A Loved One in a Group? Dealing with Alarm
and Assessing the Problem (Parts 1 and 2)
William Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.;
Discussant(s) Patrick Ryan
This session will explore
issues that families have to deal with when they become concerned about a
loved one involved in a cultic group, including: recognizing and evaluating
the sense of alarm; dealing with the anxiety and uncertainty of family
members; identifying the kinds of information that are needed to assess the
problem; and acquiring and evaluating that information.
Affrontare il “lato oscuro”
delle sette: bilancio di un’esperienza decennale
Dr. Raffaella Di Marzio
In questo
contributo si esaminano i risultati di una ricerca sull’attività di aiuto,
assistenza e informazione svolta dalla relatrice prima in un centro
d’ascolto e, in seguito, anche attraverso un Centro di Consulenza e
Informazioni online. L’esperienza abbraccia circa 14 anni ed è rivolta a
persone coinvolte in gruppi settari o a familiari preoccupati per i loro
congiunti affiliati a sette e nuove forme spirituali. Il contributo prevede
una valutazione complessiva dell’esperienza per evidenziarne aspetti
positivi e negativi e una proposta operativa per migliorarne la qualità e
l’efficacia.
Facing the “Dark Side” of Cults: Balance of
a Ten-Year Experience
This
paper examines the results of a study of help, assistance, and
information performed by a volunteer in a listening
center and then through a Centre for online Consultancy and Information. The
experience covers nearly 14 years and addresses the problems of people
involved in cults or fearing for relatives associated with cults or new
spiritual movements. The paper gives an overall evaluation of the experience
to highlight its positive and negative aspects and an operational proposal
to improve its quality and efficacy.
After the Cult: Who Am I?
Leona Furnari, M.S.W., L.C.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:
·
a feeling of being at home in one’s body,
·
a sense of knowing where one is going, and
·
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.
Alternative Healing in New Religious
Movements
Terra Manca
In the early years of
scientific medicine, many treatments were largely ineffective, if not
harmful (e.g., bloodletting). During those years, many people chose to rely
on faith as a healing alternative. Moreover, several alternative healing
systems arose prior to the early 1900s, when scientific medicine was on the
verge of becoming the dominant healing force (Ayurvedic medicine, prayer in
various Christian sectarian groups, and Pentecostalism, Mind Cure, etc.).
What is surprising is that even when scientific medicine rose to a dominant
position in the world of healing, not only did older alternative systems
continue to exist, but also newer systems continued to emerge (in New Age
groups, etc.). Moreover, other religious organizations (such as Jehovah’s
Witnesses) forgo specific medically necessary treatments, which group
members view as damaging to the soul. In this paper, I argue that the
encouragement to rely on faith-based alternatives and/or refusal of medical
treatment can potentially harm adherents of alternative religions and (in
the case of forgoing immunizations) the surrounding community. The potential
harm of forgoing medical treatment did not arise until medicine became the
dominant effective healing method, but such harm is increasingly evident in
the modern world. Consequently, cases where non-consenting religious
affiliates (such as children) suffer death from ineffective treatments often
catalyze legal and societal opposition. Nonetheless, countless others suffer
without treatment, muted by their own survival. First, I provide an overview
of several groups that practice alternative therapies or promote medical
refusal. Next, I demonstrate how refusing medical treatment can result in
harm. Finally, I argue that although these treatments can harm adherents,
the perception of their harm is dependent on the materialization of an
effective dominant practice.
Analysis of European Organizations Focusing
on the Cult Problem
Piotr T. Nowakowski, Ph.D.
At times, it is not easy
to receive professional assistance or information about cults and related
problems. Because of their specificity and complexity, these issues many
times go beyond competences of traditional psychological clinics or other
healthcare institutions. Therefore, it is a fortunate situation that
narrowly specialized centers working in different countries in Europe
provide support to individuals, families, and the public in general with
regard to the cult problem. To get knowledge about the specificity of these
centers, the author decided to ask several questions of their
representatives. The questions refer to the status of the organization,
forms of its activity, staff qualifications, cooperating institutions and
environments, and other issues. The research is both quantitative and
qualitative. Collected data is additionally supplemented by the information
publicly available from Websites managed by the organizations subjected to
analysis.
The results of previous
qualitative research (March/April 2008) indicate that the organizations in
question have various backgrounds: Some of them are confessionally neutral,
others don’t hide their Christian inspiration; some are without any external
financing, others are subsidized; some are not very active, whereas others
take more systematic action. In general, the following areas of their
activities can be enumerated: archivization (gathering information and
documents about cults); analysis (describing theoretically the collected
data); providing information (help offered to people and institutions in
acquiring information about cults and suspicious groups or associations);
prevention (counteracting involvement in cults and negative consequences of
affiliation to such groups by way of raising social awareness); consultancy
work (comprehensive assistance in critical situations caused by cults, also
exit counseling); re-entry therapy (individual, family or group
psychotherapy for former cult members and their families); intermediacy
(referral to other experts if needed); and autoformation (widening knowledge
on cults and developing professional competences by the staff). In this
respect, the representatives of these centers organize open self-help
meetings, lectures, colloquia, seminars, conferences, or ‘round tables’;
develop preventive programs; prepare and issue specialized publications; and
occasionally are called as expert witnesses in cult-related trials.
It is also worth finding
out what professional specializations are represented by particular members,
volunteers, and cooperators of the organizations under discussion. Based on
the preliminary research, we can enumerate: psychologists; psychotherapists;
sociologists; lawyers; theologians; educationists; historians; mental health
professionals; medical doctors; clinical social workers; and specialists in
religious studies, information science, and political science. In addition,
independent researchers as well as ex-cult members and relatives of current
cult members should be included in this list. Furthermore, results of
previously conducted research show that the organizations focusing on the
cult problem cooperate with structures and experts of related areas of
specialization, educational and religious institutions, governmental and
social agencies, police, or mass media. What might be particularly important
in the present research is further expanding our knowledge about the
organizations in question and defining the quantitative representation of
each of the analyzed items (this was not the goal of the preliminary
qualitative research). The collected data might be a rich source of
information, useful for creating a valuable directory of European
organizations occupied with the cult problem.
Analysis of Violations of Rights and
Freedoms of the Citizens by Destructive Cults in Ukraine
Valeri Chebanenko, Vasily Usenko, Yan
Shchekaturov
According to the results
from questioning the Ukrainian experts about the violation of citizens’
rights and freedoms by religious destructive cults, we have compiled the
following list of reported violations:
1.
Interfering with the right to know. During recruitment, cults usually
hide full information about themselves and use the veil of confessional
anonymity; they register as some charity or educational or psychotherapeutic
organization, thus hiding their religious core under some fake veil. Some
even deny that they are a religious organization.
2.
Interfering with free choice of religion. Examples are when cults use
methods of social pressure, psychological contagion, and some special
suggestion techniques. The person who has entered the organization is
strictly controlled (consciousness, emotions, behavior, and social links are
under control) without the person’s awareness of it.
3.
Violating the principle of secular education. It is widely known that
in numerous cases cult members popularize their religion in the educational
establishments. They get permission from the administration because they
call this active propaganda “lectures about healthy lifestyle, anti-drug
education, preparation for future family life, advanced ways for psychic and
spiritual self-perfection,” and so on.
4.
Influencing political choice. As examples, cult leaders force the
adepts to make some peculiar political decisions when they vote in elections
or referendums, or they promote themselves or their candidates to known
deputies of councils at different levels. To achieve this goal, “groups of
go-ahead citizens,” who work very actively and don’t need any motivation,
are created.
5.
Violating parents’ rights to take part in the ethical education their
children and to be responsible for them. First, this deals with teenagers
who got involved with these organizations; second, it deals with the adepts’
children, whose parents obediently set in motion all the pedagogic
directions of their leaders, even if those directions are senseless or
amoral.
6.
Violating property rights. There are many examples of persons’ flats,
cars, and money being donated to the organizations’ funds. People often work
free of charge during the building or the reconstruction of places of
worship, or in the pastor’s houses, or in the organization’s manufacturing
“branch offices.”
7.
Violating freedom of travel. The person is kept in the community’s
territory by force or sent to some other place without his/her agreement.
8.
Depriving members of all rights. For example, if an adept becomes
dependent on the leader of some strictly structured organization, he might
“voluntarily” give up all his rights.
9.
Harming the country’s economy. Examples are when cults illegally
manufacture various products or perform illegal financial activities.
10.
Infringing upon individuals’ civil security. For example, cult
members might strive to get into the organs of power to lobby for decisions
that are profitable for them.
Appeal to the Mind and the Heart: Cognitive
and Emotional Mechanisms of Influence in Coercive Groups
Dariusz Krok, Ph.D.
Modern research in the
field of persuasion reveals a number of persuasive mechanisms that are
tailored to change people’s thinking and emotions so that they can affect
behavior. Some of the mechanisms tend to activate cognitive processes, while
others try to change individuals’ attitudes through emotional influence.
Coercive groups can use various forms of both cognitive and emotional
mechanisms with the aim of manipulating and deceiving people. In general, it
is possible to identify three main persuasion mechanisms: personal proofs,
logical proofs, and emotional proofs (Hargie & Dickson, 2004). The main aim
of this paper is to describe cognitive and emotional mechanisms that are
widely used by coercive groups in their persuasive influence.
Exploring cognitive and
emotional mechanisms through which coercive groups influence individuals’
attitudes can help us understand the structure of these processes. As a
result of this knowledge, people can explore alternatives to their beliefs
and opinions, make right decisions, and form reasonable attitudes. In case
of confrontation with coercive groups, people can avoid deception and abuse.
Positive experiences not only expand our horizons but also make us deeply
examine our own beliefs.
Aspetti di tutela del
testimone
Dr. Sabrina Camera
La tutela
del testimone nel processo penale è un argomento ricco di riferimenti
giuridici e allo stesso tempo umani.
Allorché
il testimone si appresta a rendere una dichiarazione rilevante ai fini
dell'accertamento della verità in sede processuale, il Giudice e le parti
sono tenute a confrontarsi non tanto con una sterile dichiarazione, bensì
con l'uomo che ne è l'artefice.
E'
necessario chiarire questa affermazione, perché non si dimentichi che il
giudizio sulla deposizione testimoniale porta con sé una valutazione
sull'uomo, sul suo modo di intendere la verità e sulle sue debolezze.
Nell'interrogare il testimone e spesso nello strappargli delle risposte che
costui non vorrebbe dare, il Giudice e i difensori devono penetrare proprio
nella sua intimità e mostrare in tal guisa una profonda umanità che assai
spesso è disconosciuta nelle aule giudiziarie.
E'
naturale che il testimone, il più delle volte disavvezzo a confrontarsi con
il sistema “giustizia”, versi in una situazione di debolezza psicologica e
percepisca il peso di una verità che, ad onta dalla necessità di propalare,
non avrebbe mai voluto conoscere.
L'intervento avrà, quale precipua caratterizzazione, il fine di individuare
gli strumenti giuridici che il legislatore ha previsto a tutela del
testimone;nonché, la necessità di porre in rilievo alcune lacune
legislative, che potrebbero essere colmate attraverso interventi normativi
di valenza sostanziale e processuale.
Non si
potrà prescindere, e neppure il legislatore italiano potrà più farlo,dal
riferimento a quei principi e strumenti giuridici che l'ordinamento
comunitario ha inteso garantire al testimone-vittima del reato.
In
conclusione, si volgerà lo sguardo al testimone vittima del reato di
violenza sessuale e si individueranno alcune prospettive de iure concludendo
che, pur non aspirando ad essere ineccepibili sul piano tecnico giuridico,
spero rappresentino un modesto abbrivio verso una effettiva tutela di quel
particolare soggetto, che è il testimone.
English Language Abstract
The witness’s safeguard in
the criminal trial is a subject rich in both juridical and human references.
When the witness is
preparing to give himself a relevant declaration in order to validate the
truth during the trial proceedings, the judge and the interested parties
have to confront each other not only with a sterile declaration, but with
the man who is the author.
It is necessary to explain
this statement, because we don’t forget that the sentence about the evidence
contains a consideration on the man and on his way of understanding the
truth and his weaknesses.
In the examining of a
witness and often in the managing to extort the answers that he wouldn’t
give, the judge and the counsels for the defense have to go into in his
privacy as well, and to show in this way their humanity that is not
recognized in the courtrooms.
It is natural that the
witness, almost always not accustomed to dealing with the justice system, is
in a state of psychological weakness, and he perceived the weight of a
truth, this in spite of the necessity of divulging, he never wouldn’t have
to know.
Born into and Leaving – But Where to and
What Now?
Amanda van Eck Duymaer van
Twist, Ph.D.
This talk follows research
that explored and analyzed the variables involved in the socialization of
children in certain sectarian communities, and what happened once the
children came of age. The focus is on new religions that are sectarian (in
the way Bryan Wilson has used the term), which means that the groups
rejected many aspects of mainstream society, removed themselves from it to
some extent, and sought to create better structures for their children along
specific religious and/or ideological lines. But in some cases, the new
pedagogical ideals and structures clashed with those accepted by outsiders;
this in turn raised questions regarding the responsibility of the state to
protect its minors. In the cases analyzed for this research, tensions, and
occasionally battles, arose between the religious groups and state
authorities, which affected the groups involved, the state and public
perceptions of religious minorities, and of course also the childhoods of
second-generation members. But not only the childhoods were affected; those
who left found they had turned their back on one problem only to be faced by
other problems. Many faced significant personal, social, and professional
challenges as they tried to integrate into and operate in a culture with
which they were unfamiliar. This talk will analyze and discuss research
based on interviews with current and former second-generation members (and,
in some cases, third-generation members) of The Family International, The
International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the Bruderhof, the Church
of Scientology, and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.
Boundaries (Parts 1 and 2)
[This session is for
ex-members only.]
Facilitator(s): Rosanne Henry, M.A., L.P.C.
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.
The
need to acknowledge and grieve the boundary violations that occurred while
in the cult will be discussed along with the methods to recognize the
violations and tips for setting boundaries.
Brief Literature Review: Psychology
Carmen Almendros, Ph.D.
Though more research is
needed, especially that published in highly regarded peer review journals
(e.g. Vaughn, 1996; Whitney, 2002; Wolfson, 2002), there is still a
significant body of psychological research in the cultic studies arena. This
presentation summarizes some relevant literature in Psychology, trying to
provide a critical look at the existing research available to the presenter
mainly, but also through international databases such as PsycINFO (American
Psychological Association) and MEDLINE (National Library of Medicine). After
a review of relevant contributions, practical implications, and
controversies, specific conclusions and some gaps in research are discussed
and future directions suggested.
Brief Literature Review: Sociology
Amanda van Eck Duymaer van Twist, Ph.D.
The speaker will review recent
scholarly publications in the sociology of new religious movements.
Clinica e trattamento della
fase post settaria
Massimo Nencioni, Ph.D.
La dizione
“lavaggio del cervello” è semplicistica: senza la pretesa di medicalizzare
questo campo, dovrebbe rientrare nelle competenze dello psichiatra la
valutazione di dinamiche plagiarie che possono svilupparsi; tale valutazione
andrebbe condotta sulla situazione concreta.
Del resto
rifiutare a priori l’intervento tecnico dello psichiatra sia pure con
l’argomentazione che è in gioco la libertà religiosa, significa rinunciare
ad accettare il fatto che alcune persone sono state sottoposte a rilevanti
manipolazioni del loro stato psichico.
Andrebbero
valutati in primo piano i metodi utilizzati nella conversione al culto e
nella deprogrammazione e il sapere psichiatrico dovrebbe contribuire ad
interpretare in modo fecondo i fenomeni di conversione religiosa solo
conservando la necessaria prudenza là dove sono in gioco importanti valori
di libertà di coscienza.
Abgrall,
psichiatra e criminologo francese, in un capitolo dell’opera “La Mecanique
des sectes” intitolato “Le patologie indotte dalla manipolazione settaria”,
elenca una serie di disturbi che possono essere riscontrati negli adepti
durante la loro appartenenza a un nuovo movimento religioso o dopo
un’eventuale uscita.
In questo
studio, effettuato utilizzando il manuale Diagnostico e Statistico dei
Disturbi Mentali (DSM IV), sono stati considerati alcuni disturbi di cui
soffrono gli ex-adepti. In particolare:
·
disturbo dell’adattamento con umore depresso,
ansia e alterazioni della condotta
·
disturbo d’ansia di separazione
·
disturbo post-traumatico da stress
·
disturbo di depersonalizzazione
·
disturbo dissociativo.
Questi
disturbi sono stati affrontati sia da un punto di vista clinico diagnostico
che terapeutico, con particolare riferimento sia alle tecniche
psicoterapeutiche che al trattamento psicofarmacologico.
Dall’esame
della letteratura in merito è stato riscontrato poco o niente di specifico e
questo perché è difficile avere un campione di pazienti fuoriusciti da una
setta; gli ambulatori antisetta ricevono moltissime chiamate ma in
prevalenza sono familiari degli adepti e poche sono le richieste di aiuto
delle vittime stesse per uscire dai movimenti settari.
In
conclusione la domanda è: chi sono i fuoriusciti, sono malati psichiatrici?
E se sì a quali categorie diagnostiche appartengono; erano già malati prima
di entrare e si sono aggravati o erano semplicemente delle persone alla
ricerca di certezze e risoluzioni di problemi personali che si sono ammalate
per colpa dell’appartenenza alla setta?
Clinical Issues: Working with
First-Generation Former Cultists
[This session is open only
to licensed mental health professionals—case discussion focused.]
Facilitator: Linda Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.;
Steve K. D. Eichel, Ph.D.; Gillie Jenkinson, M.A.
This session will use the
discussion of clinical cases to explore issues clinicians encounter when
working with people who joined cultic groups after their childhood
years—i.e., “first-generation former cultists.” Presuming at least a basic
familiarity with the relevant clinical literature and at least minimal
experience in the field, the presentation and discussion will focus
immediately on common clinical concerns and ways of addressing them.
Clinical Issues: Working with
Second-Generation Former Cultists
[This session is open only
to licensed mental health professionals—case discussion focused.]
Facilitators: Leona
Furnari, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.; Michael Martella, Ph.D.; Joyce Martella, M.A.
This session will use the
discussion of clinical cases to explore issues clinicians encounter when
working with people who were born or raised in cultic groups, i.e.,
"second-generation former cultists” (SGAs). Presuming at least a basic
familiarity with the relevant clinical literature and at least minimal
experience in the field, the presentation and discussion will focus
immediately on common clinical concerns and ways of addressing them.
Clinical Roundtable for Mental Health
Practitioners
[This session is open only
to licensed mental health professionals.]
Facilitator: Gillie Jenkinson, M.A.
Following an interesting
and lively discussion at the 2008 ICSA Philadelphia conference, a Clinical
Roundtable for Mental Health Practitioners is being held again.
This 90-minute session
will be an interesting opportunity for clinicians to discuss (highly
disguised) clinical vignettes to illustrate a specific clinical problem and
to highlight their questions regarding certain circumstances that occur
within therapy with cult leavers—both first and second generation—as well as
issues that arise with family members.
This may cover issues of,
for example: How to apply the psycho-educational approach, floating and
grounding, cult pseudo-personality, confidentiality, trust, identity,
problems with relationships, effective therapeutic approaches for these
client groups, assessment, communication skills, and so on.
The Clinical Roundtable
will be facilitated but structured so that mental health professionals have
an opportunity to participate in the discussion. This session is open only
to those who are mental health professionals with an advanced degree in one
of the mental health fields. This will be strictly adhered to for
confidentiality purposes.
Discussion preference will
be given to clinicians who submit their clinical vignettes and discussion
issues in advance to Ms. Jenkinson at info@hopevalleycounselling.com.
Coercive Persuasion Techniques in Violent
Radicalization and Terrorist Recruitment
Ferran Alonso, M.A.; Juan José Ramírez
Perea
A key element in the fight
against international terrorism (Jihadism) is the identification of the
factors and causes that lead to violent radicalization. The phenomenon of
international terrorism is complex and requires an interdisciplinary
knowledge that can contribute with data on economic, political,
psychological, social, religious and cultural factors. Some of these factors
are a partial explanation of the phenomenon, while other variables intervene
decisively. One subject to be considered when one is analyzing the processes
of violent radicalization is that of social psychology because it provides
an important theoretical and conceptual frame for understanding group
dynamics, radical indoctrination, “coercive” persuasion techniques,
instrumentalization of religion, and psychology of fanaticism. Too often,
international terrorism is qualified as “religious terrorism” or “sectarian
violence,” since the Islam religion is viewed as a variable to be
considered. Although it is true that religion is present in this phenomenon,
it is not, by any means, the explicative variable, but the
instrumentalization (abusive interpretation) of the belief used or
manipulated to achieve the objectives of the terrorist organization. In this
sense, one must, on one hand, differentiate the religion from those
manipulative practices that derive toward fanaticism from violent
radicalization and, on the other hand, make differential diagnoses between
“ideological extremism” and “violent radicalization”; this differentiation
is essential because having an excessive religious orthodoxy does not
necessarily mean one is on a road to terrorist action. Ideologists of
terrorist cells use indoctrination and training techniques (psychological
manipulation) that favor dehumanization of the enemy and depersonalization
of its members. Therefore, it is vital to identify Jihadist rhetoric and the
psychosocial processes.
