Counseling Resources 2

Doug Duncan, MS, LPC, was a member of an aberrant religious group for over twenty years. After defying the cult leader and marrying Wendy, they eventually left the cult and Doug began the task of rebuilding his life. He enrolled in a master’s program in counseling and earned a degree and license to practice therapy. After working on their cult recovery issues by reading all the available cult literature, attending conferences, and becoming involved with ICSA, Doug and Wendy started a ministry to increase the awareness and understanding of cults. They are frequent presenters at churches, civic groups, and conferences, as well as facilitators of a support group for former members of cults and high-demand groups. Additionally, Doug offers individual counseling to ex-members. Website: www.dallascult.com Email: dougduncan54@hotmail.com Phone: (214) 607-1065. Texas (Dallas) 

Wendy Duncan, MA, LBSW, has a Master’s Degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a licensed social worker in the state of Texas. She has spent most of her career in the mental health field. Wendy and her husband, Doug, are former members of a pseudo-Christian, Bible-based cult and several years after leaving, they became active in cult awareness activities. They are frequent presenters at ICSA conferences. Wendy co-facilitates a monthly support group for former members of cults in the Dallas metroplex. Wendy is also the author of I Can’t Hear God Anymore: Life in a Dallas Cult. Website: www.dallascult.com Email: info@dallascult.com Phone: (214) 607-1065. Texas (Dallas)

Steve K. D. Eichel, PhD, ABPP, Board member and past president of ICSA, is also Past-President of the American Academy of Counseling Psychology and the Greater Philadelphia Society of Clinical Hypnosis. He is a licensed and Board-certified counseling psychologist whose involvement in cultic studies began with a participant-observation study of Unification Church training in their Eastern seminary (in Barrytown, NY) in the spring of 1975. His doctoral dissertation to date remains the only intensive, quantified observation of a deprogramming. He was honored with AFF's 1990 John G. Clark Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Cultic Studies for this study, which was published as a special issue of the Cultic Studies Journal and has been translated into several foreign languages. In 1983, along with Dr. Linda Dubrow-Marshall and clinical social worker Roberta Eisenberg, Dr. Eichel founded the Re-Entry Therapy, Information & Referral Network (RETIRN), one of the field's oldest continuing private providers of psychological services to families and individuals harmed by cultic practices. RETIRN currently has offices in Newark, DE, Lansdowne, PA and Preston, England (U.K.). In addition to his psychology practice and his involvement with ICSA, Dr. Eichel is active in a range of professional associations. He has co-authored several articles and book reviews on cult-related topics for the CSJ/CSR. In 2016 he received ICSA's Herbert L. Rosedale Award at the Annual Conference in Dallas, Texas. 

Email: steveeichel@gmail.com  Phone: (302) 368-9136. Delaware 

Margaret Eichler PhD, LPC, NCC, ACS, has been teaching in Lewis and Clark’s Counseling Psychology Department as adjunct faculty for over 20 years. Her current teaching and clinical focus is trauma informed treatment including complex trauma, dissociative disorders and recovery from abusive cults. She maintains a full-time private practice in Portland, Oregon which includes client care of children, individuals, couples and families as well as clinical supervision and professional consultations. Integrated in her work are creative and expressive arts as a modality for creating a “safe space” and pathways to healing. She has personal experience with a lengthy involvement in a coercive control group/destructive cult.  Resonance Counseling and Consulting LLC. resonancecounseling@msn.com 

