration; in summer
2007, I turned to law
professionals. Again, for my
sample population, I focused
on my home state,
Pennsylvania, and surveyed
law professionals throughout
the commonwealth. I choose
those concerned with writing
laws, those concerned with
enforcing laws, and those
concerned with adjudicating
laws. All Pennsylvania State
legislators, both house and
senate, all 67 county
district attorneys and half
of Pennsylvania assistant
district attorneys (those
listed), and all
Pennsylvania courts of
common pleas judges were
surveyed. The survey
population totaled about
1,000 professionals, 254
legislators, 250 district
attorneys, and 500 judges.
Results, implications, and
opportunities will be
discussed.
After the Cult: Who Am
I?
Leona
Furnari, M.S.W.
[This session is for
ex-members only.]
According to Judith Herman
in Trauma and Recovery:
Psychological trauma is an
affliction of the powerless.
At the moment of trauma, the
victim is rendered helpless
by overwhelming force. When
the force is that of nature,
we speak of disasters. When
the force is that of other
human beings, we speak of
atrocities. Traumatic events
overwhelm the ordinary
systems of care that give
people a sense of
control, connection, and
meaning.
Disconnection
Traumatic events call into
question basic human
relationships. They breach
the attachments of family,
friendship, love, and
community. They shatter the
construction of the self
that is formed and sustained
in relation to others. They
undermine the belief systems
that give meaning to human
experience. They violate the
victim’s faith in a natural
or divine order and cast the
victim into a state of
existential crisis....
A
secure sense of connection
with caring people is the
foundation of personality
development. When this
connection is shattered, the
traumatized person loses
his/her basic sense of self.
Developmental conflicts of
childhood and adolescence,
long since resolved, are
suddenly reopened. Trauma
forces the survivor to
relive all of his/her
earlier struggles over
autonomy, initiative,
competence, identity, and
intimacy.
From
Childhood and Society by
Eric Erikson:
Erickson’s Psychosocial
Stages:
Each
stage is characterized by a
conflict that has two
opposing possible outcomes.
If the emotional and
physical needs of the
child/survivor are
adequately met, he/she
resolves the conflict—i.e.,
learning to trust … and can
move on to the next stage.
·
Trust vs.
Mistrust
·
Autonomy vs.
Shame and Doubt
·
Initiative vs.
Guilt
·
Industry vs.
Inferiority
·
Identity vs.
Role Confusion
·
Intimacy vs.
Isolation
·
Generativity
vs. Stagnation
·
Ego Integrity
vs. Despair
The
core concept of Erikson’s
Eight Stages of Man is the
acquisition of a strong and
healthy ego-identity through
consistent and meaningful
recognition of one’s
achievements and
accomplishments.
In
Identity, Youth, and Crisis
Erikson describes
Identity:
1.
a feeling of being at
home in one’s body,
2.
a sense of knowing
where one is going, and
3.
an inner assuredness
of anticipated recognition
from those who count.
Identity is a conscious
sense of individual
uniqueness.
Identity can be an
unconscious striving for a
continuity of experience.
Identity is created from
solidarity with a group’s
ideals.
From
Trauma and Recovery by
Judith Herman:
Recovery
Having
come to terms with the
traumatic past, the survivor
faces the task of creating a
future. She has mourned the
old self that the trauma
destroyed; now she must
develop a new self. Her
relationships have been
tested and forever changed
by the trauma; she must
develop new relationships.
The old beliefs that gave
meaning to her life have
been challenged; now she
must find a new sustaining
faith.
Reconciling with Oneself
(Once)
The survivor no longer feels
possessed by her traumatic
past, she is in possession
of herself. She has some
understanding of the person
she used to be and of the
damage done to that person
by the traumatic event. Her
task now is to become the
person she wants to be. In
the process she draws upon
those aspects of herself
that she most values:
·
from the time
before the trauma,
·
from the
experience of the trauma
itself, and
·
from the
period of recovery.
·
Integrating
all of these elements, she
creates a new self, both
ideally, and in actuality.