This communication
presents, from a psychosocial perspective, an empirical approach about the
genesis of violent radicalization. The investigation analyzes how the
mechanisms and psychological process facilitates the recruitment and the
Jihadist radicalization are generated and developed.
Detecting the most
explanatory variables of the phenomenon is fundamental to working out
precise diagnoses. Thus, this approach will enable the design and
implementation of the necessary preventive measures to counteract the
generating dynamics of extremist violence.
This research is based on
trustworthy information used in a finding of the Spanish High Court, with
competences in trials about terrorist matters, and so allows a reliable
analysis of the possible processes of psychological manipulation that could
have taken place in the terrorist cell. This psychosocial approach focuses
its analysis on the individual-group interaction, group dynamics, the
processes of internalization of the violent extremist ideology, and the
ideologist/leader role. For the documentary analysis, four different
“coercive persuasion” or “thought reform” models have been used.
Objectives:
·
To define and describe “violent radicalization” and its
possible effects.
·
To know how an apparently normal individual turns into a
suicide terrorist.
·
To identify the role of the leader and his/her importance to
the group dynamics.
·
To define and describe the processes of “coercive persuasion,”
and to identify similarities and differences between the “jihadist
indoctrination” and a process of “psychological manipulation.”
·
To determine the coercive persuasion techniques (thought
reform/psychological manipulation/mental control, etc.) that become involved
in violent radicalization.
Conversion and Worldviews (Parts 1 and 2)
Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.
Discussants: William Goldberg, M.S.W.,
L.C.S.W.; Patrick Ryan
This session will examine
conversion in general and conversion to cultic belief systems specifically.
Conversion will be conceptualized as a shift in worldview that results in a
person’s looking at self, world, and relationships in different ways. The
challenge for families and friends of people who have experienced cultic
conversions is to understand the convert’s new worldview and to communicate
with him/her accordingly. Such “cross-cultural communication” is vital to
enhancing the relationship with the cult-involved loved one and to finding
ways to lessen conflict.
Countertransference
Lorna Goldberg, M.S.W.,
L.C.S.W.
A clinician, who works
with former cult members, often feels a variety of powerful emotions during
the therapy process. Therapy is interactional and the therapist and the
former cult member react to one another in both induced and unique ways. The
presenter will share some vignettes from her own practice to illustrate
possible tranference/countertransference scenarios. It is hoped that these
examples will be used as the jumping off point for discussion with those who
attend this session.
Crisis in Cultic Groups: Can It be a Window
for Change?
Dianne Casoni, Ph.D.
Michael Langone, Ph.D., Moderator; Discussants: Eileen Barker, Ph.D.; Steve
K. D. Eichel, Ph.D.
Crisis, both internal
and/or external, brought upon Canadian based cultic groups by allegations of
unlawful conduct were examined with a qualitative methodology with a view of
better understanding the transformations set in motion by the crisis.
Analysis of the research material showed that crises impact groups in
different ways, notably depending on the dynamics of the leader-member
relationship and also on the way in which social control representatives’
deal with the group. One of the specific dimensions studied has been how
crises confront groups, and their members, to their own engagement or, as
the case may be, disengagement in society. Since this particular dimension
is often paramount either in the allegations of unlawful conduct, or in the
unlawful conduct proper, changes brought to this effect appear to constitute
a true window for change.
Critical Thinking's Greatest Challenge:
Undue Psychological Influence
Russell Bradshaw, Ed.D.
Even the most advanced
cognitive and critical thinking skills can be trumped by an individual’s
inability to detect and resist “undue psychological influence.” Charismatic
confidence-men or deceptive groups can cause havoc: they can create serious
problems for individuals, families, communities, businesses, religions,
political organizations and other social institutions—even entire nations (e
g Prophetic Charisma; Len Oakes, 1997). Their subtle yet coercive scams are
based on a few well-known psycho-social processes and can achieve amazing
results (e. g., Influence: Theory and Practice, Robert Cialdini,
2008).
As primates, we have
evolved and survived as group animals and have relied heavily on these
psycho-social mechanisms for hundreds of thousands of years. We have also
evolved under conditions of social hierarchies, often led by charismatic and
energizing leaders. Our tendency to follow leaders and obey these simple
rules is deeply rooted in our social and biological inheritance. They are so
built-in that we are barely aware of their existence or their power over us.
Because of this, a skilled individual or group can learn to manipulate
others by utilizing these processes to their advantage, often with deceptive
methods and/or ideologies.
Why then is our society so
loathe to educate our students about these relatively simple behavioral
influences that can cause such suffering? The assertion in this presentation
is that cognitive intelligence and critical thinking skills are not an
adequate defense against manipulative and deceptive psycho-social influence.
We need to redesign basic psychology courses and foundations of education
courses to include descriptions of this dilemma and help our students. The
author has redesigned his foundations of education course at the university
level to address these concerns.
Culti abusanti e
manipolazione mentale
Patrizia Santovecchi
In un
mondo sempre più frenetico, dove tutto corre veloce, le sollecitazioni che
colpiscono la nostra mente sono spesso eccessive; così ci ritroviamo a
compiere molte delle nostre azioni senza il tempo necessario per un’attenta
e corretta valutazione critica. Questo rende tutti noi maggiormente
vulnerabili, nei confronti di quei messaggi che tendono ad un qualche tipo
di condizionamento.
Potenzialmente, tutti possiamo essere condizionati o condizionabili. E’
indubbio che ognuno di noi è soggetto all’influenza di molti fattori: il
luogo in cui nasciamo, la nostra famiglia di origine, le amicizie, la
scuola, le esperienze di vita, senza sottovalutare i media e le varie mode e
tendenze. Tutto contribuisce a plasmare la nostra identità, e fare di noi
ciò che siamo quanto a modo di pensare e di agire.
Esiste
però una tecnica ben più forte e subdola di condizionamento, messa in atto
nel corso degli ultimi decenni, da culti che studiosi e osservatori non
hanno esitato a definire “distruttivi”. Sono culti che aspirano al controllo
completo della persona e delle sue risorse. Da questi potremo proteggerci
solo conoscendone a fondo i procedimenti.
La
relazione può divenire manipolazione e il rischio della manipolazione
aumenta quanto più ci si allontana da una «relazione naturale». Tra le
comunità a sfondo religioso o sociale si collocano anche i culti abusanti:
si pongono a servizio di utopie/illusioni, dichiarano di creare un uomo
nuovo (= migliore), un uomo piegato a visioni di vita «altre».
Dietro
tali operazioni spesso si intravede il fanatismo di alcuni, come diceva
Goethe: «Sovente i principi imprimono su rame appena argentato la loro
augusta effige, e a lungo il popolo s’inganna. I fanatici imprimono il
timbro dello spirito su menzogne e insania, e chi manca di pietra di
paragone le prende per oro colato». Questa relazione vuole illustrare le
tecniche di persuasione, soffermarsi sulle «utopie» (dalle società perfette
alle fantasie patologiche di impostori e fanatici), descrivere i «culti
distruttivi» celati dietro la libertà di fede e di associazione, illustrare
come si procede al controllo mentale degli adepti.
Cultic Resurgence and Psychological
Manipulation in Nigeria – Some Theoretical Explanations and Implications for
African Educational Theorizing
S. A. Babarinde, Ph.D.
There is a resurgence in
Nigeria of cultic and cult-like activities, with the accompanying
psychological manipulation of the victims. This study investigates this
development through a survey of print and electronic media programs over a
period of time. A typology was developed that includes elements of
psychological manipulations in the activities of the various groups
identified. What could be possible explanations for this resurgence?
Economic, political, religious, and cultural reasons were explored for
clues.
Nigeria has adopted the
Millennium Development Goals (MDG) as part of her development strategies,
and this focus places significant emphasis on education as a major tool for
achieving these goals. If education is to play this very important role in
the country’s development agenda, there must be some rethinking of
educational theory and practice. This exercise becomes very important and
crucial as Nigeria occupies a major position in the world today: She is the
most populous African country, with about 140 million people; she is also
very rich in natural and human resources, standing as the sixth largest
producer of crude oil in the world today. However, she is also a land of
paradoxes: She is rich, with more than $60 billion in foreign reserves; but
the majority of her citizens lives in abject poverty; infant and maternal
mortality is high, and infrastructural facilities have almost totally
collapsed; there is a high rate of unemployment and underemployment; there
exists high-level corruption among political and public functionaries; and
so on. The neglected youth and ethnic minorities have reacted to these
conditions through violence and cultic activities, with serious implications
for development. If education is to serve in the reversal of these negative
trends, serious efforts must be committed to the rethinking of educational
theory and implementation. It is also in the interest of the developed
economies of the world to help Nigeria overcome the obstacles to her
development because this is the sure measure to prevent negative fallout,
such as the volatile crude oil market as a result of disruptions in Nigerian
oil production and supply.
Cults, Public Policy, and the Atheist
State: Are Western Regulatory Models Applicable to Cults Relevant to the
People’s Republic of China?
Stephen Mutch Ph.D. L.L.B. (U.N.S.W.)
This paper, situated in
the field of comparative public policy, explores the question of the
transferability of models involving the regulation of cultic groups from
Western countries to the People’s Republic of China, a country governed by
the atheist Chinese Communist Party, yet which has constitutional
protections for belief in religion (and non-belief). It does so by examining
the different conceptual frameworks relating to the relationship between
church and state, either consciously or unconsciously adopted by various
Western governments, exploring the types of conceptual frameworks relevant
to an atheist world view, and discussing what types of regulatory models, or
parts thereof, might be capable of successful transfer to China.
De l’influence abusive à
l’emprise : modéliser le lien sectaire
Jean-Yves Radigois
Lors d’une
demande d’aide ou d’une évaluation socio-éducative, les professionnels
(psychologues, travailleurs sociaux, etc.) rencontrent des difficultés
méthodologiques pour comprendre et intervenir dans un contexte à dérive
sectaire (Radigois, 2008) définit, selon Fournier et Monroy (1999), comme
« la construction d’une allégeance inconditionnelle au sein d’un isolat
culturel auto référent, à caractère expansif dans différents domaines de la
vie individuelle et sociale » (p. 20). L’une de ces difficultés procède
d’une méconnaissance de ce phénomène et notamment du fonctionnement de ces
groupes, des processus d’influences sociales et de la communication
d’emprise.
Devant ce
phénomène complexe, au sens d’Edgard Morin, peut-on alors contribuer à
modéliser ce lien si particulier ? Le lien sectaire se nourrit de plusieurs
conditions et divers types de processus : psychologie sociale, comportements
addictifs, communication d’emprise, psychologie clinique sont convoqués.
Les
premières recherches se sont inscrites vers la « réforme de la pensée »
(Lifton, 1961) ou la « persuasion coercitive » (Shein, 1961) dans les
organisations totalitaires. Désormais, la littérature scientifique s’oriente
plutôt vers trois courants principaux : la psychologie sociale avec les
influences sociales et les phénomènes de groupes (France, U.S.A., Québec),
les processus d’addictions (Espagne, Québec), l’emprise dans sa dimension
systémique et communicationnelle (Belgique et France).
En terme
d’influences sociales, point besoin de théories nouvelles. Les dérives
s’enracinent dans des phénomènes de groupe et des processus « ordinaires »
d’influences sociales et de soumissions librement consenties, bien connus
des psychologues sociaux et largement documentés depuis longtemps (Cf. Les
québécois Kropveld et Pelland, 2003 ; ou les français Dépret, 2001 ;
Rouquette, 2003). Ces éléments séduisent, influent, renforcent au quotidien
l’influence au sein d’un groupe. Le Group Psychological Abuse Scale, créé
par Chambers et ses collègues (1994) puis validé en espagnol par Almendros
et ses collègues (2003), permet de repérer des groupes abusifs. Il n’a pas
été validé et calibré en français. Pour autant, l’influence sociale cela
suffit-elle à créer une sujétion ?
Des
recherches nous renseignent sur les profils d’adhérents de mouvements à
dérive sectaire (dès 1970 avec Galanter), et de « sortants de sectes », mais
aussi sur leurs difficultés, leurs symptômes et leurs souffrances (Langone,
1992 ; Aronoff-McKibben et ses collègues, 2000 ; Klosinski, 1997, en
Allemagne). Plus récemment, des études ont affinées nos connaissances : en
Belgique autour de Maes (Chasse, 2001 ; Dricot, 2001) ou de Saroglou
(Saroglou et ses collègues, 2005) ou encore en France (Nathan et
Swertvaegher, 2003). Dans une approche systémique, Maes décrit les
spécificités des proches d’adeptes qu’il présente comme co-victimes (Maes,
2000).
Un second
courant constate des symptômes et attitudes proches de consommateurs de
drogues : dépendance au « produit », envahissement du temps, de l’histoire
du sujet au détriment sa vie privée, familiale et sociale. Ce courant est
notamment représenté à Barcelone par Miguel Perlado (2004). Il a été
particulièrement fécondé par le psychiatre québécois Jean-Yves Roy (1998) et
son concept d’addiction dogmatique. Il intègre en quelque sorte les
conditions personnelles et conjoncturelles de la personne, sa dépendance à
l’égard du dirigeant, l’augmentation des doses (de temps, de livres, de
stages, d’argent dépensé), le renforcement de l’addiction, les problèmes
du sevrage et l’angoisse de perdre la relation bergère qui le conduit vers
l’emprise ou le glissement de dépendance qui perdure de groupe en groupe,
voire au mode de relation établit avec l’aidant. Il intègre les observations
sur la résistance à la critique des fondements merveilleux et irrationnels
que Deconchy et Bauduin (2003) ont vérifié et théorisé.
Le
troisième courant provient de praticiens de terrain confrontés à des
situations d’emprise aux modalités proches, dans des abus sexuels et des
violences intrafamiliales par exemple. Très opérationnel dans le cadre du
travail social et connu par les professionnels, ce modèle systémique et
communicationnelle a été introduit ici par le psychologue belge Jean-Claude
Maes qui, s’appuyant sur Perrone et Nannini (2000), parle de groupe dont
l’emprise est institutionnalisée. Selon ces auteurs, la communication
d'emprise crée un état émotionnel qui bloque les capacités de résistance,
d’anticipation et de contestation. Le sujet ne voit qu'une situation en
impasse où il est incapable d'élaborer une stratégie d'évitement. Car,
disent-ils, cette communication laisse le prisonnier dans sa cage, même
lorsque la cage est ouverte. Cette situation d’emprise va filtrer les
informations qui sortent du système (famille, groupe), donner l’illusion à
la victime qu’elle est libre de se retirer, mais aussi contaminer les
professionnels de l’aide au point parfois d’une pétrification de la pensée
et de l’action (Maes, 2005 ; Radigois, 2008).
Enrichi
par ces travaux, il reste à proposer un modèle qui puisse permettre aux
professionnels de mieux comprendre pour intervenir dans ce cercle vicieux :
influences sociale au quotidien et addiction dogmatique pouvant, dans
certaines situations extrêmes, conduire à une relation verrouillée par
l’emprise. Cette communication souhaite apporter une pierre à ce chantier.
Developing the ‘Totalistic
Identity Theory’ for Cults and Extremist Groups
Rod Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.;
Paul R. Martin, Ph.D.
Research previously
presented (Dubrow-Marshall and Martin, 2008) has articulated the ‘Totalistic
Identity Theory’ for cultic and extremist groups, whereby it is advanced
that members’ identity structures are largely dominated and fixed on the
cult identity at the expense of many or all other levels and categories of
identity, and in a polarized or differentiated position in relation to other
groups and society at large. This theory (Dubrow-Marshall, 2007) is an
extension of traditional social psychological theory on group identity
[e.g., Turner’s (1987) Self-Categorization Theory]. Analysis of former cult
members from the Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center in Ohio
(Dubrow-Marshall & Martin, 2008) has also shown a clear relationship between
aspects of psychopathology and extent of identity with the group, thus
providing evidence that a totalistic or polarized identity structure is
harmful for group members.
This paper presents
further analysis from the Wellspring sample that advances further a model
for the specific psychopathology of former cult members. This analysis
points to additional evidence for the ‘Totalistic Identity Theory’ and, in
particular, aspects that relate to the polarized-identity position and its
relationship to overall psychological well-being and the perception by
current group members of nongroup members and the rest of the world, and the
behavioral correlates of such perceptions. The theory also points to and
supports strategies for depolarization and de-identification with extremist
groups, and approaches to preventing initial recruitment to such groups.
Dinamiche di manipolazione mentale
ed organizzazioni di stampo mafioso
Dott.ssa Antonella Pomilla
La
relazione avrà l’intento di discutere le dinamiche di manipolazione mentale
che i gruppi mafiosi esercitano sui propri affiliati, determinando
progressivi svincoli morali non già in virtù delle attività criminose che
verranno poi svolte, bensì in relazione alle rappresentazioni mentali che
gli stessi hanno verso di sé, in quanto appartenenti a tale gruppo.
Attraverso
i principali criteri usati dalla psicologia sociale per definire e
discriminare un “gruppo sociale” da altre forme aggregative, si dimostrerà
innanzitutto che la mafia è un gruppo sociale.
Essa
difatti si caratterizza per:
·
L’esistenza di interdipendenza ed interazione
tra i membri mafiosi e con il gruppo in generale;
·
La consapevolezza individuale di
appartenenza;
·
Il riconoscimento dell’esistenza del gruppo
mafioso operato dagli altri gruppi sociali e dallo Stato ufficiale;
·
L’esistenza di un sistema dei ruoli
interdipendenti all’interno del gruppo mafioso;
·
La soddisfazione dei bisogni individuali da
parte del gruppo;
·
L’esistenza di unità, coesione e concordia
all’interno del gruppo mafioso;
·
L’esistenza di un sistema di norme
comportamentali specifiche per il gruppo.
Verranno
quindi descritte le rappresentazioni mentali che gli affiliati hanno per se
stessi, nonché quelle provenienti dalle disamine interpretative esterne.
Infine,
verrà illustrato il “pensiero mafioso”, quella profonda ed inconscia
modalità ideativa che caratterizza il “gruppo mafia” con valori più saldi e
forti degli intenzionamenti familiari, ed in virtù del quale si determinano
proprio quei meccanismi di svincolo morale che sostanziano la faccia
criminologica delle organizzazioni di stampo mafioso.
Discussion: Ex-Member Debriefing
[This
session is for ex-members only.]
Carol Giambalvo
The purpose of this
session is:
·
to give ex-members an opportunity to share what was the most
positive and/or negative aspect of the conference for them;
·
to provide a way to stay in touch, if so desired;
·
to provide information about other places they can get support
(e.g., reFOCUS);
·
to allow a time and place for participants to share whatever
they wish to share about their experience of the conference;
·
to allow each participant to speak briefly.
Enhancing Relationships by Communicating
Across Worldviews - I and II
[This session is open only
to family members of cult involved persons and to ex-cult members.]
Facilitator: William Goldberg, M.S.W.,
L.C.S.W.
Discussants: Michael
Langone, Ph.D.; Patrick Ryan
This session will be
discussion oriented. It is designed to help family members concerned about a
loved one’s cultic involvement to improve communication with him/her. The
discussion presumes familiarity with material discussed in previous
sessions: “A Loved One in a Group? Dealing with Alarm and Assessing the
Problem” and “Conversion and Worldviews.”
Families and Cults
[This session is open only
to licensed mental health professionals and families of cult-involved
persons.]
Facilitator: William Goldberg, M.S.W.,
L.C.S.W.
This session will use the
discussion of clinical cases to explore issues clinicians and families
encounter when they work on concerns families have about loved ones involved
in cultic groups.
Family Discussion: Alarm, Assessment,
Conversion, Worldviews, Relationships, and Action (Part 1 & 2)
[This session is open only
to family members of cult-involved persons.]
Facilitator: William Goldberg, M.S.W.,
L.C.S.W.
Discussant: Patrick Ryan
This session will be
discussion oriented. It will try to help families apply lessons from
previous family sessions, explore action options, and consider the
consequences of various courses of action.
From Society into the Schools: How
Tradition and Leadership Failure Breed Violent Cultism and What to Do About
It
Stephen Adebanjo Oyebade, Ph.D.
While acknowledging the
fact that secret cultism is a worldwide, age-long phenomenon, this study
examines the role of traditional culture and leadership failures in the
evolution of cultism, of violence, and of other strange (negative) values
manifesting among the youths in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Basically,
the study identifies the traditional Nigerian society as providing the
impetus for cultism because of the preponderance of many traditional secret
societies or cult groups to which adults belong and to which many youths are
initiates. For instance, in the southwestern part, there are the Ogboni, the
Osugbo, the Oro, the Sango, the Ogun, the Ifa, the Gelede, the Egungun, and
the Agemo societies. In the Cross River State is the Odumu; the Masquerade
is in Okrika, and the Mamma in Nupe land, in the Middle Belt of Nigeria.
Among the Ibos, we have the Igwekala, the Amadiora, and the Okija cults;
while in the midwestern part are the Owegbe and Ayelela cults. Others
include the Ekpe, and the Orim and Ekime cults.
The study raised some
questions: How are the cults or fraternity groups in tertiary institutions
related to the traditional society cult groups? Also, what will be the
personality of the children bred in cultism, and the character traits of
second–generation cult members? The study found that even though campus
cult/fraternity groups have tried to explain the situation away as harmless
or progressive, the study establishes some resemblances in their philosophy,
mode of initiations, choice of symbols and colors, identification marks,
choice of meeting time and place, oath taking, and violent potentials of
their activities—blood rituals and sacrifices, strange language, offensive
weapons, curious arts or crafts, coffins, and heavy use of force and torture
during initiations, among others.
The issue of leadership
touches on the home, the school, and the society at large. The study found
the home as very basic to the development of interest in cultism if family
members are initiates for security, power, influence, and wealth. School
conditions and peer influence also pressurize or lure youth into cultism,
also just as any society whose leaders extol corruption, power abuse, crime,
and violence.
The study noted the grave
impact of violent cultism on individuals, institutions, and the larger
society. For individuals, addiction to drugs, crime, and violence lead to
dropping out of studies, untimely death, and disorientation while in
institutions; goals become truncated by frequent closures, a climate of
fear, deaths of innocent residents, and so on; and for the larger society,
the loss is tremendous in the material, human, financial, and
social-psychological dimensions. The study suggested a holistic approach
that involves all strata of society because of the cultural question. Many
researchers have held that stamping out cultism in society may be a
herculean task, but this study holds that it is not impossible to reduce
cultism considerably, and the accompanying violence on campus. In addition
to common remedies such as provision of facilities, funding of higher
institutions, counseling programs, vigorous campaigns, and the like, this
study submits that it is high time government rises up to the challenge to
legislate against perpetrators of violence and to ensure enforcement. Thus,
it is recommended that specially trained and equipped campus police be
created to monitor the campuses, as is done in civilized nations of the
world like the United States of America. It is the opinion of this study
that the campuses of higher institutions in Nigeria can no longer be
insulated from the laws of the land that set them up to train its future
leaders.
Gestione dei detenuti per
reati di terrorismo ed eversione, nazionale ed internazionale ed
appartenenti alla criminalità organizzata: problematiche di massima
sicurezza
Dr. Silvana Sergi
La
gestione di detenuti per reati di terrorismo, eversione ed associativi,
ricomprendendo tra questi i reati della criminalità organizzata – mafia,
camorra ‘ndrangheta e sacra corona unita – hanno da sempre preoccupato la
società e la giustizia per l’elevatissimo grado di allarme sociale dei reati
in questione.
La
gestione dei detenuti terroristi ha comportato la creazione di circuiti
speciali all’interno degli istituti penitenziari con maggior garanzie
strutturali relative alla sicurezza e la sospensione totale o parziale dei
benefici premiali che la legge penitenziaria italiana concede a tutti i
detenuti, in ragione della previsione costituzionale dell’art. 27 cost.. I
circuiti penitenziari, appositamente realizzati, per assicurare la
detenzione degli autori di reati di terrorismo ed associativi sono
denominati da alta sicurezza e nei casi di massimo allarme sociale, di
massima sicurezza.
L’ordinamento penitenziario ovvero la legge 26 luglio 1975 n. 354 ed il
relativo regolamento di applicazione, si occupano dell’argomento agli artt.
4 bis Ordinamento Penitenziario e 41 bis Ordinamento Penitenziario, insieme
all’art. 416 bis Codice Penale che, per la gravità del fenomeno sono
considerati la massima previsione di una gestione rigorosa dei detenuti e di
esclusione sociale. Le disposizioni dettate dal Ministero della Giustizia –
Dipartimento dell’Amministrazione Penitenziaria – emanate con decreti del
Ministro della Giustizia e lettere circolari del Capo del dipartimento
dell’amministrazione penitenziaria, rispettivamente autorizzano e
dettagliano il suddetto regime di detenzione.
La
compressione rieducativa realizzata dalle leggi che si sono susseguite, non
è uguale per tutti i condannati; il regime che si applica a ciascuno,
risente di significative differenze di disciplina.
La
compressione dei diritti dei condannati può avvenire collettivamente –
creando istituti interi o sezioni di istituto in cui è applicato il regime
di alta e massima sicurezza – oppure individualmente.
E’ di
tutta evidenza che la sospensione delle normali regole trattamentali e
rieducative, obbligatorie per espressa previsione costituzionale e la
conseguente impostazione basata sulla sicurezza carceraria, ha come scopo
prioritario quello di garantire la sicurezza pubblica e l’ordinato
svolgimento della vita sociale.
All’interno del regime individuale si creano delle sensibili differenze di
gestione a seconda dell’attualità dei collegamenti con la criminalità
organizzata all’esterno, anche durante la detenzione - atteso che il livello
associativo è talmente forte che notoriamente la criminalità non abbandona
il detenuto e la sua famiglia- e la collaborazione fattiva e concreta dei
condannati con lo Stato.
Questo
tipo di reati hanno creato allarme sociale e sono venuti alla ribalta negli
anni ’70. Ma solo nei primi anni ’90 si perfeziona e diviene definitiva la
normativa che oggi lo Stato Italiano applica per gestire la detenzione di
questa tipologia criminale, affrontando la collegata problematica della
gestione dei pentiti e collaboratori di giustizia, che da pensiero
filosofico si è tramutato in un risultato giuridico ormai acquisito dalla
normativa italiana.
Anche
questo fenomeno ha comportato scelte gestionali particolari e conseguenti al
riconoscimento da parte dell’autorità giudiziaria della qualità di
collaboratore di giustizia per gli autori dei reati di terrorismo e di
criminalità organizzata.
La
problematica della gestione dei detenuti terroristi e con vincolo
associativo ha affrontato ogni collegamento, in armonia con gli organi di
polizia centrali, specializzati nell’azione di contrasto della criminalità
organizzata, terroristica o eversiva e la Direzione Nazionale Antimafia,
organo giudiziario di massima eccellenza sulla materia.
La durezza
della normativa ha comportato una reazione attraverso il ricorso alle corti
di giustizia nazionali (corte di cassazione e corte costituzionale) ed
internazionali. Per tali ragioni è stata disciplinata anche la procedura
relativa ai reclami.
Gli strumenti giuridici di
contrasto al terrorismo internazionale: palingenesi normativa funzionale
alla creazione di uno Statuto penale comune
Salvatore Reitano
La
relazione avrà ad oggetto l'analisi dei più importanti strumenti normativi
di contrasto al terrorismo internazionale gemmati nei diversi ambiti
istituzionali. Dopo aver precisato se possa profilarsi una nozione unitaria
di terrorismo internazionale sotto il profilo ontologico-giuridico – dalla
quale potrebbe tra l'altro discendere quella reductio ad unum in vista della
creazione di uno statuto penale unitario – ci si soffermerà in particolare
sulla decisione quadro adottata dal Consiglio d'Europa il 13 giugno 2002 che
costituisce, per gli Stati membri, lo strumento vincolante più completo,
nonché elemento paradigmatico di carattere valutativo sulla cui base
esaminare la portata onnicomprensiva della nozione terroristica che nella
decisione de qua trova pieno riscontro.
In ambito
internazionale, sono tredici le convenzioni ed i protocolli conclusi dalla
Nazioni Unite in materia di lotta al terrorismo: deve tuttavia precisarsi
che molte di queste non sono state ancora firmate o ratificate da numerosi
Stati.
Potrebbe
sembrare paradossale ma le prime tre convenzioni delle Nazioni Unite in
materia di contrasto alla lotta al terrorismo riguardano la sicurezza dei
voli aerei. Si tratta della Convenzione del 1963 per la repressione dei
reati commessi a bordo di un aereo, della Convenzione del 1970 per la
soppressione del sequestro illegale di aeromobili e della Convenzione del
1971 per la soppressione degli atti di sabotaggio compiuti a bordo degli
aeromobili. Nessuno avrebbe potuto immaginare che, a distanza di circa
quarant'anni, il più grande attacco compiuto dal terrorismo alle democrazie
occidentali sarebbe avvenuto proprio con il mezzo aereo. Tale premessa
appare necessaria non certo per ricordare gli avvenimenti del settembre
2001, per altro a tutti ben noti, quanto per sottolineare come il diritto
internazionale pattizio già da tempo offra degli strumenti più che validi
per la lotta al terrorismo. Tra le tredici convenzioni destinate dalle
Nazioni Unite alla lotta contro il terrorismo si porrà in particolare
l'attenzione sulla Convenzione firmata a New York nel 1999 contro il
finanziamento del terrorismo (c.d. Financing) poiché costituisce il primo e
più importante atto negoziale internazionale che affronta il problema del
terrorismo in un ottica del tutto nuova. Non a caso questa Convenzione,
unitamente a quella per la eliminazione degli attentati terroristici
mediante l'uso degli esplosivi (c.d. Bombing) del 15 dicembre 1997, sono le
uniche richiamate nel testo della decisione quadro del 2002. Sempre con
riferimento alla attività delle Nazioni Unite non ci si asterrà dal dare
conto dello stato dei lavori per la conclusione di una nuova Convenzione
globale per la lotta al terrorismo. Per quanto concerne il Consiglio
d'Europa dovrà evidenziarsi che, dopo la convenzione del 1977, l'istituzione
europea non si è occupata per molti anni del fenomeno terroristico. E'
tornata a farlo dopo i fatti del 2001: si sono da poco concluse a Strasburgo
due iniziative estremamente importanti per la lotta al terrorismo. Da una
parte, con la nuova convenzione firmata a Varsavia nel maggio del 2005 sono
stati estesi al finanziamento del terrorismo le previsioni già contenute
nella convenzione del 1990 sul riciclaggio. La nuova convenzione, allorché
efficace, sarà certamente uno strumento di grandissima importanza, giacché
estende al finanziamento del terrorismo il bagaglio d'esperienza raggiunto
in ambito internazionale nella lotta al riciclaggio. Sempre nel maggio del
2005 è stata firmata la nuova Convenzione del Consiglio d'Europa per la
prevenzione al terrorismo. Anche in tale ambito si marcherà l'importanza di
tali lavori in particolare per la previsione dell'obbligo per gli Stati
parte di criminalizzare condotte assolutamente nuove e comunque estranee
alla tradizione europea: come l'istigazione e l'addestramento al terrorismo
o al reclutamento dei KamiKaze. Per quanto infine riguarda l'Unione Europea
si dovrà innanzitutto evidenziare come la lotta al terrorismo costituisca
uno dei settori propri della cooperazione di polizia e giudiziaria in
materia penale nell'ambito c.d. Terzo Pilastro il cui programma è
esplicitato negli articoli 29 e seguenti del Trattato sull'UE. Tale
programma ha dato luogo ad un' azione comune che, nel rispetto del principio
di sussidiarietà, si è attuata sia sul piano dell'armonizzazione dei diritti
penali internazionali (attraverso la fissazione, con la decisione quadro del
2002, di norme minime relative agli elementi costitutivi dei reati e alle
sanzioni), sia sul piano della cooperazione giudiziaria tra gli Stati membri
( come ad esempio la decisione quadro sul mandato d' arresto europeo). La
parte conclusiva della relazione si incentrerà sulle differenti nozioni di
terrorismo presenti nelle legislazioni penali nazionali; l'intento sarà
quello di mostrare l'eventuale esistenza di discrasie normative
riscontrabili nelle diverse legislazioni, l'eliminazione delle quali è
condizione necessaria per addivenire, quanto meno in relazione al fenomeno
del terrorismo, ad una nozione giuridica unitaria che sia in grado di
cogliere sotto il profilo fenomenologico le diverse caratterizzazioni
sottese alle differenti strutture criminali di stampo terroristico: ex facto
oritur ius .
Groups for Former Cult Members: Issues and
Outcomes
William Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.; Gillie
Jenkinson, M.A.
Each of the two panelists
facilitates a group for former cult members. The panelists will present
overviews of the support groups they facilitate and the ways they attend to
group dynamics, norms, policies, and goals. Particular emphasis will be
placed on the role of the leader in providing a supportive, safe group
environment, in addition to developing group culture and group norms. They
will also delineate their respective group policies or agreements, including
those that they’ve found beneficial and those that they’ve modified or
eliminated.
Among the issues that will
be included in the discussion are the following: The Selection Process
(Assessment, Screening, Intake, Preparation); The Role of the Leader; Group
and Individual Goals; Encouraging Interpersonal Learning and Interaction;
Monitoring Outcomes; Interventions for Challenging Participants who
Monopolize, Come with an Agenda, Show an Inability or Unwillingness to
Comply with Group Agreements, or Are in Crisis; Group as a Whole Social
Action; and Therapists’ Growth in Group Facilitation. Each of these issues
can legitimately be addressed in more than one way, and each manner of
addressing these issues has both positive and negative ramifications. The
panel members will discuss these issues, provide case examples,
interventions, and the ramifications of those interventions.
I nuovi Pagani: rapporto
italiano
Alessandro Olivieri
Pennesi, Ph.D.
Afferma
l’antropologa Cecilia Gatto Trocchi: “Nel 1933 la studiosa inglese Margareth
A. Murray pubblico un testo, Il dio delle streghe, nel quale sosteneva che
la stregoneria europea altro non era che un residuo di antichi culti
pre-cristiani che influenzarono il revival dei celti e dei druidi, e del
neopaganesimo”. Da tali apporti, prosegue la Gatto Trocchi, traggono
ispirazione piccoli gruppi di neo-stregoneria, come l’anglosassone Wicca
(termine da cui deriverebbe il moderno witch, strega) che risultano
influenzati dall’attività di G.B. Gardner che pubblicò nel 1954 una sorta di
vangelo dal titolo La stregoneria oggi, nonché il misterioso libro Book of
Shadows, o Libro delle Ombre.
Margot
Adler, nel suo studio sul neopaganesimo in America, Drawing Down the Moon
(Abbassando la Luna) afferma che il neopaganesimo e la stregoneria moderna
sono un tentativo di creare delle religioni non autoritarie e non
dogmatiche. Secondo la Adler, ciò che contraddistingue i neopagani dalle
religioni dominanti sono i loro rituali: “Il rito è un modo per farla finita
con l’alienazione, dentro di noi stessi, tra noi e gli altri, e tra noi e il
pianeta”. Suonare il tamburo, accendere le candele e cantare fa “scomparire
per un attimo il mondo e ti fa entrare in un mondo fatto di arte e di
sogno”. La stregoneria è costituita da unità di base, rappresentata dalla
congrega, vale a dire un “gruppo di supporto delle streghe”. Essa è
costituta, al massimo, da tredici partecipanti che si conoscono l’un l’altro
e in cui ogni membro svolge una parte importante nell’insieme, contribuendo
alla personalità globale del gruppo.
In Italia
il neopaganesimo è fiorente: oltre allo storico Centro neo-ellenico di
religiosità politeista (del ragioniere e commercialista Antonio de Bono di
Milano) e al Cenacolo dei Sacri Lari di Roma, è sorto (nel 1993 ) sempre a
Roma il gruppo altamente esclusivo denominato Eliopolis che si prefigge come
scopo la rinascita degli antichi dei pagani, depositari della magia.
ICSA Members’ Meeting:
Reports and Discussion
(Réunion des membres de l'ICSA: rapports et discussion; Riunione dei soci
dell’ICSA : relazioni e discussione)
Lorna Goldberg, M.S.W.,
L.C.S.W.; Rod Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.; Carol Giambalvo; Rosanne Henry, M.A.,
L.P.C; Michael Kropveld; Michael Langone, Ph.D.
The president will chair a
meeting for all ICSA members and conference attendees. After brief reports
by the executive director and the chairs of the research, mental health, and
ex-member networks, a discussion will ensue in which attendees will have the
opportunity to ask organizational questions, make suggestions, and describe
briefly their own plans for future work in this field. The goal of this
discussion is to enrich the effectiveness of our work and to enhance ICSA’s
mission to help those who have been affected by cultic groups.
Ideological Locations of Religious Identity
Eileen Barker, Ph.D.
All religions have more or
less permeable and more or less negotiable boundaries to which they refer
when they are locating their membership’s credentials. For some religions,
the location is biologically determined (thus, the Jew has a Jewish mother,
and the Zoroastrian a Zoroastrian father); yet those with a non-Jewish
mother can convert to Judaism, and those with a Jewish mother can convert to
another faith. For another type of religion, the criterion is national
identity—and not only is membership of a national religion assumed to
overlap with national identity, those who have chosen another religion are
more likely to be seen as traitors than as heretics. It is, however,
possible for those of other nations to convert to a national religion. Some
religions employ the concept of ‘fictive kin’ and have constructed elaborate
initiation ceremonies that enable converts to join a spiritual lineage.
Other religions exist as a virtual reality; their members are free to change
(and/or conceal) their ‘real’ identities, changing age and gender and
inventing or denying any other aspects of their lives that they choose.
Religions and spiritual communities with New Age characteristics might deny
the validity of any boundaries, seeing all humanity as being cosmically
united brothers and sisters—in theory, if not in practice.
The paper describes a
range of these and other locations and considers the different kinds of
boundaries that these locations erect. It also considers the ease of
crossing such boundaries—with some being relatively open, others being
relatively closed—and notes that although it might be easy to join some
groups, leaving the same group might be far more difficult, and vice versa.
The paper also compares the consequences of joining and leaving different
types of alternative religious and spiritual communities when one considers
the ideological location of the groups’ self-defining
identity, and it notes ways in which this may alter with the passage of
time.
Incidenza territoriale di
gruppi magici, esoterici e spirituali in Italia
Chiara Guarascio, Ph.D.
Nel
territorio italiano il fenomeno della diffusione di movimenti magici,
pseudoreligiosi, “alternativi” nonché satanici ha dimensioni tanto
considerevoli quanto sfuggenti. I dati a disposizione, infatti, altro non
sono che proiezioni statistiche di una realtà ancora lontana da essere
censita in modo preciso. Il censimento, quindi, di questi movimenti, è molto
fluido e soggetto a variazioni anche giornaliere, dal momento che gruppi di
questo genere nascono e muoiono in continuazione. Quella che possiamo
osservare, pertanto, è solo la punta di un iceberg dalle dimensioni e
diramazioni mai completamente sondabili. Gli italiani sono un popolo
fondamentalmente soggetto a credere a sedicenti maghi, santoni e guru, per
una varietà di cause. La superstizione, che ha antiche radici popolari,
gioca una parte decisamente rilevante. Un impressionante numero di italiani
si affida a cartomanti, veggenti e “guaritori”, spendendo milioni di euro
(generalmente intascati al nero), per riporre speranze di felicità, successo
e guarigione fisica nelle mani di individui senza scrupoli che giocano non
solo sulla fragilità psicologica e sull’ignoranza delle persone, ma anche
sulla loro salute.
Altro dato
inquietante è il numero di adepti a sette di vario tipo: “new age”, di
matrice orientale, indipendenti (ovvero create da un personaggio dal forte
carisma non legato ad alcun movimento) e non ultime quelle sataniche.
Alcune
statistiche:
Maghi,
guaritori e astrologi.
Dati
tratti dal rapporto annuale 2007-2008 di Telefono Antiplagio.
Maghi,
guaritori e astrologi in Italia: 6000 reclamizzati, 145.000 non
reclamizzati. Totale: 151.000.
Suddivisione geografica: Nord 42 % Centro 28% Sud 19% Isole 11%
Province
con il più alto numero di maghi, guaritori e astrologi: Milano, Roma,
Napoli, Torino, Palermo
Ogni
giorno si rivolgono a loro circa 33.000 persone
12 milioni
di persone li frequentano (il 20% della popolazione)
Motivazioni: affetti 45% salute 25% protezione 22% lavoro 8%
Incasso
annuale: 6 miliardi di euro (98% al nero)
Satanismo.
Dati
tratti da “Poliziamoderna”, il periodico ufficiale della Polizia di Stato.
Il numero di giugno 2007 ha raccolto i dati provenienti da 6 mesi di lavoro
delle SAS (squadre anti sette, istituite nel novembre 2006) su tutto il
territorio nazionale. Ci sono circa 8000 gruppi satanici, per un totale di
circa 600.00 adepti.
Da
Telefono Antiplagio (“Rapporto sul satanismo in Italia”, febbraio 2008)
abbiamo le indicazioni di diffusione regionale, da cui si evince che le
regioni con maggior numero di sette sataniche sono:
11.
Lombardia
12.
Piemonte
13.
Lazio
14.
Sicilia
15.
Campania, Emilia Romagna
16.
Toscana
Suddivisione dei gruppi: 58 italiani, 21 stranieri “importati” in Italia.