The
re-creation of an ideal self
involves the active exercise
of imagination and fantasy,
capacities that have now
been liberated. In earlier
stages, the survivor’s
fantasy life was dominated
by repetitions of the
trauma, and her imagination
was limited by a sense of
helplessness and futility.
Now she has the capacity to
revisit old hopes and
dreams. The survivor may
initially resist doing so,
fearing the pain of
disappointment. It takes
courage to move out of the
constricted stance of the
victim. But just as the
survivor must dare to
confront her fears, she must
also dare to define her
wishes.
An Empirical Examination
of Psychological
Symptomatology Among
Different Coercive Group
Types
Paul R. Martin, Ph.D.;
Nicole Gullekson; Brian
Uhlin; Lindsay Orchowski
The
current presentation
examines data collected at
Wellspring Retreat and
Resource Center, a
residential rehabilitation
center for ex-cult members
that has treated nearly 900
clients over the past two
decades. Results of intake
evaluations suggest that
respondents were involved in
a variety of different
coercive groups, with the
largest percentage of
respondents being
characterized in
Pseudo-Christian and
totalist groups. Differences
in psychological
symptomatology and life
events between cultic group
types have not been
extensively studied. Rather,
many previous studies have
focused on such variables in
members of a specific cult
(e.g., Church Universal and
Triumphant; Gasde & Block,
1998). Our data suggest
that, while age of intake at
Wellspring differed among
the seven group types, no
differences in
hospitalization or
counseling services before,
during, or after cult
involvement were found
between the groups.
Moreover, no significant
differences between the
groups were found in total
levels of depression, total
problem checklist, years in
group, or time from exit to
treatment. However, the data
do suggest that differences
exist between cultic groups
on the impact of events and
certain psychological
symptomatology. For example,
differences between the
groups were found in anxious
dependency and phobic
anxiety, as well as in the
amount of personal growth,
independence, conflict,
cohesion, and intrusion in
one’s life. Thus, the aim of
the current presentation is
to empirically examine data,
comparing cultic and
coercive group types. How
the result of this
examination compares to
current theory in cultic
influence will be discussed,
as well as how this data can
be utilized in clinical
practice.
An Investigation into
Cult Pseudo-personality and
How it Forms
Gillie
Jenkinson, M.A.
This
paper, which develops issues
discussed in a paper
presented by Ms. Jenkinson
at the ICSA Conference in
Brussels in 2007,
investigates some of the
possible explanations for
the cult pseudo-personality,
including Dissociation,
Dissociative Identity
Disorder, Doubling, False
Self, and Adjustment. Ms.
Jenkinson proposes that none
of these provides a clear
and satisfactory
explanation, and she puts
forward an analysis based on
Introjection. The latter
section of the paper
explores some basic ideas
from neuroscience and
creatively applies them to
the development of the cult
pseudo-personality.
Aum Shinrikyo: Its
Current Situation- Are they
still dangerous? Where are
they going? Former and
current members on Death
Row. What is the government
doing?
Taro Takimoto, Esq.; Masaki
Kito, Esq.
Two leading Japanese lawyers
who are specialists on Aum
Shinrikyo will provide an
update on legal cases and
the current situation of the
group involving Aum leader,
Shoko Asahara, and his
followers.
Authentic Writing and
Cult Recovery
Daniel Shaw, LCSW,
Moderator; Fred Poole; Marta
Szabo
This
panel will be introduced by
Daniel Shaw, LCSW, a
psychoanalyst in private
practice in New York City,
and a former member of
Siddha Yoga who exited in
1994.
Daniel
will introduce Fred Poole,
founder of the Authentic
Writing workshops. Mr.
Poole, who himself is an
author, will introduce the
basic concepts and format of
Authentic Writing. These
workshops are designed to
help people get at their
most true versions of
reality, which are always to
some degree in deadly
conflict with triumphal
versions imposed by
institutions and individuals
in some cult of family, work
place, nation state, or
religious/spiritual
community. Authentic Writing
is based on the idea that
the most important thing a
person can ever do—in life
as well as in art—is to get
that person’s story right.
It is almost impossible to
tell a story verbally
without knowing where it
will go. But when a story
moves from the head to
paper—when the writer is
open to recreating actual
scenes from life rather than
starting with general
conclusions about that
life—surprising elements
unfold. And a common result
is that false versions of
reality crumble.
Marta
Szabo, editor and memoir
author, Fred’s partner in
life and art, is co-director
of Authentic Writing. She
works with people who want
to write the truest versions
of the stories of their
lives. Marta exited Siddha
Yoga in 2001 as a direct
consequence of her
experience of memoir
writing. Marta will share
her process, and excerpts
from her book about her
years in an ashram—The
Guru Looked Good.
Daniel
Shaw will join Fred and
Marta in a discussion of the
events that ensued from
Marta’s publication of her
book about her Siddha Yoga
experience. Marta published
the book by placing several
chapters a week on her
Internet blog, and allowed
readers to comment. The
result was the
to-be-expected, often vile
attacks from Siddha Yoga
against Marta; but
unexpectedly, hundreds of
readers responded across
many different cultic
groups, many of whom were
inspired to begin writing
their own cult experiences.
In response to many
requests, Marta now runs an
online Authentic Writing
course especially for people
who have been involved in
cults and want to process
and expose their
experiences.
Participants who so desire
may then join Fred and Marta
for a brief experience of
on-the-spot memoir writing,
followed by readings from
those who would like to
share, which will give
everyone a taste of the
Authentic Writing
experience.
Avoiding Legal
Entanglements When Writing
Takashi Yamaguchi, Esq.
An
attorney familiar with
cultic dynamics will discuss
some relevant legal
principles common to
democratic societies and
applicable to people
speaking or writing about
cultic groups. The presenter
has just won an acquittal on
Feb 29, 2008 of a criminal
libel case in which the
defendant was indicted for
creating a webpage exposing
a relation between a Noodle
Shop Franchise and a
right-wing racist cult group
“Nihon Heiwa Shingun”
(translated as “Divine Japan
Peace Army”).
Boundaries: Recognition
and Repair After Leaving a
Destructive Cult
Rosanne
Henry, M.A., L.P.C.
[This session is for
ex-members only.]
People
exit cults confused about
their own identities and how
to relate to others in the
mainstream culture. Identity
issues stem from the diffuse
or excessively blurred
boundaries within cult
systems. Just like enmeshed
families, cultists and their
leadership become
over-concerned and
over-involved in each
others’ lives. This
pressures members to quickly
adapt to the cult
environment and promotes
cohesiveness at the expense
of autonomy.
Connection to the larger
culture is limited because
of the rigid boundaries
legislated by cult
leadership. Separating
cultists from the world, as
well as their families,
helps leaders remold
recruits more efficiently
and control most of their
relationships.
Once
recruits become committed
members, cult leaders often
use shame to ensure members’
obedience and loyalty. Cults
operate like shame-bound
families with rules that
demand control,
perfectionism, blame, and
denial. During the workshop,
abusive cult interactions
are plotted on a shame
control model to contrast
and compare cults with
abusive families.
Family
rules are discussed, and the
alternative to shame-bound
systems—i.e., respectful
systems—is introduced. The
zipper metaphor is used to
describe how boundaries
protect the intellectual,
emotional, and physical
self. Participants learn
that once boundaries are
established, an identity is
formed and self-trust
increases.
Charisma in Absentia:
Comparing Recruitment
Session Leadership
Strategies of Cults and New
Religious Movements
Joshua Rosenblum, M.A.