Minori
attratti dal satanismo: 33%. Cause: prevalenza dell’avere sull’essere (voler
ottenere risultati materiali), solitudine, noia, curiosità, gusto del
proibito e dell’ignoto, stato di necessità (per es. depressione), ignoranza,
eccessivo spazio che i media concedono ai satanisti e alle loro vittime.
Da
sottolineare la differenza tra i movimenti satanici “ufficiali” e quelli
improvvisati, generalmente da giovani, non meno pericolosi. Le congreghe
sono soggette a frammentazione in altri gruppi, è quindi molto difficile
seguirne l’evoluzione.
Sette
esoteriche e pseudoreligiose.
Dati
Telefono Antiplagio (Rapporto 2007-2008).
Censite in
Italia: 650. Su internet ce ne sono circa 1000. I movimenti religiosi sono
circa 60.
Suddivisione geografica: Nord: c. 57% - Centro: c. 25% - Sud e Isole: c. 18%
Suddivisione regionale: Lombardia: 104 – Lazio: 73 – Piemonte: 69 – Toscana:
55 - E. Romagna: 53 – Veneto: 49 – Campania: 43 – Liguria: 35 – Sicilia: 33
– Friuli V. G.: 19 – Puglia: 18 –
Calabria:
16 – Marche: 15 – Umbria: 13 – Sardegna: 10 – Trentino: A. A. 9 – Abruzzo: 8
- Valle D’Aosta: 4 – Molise: 4 – Basilicata: 1
Interactions conflictuelles
entre institutions de contrôle social et groupes religieux minoritaires :
Analyse comparative des discours de groupes religieux minoritaires et
réactions de membres
Marie-Andrée Pelland,
Ph.D.; Dianne Casoni, Ph.D.
Nombre de
groupes religieux minoritaires vivant en marge de la société au Canada font
l’objet d’enquête ou d’allégations d’entorses aux lois formulées tantôt par
des représentants d’institutions de contrôle social, tantôt par des groupes
de citoyens ou de professionnels. En effet, les interactions conflictuelles
entre la société et les groupes religieux minoritaires sont non seulement
fréquentes, mais sont aussi inévitables puisque les membres de ces groupes
se définissent d’abord et avant tout en opposition aux autres. Ainsi, ils se
définissent comme distincts des personnes composant la majorité, ils se
décrivent même comme étant moralement supérieurs à eux. Cette perception
donne lieu à des représentations du bien et du mal, du licite et de
l’illicite, du légal et de l’illégal qui ne sont pas toujours en harmonie
avec celles du monde qui les entoure. Cette construction distinctive de la
réalité donne donc souvent lieu à des échanges parfois difficiles, voire
conflictuels. Bien que les mésententes entre ces groupes et la société
puissent être la résultante d’une multitude de situations, dans le cadre
notre recherche, nous avons choisi d’étudier les effets et les réactions de
groupes contre lesquels des allégations de conduites illégales sont et ont
été formulées. Au total, quatre groupes religieux minoritaires canadiens ont
été choisis en raison des allégations de conduites contraires aux lois
formulées à leur encontre. Ces allégations vont de la négligence des
enfants, à leur agression sexuelle et physique, à la pratique illégale de la
polygamie, au trafic d’adolescentes entre le Canada et les États-Unis, à la
sous-scolarisation chronique des enfants, aux voies de fait et à la mise en
place de situations sociales qui privent les femmes de leurs libertés
fondamentales. Pour permettre la comparaison des données recueillies au
Canada, trois autres groupes qui ont entretenus ou entretiennent des
relations conflictuelles avec des institutions de contrôle social ont été
sélectionnés. Au nombre de ces groupes, notons : les Enfants de Dieu, les
témoins de Jéhovah, ISKCON.
L’analyse
données colligées sur chacun des sept groupes ciblés, associée à l’étude des
écrits des groupes ainsi qu’à l’analyse documentaire des allégations -par le
biais d’articles de journaux, de procès-verbaux de procès, de décisions
juridiques et para-juridiques et de rapports d’enquêtes- ont permis de
dégager certains constats. Au nombre de ces constats, notons la similarité
des réactions initiales aux conflits; l’effet modérateur ou amplificateur de
la réaction des leaders aux conflits, la menace que représentent le conflit
pour la survie du groupe, le désir des membres d’être acceptés socialement
et leur motivation à s’intégrer dans la communauté élargie et enfin
l’ampleur et l’intensité de la réaction sociale aux groupes sont autant
d’éléments qui influencent la nature du lien social entre les membres de
groupes religieux minoritaires et les représentants d’institutions de
contrôle social.
« Internet Crime »:
Devianza religiosa e reti informatiche
Gabriele Bresci
L’uomo
come essere sociale, limitato nel tempo e nello spazio, sperimenta fin dalla
sua nascita nuovi metodi comunicativi. L’esistenza di strumenti che superano
la barriera spazio temporale, accorciando le distanze tra gli esseri
sociali, rappresenta uno dei punti di riferimento della comunicazione
mondiale. L’avvento di internet come rete ti telecomunicazioni, pari al
dominio incontrastato della posta fino al XVIII sec. del telegrafo e del
telefono fino alla soglia degli anni ’90, rappresenta oggi un modello
mondiale non esageratamente definito “rete delle reti”. Tutto ciò che
coinvolge l’apparto uditivo e visivo è possibile tramite internet. Questo
comporta certamente dei miglioramenti nella vita dell’uomo: diminuzione dei
tempi (vedi la possibilità di vedere e parlare con qualcuno distante
migliaia di km) e degli spazi (si pensi alla mole di materiale on line che
stampata invaderebbe spazi infiniti); tutto ciò che fino ad oggi potevamo
solamente immaginare adesso è visivamente realizzabile.
La
criminalità informatica nasce, al contempo, una nuova forma di criminalità:
il “computer crime”.
·
Hacking (violazione dei sistemi informatici);
·
Eversione (documenti relativi all’estremismo
politico);
·
E-Commerce (illeciti commessi mediante l’uso
fraudolento del mezzo telematico)
·
Telefonia (illeciti in materia di
comunicazioni telefoniche);
·
Illeciti Postali;
·
Illeciti nel campo diritto d’Autore -
Pirateria informatica (violazione del copyright e clonazione di smart card
di pay tv);
·
Pedofilia on-line;
·
violazione della Privacy
Religione e reti informatiche
Un luogo,
privo di confini, dove adesso esistiamo e tra un attimo non più, rappresenta
un terreno fertile per le nuove frontiere della criminalità in senso lato.
Nel cyberspazio, anonimità ed omologazione sono attributi che caratterizzano
gli utenti
virtuali e
facilitano l’occultamento di prove reali e personali.
Dal punto
di vista dell’abuso religioso sono in quantificabili gli spazi internet che
ospitano materiale di stampo occultista, magico esoterico. Se un tempo
l’informazioni relative alle pratiche soteriche e magiche erano al quanto
difficili da reperire adesso sono alla portata di tutti.
Analizzeremo il fenomeno da tre punti di vista:
·
il soggetto che usufruisce dei contenuti
(soggetto passivo)
·
il soggetto che produce e divulga i contenuti
usando internet come strumento di reclutamento e sfruttamento ( soggetto
attivo)
·
il ricercatore e l’investigatore nel caso di
crimine ( soggetti esterni)
Tecniche investigative
In un
internet crime i rapporti umani non sono reali. Sappiamo che quello che
stiamo analizzando è l’opera della mente umana, ma non sappiamo se quello
che è detto corrisponde alla realtà o/e alla verità. L’indagine, infatti, è
sempre mediata da un mezzo elettronico e l’investigatore si sente
disorientato in quanto è privo di riferimenti concreti, mancando il contatto
face to face. Deve filtrare e analizzare costantemente le informazioni
tecniche che raccoglie nel cyberspazio, per evitare di imboccare percorsi
fuorvianti, magari creati ad arte dal criminale informatico per sfuggire al
suo inseguimento, o per evitare di costruire false rappresentazioni della
realtà. Viene data facoltà alla Polizia Postale e delle Comunicazioni,
previa autorizzazione dell’A.g.: ?di “navigare” nella rete Internet con
agenti “sottocopertura”; di realizzare siti di copertura; ?di organizzare
operazioni con agenti infiltrati una volta risaliti all’autore del crimine.
Tutto
questo avviene tramite un opera scrupolosamente analitica del materiale
osservato, dall’analisi delle discussioni in forum, blog, chat fino al
raggiungimento di quegli elementi che “inconfondibilmente” portano
all’individuazione del reato o “alla volontà espressa” di commettere rato
nel caso di prevenzione alla criminalità.
Introduction and Overview for Former
Members of Cultic Groups
[This session is for
ex-members only.]
Carol Giambalvo; Joseph Kelly
The purpose of
this session is to help prepare former cultic group members for the
conference and to give participants an opportunity to get to know each
other.
L’information sur les
mouvements religieux controversés en Suisse : regard sur différentes
pratiques professionnelles - I
Conférence d’introduction sur la politique suisse concernant les mouvements
religieux controversés.
François Bellanger, Ph.D.
Relinfo (Zurich)
Georg Schmid
Pastorale, Sectes et Nouvelles Croyances de l'Église catholique dans le
canton de Vaud (Renens)
Lilo Durussel; Gregori Martin
Le congrès
de l’ICSA à Genève est l’occasion de réunir pour la première fois
différentes institutions suisses concernées par les groupes religieux
controversés. C’est ainsi qu’un panel a été mis sur pied regroupant des
centres d’information, des lieux d’écoute et de conseils, un centre de
consultations thérapeutiques et un institut de recherche universitaire. Il
permettra à ces organisations laïques ou rattachées à des églises d’échanger
sur la diversité de leurs pratiques et de leurs approches. La journée
commencera par un exposé sur la politique suisse en matière de mouvements
controversés. Puis suivront les interventions des différentes institutions,
dans l’ordre de leur date de fondation. Le panel débutera avec la
présentation de Relinfo, un centre d’information fondé en 1963 à Zürich par
l’Eglise réformée. Il sera suivi par celle de la Pastorale « Sectes et
Nouvelles Croyances » de l'Eglise catholique dans le canton de Vaud (Renens)
fondée en 1980. L’après-midi commencera avec la présentation de
l’Association suisse pour la défense de la famille et de l’individu (ASDFI),
créée en 1982 à Genève sur le modèle de l’UNADFI, l’association française
fondée par des proches concernés. Elle sera suivie par la présentation
d’Infosekta, bureau de conseil constitué en 1990 à l’initiative du
département des affaires sociales de la ville de Zürich, puis par celle de
l’Observatoire des religions en Suisse, un institut de recherche
universitaire créé à Lausanne en 1999. L’après-midi se poursuivra par
l’exposé du Centre intercantonal d’information sur les croyances fondé à
Genève en 2002 par quatre cantons latins. La dernière intervention sera
faite par le Groupe de consultations pour personnes victimes de dérives
sectaires animé par des ethnopsychiatres et des travailleurs sociaux de
Genève (2006). Dans la perspective d’un échange sur les pratiques, chaque
institution présentera ses méthodes de travail, son approche des groupes
problématiques ainsi que les difficultés qu’elle rencontre notamment avec
les médias, les (ex-)membres et les proches. La journée se conclura par une
synthèse des exposés proposée par Jean-François Mayer, fondateur de
l’Institut Religioscope. Elle permettra de mieux connaître la manière dont
ces institutions (Eglises, université, Etat, associations privées,
thérapeutes) informent la société civile (politique, medias, écoles,
population) sur les mouvements religieux controversés. A l’issue de ce
parcours, les participants et le public auront l’occasion de discuter des
collaborations envisageables.
II
Association Suisse pour la Défense de la Famille et de l'Individu, ASDFI
(Genève)
Danièle Muller-Tulli
Infosekta (Zurich)
Dieter Sträuli, Ph.D.; Susanne Schaaf
Observatoire des religions en Suisse (Lausanne)
Jörg Stolz, Ph.D.
Le congrès
de l’ICSA à Genève est l’occasion de réunir pour la première fois
différentes institutions suisses concernées par les groupes religieux
controversés. C’est ainsi qu’un panel a été mis sur pied regroupant des
centres d’information, des lieux d’écoute et de conseils, un centre de
consultations thérapeutiques et un institut de recherche universitaire. Il
permettra à ces organisations laïques ou rattachées à des églises d’échanger
sur la diversité de leurs pratiques et de leurs approches. La journée
commencera par un exposé sur la politique suisse en matière de mouvements
controversés. Puis suivront les interventions des différentes institutions,
dans l’ordre de leur date de fondation. Le panel débutera avec la
présentation de Relinfo, un centre d’information fondé en 1963 à Zürich par
l’Eglise réformée. Il sera suivi par celle de la Pastorale « Sectes et
Nouvelles Croyances » de l'Eglise catholique dans le canton de Vaud (Renens)
fondée en 1980. L’après-midi commencera avec la présentation de
l’Association suisse pour la défense de la famille et de l’individu (ASDFI),
créée en 1982 à Genève sur le modèle de l’UNADFI, l’association française
fondée par des proches concernés. Elle sera suivie par la présentation
d’Infosekta, bureau de conseil constitué en 1990 à l’initiative du
département des affaires sociales de la ville de Zürich, puis par celle de
l’Observatoire des religions en Suisse, un institut de recherche
universitaire créé à Lausanne en 1999. L’après-midi se poursuivra par
l’exposé du Centre intercantonal d’information sur les croyances fondé à
Genève en 2002 par quatre cantons latins. La dernière intervention sera
faite par le Groupe de consultations pour personnes victimes de dérives
sectaires animé par des ethnopsychiatres et des travailleurs sociaux de
Genève (2006). Dans la perspective d’un échange sur les pratiques, chaque
institution présentera ses méthodes de travail, son approche des groupes
problématiques ainsi que les difficultés qu’elle rencontre notamment avec
les médias, les (ex-)membres et les proches. La journée se conclura par une
synthèse des exposés proposée par Jean-François Mayer, fondateur de
l’Institut Religioscope. Elle permettra de mieux connaître la manière dont
ces institutions (Eglises, université, Etat, associations privées,
thérapeutes) informent la société civile (politique, medias, écoles,
population) sur les mouvements religieux controversés. A l’issue de ce
parcours, les participants et le public auront l’occasion de discuter des
collaborations envisageables.
III
Centre
intercantonal d’information sur les croyances (Genève)
Brigitte Knobel, Séverine Desponds
Consultations pour personnes victimes de dérives sectaires (Genève)
Franceline James
Le congrès
de l’ICSA à Genève est l’occasion de réunir pour la première fois
différentes institutions suisses concernées par les groupes religieux
controversés. C’est ainsi qu’un panel a été mis sur pied regroupant des
centres d’information, des lieux d’écoute et de conseils, un centre de
consultations thérapeutiques et un institut de recherche universitaire. Il
permettra à ces organisations laïques ou rattachées à des églises d’échanger
sur la diversité de leurs pratiques et de leurs approches. La journée
commencera par un exposé sur la politique suisse en matière de mouvements
controversés. Puis suivront les interventions des différentes institutions,
dans l’ordre de leur date de fondation. Le panel débutera avec la
présentation de Relinfo, un centre d’information fondé en 1963 à Zürich par
l’Eglise réformée. Il sera suivi par celle de la Pastorale « Sectes et
Nouvelles Croyances » de l'Eglise catholique dans le canton de Vaud (Renens)
fondée en 1980. L’après-midi commencera avec la présentation de
l’Association suisse pour la défense de la famille et de l’individu (ASDFI),
créée en 1982 à Genève sur le modèle de l’UNADFI, l’association française
fondée par des proches concernés. Elle sera suivie par la présentation
d’Infosekta, bureau de conseil constitué en 1990 à l’initiative du
département des affaires sociales de la ville de Zürich, puis par celle de
l’Observatoire des religions en Suisse, un institut de recherche
universitaire créé à Lausanne en 1999. L’après-midi se poursuivra par
l’exposé du Centre intercantonal d’information sur les croyances fondé à
Genève en 2002 par quatre cantons latins. La dernière intervention sera
faite par le Groupe de consultations pour personnes victimes de dérives
sectaires animé par des ethnopsychiatres et des travailleurs sociaux de
Genève (2006). Dans la perspective d’un échange sur les pratiques, chaque
institution présentera ses méthodes de travail, son approche des groupes
problématiques ainsi que les difficultés qu’elle rencontre notamment avec
les médias, les (ex-)membres et les proches. La journée se conclura par une
synthèse des exposés proposée par Jean-François Mayer, fondateur de
l’Institut Religioscope. Elle permettra de mieux connaître la manière dont
ces institutions (Eglises, université, Etat, associations privées,
thérapeutes) informent la société civile (politique, medias, écoles,
population) sur les mouvements religieux controversés. A l’issue de ce
parcours, les participants et le public auront l’occasion de discuter des
collaborations envisageables.
IV
Synthèse de la journée
Jean-François Mayer, Ph.D.
Table
ronde : comment chacune de ces institutions (Eglises, université, Etat,
initiatives privées, thérapeutes,…) informe-t-elle la société civile
(politique, medias, école, population) sur les mouvements religieux
controversés.
François Bellanger, Ph.D.; Séverine Desponds; Lilo Durussel;
Franceline James; Brigitte Knobel, Gregori Martin, Jean-François Mayer,
Ph.D.; Danièle Muller-Tulli; Susanne
Schaaf; Georg Schmid; Jörg Stolz, Ph.D.; Dieter Sträuli, Ph.D.
Le congrès
de l’ICSA à Genève est l’occasion de réunir pour la première fois
différentes institutions suisses concernées par les groupes religieux
controversés. C’est ainsi qu’un panel a été mis sur pied regroupant des
centres d’information, des lieux d’écoute et de conseils, un centre de
consultations thérapeutiques et un institut de recherche universitaire. Il
permettra à ces organisations laïques ou rattachées à des églises d’échanger
sur la diversité de leurs pratiques et de leurs approches. La journée
commencera par un exposé sur la politique suisse en matière de mouvements
controversés. Puis suivront les interventions des différentes institutions,
dans l’ordre de leur date de fondation. Le panel débutera avec la
présentation de Relinfo, un centre d’information fondé en 1963 à Zürich par
l’Eglise réformée. Il sera suivi par celle de la Pastorale « Sectes et
Nouvelles Croyances » de l'Eglise catholique dans le canton de Vaud (Renens)
fondée en 1980. L’après-midi commencera avec la présentation de
l’Association suisse pour la défense de la famille et de l’individu (ASDFI),
créée en 1982 à Genève sur le modèle de l’UNADFI, l’association française
fondée par des proches concernés. Elle sera suivie par la présentation
d’Infosekta, bureau de conseil constitué en 1990 à l’initiative du
département des affaires sociales de la ville de Zürich, puis par celle de
l’Observatoire des religions en Suisse, un institut de recherche
universitaire créé à Lausanne en 1999. L’après-midi se poursuivra par
l’exposé du Centre intercantonal d’information sur les croyances fondé à
Genève en 2002 par quatre cantons latins. La dernière intervention sera
faite par le Groupe de consultations pour personnes victimes de dérives
sectaires animé par des ethnopsychiatres et des travailleurs sociaux de
Genève (2006). Dans la perspective d’un échange sur les pratiques, chaque
institution présentera ses méthodes de travail, son approche des groupes
problématiques ainsi que les difficultés qu’elle rencontre notamment avec
les médias, les (ex-)membres et les proches. La journée se conclura par une
synthèse des exposés proposée par Jean-François Mayer, fondateur de
l’Institut Religioscope. Elle permettra de mieux connaître la manière dont
ces institutions (Eglises, université, Etat, associations privées,
thérapeutes) informent la société civile (politique, medias, écoles,
population) sur les mouvements religieux controversés. A l’issue de ce
parcours, les participants et le public auront l’occasion de discuter des
collaborations envisageables.
Laboratori di autodifesa
contro la magia e la ciarlataneria: resoconto di un progetto nell’Italia del
nord-est
Dr. Cristina Caparesi
A seguito
della proposta di coinvolgere la popolazione in un progetto che illustrasse
il modo in cui si può essere ingannati dai maghi commerciali o da coloro che
utilizzano i principi della magia commerciale, la Regione Friuli Venezia
Giulia rispondeva con l’intendimento a concorrere al progetto per l’
organizzazione della mostra sulla magia commerciale. La mostra veniva perciò
organizzata nella Chiesa Santa Maria dei Battuti presso il comune di
Cividale del Friuli dall’8 al 16 novembre e comprendeva una serie di
iniziative correlate alla manifestazione.
Fasi della mostra
Settembre:
- preparazione del materiale pubblicitario: volantino e manifesto sulla
mostra, roll-up per l’esposizione esterna, catalogo guida dal titolo
“Trappole magiche”, volantino sull’associazione organizzatrice, pubblicità
spettacolo con il comico Beppe Braida.