Despite
emphasis on the crucial role
of charismatic authority in
cult studies and the
sociology of religion, most
members of large cults and
new religious movements
(NRMs) have never met their
founding figures (Lalich
2004). Indeed, a broad
literature review reveals
that criteria for many
seminal models of cult
recruitment and brainwashing
present charismatic leaders
in only a marginal role,
sometimes lacking influence
altogether. While existing
studies on NRM conversion
have focused mainly on the
self-selected few who become
full-time members, this
study investigates lecture
styles and outsider-oriented
content used by recruitment
group leaders to address a
diverse audience of
newcomers. Over the course
of 7 months, 60 hours of
ethnographic research in the
outreach activities of three
NRMs of differing worldviews
was conducted to describe
this process. Additionally,
one interview with a group
leader or recruit was
performed per group, and
telephone consultations with
two cult studies specialists
complemented the research
design. Each NRM is
classified into a mutually
exclusive category according
to criteria designed by
Wallis (1984). In
combination with an
inductive approach to coding
results, analysis of
qualitative findings was
guided by a theoretical
framework. Althusser’s
(1986) concept of
interpellation and
Goffman’s (1963) symbolic
interactionism were used
to evaluate how cult
recruitment session leaders
cultivate an audience of
engaged listeners. The major
finding in this report was
that, to convey the personal
relevance of cult beliefs,
prospective recruits of all
three movements were
encouraged to see within
themselves a latent
potential only leaders are
able to bring out.
Individual differences among
prospects were glossed over
and their accustomed
self-concepts challenged by
programs and ideas that
questioned the ability to
perceive hidden truths.
Recruitment programming and
routine lecture strategies
analyzed in the current
study operate in the absence
of charismatic authorities,
implicating the techniques
used by recruiters to
communicate their values as
vital to the longevity of
cults and NRMs.
Child Sexual Abuse in
Cults: Can It Be Prevented?
Kimberlee Norris, Esq.
Sexual
abuse should never occur in
the context of spiritual
authority or guidance; but,
all too often, the same
“high control” elements that
define a cult result in the
victimization of children.
Kimberlee Norris is a
partner at the law firm of
Love & Norris, based in Fort
Worth, Texas. The attorneys
at Love & Norris have
developed a national
sexual-abuse litigation
practice, representing
hundreds of victims of child
sexual abuse. In this
discussion, Norris discusses
why sexual abuse occurs in
cults, how protective safety
principals can create a safe
environment for children in
organizational programs, and
specific cases in which
these principals were
applied by religious
entities.
On
November 21, 2007, NBC
Nightly News discussed one
of the firm’s recent case
resolutions involving the
Watchtower Society
(‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’),
involving a predator (and
congregation leader) who
remains on the FBI’s Top 10
‘most wanted’ list.
Norris
serves as a director of
MinistrySafe, a consulting
organization designed to
help churches and religious
organizations understand and
address child safety risks
related to sexual abuse. For
additional information, see
www.MinistrySafe
Coping with Triggers
Carol Giambalvo; Joseph
Kelly
[This session is for
ex-members only.]
Dissociation is a
disturbance in the normally
integrative functions of
identity, memory, or
consciousness. It is also
known as a trance state. It
is a very normal defense
mechanism. You’ve all
probably heard of how a
child being abused—or
persons in the midst of
traumatic
experiences—dissociate.
Those are natural
occurrences to an unnatural
event.
What
are some of the events in
the life of a cult member
that may bring on
dissociation?
·
Stress of
maintaining beliefs.
·
Stress of
constant activities.
·
Diet/sleep
deprivation.
·
Discordant
noises—conflicts.
·
Never knowing
what’s next.
There
are many, many ways to
produce a dissociative or
trance state:
·
Drugs.
·
Alcohol.
·
Physical
stress (long-distance
running).
·
Hyperventilation.
·
Rhythmic voice
patterns or noises
(drumming).
·
Chanting.
·
Empty-minded
meditation.
·
Speaking in
tongues.
·
Long prayers.
·
Guided
visualizations.
·
“Imagine…”
·
Confrontational sessions
(hot seat, auditing,
struggle sessions).
·
Decreeing.
·
Hypnotism or
“processes.”
·
Hyper
arousal—usually into a
negative state so the
leaders can rescue you (ICC
confessions).