Ottobre: -
prime due settimane organizzazione della mostra e dello spettacolo con il
comico Beppe Braida. Richiesta di tutte le autorizzazioni per l’uso dei
locali, per l’esposizione degli oggetti, per l’attività dei
laboratori, per il teatro dove si sarebbe svolto lo spettacolo. In
particolare per quest’ultimo evento venivano richieste ulteriori
autorizzazioni per la vendita dei biglietti, l’invio di maschere con
patentino antincendio, l’accordo con una ditta di servizi per l’affitto di
attrezzatura necessaria allo spettacolo, il contratto con il comico Beppe
Braida.
Nelle
ultime due settimane si realizzava la pubblicità presso le scuole, i Comuni
e il volantinaggio per le strade, le interviste a radio, televisioni e
giornali. I giornali locali scrivevano diversi articoli sulla manifestazione
e si susseguivano interviste radiofoniche, e televisive nei programmi
locali.
Veniva
anche presentato il libro “Allarme maghi guru santoni” di Caparesi Cristina
presso la Biblioteca Civica di Cividale del Friuli.
Resoconto della mostra
La mostra
Trappole Magiche veniva inaugurata il 7 novembre alle ore 18,30 alla
presenza di alcuni partecipanti e dell’Assessore alla Cultura di Cividale
del Friuli. Alle ore 20,30 il comico Beppe Braida presentava presso il
Teatro Ristori il suo spettacolo di cabaret davanti ad un pubblico
entusiasta di 260 persone. In questa occasione veniva pubblicizzata
ulteriormente la mostra “Trappole magiche”.
Nei giorni
successivi dall’8 al 16 novembre la mostra è aperta al pubblico nei
seguenti orari: 9,00-13,00/ 15,30-19,00.
Il programma
Il
programma si sviluppava attraverso due percorsi: la visita all’esposizione
degli oggetti ed i laboratori guidati denominati: “L’angolo delle illusioni”
e “Smaschera la trappola”. Nel percorso di visita all’esposizione i
partecipanti potevano prendere liberamente visione di alcuni oggetti legati
alla superstizione, alla divinazione ed alla magia commerciale, aiutati da
un catalogo guida oppure da una guida.
I
laboratori guidati avevano l’obiettivo di esemplificare alcune tecniche
usate dai ciarlatani di oggi: dall’alterazione della realtà soggettiva fino
alla proposta di programmi sofisticati di condizionamento.
In
particolare “L’angolo delle illusioni” era incentrato sulle distorsioni
percettive naturali del soggetto (della vista in modo particolare) e sul
modo in cui le stesse possono essere ampliate con alcuni stratagemmi, quali
l’uso di tecniche ipnotiche o stupefacenti assunti in modo inconsapevole
dalla vittima. “Smaschera la trappola” insegnava ad identificare le più
comuni trappole dei maghi commerciali facendo uso di giochi di illusione.
Per
l’occasione veniva richiesto ai partecipanti di rispondere ad alcune domande
sulla propria credenza.
Entrambi i
percorsi erano aperti a tutti.
L’esperienza
L’affluenza è stata notevole: n° 2.000 visitatori, fra i quali circa 150
studenti suddivisi in 12 classi della scuola superiore, 3.200 volantini
distribuiti e 320 questionari raccolti sulle credenze dei partecipanti.
Il 13
novembre si è inoltre svolta la tavola rotonda con la seguente tematica:
Le istanze
magiche si celano in tanti luoghi del vivere quotidiano, dall’educazione
alla salute, dal lavoro agli affetti in un mix di credenze, simbologie
religiose, magiche, parascientifiche dai contorni non sempre definiti.
Quanto la libertà di pensiero e di credo si può contrapporre al diritto di
informazione, di tutela delle fasce più deboli, di garanzia dei diritti
inviolabili dell’uomo?
La
problematica ha interessato diverse persone che sono intervenute provenendo
anche da altre città ed hanno contribuito al vivace dibattito scaturito
dalle tematiche.
Conclusione
La
manifestazione ha riscosso parecchio successo sia per la tematica trattata
di particolare fascinazione ed attualità, che per la varietà delle proposte
che univano un tema sociale ad eventi culturali e spettacolo.
Self-Defense Workshops against Magic and
Charlatanry: an Account of a Project in Northern Italy.
Cristina Caparesi
Following our proposal of
involving local citizens in a project that would illustrate how one can be
deceived by “business occultists,” meaning people who apply principles of
sorcery and occultism to living and who know they are cheating. Regione
Friuli Venezia Giulia responded with the intention of contributing to the
organization of an exposition on magic as business. The exposition took
place from the 8th to the 16th of November and included several other
initiatives that were linked to the main project, e.g., the presentation of
“Careful to Wizards, Gurus and Santon” by Cristina Caparesi, as well as a
performance by a very well known Italian comic actor.
Preparation
The preparation went on
during September and October, when all the arrangements were organized: the
printing of texts, brochures, posters, permits, interviews to local radio,
TV programs, newspapers.
Account of the Exposition
The expo “Golden Traps”
was opened on November 7th with a show at the theatre, where the comic Beppe
Braida entertained around 260 very enthusiastic people.
In the following days the
expo was opened from the 8th to the 16th of November from 9:00
a.m. to 1:00
p.m. and from 3:30
p.m. to 7:00
p.m.
Superstition
Who in his life has never
worn a particular pull over or a special bracelet that on a specific
occasion had brought him luck, or has never done a particular gesture or
said a certain sentence to express the hope that everything would turn out
well? Superstition is an irrational belief that can be explained from a
psychological perspective as a mechanism of self-defense and reinsurance
through which people imagine some kind of a justification for their own
failures and uncertainties. In the exposition several objects considered to
have the powers to bring luck or spells were displayed.
Self-Defense Workshops
The program was developed
in two different workshops: “The Corner of Illusion” and “Exposing the
Trap.” Both of them were guided with explanations and exercises having the
objective of illustrating some of the techniques used by today’s charlatans:
from the alteration of reality to sophisticated conditioning programs.
The Corner of Illusions
was centered on natural perceptive distortions of the subject (especially of
the sight as optical illusions) and on the way these distortions can be
enlarged with hypnotic techniques or through drugs that the victim may
ingest without knowledge.
Expose the Trap showed
people how to identify some of the most common traps used by business
occultists through the use of illusion games.
Conclusions
The exposition was visited
by around 2000 people. A lot of them also participated in a survey on
magical thinking. The events received much approval for the choice of
combining a social, cultural problem and a comic type cabaret.
La crise en milieu
sectaire : Peut-elle constituer une expérience de transformation?
Marie-Andrée Pelland, Ph.D. Modérateur: Michael Kropveld. Participants à
la discussion: François Bellanger, Ph.D.; Jean-
François Mayer, Ph.D.
Une
recherche sur des crises internes et externes associées à des allégations de
conduites contraires aux lois a été menée auprès de groupes sectaires
canadiens avec une méthodologie qualitative dans le but de mieux comprendre
les transformations liées à la crise. L’analyse du matériel montre que les
crises affectent les groupes de manière différente, dépendant notamment de
la relation leader-membres du groupe et aussi de la façon dont les
représentants des institutions de contrôle social ont géré leurs
interactions avec le groupe. Une autre des dimensions dégagées est comment
la crise confronte le groupe et ses membres à leur engagement ou, le cas
échéant, à leur désengagement à la société. Puisque cette dimension est
souvent d’une grande importance lors de périodes de crises, les changements
qui y surviennent semblent constituer de véritables expériences de
transformation.
Le discours sectaire et le
discours capitaliste, approche psychanalytique
Arthur Mary
En
m’appuyant sur les théories et outils de la psychanalyse lacanienne, je
postule que le discours capitaliste – en tant qu’il est une nouvelle
modalité de faire lien social et soutenu par l’idéologie capitaliste
néolibérale – se manifeste, entre autres symptômes, par les actualisations
modernes du sectarisme. Ainsi, aussi bien les doctrines que les pratiques
rendent compte de façon contradictoire 1°) d’une tentative d’échapper à
l’aliénation inhérente à la société de consommation ; 2°) d’une
confirmation, d’une répétition de l’idéologie et de la structure du discours
capitaliste, à l’insu du groupe et du sujet lui-même.
Une
approche clinique auprès d’adeptes d’un groupe sectaire révèle par ailleurs
certaines tendances présentes dans notre société : notamment la forclusion
de la castration, le refus d’une jouissance phallique et l’effacement de
l’ordre symbolique. Les doctrines énoncées par les publications de ce groupe
relèveraient d’une logique similaire et poursuivrait le même idéal
d’objectivité que le discours scientifique. Analysées dans leur énonciation,
ces doctrines par leur lapsus trahissent un désir d’évacuer une subjectivité
qui malgré cela trouve à se dire.
Le sujet,
mis en position de consommateur, élit librement l’idéologie sectaire qui se
présente à lui comme une hérésie, une doctrine non-capitaliste et de
libération qui porte la Vérité. Les gourous et maîtres à penser sont les
produits de consommation du marché du spirituel, de la thérapie, du
développement personnel, etc. Leur enseignement, plutôt duel que ternaire,
sur le modèle du coaching, se refuse à la castration du sujet et entend le
combler d’une jouissance extatique et illimitée. Il donne également des
outils afin de se protéger de la rencontre avec l’altérité radicale allant
du simple évitement de l’autre (repli autarcique) à la correction de cette «
altérité trop autre » (prosélytisme, thérapie de la singularité…). Ne
pouvons-nous voir poindre la « nouvelle économie psychique » postulée par
Charles Melman d’un sujet capitaliste ?
Cette
approche prenant en compte la jouissance que trouve le sujet dans le groupe
sectaire permet de repérer une dynamique qui étonnamment est également à
l’œuvre dans les groupes “antisectes”. En effet, aussi bien les partisans de
la liberté de conscience (jusqu’aux “pro-sectes”) que les partisans de la
liberté de penser (les “antisectes”) visent en dernière analyse la liberté
de l’individu. Libération de l’individu de toutes formes d’aliénation : des
vices de la société pour les uns – mais également, libération des
déterminismes arbitraires du psychisme, du corps, de l’Autre… –, des sectes
et de la sujétion psychologique pour les autres.
En
conclusion, les dérives sectaires auxquelles nous assistons permettent de
mettre en évidence les tendances du devenir du fait religieux et de la
psychothérapie dans notre société. La question du sectarisme peut ainsi
s’inscrire dans une réflexion sur le risque totalitaire (risque inhérent à
toute démocratie) que nous encourons – dictature du Marché, psychopathologie
d’Etat, aseptisation de l’altérité… Aussi, est-ce une vaste réflexion sur
notre société et la globalisation de son idéologie que nous devons mener.
Le ferite invisibili nei
ricordi di abusi dimenticati
Dr. Amato L. Fargnoli
Spesso
nascoste, ignorate o trascurate, le ferite subìte nell’anima lasciano un
segno indelebile in grado di logorare non solo la vita stessa di un essere
umano, ma di incidere profondamente su tutto il tessuto sociale che lo
circonda e lo avvolge. Nella moderna società democratica, la figura della
vittima assume oggi un ruolo centrale, divenendo un simbolo carico di
emotività, protagonista di Associazioni specifiche che si fanno carico di
sostenere e contenere le vittime, ma soprattutto, dove sia possibile,
accompagnarle nel lungo percorso di riconoscimento del trauma subìto e nella
riappropriazione della propria vita psichica. Non esistono più parole e il
silenzio prende il sopravvento dominando la vita della vittima, impossibile
esprimere spesso il nulla che pervade il tempo in cui il senso di abbandono
prende il sopravvento e genera disturbi difficili da individuare non solo
per chi li vive, ma anche per coloro che lo circondano. Stress e trauma,
possono sovrapporsi e alimentarsi a vicenda, ma l’assenza di sintomi
evidenti, non esclude la presenza stessa di un trauma che segna
profondamente. Spesso ci si trova di fronte all’impossibilità di certificare
a primo impatto la portata di un trauma subìto, una latenza più o meno lunga
in cui la ferita invisibile si alimenta silenziosamente e riaffiora solo
molto tempo dopo, spesso con una tale intensità da essere vissuta come
ferocemente invasiva. Il lavoro clinico con persone che riferiscono di
ricordi recuperati è quindi complesso e molto delicato, inizia con il
recupero e l’integrazione dei ricordi, un lungo percorso che parte dalla
presa di coscienza e prosegue attraverso l’integrazione di affetto e
significato del ricordo traumatico, con la sicurezza ed il contenimento di
cui necessita la vittima stessa.
Le modèle d’intervention à
SOS-Sectes
Encarni Bermudez; Véronique
Hoeylaerts
Sos-sectes
propose un accueil psychologique spécialisé s’appuyant sur un dispositif
unique en son genre. Nous partons du point de vue que nul n’est mieux placé
pour intervenir auprès des adeptes de sectes que leurs proches non adeptes :
conjoint, parents… mais que leur canevas habituel de solutions ne fonctionne
pas. Notre objectif devient, dès lors, de les aider à développer des
nouvelles stratégies. Nous intervenons à trois niveaux : une écoute
téléphonique, des consultations d’aide aux victimes et des groupes de
parole.
Les instruments juridiques
en contradiction avec le terrorisme international: la palingénésie des lois
fonctionnel à la création d’un Statut pénal commun
Salvatore Reitano
Le sujet
de la relation sera l’analyse des instruments de réglementation les plus
importants reproduits dans le différents domaines institutionnels en
contradiction avec le terrorisme international.
Après
l’éclaircissement de la possibilité d’une notion unitaire du terrorisme
international sous l’aspect ontologique-juridique - desquelle on pourrait
descendre, aussi bien, la soi-disant reduction ad unum en prévision de la
création d’un Statut pénal unitaire – on y s’arretons en particulier sur la
decisione quadro prise par le Conseil d’Europe le 13 juin 2002 constituant
l’instrument contraignant le plus complet pour les états membres, ainsi que
l’élément exemplaire estimé d’après examiner la portée omnicomprenante la
notion terroriste qui correspond à la decisione de qua.
Dans le
domaine international, il y a trois conventions et trois protocoles conclus
par les Nations Unites en matière de lutte avec le terrorisme.
On doit
toutefois remarquer que nombreux états n’ont pas encore apposé leur
signature ou ratifié beaucoup de ces documents.
On
pourrait sembler paradoxal, mais les premières trois conventions des Nations
Unites, en matière de contraster le terrorisme, concernent les consignes de
sécurité d’aviation. Il s’agit du Traité du 1963 à l’égard de la repression
des crimes commis au bord d’un aérien, du Traité de 1970 à l’égard
de
l’abolition du séquestre illégal des aéronefs et du Traité de 1971 pour la
suppression des acts de sabotage commis au bord des aéronefs. Personne
n’aurait pu imaginer que, au bout de environ cinquante ans, le plus grand
attaque commis par le terrorisme aux démocraties occidentals se produit
vraiment du moyen aérien.
Ce début
parâit nécessaire pas sûrement pour se rappeler les événements du septembre
2001, d’ailleurs connaissaient bien par tous, mais pour souligner comment le
droit international, engendre d’un pacte depuis longtemps, offre les
instruments les plus efficaces pour combattre le terrorisme.
Entre les
treize conventions affectées au conflit avec le terrorisme par les Nations
Unites, on fasait attention en particulier à celle signée à New York en 1999
contre le financement du terrorisme,
(c.d.
Financing) comme elle constitue le premier et le plus important acte
contractual qui aborde le problème du terrorisme dans un point de vue tout à
fait nouveau.
Cette
convention, pas au hazard, en m?me temps que celle pour la suppression des
attentats terroristes par l’emploi des explosifs (c.d. Bombing) du 15
décembre 1997, ce sont les seules observations dans le texte du 2002.
Depuis en
se référant à l’activité des Nations Unites, on ne s’abstenit de donner
compte de la situation des travaux pour la conclusion d’une nouvelle
convention globale pour la lutte au terrorisme.
En ce qui
concerne le Conseil d’Europe, on doit remarquer qu’après la convention du
1977, l’institution européenne ne s’est pas occupée du phénomène terroriste
pendant beaucoup d’années.
Elle s’en
était occupée de nouveau après les événements du 2001: il y a peu de temps
deux initiatives très importantes ont été conclues à Straburgo pour la lutte
au terrorisme.
D’une
part, d’après la nouvelle convention signée à Varsavia au mois du mai 2005,
les prévisions déjà comprises dans la convention du 1990 par rapport au
recyclage ont été étendues au financiement du terrorisme.
La
nouvelle convention, dès qu’efficace, sera un instrument de très grande
importance, puisqu’elle comprend dans le financiement au terrorisme, le
bagage d’expérience qu’on a rejoint dans le domaine international par
rapport à la lutte au recyclage. Le nouveau traité du Conseil d’Europe pour
la prévention au terrorisme a aussi été signé au mois du mai 2005.
Dans ce
domaine on va remarquer l’importance de ces travaux, en particulier la
prévision de l’obligation pour les états de criminaliser les conduites
toutes à fait nouveaux et de toute façon étrangères à la tradition
éuropéenne: par example l’incitation et la formation au terrorisme ou le
recrutement des kamikazes. En ce qui concerne l’Union Européenne, enfin, on
doit avant tout souligner que la lutte au terrorisme constitue un des
secteur qui appartiennent à la coopération de la police et de la judiciaire
en la matière penale dans le domaine c.d. Terzo Pilastro, lesquel programme
est explicité dans les articles 29 et les suivants du Traité sur l’Union
Européenne.
Ce
programme a donné lieu à une action commune qu’a été realisée dans le
respect du principe de la subsidiarieté, soit au niveau de s’harmoniser avec
les droits penals internationals (par la fixation, avec la decisione quadro
du 2002, des normes moindre concernantes les éléments constitutifs des
délits et des sanctions), soit au niveau de la coopération entre les états
membres (comme, par example, la decisione quadro sur le mandat d’arrêt
européen). La partie finale de la relation sera
axée sûr
les différentes définitions du terrorisme qu’on retrouve dans les
législations pénales nationales.
L’entreprise sera celle de montrer l’ existence éventuelle d’un déséquilibre
sur les normes releveés dans les différentes législations. Son abolition
c’est la condition nécéssaire pour en venir, au moins par rapport au
phénomène du terrorisme, à une notion juridique unitarie que soit en mesure
d’atteindre, du point de vue du phénomène, les diverses caractérisationes
soutenues aux diverses structures criminales typiquement terroriste: ex
facto oritur ius.
Liberarsi dagli schemi del
condizionamento mental (esperienza)
Claudia Vincenzi
Espongo
qui di seguito un tratto introduttivo della mia vicenda prima di affrontare
l’argomento che più ampiamente intendo sviluppare: il recupero della persona
plagiata.
All’età di
ventuno anni, in un periodo di prolungata disperazione e vulnerabilità in
cui mi trovavo a causa della sofferenza per la grave malattia di mia madre,
sono stata attirata e catturata nella rete di un sedicente mago cartomante
che mi aveva scelto per essere sua vittima. Non ero solita rivolgermi a
questo genere di figure, ma mi fidai del pressante consiglio di una persona
che godeva della mia fiducia, che già lo conosceva e lo definiva una persona
coscienziosa e seria.
Fin dal
primo incontro il sedicente mago ha cominciato una pesante opera di
condizionamento mentale e in breve tempo mi ha plagiata. Per anni ho subìto
violenze fisiche e psicologiche, offese e umiliazioni nel corpo e
nell’anima. Mentre ero succube mi era impossibile riconoscere la realtà, ma
solo vedere quella che mi era stata inculcata. C’erano altre persone
coinvolte e soggiogate, con le quali il confronto e lo scambio di opinioni
erano controllati e pilotati all’elogiare il mago e il suo indiscutibile
potere. A turno, ognuno subiva umiliazioni di fronte agli altri, seguite da
minacce e infine assoluzioni. Si può dire che l’ambiente prodotto dal
sedicente mago fosse quello di una mini-setta, per le tecniche che adottava.
La mia
liberazione è avvenuta dopo molti anni, grazie all’intervento della mia
famiglia. Ora ho trentotto anni e ho ripreso in mano la mia vita. Ho voluto
dare un senso al buio che ho attraversato e il modo è stato quello di
superare le paure e non tacere, denunciare, scrivere per essere di aiuto a
me stessa e agli altri. Ho denunciato il mago che è stato condannato con
sentenza di primo grado a quindici anni di reclusione nel 2008, e nello
stesso anno è stato pubblicato da Mondadori “Plagiata”, il libro che ho
scritto e nel quale esprimo cosa ho vissuto in quegli anni.
Ho preso
coscienza di quanto mi è accaduto, ho lavorato e rielaborato dieci anni di
condizionamento mentale per ricostruire la mia identità. Dopo l’esperienza
diretta del mio recupero, ne ho ripercorso idealmente e in modo critico le
varie fasi con il distacco necessario per fare alcune valutazioni e
stabilire col senno di poi quali fossero le mie necessità di quel momento.