·
Ericksonian
hypnosis (Milton Erickson)
hypnotic trance without a
formal trance induction.
Why are
we so concerned about trance
states?
·
Individuals
don’t process information
normally in trance states.
·
Critical
thinking—the arguing self—is
turned off.
·
Also turned
off are reflection,
independent judgment, and
decision-making.
·
In trance you
are dealing with the
subconscious mind, which has
no way to tell the
difference between something
imagined or reality—it
becomes a real experience
which is interpreted for you
by the group ideology.
·
Once in a
trance, people have visions
or may “hear” sounds that
are later interpreted for
you in the context of the
cult mindset—the
“magic”—while, in reality,
they are purposely
manufactured physiological
reactions to the trance
state.
·
While in
trance you are more
suggestible—not just during
trance, but for a period of
time up to two hours after.
·
When a person
dissociates, it becomes
easier and easier to enter
into a dissociative state—it
can become a habit—and it
can become uncontrollable.
You may
have heard it said that not
everyone can be hypnotized …
that you need to be able to
trust the hypnotist’s
authority. While it’s true
that there are degrees of
hypnotizability,
dissociative states may be
induced indirectly. What if
instead of telling you that
“now we’re going to
hypnotize you,” the leaders
just say, “Let’s do a fun
process—close your eyes and
imagine …”? Are you told to
trust your leaders? Do they
have your best interest at
heart? And what if they are
using Ericksonian hypnosis,
in which there is no formal
trance induction?
What is
Ericksonian Hypnosis? It’s
an interchange between two
people in which the
hypnotist must
·
Gain
cooperation.
·
Deal with
resistant behavior.
·
Receive
acknowledgement that
something is happening.
Ericksonian hypnosis
involves techniques of
expectation, pacing and
leading, positive
transference, indirect
suggestion, the use of “yes
sets,” deliberate confusion,
the embedding of messages,
and suggestive metaphor.
Cults and Creativity:
The Last Draw
Dana Wehle, L.C.S.W., M.F.A.;
Gillie Jenkinson, M.A.;
Colleen Ruseell, L.M.F.T.
I
propose that the
dehumanization of cult
member by cult leader
through suppression of
creativity is central to
cultic studies, and further
that cult recovery treatment
involves "re-humanization"
through re-emergence of
former member's/sga’s
creativity. I build upon
Lifton's ideas that
imagination atrophies in
cults and that
psychoanalytically oriented
treatment is one suggested
mode of treatment for cult
recovery. I contrast
psychoanalytically defined
criteria for creativity in
open environments to the
absence of these criteria in
cults (1961). 1) There will
be a difference in
individual creativity
between open environments
that value the mourning of
loss and the subsequent
capacity for symbol
formation, and cults wherein
leaders disallow members to
experience and mourn loss.
2) There will be a
difference in individual
creativity between open
environments that allow
opposition and tolerance for
ambivalence as characterized
by the dynamic tension
between opposites, and cults
wherein leaders disallow
opposition. 3) There will be
a difference in individual
creativity between open
environments in which
unfilled emotional,
psychological, physical, and
other space is assumed as a
given with which the subject
is free to create subjective
meaning, and cults in which
the leader assigns
emotional,
psychological, and physical
experience to the member by
claiming s/he is holder of
absolute truth and solely
able to fill the member with
what s/he lacks. 4) There
will be a difference in
individual creativity
between open environments in
which predictability and
unpredictability of a leader
is unrelated to reward and
punishment, thus
allowing for the spontaneity
that is intrinsic to
creativity, and in cults
characterized by
unpredictability of rewards
and punishments by leader,
resulting in member's lack
of spontaneity.
A focus
on use of expressive
language is particularly
important in the
re-emergence of creativity.
Cult leaders' imposition of
"loaded language" as a
weapon to yield conformity
has global implications,
while conversely, subjective
use of language signals
recovery. Native Americans
struggle to reclaim hundreds
of nearly extinct languages
as part of their recovery as
a people, while
controversies surrounding
Ebonics again suggests
language as central to
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