Ripensando al mio percorso, ho riconosciuto la fortuna di avere molte
persone accanto che mi hanno sostenuto con l’affetto, l’ascolto, e dando il
meglio di loro stessi, ma ho compreso anche che nessuno di loro aveva
nozione di cosa fosse un condizionamento mentale. A distanza di anni,
riconosco che neanche in analisi questo aspetto è stato esaminato, mentre mi
sarebbe stato utile conoscerne esattamente le dinamiche per comprendere in
tempo più breve cosa mi era accaduto e sciogliere i blocchi limitanti dati
dal senso di colpa per non essere stata in grado di salvarmi da sola e
prima.
Le nozioni
sul condizionamento mentale e le dinamiche a livello psichico,
didatticamente le ho apprese successivamente, studiando alcuni testi
specifici sull’argomento, quando già avevo elaborato e risolto queste fasi
da sola a livello emotivo ed introspettivo. Ho così confrontato
l’interpretazione scientifica delle varie dinamiche psichiche con ciò che
sono stati il mio vissuto e il mio sentire, trovando conferme e
delucidazioni su molti punti.
Reputo che
salvarsi integralmente da un condizionamento mentale sia un privilegio che
non tutti hanno. Le profonde e indelebili cicatrici psicologiche con
inevitabili ripercussioni in ambito affettivo, relazionale e professionale,
per alcuni possono diventare irreversibili se non adeguatamente riconosciute
e risolte. L’intento che ho, indubbiamente dato dall’esperienza provata in
prima persona, è quello di evidenziare quali siano questi strascichi emotivi
e psicologici, ponendo l’attenzione alla fase del recupero della persona al
momento della fuoriuscita da un culto che lo ha condizionato e ai suoi
bisogni, particolari e mirati rispetto a quelli espletati da un comune iter
di analisi psicologica. Andare cioè a sciogliere parte della complessità del
recupero fornendo all’ex vittima dati informativi relativi alle tecniche del
plagio, uniti al calore e alla comprensione, la cui conoscenza sicuramente
alleggerirà il suo lavoro interiore di ripresa di sè. Riconoscere da una
fonte autorevole le dinamiche che lo hanno coinvolto, lo aiuterà a
discernere il suo naturale comportamento da ciò che è prodotto dal
condizionamento e lo renderà più sereno nell’affrontare questo percorso.
Questo spunto di riflessione mi porta a voler trattare più ampiamente questo
tema, cominciando con l’esporre i tratti psicologici carenti e alcuni dei
più comuni stati d’animo di una persona appena uscita dal plagio.
Living in a Land of Prophets: Why Sects and
Cults Are Becoming More Numerous but Smaller
Christian Ruch, Ph.D.
In Western Europe, it can
be observed that the number of cults and sects is steadily increasing. But
it also can be observed that these groups are relatively small. Often they
have less than 100 people gathering around a guru, who in many cases is
their healer or their therapist. While the greater organizations such as
Scientology, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others encounter more and more
problems to increasing their membership, conversely it is also a fact that
small groups seem to have a boom. A German newspaper spoke about the country
being a “land of prophets,” and a Swiss information center reported that
more than 80% of all requests for information have such small cults as the
topic. The reason for this development is to be researched in new ways of
communication, and the obvious need for a “private” kind of religion. People
seem to feel strange and lost in big organizations such as the official
churches; therefore, they are looking for a cozy atmosphere. As the German
sociologist Niklas Luhmann has shown, this is an important aspect of
secularization: Religion becomes private and the private life becomes more
and more religious. The private aspect of religion demands only a low level
of organization, so the new small groups, cults, and sects have more to be
seen as communities (often based in the Internet) than as churches. But that
doesn’t mean that these communities aren’t dangerous, in any case. Because
many of these new cults are not known to the public or experts, and their
members are sometimes living together in hidden farm houses, the potential
danger of abuse can be even bigger than in normal sects. An example is the
German cult Light Oasis, with only 40 people, where sexual abuse, the
destruction of normal relationships, and a constant terror belongs to the
everyday-life of the cult members.
Measuring Group Psychological Abuse in
Japan, Spain, and the United States
Carmen Almendros, Ph.D., Coordinator;
Álvaro Rodríguez-Carballeira, Ph.D.; José Antonio Carrobles, Ph.D.; Kimiaki
Nishida, Ph.D.; Fran Barbero, M.A.
Development
and Validation of Measures of Group Psychological Abuse
Carmen Almendros, Ph.D.;
José Antonio Carrobles, Ph.D.; Álvaro Rodríguez-Carballeira
This presentation is part
of a wide research project: Development and Validation of Measures Relevant
for the Study of Abusive Groups, for which researchers from Arizona State
University (USA), University of Shizuoka (Japan), University of Barcelona
and Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain) have gathered data on both
students and former members of abusive groups in the United States, Japan
and Spain. Recent developments and preliminary data on the measurement of
psychological abuse in group contexts and other constructs relevant to the
cultic studies field will be presented. This includes the proposal of a
modified version of the Group Psychological Abuse Scale, which was
originally developed by Chambers, et al. (1994) and adapted for its use with
Spanish population (Almendros et al., 2003; Almendros, 2006). The modified
version of the GPA included in this study removed the negative wording of
item one of the scale and modified the response categories included at the
original.
The
Psychological Violence Strategies Exerted in Workplace Bullying and Couple
Violence: Development of a Measure
Álvaro
Rodríguez-Carballeira, Ph.D.; Jordi Escartín; Clara Porrúa; Javier
Martín-Peña; Carmen Almendros, Ph.D.; José Antonio Carrobles, Ph.D.
Several instruments have
been developed to assess the impact of psychological abuse perpetrated by
couples in the domestic domain and employees in the workplace. However, such
instruments have been either imported from other countries or are excessive
in length. Thus, the main objective of this study is to develop and validate
a measure of the psychological abuse perpetrated in the domestic and work
settings. To this end, 49 couple violence victims and 45 workplace bullying
victims were interviewed. In order to assess the process of psychological
abuse, the Escala de Abuso Psicológico Aplicado en la Relación de Pareja
(EAPA-P) (Couple Violence Behaviour Questionnaire), and the Escala de Abuso
Psicológico Aplicado en el Lugar de Trabajo (EAPA-T) (Workplace Bullying
Behaviour Questionnaire) were used, as well as other well-know and validated
scales of workplace bullying and domestic violence. Furthermore, one scale
of Reactance and another of Post-Traumatic Stress were also administered.
The results showed how the EAPA-P constituted 6 facets and the EAPA-T 4
facets. The correlations with the other two scales of workplace bullying and
couple violence were high as expected. With the scale of PTSD the
correlations were also significant; however with the scale of Reactance no
significant correlation was found. The results are discussed and the
parallels with other areas where the psychological violence is applied, as
well as the implications derived are also described.
Religious Fundamentalism
Francisco Barbero; Álvaro
Rodríguez-Carballeira, Ph.D.; Javier Martín-Peña; Jordi Escartín; Clara
Porrúa.
This work presents an
update of the most relevant studies about religious fundamentalism in the
psychological literature, especially emphasizing the psychosocial approach.
The aim of this work is to review research on religious fundamentalism, as
well as to analyze in detail certain variables associated with this form of
linkage. In this sense, it emphasizes and explores the relationship of
fundamentalism with prejudice, personality, certain aspects of cognitive
processing and other psychological variables such as personal well-being,
optimism, humor and forgiveness. Some of the associations found are of
interest in trying to elucidate how certain people engage into
fundamentalist movements and could commit destructive actions such as
terrorist’s deeds. With the background check offered here and taking as the
main analytical perspective the social identity theory of Tajfel and Turner
(1979), a future empirical research is proposed, which aims to study the
fundamentalist tendencies among young people and their relationship to
membership in radical groups.
Mental Health / Research Discussion on the
Development of a Practical Assessment Instrument for Cult Specialists in
Mental Health
Facilitator: Rod Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.
This session will discuss
progress and plans concerning a joint project of the mental health and
research networks; specifically, the development of a brief assessment
instrument that will be useful to clinicians and researchers. The ultimate
goal is to collect outpatient data that will supplement the rich store of
residential-treatment data accumulated at the Wellspring Retreat and
Resource Center.
Miti, leggende, magia e
superstizione in Italia
Nicoletta Romanelli, Ph.D.
Quando si
parla di magia e leggende si pensa ad un mondo fantastico che si confonde
con lontani ricordi d’infanzia.
La
religione e la magia si stagliano nell’immaginario collettivo come forme
prodromiche di fondamentale rilevanza simbolica. L’ascosità del simbolo, che
rimane tale e non si rivela a chi non è in grado di intenderlo, la si
rinviene nelle maglie strette della comunanza ontologica riscontrabile
appunto tra queste due forme in grado da sempre di simboleggiare le paure e
i timori che sovrastano le speranze riposte nelle più tortuose pieghe
dell’animo umano: la magia e la religione costituiscono pertanto le due
facce di quella medaglia simbolica che è la vita.
Nell’assetto religioso-culturale dei popoli di tutti i tempi è possibile
individuare dei motivi mitologici comuni, gli archetipi, come li definì
Jung, dei quali resta inevitabilmente traccia nelle testimonianze
concernenti il soprannaturale e l’occulto presenti in ogni cultura.
L’Italia è
un paese ricco di folklore. Tanto più nei piccoli borghi si conserva un
patrimonio di leggende e tradizioni notevole che non può andare perduto.
Questa
“mitologia popolare” affonda le sue radici in un substrato rurale e
agricolo, dal momento che il sostentamento dell’uomo derivava in passato,
quasi esclusivamente dalla terra e dalla lavorazione dei campi. La vicenda
umana era, per questo, completamente scandita dai ritmi della natura ed è
così che le feste legate al ciclo della natura rappresentano una costante di
tutti i popoli in tutte le epoche storiche.
Il
calendario pagano, nel senso stretto del significato originario latino di
contadino, da pagus, appunto villaggio agricolo, ha caricato di significati
e presagi i passaggi pregnanti dell’anno, associati all’avvicendamento delle
stagioni e alle fasi lunari e, di conseguenza, ai vari momenti dei lavori
agricoli. Si spiega, così, l’importanza dei culti ctoni e di tutte le
tradizioni, le leggende ed i rituali propiziatori associati ad essi.
La vita
dell’uomo era, infatti, strettamente legata al ciclo fitomorfico della
natura perché egli stesso partecipe, soggiaceva ai medesimi cicli di
nascita, trasformazione, morte e rinascita.
Non c’è,
dunque, da stupirsi se in popoli differenti, a volte anche molto lontani tra
loro sia geograficamente che culturalmente, si possano rintracciare divinità
con caratteri simili, tratti
comuni,
affermazioni concordi e rituali affini in merito a determinati temi o
momenti dell’anno, che, a ben riflettere, rappresentano le costanti della
natura e della vita dell’uomo. Rimangono sostanzialmente le stesse, anche
se, chiaramente, con forme espressive, tradizioni, nomi e peculiarità
diverse, in forza delle differenze tra le culture di origine e di
appartenenza.
L’intento
del presente lavoro è quello di recuperare le tracce di un mondo sommerso
che continua a trasparire nell’immanente e nel quotidiano perché cammina
silenziosamente accanto alla scienza ed alla tecnologia moderna.
La magia
è, infatti, un fenomeno tanto antico quanto moderno.
Lo studio
e la riscoperta di un retaggio culturale ancestrale permette di cogliere
sentori di un passato ancora molto attuale.
English Abstract
When we talk about magic
and legends, we think of a fantastic world that gets confused with the
earliest memories of childhood. Religion and magic stand out in the
collective imaginary as shapes of fundamental symbolic importance. We can
find the concealment of symbol, which doesn’t change and doesn’t show itself
to those who can’t see it, in the meshes of the ontological communion of
magic and religion, the two sides of that symbolic coin that is life. At
every time, in the people’s religious and cultural set-up, it is possible to
recognize some common mythological themes, or archetypes, according to
Jung’s description. And we can find evidence about them in testimonies
regarding the supernatural and the occult that belong to every culture.
Italy is a country rich in folklore. Moreover, the small villages keep a
considerable heritage of legends and traditions that can’t vanish. This
popular mythology takes roots in a rural and agricultural substratum because
in the past man’s maintenance was almost exclusively from land and
cultivation. For this reason, human vicissitudes were beaten by the rhythm
of nature; this is why feasts tied to the cycle of nature represent a
feature of all people in all historical ages.
The pagan calendar, in the
strict sense of the native Latin meaning of peasant, from pagus,
which was an agricultural village, is loaded with meanings. It presages the
most important times of the year, which are linked to the rotation of
seasons and the cycle of the moon and, consequently, to the different
moments of rural work. So it explains the importance of the chthonic cults
and of all the traditions, legends, and propitiatory rituals linked to them.
Man’s life was closely related to the phytomorphic cycle of nature because
as a participant himself, he was subject to the same cycles of birth,
metamorphosis, death, and rebirth.
So we shouldn’t be
surprised that among different populations, very distant from each other
from a geographical and cultural point of view, sometimes we can find
goddesses with similar characters, common features, the same declarations,
and similar rituals regarding some specific themes or moments of the year
that, after thought, represent the features of man’s nature and life. These
archetypes remain essentially the same, of course with differences between
the cultures of origin they belong to, with different expressive shapes,
traditions, names, and peculiarities.
The aim of this work is to
recover the outlines of the underground world that continues to reveal
itself in the immanent and in everyday life as it silently moves next to
modern science and technology. Magic is actually an old and a modern
phenomenon at the same time. The study and the revival of an ancestral
cultural heritage allow us to catch the signs of a still very relevant past.
Movements against Destructive Cults: How
Lawyers, Victims, and Others Can Work Together in Practice
Masaki Kito, Esq.; Itaru Takesako; Takashi
Yamaguchi, Esq.; Yukari Yamamoto
Winning compensation for
damages caused by cultic groups is not possible by lawyers’ efforts alone.
To win law suits against cultic groups, efforts by lawyers representing the
case, the plaintiffs, other lawyers, ex-members, family members, counselors,
and general citizens must be well coordinated based on mutual trust. This
panel presents examples of such coordinated efforts and discusses the
current situation, future challenges, and international cooperation.
Network Meeting: Ex-Member
[This session is for
ex-members only.]
Facilitator: Carol Giambalvo
This session is an
organizational discussion of former members of cultic groups who are
interested in volunteering their time and expertise to various projects and
programs related to ICSA’s mission. The session’s goal is to
help participants get to know their colleagues, to share information on
their work, and to plan future projects.
Network Meeting: Mental Health
[This session is open only
to licensed mental health professionals.]
Facilitator: Rosanne Henry, M.A., L.P.C.
This session is an
organizational discussion of mental health professionals interested in
volunteering their time and expertise to various projects and programs
related to ICSA’s mission. The session’s goal is to help professionals get
to know their colleagues, to share information on their work, and to plan
future projects.
Network Meeting: Research
[This session is open only
to cultic studies researchers.]
Facilitator: Rod Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.
This session is an
organizational discussion of researchers interested in volunteering their
time and expertise to various projects and programs related to ICSA's
mission. The session's goal is to help researchers get to know their
colleagues, to share information on their work, and to plan future projects.
Open Discussion: Current and Future
Research
Facilitator: Rod Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.
This session will provide
participants with an opportunity to discuss and ask questions about current
and future cultic studies research, whether discussed in this conference or
not.
Overview of Cultic Studies Research
Rod Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.
In this session, Dr.
Dubrow-Marshall will explore the key questions asked by cultic studies
researchers, the types of research conducted, methodological issues, and the
dominant theories in the field.
Overview of Mental Health Issues
Rosanne Henry, M.A., L.P.C.
Many mental-health
professionals are often unaware of their clients’ cult involvement or are
ill prepared to help them deal with it. Even former group members lack
understanding of the harmful effects of destructive cults, and they often
fail to see the connection between their presenting symptoms of depression
or relationship problems and their group experience.
Examining their group
experience and understanding how they were deceived, manipulated, and
exploited can be vital to their recovery. Therapists should keep in mind
that clients who look anxious and dependent, or sound psychotic, might in
fact be demonstrating a normal reaction to a cultic environment.
This workshop will define
destructive cults in a way that places them toward the end of a continuum of
influence and persuasion. The workshop will present three cross-sectional
models of thought-reform and manipulative environments, and will suggest
tools to help screen clients for cult involvement. The most typical
cult-induced psychopathologies will also be discussed within the context of
cult trauma and abuse.
Views on the treatment of
former members of cultic groups, second-generation adults (SGAs), and
families will be presented.
Plagio: nostalgia di un
ritorno
Avv. Massimo Di Bello
L’intervento avrà ad oggetto l’analisi storica e le questioni esegetiche del
“plagio”, figura di reato che nell’ordinamento italiano ha interessato tutti
i livelli degli operatori giuridici, dai giuristi ai magistrati agli
avvocati. Si tratta di un percorso di esperienze storiche ed analisi
giuridiche che hanno cercato una definizione che potesse abbracciare il vero
senso della soggezione psicologica. Definizione dalla quale occorre partire
per definire una ipotesi di reato che non si esponga alle censure di
incostituzionalità, come già affermato dalla Corte Costituzionale italiana
con la famosa sentenza 8 giugno 1981, nr. 96, con la quale veniva espunto
dall’ordinamento italiano il reato di plagio, previsto dall’art. 603 c.p.
La
riconducibilità del reato di plagio ad una natura più propriamente psichica
dei suoi elementi costitutivi ha posto innumerevoli problemi di
determinatezza della fattispecie penale, con la necessità di riempire gli
spazi vuoti lasciati da una descrizione evidentemente evanescente delle
condotte lesive. Ecco, dunque, l’analisi degli interventi giurisprudenziali
e le osservazioni in ordine alla necessità di enucleare una condotta che
fosse determinata sotto il profilo penalistico a tutela dell’ordinamento nel
suo complesso e, in modo particolare, delle vittime di un reato tanto
subdolo quanto pericoloso. L’intervento si concluderà con una prospettiva de
iure condendo, cercando di immaginare quali potrebbero essere gli obiettivi
della tutela penale e gli approdi delle elaborazioni giuridiche in materia.
Il tutto cercando di mediare tra la necessità rigoristica delle norme
penali, la tecnica di produzione normativa cui esse devono sottostare ed i
valori che esse mirano a tutelare.
Post-Cult Treatment
Massimo Nencioni, Ph.D.
The term “brainwashing” is
simplistic: Without claiming the medicalization of this topic, the
evaluation of the dynamics that can develop should be the responsibility of
the psychiatrist, and this assessment should be conducted on the actual
situation. Moreover, to refuse in advance the technical work of the
psychiatrist with the argument that religious freedom is involved means not
to accept the fact that some people have been subjected to significant
manipulation of their mental state. First, the methods used in the
conversion to the cult and in deprogramming should be evaluated; psychiatric
knowledge should help one to interpret in a useful way the phenomenon of
religious conversion by taking the necessary care where important values of
freedom of conscience are concerned. Abgrall, a French psychiatrist and
criminologist, in a chapter of La Mecanique des sectes entitled “The disease
induced by sectarian manipulation,” lists a series of disturbances that can
be seen in followers during their membership in a new religious movement or
after an exit from it.
In this study, carried out
by using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV),
some of the disorders that affect the ex-followers were considered. In
particular:
17.
Adaptation Disorder with depression, anxiety, and disturbance of
conduct
18.
Separation Anxiety Disorder
19.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
20.
Depersonalization Disorder
21.
Dissociative Disorder
These disturbances have
been considered both from a clinical-diagnostic and a treatment point of
view, with particular reference to psychotherapeutic techniques and
psychopharmacologic treatment. From the literature about this, little or
nothing specific was found, because it is difficult to have available a
sample of patients who escaped from a sect. The anti-cult organizations
receive many calls, but mostly from the followers’ families, and there are
few requests by the victims themselves to help them out of sectarian
movements.
In conclusion, the
questions are these: Who are the escapees—are they psychiatric patients? And
if so, to which diagnostic categories do they belong? Were they already sick
before they entered the group, or did their participation in the group
aggravate their condition? Or were they simply looking for certainty and
resolution of personal problems, but then they got sick because of belonging
to the sect?
Presidential Politics, Saddleback, and the
Rick Warren Controversy
David Clark
This presentation speaks
to a contemporary phenomenon in the American culture of politics and
religion that addresses the paradigm shift between belief and behavior.
Before the “civil forum” organized by Saddleback Church, a hugely
influential ministry run by pastor Rick Warren, a
multimillion-dollar-selling author. United States presidential candidates
John McCain and Barrack Obama participated in what presented as the first
joint appearance by both presidential hopefuls at Saddleback. The mainstream
public might not be familiar with the larger context of the Rick Warren
controversy concerning his market-driven methods and the paradigm shift of
his second reformation.
Rick Warren claims, “I’m
looking for a second reformation. The first reformation of the church 500
years ago was about beliefs. This one is going to be about behavior. This
one is going to be about deeds. It is not going to be about what does the
church believe, but what about what the church is doing.”
The Bible-cult controversy
and the Rick Warren controversy have encountered similar complaints in terms
of their market-driven methods and the self-esteem teachings of Warren’s
mentor, Rev. Robert Schuller.
Rick Warren has been a
prime mover to bring about global convergence of three sects of Christian
dominionism more than anyone else. Warren received his doctorate from Fuller
Theological Seminary under the instruction of his advisor, C. Peter Wagner,
a leading Apostle of the new Apostolic Reformation.
There are numerous
reported complaints about casualties related to this ongoing phenomenon.
This presentation covers the history, methods, and techniques this
controversy indicates. The workshop focuses on the goal of equipping
victims. The process will include exploring and explaining critical-thinking
tools victims can use to overcome and recover from this phenomenon, and
identifying essential information that needs to be presented for victims’
sorting-out process for recovery and healing.
Projet de présentation du
groupe « L’envol de la colline aux oiseaux »
Isabelle Camara; Franceline
James
Historique : fondation du groupe en 2005 par
Isabelle Camara, suite à son travail de diplôme à l’IES, supervisé par
J-L.Swertvaegher du Centre-Georges-Devereux à Paris, qui avait lui-même
co-écrit le livre « Sortir d’une secte » avec Tobie Nathan.
Constat : les personnes ayant été victimes de
dérive sectaire gardent durablement une profonde empreinte de leur passage
dans un tel groupe. Les approches classiques de cette problématique ont
toujours été de deux ordres :
22.
psychologiques,
s’intéressant soit aux raisons internes du sujet de s’être trouvé pris dans
un mouvement sectaire, soit à la psychologie du « gourou » ;
23.
sociologiques,
s’intéressant aux déterminismes externes de ce type de groupes.
Or, pour
les ex-adeptes qui consultent, ces deux approches ne donnent pas vraiment de
réponses satisfaisantes. Celles et ceux qui, bien que sortis du mouvement
sectaire, continuent à être « habités » par les pensées et les injonctions
de la secte, voient leurs plaintes soit banalisées (ce qui les renvoie à un
profond sentiment de solitude, de honte et d’incompréhension), soit
pathologisées (ils entrent alors dans une carrière psychiatrique, considérés
comme délirants).
Nous
proposons de travailler avec une autre approche qui s’inspire de la
méthodologie ethnopsychiatrique. Celle-ci, en accord avec les pensées
des sociétés traditionnelles sur le désordre, considère la personne comme
victime d’une effraction. Elle prend en considération l’intentionnalité
(externe au sujet) du groupe sectaire, afin de lui permettre, dans un large
échange avec le groupe de co-thérapeutes, de créer d’autres pensées que
celles qui lui avaient été « enfilées » dans la tête. Notre but est de
l’amener à récupérer une capacité de penser autonome, et de se libérer ainsi
de l’emprise subie.
Concrètement : Nous ne considérons pas les
victimes de dérive sectaire comme des personnes à qui « manquerait » quelque
chose (manque de structuration psychique, manque de volonté, manque de
formation, manque de pensée rationnelle, etc).
Au
contraire, nous les pensons comme des personnes qui ont un intérêt
particulier pour les grandes questions de la vie et de son sens, douées
d’une énergie souvent hors du commun pour affronter des situations
nouvelles, et leur proposons une place à part entière dans leur propre prise
en charge.
Dans notre
dispositif, les personnes dont nous nous occupons prennent place parmi nous,
au même titre que les co-thérapeutes. Avec elles, nous essayons de
comprendre comment elles ont été pensées dans le mouvement sectaire,
d’identifier l’intentionnalité avec laquelle elles ont été construites et
qui a fonctionné comme un effraction psychique. C’est ainsi que nous leur
permettons de se ré-approprier leurs propres pensées, dans un dialogue
contradictoire avec les co-thérapeutes.
Nos
difficultés :
·
Réussir à nous faire connaître dans un
environnement politique et médical qui banalise ou nie la réalité des
problèmes liés aux mouvements sectaires (cf vote du Grand Conseil de Genève
sur une diminution drastique des subventions allouées au CIC ; modèle
dominant de la psychiatrie classique qui ne permet pas d’identifier
correctement les victimes de dérive sectaire ; etc)
·
Entreprise militante : nous ne disposons pas
de temps suffisant pour une recherche de fonds. C’est par ailleurs un choix
qui préserve notre liberté d’action.
Une
vignette clinique illustrera ce qui précède.
Psychology of Cult Leaders: Cult Leader As
a Follower
Miguel Perlado, Ph.D.
The author wants to
introduce some clinical questions in relation to the functioning of cult
leaders and their influence over followers. This presentation is addressed
to mental health professionals and is based on clinical experiences.
Nowadays, cultic groups vary significantly, and cult phenomena tend to be
more sophisticated than in the past. Broadly speaking, the literature tends
to describe the cult leader as a charlatan, a con man, or a psychopathic
character. Theoretical contributions from sociology, psychology, and
contemporary psychoanalysis are reviewed. Some clinical sketches will be
presented as examples of the significant role of malignant and destructive
narcissism in cult leaders. Some significant elements emerged from these
materials, beyond descriptions of cult leader as a psychopathic character.
Eventually, this presentation wants to share with the participants some
questions around the therapeutic approach to the cult leader.
Public Policy and Cults in Europe /
Les politiques publiques au
sujet des sectes
Francois Bellanger, Ph.D.
Public policies on cults
in Europe often changed radically at the end of the 1990s, following the
tragedy of the Solar Temple. Ten years after those events, it is interesting
to analyze what polices were finally adopted and to assess their results, as
well as to define the future trends. The paper will address the existing
legal situation in the following European countries: France, United Kingdom,
Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria, as well as at the level of the
Council of Europe.
En Europe,
suite à la tragédie de l'Ordre du Temple Solaire, les politiques publiques
au sujet des sectes ont souvent connu des changements radicaux à la fin des
années 1990. Dix ans après ces événements, il est intéressant d'analyser
quelles politiques ont finalement été adoptées, d'analyser leurs effets
et de définir les tendances à venir dans ce domaine. La
présentation considérera la situation juridique actuelle dans les pays
européens suivants: la France, la Grande Bretagne, l'Allemagne, la Belgique,
la Suisse et l'Autriche ainsi qu'au niveau du Conseil de l'Europe.
Reconstructing Lives after the Cult: How
the Internet Has Helped
Marybeth Ayella, Ph.D.
Have recent leavers of
cults fared substantially better in reconstructing their lives than those
who left long ago, before the growth of cult awareness and before the
Internet? This paper explores this question, looking at data provided by my
sample of 45 interviewees. I conducted in-depth interviews with a variety of
ex-members from 2005 to 2007. Most were “walkaways”; for four people, their
groups collapsed; three people were kicked out. I will describe what the
most significant obstacles and greatest aids were for those interviewees in
reconstructing their lives. I will point to differences between early and
recent leavers and between men and women leavers.
Many of my interviewees
left their groups long ago, and some left a short time before I interviewed
them. The central problem for all ex-members was understanding what had
happened to them during their time of cult membership. Why had they joined
their group? Why had they stayed, even while they were often miserable? What
was the meaning of their experience? Who could understand their experiences?
They turned to a variety
of strategies to understand: They went to various types of people and groups
for information and support, they read, and sometimes they joined another
group. Although this mix was true for both recent and distant leavers, the
use of the Internet by most of my sample highlights a major resource now
available that earlier leavers did not have. The widespread use of the
Internet by my interviewees, both early and recent leavers, has helped their
search for information and for support, particularly from ex-members.
Discovering that they were not alone in their experiences of entry,
membership, leaving, and confusion as they sought to rebuild productive
lives was a major step for interviewees in moving forward.
Restoring the Lost Self: Finding Answers to
Healing from Traumatic Socialization and Mind Control in Twenty-first
Century Neurocognitive Research
Lowell Routley, Ph.D.
Survivors of covert
intergenerational cult groups pose a unique treatment dilemma in that the
socialized belief systems remain active—although dissociated—when, as
adults, these survivors seek to participate in normative society. These
individuals present in therapy as anxious or depressed, with beliefs that
seem therapeutically resistant in the face of techniques that are usually
quite effective. Considering cognitive resistance as a diagnostic indicator
of possible post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with dissociative features
opens the door to possible therapeutic intervention.
These survivors were
taught to dissociate at a very young age by intergenerational practices
handed down within families. The use of traumatic socialization was intended
to compartmentalize the mind of the child, to sustain secrecy, and to
maintain status quo. Asphyxiation, deprivation, isolation, and pain were
known means to dissociate the child, assuring behavioral compliance,
suppression of autonomy and identity, amnesia for non-normative activity,
and unquestioned loyalty. Challenging the dynamic of status quo with the
smallest of changes produces symptoms of terror among survivors, even as
adults. Although an adult intellectually knows the reality, terror sustains
and reinforces the dissociative compartmentalization. The degree of
dissociation that results in the survivor’s mind is determined by age of
onset, frequency of occurrence, and intensity of experience to the traumatic
socialization.
Clinical work with
survivors of traumatic socialization led to a further discovery that
programmed alterations to the structure of the “mind,” the “self,” and
consciousness by technological or scientific means were also done. As the
phenomenology of programming was explored clinically, patterns of mental
compartmentalization emerged that reflected a sophisticated manipulation of
the child’s mind. Through these insights, survivors began to provide more
information and to assist in developing interventions that were effective
for them and others. Clinical observations further noted that “programming”
increased in sophistication parallel to the timeline of scientific
discovery. These emerging patterns led to the exploration of consciousness
research for answers and explanations to the phenomenology reported by these
survivors.
Because therapeutic
intervention requires, first, the appropriate diagnosis of trauma symptoms
and, second, a means to resolve beliefs sustained by dissociative barriers,
these factors led the search for effective tools for healing. Clinical
observations of survivors raised in intergenerational cult families and
findings of twenty-first-century neurocognitive research became the
foundation from which a model of intervention emerged. This presentation
surveys the neurocognitive contributions of Bernard Baars and Antonio
Damasio that scientifically defined mechanisms of the mind based in the
physiological structures and neurological processes of the brain. Because of
the physiological basis of these findings, this approach is transcultural in
nature, not influenced by socialization, and thereby able to assist in
healing that can circumvent socialization and programming. This presentation
further explains a process based on these findings that resolves implanted
beliefs sustained by dissociative barriers, returning executive control of
the mind back to the individual. The essential components presented will be
the neurocognitive features of a “core” self that is resilient and sustained
beyond trauma, the phenomenology of a nexus of consciousness that assists
the survivor in reclaiming control of his/her mind, and a standard of care
for recovery that further provides a road map in the healing process. The
hope is that these observations that have benefited a few hundred survivors
might be useful to others seeking freedom from any degree of mind control,
and to clinicians who assist and support these courageous individuals in the
reclaiming of their self, their mind, and most importantly their
spirituality.
Risk of Children’s Rights Violations by
Cultic Recruitment
Nataliya Bezborodova
The aim of the
presentation is to focus upon the children’s rights situation in Ukraine,
particularly in regard to children-orphans and children without parental
care, including a comparison of the distribution of cultic groups in the
territory of Ukraine and their increase in number during the recent decade.
More specifically:
24.
The total number of children-orphans and children without parental
care (in figures and percentages relative to the total number of children in
Ukraine).
25.
State focus upon the situation from 2005 in terms of kinds of
approaches taken.
26.
Types of care for children-orphans and children without parental
care, and distribution of responsibilities of duty-bearers.
27.
Statistical data regarding children-orphans and children without
parental care in different regions.
28.
Statistical data regarding national-care forms of children-orphans
and children without parental care in different regions.
29.
Statistical data regarding cultic-group distributions in different
regions and growth of their numbers during the recent decade.
30.
Legally allowed ways to form such groups—e.g., the case of The
Family’s attempt to create a family-type house.
31.
The possibility of the appearance of second-generation members
amongst children-orphans and children without parental care.
Second-Generation Adult (SGAs) – Post-Cult
Societal Integration
Joyce Martella, M.A.
Second-generation adult
(SGA) cult survivors, those born and/or raised in cults, face particular
difficulties when they attempt to assimilate into mainstream culture. The
author discusses three areas that can be an impediment to positive post-cult
functioning, with examples from her own and other SGA lives. She examines
educational, boundary-related, and language-based obstacles.
Secrets of Pedophilia in the Jehovah’s
Witnesses
Barbara Anderson
“Child abuse is abhorrent
to us” is a commendable statement and one that Jehovah’s Witnesses repeat
often. However, there were documents that would prove that their secret
actions spoke louder than their public words. Consequently, those documents
were obtained, revealing long-hidden secrets in a religion that proclaimed
its child-abuse policy was “without equal in the religious community.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses
leaders, through their legal arm, The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society,
have been settling child sexual abuse lawsuits out of court for many years,
but always quietly, secretly, one at a time. However, since 2003, attorneys
for more than two dozen plaintiffs filed eighteen child sexual abuse
lawsuits against the group in California alone. During that time, I was
actively aiding these attorneys to understand the child sexual abuse
policies and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Of course, I was disappointed
that not one of these or other lawsuits filed in Oregon and Texas, made it
to open court because from February to March 2007, leaders of Jehovah’s
Witnesses settled the cases out of court. Nevertheless, this was not the end
of the story. Immediately after the settlements, I began to assemble what
turned out to be more than 5,000 pages of court records, which revealed the
secrets of pedophilia in this American religion.
Since then, my goal has
been to shine a bright light on the secret policies and procedures Jehovah’s
Witness leaders use to manage victims’ accusations of sexual abuse by
Witness molesters. On November 21, 2007, NBC Nightly News and MSMV TV
Channel 4 in Nashville, Tennessee, interviewed me (along with publication of
a lengthy MSNBC Website article and other newspaper articles), and featured
the disquieting discoveries.
Communiqués between
Jehovah’s Witness supervisory people and their headquarters are rarely, if
ever, seen. However, found in the court records was a secret letter from a
long-time U.S. Watchtower district representative in which he discussed a
little-known policy that allowed molesters to stay in their positions of
authority and continue molesting. This communiqué' along with other
information presented will prove the unthinkable, how some religious beliefs
of Jehovah's Witnesses contributed to their protection of pedophiles.
Secte, nouveau mouvement
religieux, dérive sectaire, etc. : What’s in a Name?
Henri de Cordes
Tous ceux
qui ont étudié le phénomène sectaire ont été confrontés à la question de la
définition de l’objet de leur étude. Selon le terme choisi pour désigner le
groupe étudié, le chercheur est soit reconnu par ses pairs pour avoir eu
recours à la terminologie « académiquement correcte » soit il est discrédité
en raison de l’usage d’un mot considéré comme porteur de stigmatisation ou
de discrimination.
Alors que
pendant des siècles le mot secte a été utilisé pour désigner un petit groupe
à caractère religieux - ou philosophique – créé par un leader charismatique
en marge d’une religion établie, au cours de la seconde moitié du XXème
siècle qui a vu se développer de nombreux groupements à caractère sectaire,
la notion de secte a pris une connotation négative voire péjorative. Dans le
même temps, le caractère philosophique ou religieux originel des sectes a pu
s’atténuer pour viser des organisations radicales ou extrémistes fondées
principalement sur des enjeux politiques ou thérapeutiques.
En
abordant le contexte dans lequel sont apparus les termes « nouveau mouvement
religieux », « dérive sectaire » ou « organisation sectaire nuisible » on
découvre que ces expressions reposent sur une démarche propre à leur auteur
qu’il soit sociologue des religions, avocat ou parlementaire.
Au-delà
des appellations non contrôlées que chacun peut comprendre dans le sens
qu’il lui convient, subsiste une réalité que l’observateur se doit de
décrire avec la plus grande objectivité possible. Les mots n’ont pas le
pouvoir de changer cette réalité ; ils ne servent qu’à illustrer un
phénomène.
Self-Care Issues for Ex-Members, Mental
Health Professionals, and Families
Linda Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.
This workshop is intended
to help people who have been affected by cultic groups or relationships to
develop a self-care plan. Ex-members may find it difficult to take good care
of themselves because they have experienced a period of self-neglect or
abuse while focusing on the needs of their leader, group, or abusive
partner. Mental health professionals may experience stress and may suffer
vicarious traumatisation by working with ex-members and their families.
Furthermore, they are required by professional ethics to pay attention to
their self-care. Families of current and ex-members often experience demands
on their time, energy, and resources in order to focus on their loved one
about whom they are concerned, and they may find it very challenging to take
care of themselves or other siblings. This workshop will bring all these
groups together and offer principles of self-care, and creative ways of
developing a plan to insure that they do not experience self-neglect.
SGA Breakout
[This session is open only
to SGA ex-members.]
Michael Martella, Ph.D.;
Joyce Martella, M.A.
Unlike the case with
people who are enticed or persuaded to join cults, recovering SGAs do not
have a “pre-cult personality” to return to. They develop survival-based
personality profiles, often accompanied by difficulties in real-world
functioning, including extreme reactions to authority, extensive deficits in
social, educational, or practical functioning, and symptoms related to
inadequate self-esteem, disturbed interpersonal relationships, and other
trauma-based consequences of involuntary immersion in cultic living.
This workshop is designed
to provide a forum for SGAs to identify and discuss their unique issues and
dynamics.
Topics covered may
include:
·
The Dynamics of Tyranny
·
Domination, Acting, and Fantasy
·
Humiliation and the Theft of Dignity
·
Dissidence and Dissident Subcultures
·
Internalizing the Oppression
·
Identifying Institutional and Personal Abuse
·
The Aftermath of Abuse
·
Trauma and Recovery
Social-Psychological Pre-conditions of Cult
Dependence in Ukraine
Olena Lishchynska, Ph.D.
Recently, the psychology
of influence has become popular enough in Ukraine. At the same time, it is
possible to ascertain that problems connected to the development of cult
mental dependence have become more and more important. The exacerbation of
the variety of cult mental-dependence phenomena shows the violation of
healthy information balance.
Psychotherapists,
psychologists, and advisers must encounter problems of mental dependence.
However, today problems of this kind are concentrated not only in the frames
of specialists’ narrow competency but have become the “headache” of a broad
audience. We understand total mental dependence as a person’s conscious or
unconscious delegating of responsibility to other people to make the
individual’s most important life choices, to vision the world through a
prism of dogmatic doctrine or a leader’s charisma.
The main features of cult
mental dependence are the critical lowering of a person’s strong-willed
regulation, in combination with an acute emotional tendency toward the
object or situation causing the dependence.
Paradoxically enough, the
Soviet Union’s collapse has been one of the first reasons for people’s mass
disorientation in Ukraine. For the majority of people, especially those of
middle and old age, this collapse has resulted in a loss of cultural
identity, loss of values, and general disorientation. Under such
circumstances, the older generation turned out to be not able to support
youth in the difficult moments of their acquiring maturity. Youth in turn
has a need for “substitute parents,” people capable of estimating,
directing, and approving conduct and outcomes of activity. New-religion
ideologists have used these peculiar features.
Formation of a new
cultural identity, uniting of the society around a new national ideal, and
affirmation of new personal and collective values is a long, complicated,
and contradictory process. A decade is not enough for this purpose. The main
point is that this process cannot be spontaneous. The second reason for the
exacerbation of problems of mental dependence is the lack of mechanisms for
social-psychological regulation under the new conditions of the information
society.
Sociology’s Antipathy to Psychobiographical
Accounts of Religious and Religious “Cult” Leaders
Stephen A. Kent, Ph.D.
Although a growing number
of psychobiographical accounts exist about leaders of larger and smaller,
more controversial, religions, many sociologists continue to ignore this
body of scholarship. This widespread sociological avoidance of these studies
has its roots in basic, anti-psychological principles laid out by a founding
figure in the sociological discipline, Emile Durkheim. Despite the
well-established field of social psychology, the anti-psychological
antipathy regarding the interpretation of reputedly social phenomena remains
entrenched with sociology, and it became accentuated in the late 1970s and
1980s by the prominence of mental health personnel in the so-called
anti-cult movement. As many psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers
became frequent media sources with critical perspectives on groups that they
considered harmful, many sociologists felt that their expertise on the same
groups was not reaching the public. In this context of interdisciplinary
rivalry, psychobiographical accounts of religious and cult leaders created
substantial problems for sociologists. On the one hand, these studies
represented claims about harm and mental imbalance that many sociologists
associated with psychological perspectives; on the other hand, sociologists’
training had taught them that psychological studies cannot accurately
analyze group phenomena. Increasingly, however, sociologists are being
pressured to accept the insights from such studies, as academic journals
publish more psychobiographical studies of religious and cult leaders, and
as analogous psychobiographical analyses continue to appear about leaders in
areas such as business and politics.
Strategie manipolative e
sequestri di persona
Dr. Susanna Loriga
I
sequestri di persona studiati in Italia, attraverso i dati delle Commissioni
Parlamentari Antimafia e le interviste ad alcune vittime, cambiano nella
motivazione (il contesto di provenienza del gruppo criminale è importante)
ma hanno molti punti di contatto nelle strategie manipolative e modus
operandi.
Il basista
è colui che informa sulla persona da sequestrare, a questo punto i
sequestratori la pedinano per giorni con uno studio meticoloso di orari e
abitudini. La vittima viene trasportata nell’entroterra prima in macchina e,
successivamente, a piedi “a brocca” al fine di evitare il contatto dei piedi
con il terreno.
I
latitanti sono i banditi preposti alla sorveglianza del sequestrato. Dopo la
cattura inizia quello che io ho definito “il rituale della giustificazione”:
i sequestratori hanno l’esigenza di spiegare la motivazione del sequestro
(siamo poveri, non abbiamo il lavoro ecc..) per iniziare a sottomettere e
confondere la vittima attraverso “perverse strategie psicologiche”. La
vittima, in alcuni casi, crolla nella “Sindrome di Stoccolma” idealizzando e
difendendo il suo aguzzino anche in sede di giudizio. Le vittime parlano di
una particolare organizzazione all’interno del gruppo dei sequestratori:
alcuni di loro non possono parlare con la vittima e altri rappresentano i
leader carismatici con più influenza sul gruppo e sulla vittima.
Le
strategie adottate trovano molti parallelismi con la persuasione coercitiva
delle sette e con le violenze psicologiche intrafamiliari.
Destabilizzando la vittima la si rende più vulnerabile e facilmente
condizionabile. Cambiano i contesti e le motivazioni ma le strategie
manipolative ruotano attorno agli stessi meccanismi difensivi intrapsichici
e a particolari relazioni interpersonali altamente disfunzionali.
Territorial Incidence of Magic; Esoteric
and Spiritual Groups in Italy
Chiara Guarascio, Ph.D.
In the Italian territory,
the phenomenon of the spread of magic, pseudoreligious, “alternative,” and
satanic movements has been considerable, but it is transitory. As a matter
of fact, the available data are nothing other than statistical projections
of a reality still far from being accurately recorded. Therefore, the census
of these movements is very fluid and subject to daily changes, since groups
of this kind are born and die all the time. What we can see, therefore, is
only the tip of an iceberg whose depth and branches can never be fully
measured. Italians are basically a population inclined to believe, for
various reasons, in self-styled “wizards,” astrologers, healers, and gurus.
Superstition, which has ancient folk roots, plays a very important role. An
impressive number of Italians relies on fortune tellers, psychics, and
so-called “healers,” spending millions of Euros (generally tax free), to put
hopes of happiness, success, and physical healing in the hands of
unscrupulous individuals who exploit not only people’s psychological
fragility and ignorance, but also their physical illnesses. Also disturbing
is the number of followers of different kinds of groups and cults that might
be “new age” based, with Eastern roots, or independent (established by a
charismatic person who is not linked to any movement). And not least is
Satanism. Some statistics about magicians, healers, and astrologers taken
from the 2007–2008 annual report of Telephone Antiplagio (a toll-free number
that provides help to victims of these movements) include the following:
·
Magicians, healers, and astrologers in Italy: 6,000
advertised, 145,000 nonadvertised. Total: 151,000.
Geographical breakdown: North 42%; Central 28%; South 19%; Islands 11%.
Provinces with the highest number of wizards, healers, and astrologers:
Milan, Rome, Naples, Turin, Palermo. Every day about 33,000 people apply to
them. Twelve million people have applied to them (20% of the population).
Reasons given: love, 45%; health, 25%; protection, 22%; work, 8%.
·
Satanism. Annual income: 6 billion Euros (98% tax
free). This data is taken from Poliziamoderna, the official magazine
of the State Police. The June 2007 issue collected data from 6 months of SAS
(anticult teams, established in November 2006) work throughout the country.
There are about 8,000 satanic groups, with a total number of about 600,000
followers.
From Telefono Antiplagio (“Report on Satanism in Italy,” February 2008), we
have indications of the regional breakdown, which shows that regions with
the larger number of satanic groups are 1) Lombardia; 2) Piemonte; 3) Lazio;
4) Sicily; 5) Campania, Emilia Romagna; 6) Tuscany. Breakdown of groups: 58
Italians; 21 foreigners “imported” to Italy.
Minors attracted by Satanism: 33%.
Causes: achievement of worldly goods, loneliness, boredom, curiosity,
attraction to the forbidden and the unknown, state of necessity (e.g.,
depression), ignorance, excessive space granted by the media to Satanists
and their victims.
Very important is the difference between “official” and improvised satanic
movements. The latter are usually are made up of young people, but they’re
not less dangerous. The congregations are subject to fragmentation in other
groups, and it is very difficult to monitor their implementation.
·
Esoteric groups and pseudoreligious cults. Data from Telefono
Antiplagio (2007-2008 annual report).
Surveyed groups in Italy: 650. On the Internet, there are about 1,000 group
Websites. The religious movements number about 60.
Geographical breakdown: North: 57%; Center: 25%; South and Islands: 18%.
Regional breakdown: Lombardia: 104; Lazio: 73; Piemonte 69;
Tuscany: 55; E. Romagna: 53; Veneto: 49; Campania: 43; Liguria: 35; Sicily:
33; Friuli V. G.: 19; Puglia: 18; Calabria: 16; Marche: 15; Umbria: 13;
Sardinia: 10; Trentino A. A.: 9; Abruzzo: 8; Valle D'Aosta: 4; Molise: 4;
Basilicata: 1.
Only 4 people out of 100 file a complaint; out of 5,000 yearly abuses, only
200 turn out because of fear of threats, blackmail, retaliation, shame, and
so on.
Italian citizens who have dealings with cults: 3 million to 4 million.
Involved families: 1 million to 2 million.
Main problems: love, health, money, employment and (marginally) spiritual
issues.
Four percent of university students who have dropped out of school (36 out
of 885) claim to have done it to follow “occultistic-esoteric” and/or “new
age” disciplines and doctrines (data from the survey of the weekly magazine
Never say Italy).
The Attribution of Charisma in New
Religious Movements
Benjamin Zablocki, Ph.D.
A hundred years ago, Max
Weber first brought the concept of charisma into sociology as an ideal type
of authority for study of mass political and religious movements. But, in
the last fifty years, the concept of charisma has taken on a second life as
a social psychological concept for studying leader-follower relations in
organizations and small groups. Many diverse academic fields (psychology,
sociology, management studies, military science, symbolic interactionism,
and ethnomethodology, to name only a few) have found the concept useful at
this micro level. However, workers in these fields have taken the concept
off, confusingly, in many different directions. This paper attempts to find
a common ground for the valuable insights and findings from these diverse
fields and to unite them into a testable theory based on social
psychological theories of attribution, schema, and stereotypes.
The Impact of Religious Shunning: An
Exploratory Analysis of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Shunning Policy
Stephen J. Ferriss, M.A.
This paper explores the
impact of the shunning policy of the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs). Data was
gathered employing the webnography methodology (sometimes called
netnography, virtual ethnography, or online ethnography) as outlined in the
methodology section. Analysis was conducted and it was found that the
shunning policy has actually created a new “class” of member, the “fader.”
Because members do not want to be shunned, they remain JWs via the Internet
but secretly believe otherwise. These faders share information among
themselves and with ex-JWs, and cause much more havoc than they would if
they had been disfellowshipped and shunned. So while it appears that
shunning might encourage some people to remain JWs, shunning also puts the
JW organization at risk because faders lead double lives and supply valuable
information to JW opposers via the Internet. This is one unintended
consequence of shunning that this study reveals.
The Metamorphosis of a Cult
Friedrich Griess
The fact that cult members
obey their leaders, often without any resistance, makes it possible
(different from normal churches) to change members’ behavior very quickly,
without losing too many followers. This pattern can also be demonstrated in
the example of the influence on a Norwegian group, originally without any
name, by outsiders called “Smiths Friends,” after the name of the founder,
the Norwegian navy officer Johan Oskar Smith.
When in 1983 I first got
in contact with this group by the fact that one of my children joined them,
I was told that one can recognize by the external view of a person whether
he or she will go to heaven or to hell. And (of course) the members of that
movement were almost the only ones on earth to achieve this goal. As a
consequence, much within the group was a stereotype, and especially the view
of the women: no trousers, long skirts in dark colors, uncut hair in plait
or bun, no makeup, and no jewels. My daughter even went skiing wearing a
skirt, saying she did this “for Jesus.” According to the group’s
interpretation of the Bible, married women had to give birth to as many
children as possible. For a mother, it was considered better to die, leaving
husband and children alone, than to refuse a new pregnancy. For everybody,
cinema, television, dancing, theatre and concerts (both passive and active),
and even newspapers, were banned. For children and youngsters, games had
been determined as not beneficial for their development. Flogging also was
mandatory. Any official relationship to the state, such as that usually
entertained by normal churches, was considered to be behavior of the
“scarlet” who sits on the animal of the Revelation. Money was not important
at that time—it was the Spirit that counted. Also, criticism from outside
was tolerated according to 1 Corinthians 6:7 that says Christians should not
litigate against each other. Interesting enough, the group had expanded from
Norway to about 60 countries in all continents, where those habits were
followed rather uniformly.
Around 1990, a revival
happened (or rather was made to happen) that swept some of the old habits
away. It was like a Chinese cultural revolution. Old faithful leaders were
thrown out, and a new generation of rulers took over. Certainly, there were
also positive developments. The new leaders understood that it would be
impossible to hold the youngsters inside the group by insisting on the old
habits. Therefore, they organized games and sport for children and
youngsters within the group. Very suddenly they “discovered” a Norwegian law
dating from 1969 that gave them the right to apply for state subsidies,
which they did in December 1996. They also agreed to have a name (in
Norwegian): “Den Kristelige Menighet”—“The Christian Community,” or even
“The Christian Church,” which implied that there is no other such church
except them.
Also in 1996, they started
to sue me because of my criticism. Their last case against me, which
started in 2002 and is not complete yet, relates to copyright.
A few years later, in
March 2000, some further taboos were broken. The group organized a festival
in Copenhagen where girls in short red skirts and with open hair danced on a
stage. This show was transmitted to adherents all over the world who had to
buy television equipment to see it. It also seems that the pressure on women
to give birth to multiple children has been lowered, and the group at least
claims that the flogging of children has stopped; but whether that is true
is unknown.
At about the same time,
money became extremely important to the group. Leaders invented several
methods to collect money from their followers. One method was the so-called
“David columns,” vertical plastic tubes on a wooden pedestal into which
every earner had to put a coin every day. The contents of the columns were
collected twice a year, at a festival dedicated only to money delivery.
Another method was to stimulate the adherents to work on weekends and
deliver the money earned there to the community. For that purpose, they also
founded small companies, which were tax exempt because of their affiliation
with a religious group. This status of course caused troubles with
commercial enterprises. In 2004, they enlarged their existing meeting place
at Brunstad (near Tønsberg in Vestfold) at an expense of about 128 million
Euros; and they were proud to have received donations for that, also from
very poor adherents in Cameroon (development help in the opposite way, as
usual). Also, young people were stimulated to do voluntary work for this
project, which often prevented them from having appropriate professional
training.
The actual leader, Kåre
Johan Smith, a grandson of the founder, is known to have a generous style of
living; for example, he learned to play golf in Tierra del Fuego. The
organization’s commercial behavior was severely criticized in several
articles by the Norwegian financial magazine Kapital.
The group’s meeting place,
now called “Brunstad Conference Center,” is commercially used and rented out
for various opportunities, which also implies the serving of alcohol,
earlier strictly banned from the community's premises. Recently, several
violations of the very strict Norwegian alcohol law have been registered for
that location, which have caused the authorities to penalize the center.
Also, problems arose with the neighbors, who felt disturbed by the
development of excessive noise.
I am in contact with
“defectors” in several continents, and I watch this group closely. Because
of the members’ dropping reproduction rate, there are alleged plans for more
aggressive recruiting.
The New Pagans: An Italian Report
Alessandro Olivieri
Pennesi, Ph.D.
The anthropologist Cecilia
Gatto Trocchi states that, in 1933, the English scholar Margareth A.
Murray’s public text, The God of the Witches, claimed that the other
European witchcraft was not a residue of ancient pre-Christian cults that
influenced the revival of the Celts and Druids, and of neo-paganism. These
inputs, Gatto Trocchi continues, inspired small groups of neo-witchcraft,
such as the Anglo-Saxon Wicca (a term that derives from the modern witch,
witch), who are affected by G. B. dall'attività Gardner, who in 1954
published a sort of gospel entitled Witchcraft Today, and the
mysterious Book of Shadows. Margot Adler, in his study on
neo-paganism in America, Drawing Down the Moon (lowering the moon),
said that neo-paganism and modern witchcraft are an attempt to create
nonauthoritarian and nondogmatic religions. According to Adler, what
distinguishes the neo-pagans from the dominant religions are their rituals:
“The rite is a way to do away with alienation within ourselves, among other
hassles, and between us and the planet.” The drum sound, lighting candles,
and singing “disappear for a moment the world and makes you enter a world of
art and dream...” And "Witchcraft consists of a base unit, represented by
the Congregation, namely a ‘support group of witches.’” It consists, at
most, of thirteen participants who know each other and in which each member
plays an important part in contributing to the overall personality of the
group.
In Italy, neo-paganism is
thriving: In addition to the historical center of neo-Greek polytheist
religion (of the accountant Antonio de Bono Milan) and the Upper Room of the
Sacred Lari of Rome, is born (in 1993) in Rome a highly exclusive group
called Eliopolis, whose purpose is revival of the ancient pagans, custodians
of magic.
The Psychological Consequences of Being
Raised in and Leaving High Demand Groups: The Case of the Exclusive Brethren
Jill Mytton, M.Sc.,
C.Psychol.
The controversial
association between religion and mental health is one that intrigues many
professionals. One aspect that has been largely neglected is the effect on
childhood development of being raised in a high-demand group. Using the
Exclusive Brethren as an example of a high-demand group, the first part of
this paper provides an overview of their beliefs, doctrines, and life style.
The fundamental doctrine of this high-demand group is the separation from
evil, a doctrine considered by some to be taken to extremes and described by
former members as exercising too much control over their lives. Following a
brief description of how socio-psychological control is exercised by threat
of or actual exclusion and through the emotions of fear and guilt, I argue
that control imposed in childhood may affect various aspects of child
development, and I discuss how this might resonate in adult life through
long-term psychological sequelae.
Evidence for this
perspective comes from an exploratory study carried out during the 1990s
into the mental health of 201 participants who were raised in the Taylorite
branch of the Exclusive Brethren. Using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI),
results show that this group have significantly higher scores on the BSI
full scale than the population norms (p<.01) obtained in a UK community
sample. The obsessive-compulsive, depression, interpersonal sensitivity,
anxiety, and psychoticism sub-scales were also all significantly higher than
the norms (p<.01). Variables significantly associated with the dependent
measure were level of church attendance now; loss experienced on exiting;
family still divided; and exiting in a group or alone. Elapsed time since
exiting was not correlated with the BSI. This evidence suggests that people
raised in this sect and who subsequently leave experience serious emotional
and interpersonal problems of a nature that is long lasting.
The second part of this
paper presents the early findings of a qualitative piece of doctoral
research. This research, using the heuristic approach, will bring together
many sources of information, including semi-structured interviews, on-line
blogs, emails with former members, and my own personal reflections. The aim
of this research is to explore the experience of being a child in the
Exclusive Brethren, of leaving, and of the transition period as the
individual adapts to the world outside. Ultimately, the goal is to provide
psychotherapists who are working with so-called second-generation adults
(SGAs) with guidelines and information to assist them in their work.
The Unusual Situation of the Cult Problem
in Japan
Masaki Kito, Esq.; Shuji Nakamura, Esq.;
Takashi Yamaguchi, Esq.
Japanese victims of the
Unification Church have been winning court cases one after another in which
the illegality of spiritual sales by the group has been recognized by
Japanese local and high courts, as well as the Supreme Court.
Court decisions
recognizing illegalities in other cultic groups such as Home of Heart and
Shinji Shumeikai have also been handed down in recent years. In this
session, the background factors of the current trend of court decisions in
Japan will be discussed.
The Value of Counseling for
Second-Generation Former Sect Members
Lois Kendall, Ph.D.
This UK study looked at
the correlation between distress and time out of the sect for first- and
second-generation former members with and without post-sect counseling.
In this sample, second
generation with counseling showed marked decreases in distress compared to
second generation without counseling. This is shown by some significant
correlations going in quite different directions for this group.
First generation without
counseling showed no significant correlations, and neither did first
generation with counseling.
For the first generation
in this sample, the average time out of group is around 8 years as compared
to the second generation’s average time out of group of 13 years. This may
relate to the different findings in significant correlations between time
elapsed since leaving and psychological distress levels for the first and
second generation in this study.
The findings of this study
cautiously indicate the value of counseling for second-generation former
members.
Replication of this
research would be worthwhile with a specific focus on acquiring first- and
second-generation former members who have spent many years out of their
sect. Furthermore, it would be useful to measure to see whether greater
negative correlations between distress and time out occur when first- or
second-generation former members receive sect-specialized counseling as
compared to when they receive counseling from non-specialists.
Understanding and Coping with Triggers
[This session is for
ex-members only.]
Carol Giambalvo; Joseph
Kelly
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 them 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.
Vivre son enfance au sein
d’une secte religieuse – Comprendre pour mieux intervenir
Lorraine Derocher
Cette
communication vise à partager les résultats de notre enquête qualitative
réalisée auprès d’individus qui sont nés ou qui ont vécu leur prime enfance
au sein de groupes religieux fermés. L’objectif principal a été de
comprendre le défi que peut représenter le processus d’intégration en
société pour ces enfants/adultes qui ont quitté leur groupe d’appartenance
de façon volontaire. Cette étude sociologique est basée principalement sur
sept entretiens non-directifs qui ont servi de cadre aux récits de vie de
ceux qui avaient passé leur enfance au sein d’une secte fondamentaliste
apocalyptique, relativement fermée à la société. Les informateurs ont vécu
en société en moyenne une vingtaine d’années depuis leur départ volontaire,
ce qui a contribué largement à nous fournir les données pertinentes sur les
paramètres du processus d’intégration. Deux entrevues de groupe et quelque
douze sources secondaires ont complété la collecte des données. De plus, le
fait pour nous d’avoir côtoyé sur une base régulière des gens qui avaient
vécu une expérience similaire a contribué à raffiner et à nourrir notre
analyse.
Notre
analyse amène à conclure que c’est la vision du monde intériorisée dans la
secte qui constitue la variable dominante qui entrave le processus
d’intégration. Cette vision du monde particulière se forge principalement
par le moyen d’une socialisation religieuse totalisante qui infère une
conception manichéenne de la réalité, affecte la construction identitaire et
l’intériorisation d’un environnement normatif où les abus sont souvent
légitimés par un discours religieux particulier.
Notre
recherche a permis de mettre en lumière les étapes marquantes du processus
d’intégration en société pour ces individus: 1) le départ 2) la continuité
3) le choc des réalités 4) la resocialisation.
Nous
éluciderons lors de notre communication les caractéristiques des quatre
étapes afin de mieux saisir ce que peuvent vivre les individus qui ont
grandi au sein de groupes sectaires fermés suite à un départ volontaire.
1996–2001: Psychologist in
charge of the Deviant Behavior Analysis Department of U.A.C.V. (Violent Crime
Analysis Unit), Crime Scene Investigation Police, Central Criminal Police, State
Police, Rome. 2001–2003: Director of Psychology Applied to Criminology
Laboratory, Crime Scene Investigation Police, Central Criminal Police, State
Police, Rome. Since 2001: member of S.I.C. (Italian Criminology Society)
2003–2007: Director of Applied Criminology Department, 3rd division, Crime Scene
Investigation Police, Central Criminal Police, State Police, Rome. 2007–2008:
Chief Psychologist Technical Director of S.O.C.S. (Health Service Operational
Center of State Police), Rome. Since 2008: Co-director of Emergency
Psychotraumatology and Psychology Master at LUMSA University, Rome. Since 2006:
Psychological interview techniques lecturer at L’Aquila University, psychology
faculty; courses of study: applied, clinical and health psychology, clinic and
dynamics, psychology applied to criminal analysis. Lecturer at second level
master’s at universities: “La Sapienza” of Rome; “Tor Vergata” of Rome; LIUC of
Castellanza, Cagliari, Cassino. Lecturer at Ph.D. post-graduate courses at
Universities of Parma, Padova, Urbino.
The Core Integrity Model
suggests a bold paradigm shift in mental health care on behalf of cult and
mind-control survivors with the focus of mental health intervention being that
of the “injury” model. By necessity, the law of parsimony requires treatment to
proceed from the most basic explanation for presenting symptoms. To first rule
out psychological “injury” before assigning an “illness” diagnosis will address
the needs of many without assigning a stigmatizing label that the person is
“sick.” Survivors of cults who have been wounded in mind, body, and spirit need
said change to facilitate return to normative society without further alienation
and shame.
Patrickryan@icsamail.com
http://cultmediation.com/.