Roberta Cobrin Eisenberg, MSW, BCD is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice and a cofounder (1983) and clinical associate of R.E.T.I.R.N. With a broad range of professional experience, she has served at community mental health centers, medical centers, and the Jewish Family & Children Service. She is a Board Certified Diplomate (BCD) of the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work. Ms. Eisenberg has completed training in both child psychoanalytic psychotherapy and Gestalt therapy. She is a Fellow and founding member (1972) of the Pennsylvania Society for Clinical Social Work. She provides individual and family counseling for depression, anxiety, loss, interpersonal relationships, mental and emotional dysfunction, and chronic physical illness. She works with all adults 18 years and older and specializes in older adults. With R.E.T.I.R.N., she addresses issues of psychological harm, cultic relationships, and counseling against coercion. She accepts insurance. Contact her by email at robertaeisenberg@comcast.net or by phone at (610) 622-3109. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. Pennsylvania

Dr. Erin Falconer provides psychotherapy and consultation for individuals and their families who are dealing with the effects of coercive control, cultic abuse, and complex trauma. Dr. Falconer completed her MSW at Columbia University in New York, and her PhD in Psychology, which focused on the neuroscience of trauma, at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. She also completed post-graduate study in the psychology of coercive control at the University of Salford (UK). She is currently continuing her advanced training in trauma-focused therapies at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy in New York. She provides psychotherapy in New York at Refuge Psychotherapy, LCSW, PLLC. She is available for online sessions, as well as in-person in New York. Email: drerinfalconer@pm.me Phone: (718) 550-7685 www.drerinfalconer.com 

Jose Fernández has a Degree in Psychology from the University of Barcelona and is credited as a Psychologist and Psychotherapist by the EFPA (European Federation of Psychologists Associations). He has worked as such in private practice in Barcelona for the last 14 years at Pehuén Institute of Psychology with a constructivist and systemic approach, subjects on which he has postgraduate studies, as well as in hypnosis. He pursued these postgraduate studies, which were directed by PhD, Guillem Feixas, at the University of Barcelona. He is involved with hypnosis both as a therapeutic tool and as a field of research, having published on the matter in La Revista de Psicoterapia international journal, as well as in the International Journal of Cultic Studies. He is interested in psychological manipulation and abuse at schools (Bullying), workplace (mobbing), and home (psychological maltreatment). He is also interested in the implementation of codes of ethical practices in all kind of organizations and associations in Spain. He was a founding member of the Catalonian College of Psychologists Task Force on Hypnosis and is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Experimental and Applied Hypnosis (AAHEA). He was a psychologist and exit counselor at AIS (Barcelona) for two years. Website: www.pehuenpsicologia.com Email: Phone: jfernandez@pehuenpsicologia.com 34938034914. Spain (Barcelona)

David Fornos, MA, LPC, is a therapist in private practice in Austin, Texas with multiple years' experience treating depression, anxiety, trauma, and substance abuse disorders. As a life-long student of religious studies and fringe spiritual beliefs, he is able to apply his unique knowledge and experience toward helping individuals heal from religious or spiritual trauma, and has worked with several clients exiting and recovering from cults or high-demand religions. David earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Religious Studies from Texas State University and received his Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from St. Edward's University 

Jennifer French Tomasic is a cult and religious recovery counselor. She has a Master’s in the Psychology of Coercive Control, w HONS and is also a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. In her work with cult and religious abuse survivors, she is certified in a specialized recovery approach that is based on the work of Gillie Jenkinson who culminated decades of survivor research into a thorough but flexible program for recovery. She offers this in both individual and group settings.

Jennifer also hosts the Project Hope Podcast for families and friends with loved ones in a group of high control / high demand and is available to help families who wish to receive counseling support. She is the survivor of a Christian Mystical Cult that she was in for 11 years, and left in 2012. Jennifer is a member of the ICSA Research Committee and has conducted research on those who self-identify as having experienced coercive control and received Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy as a result. She is a level 2 trained IFS counselor and melds these two areas of interest as a Research Associate at Salford University. Jennifer works both across the US and Internationally and currently lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and extended family.   Website: jennifer-french.com.  Email: jennifer@jennifer-french.com.  Phone: +1 347-884-1708.

Esther Ruth Friedman, MA, LMHC, is an expressive arts therapist and licensed mental health counselor with a Master’s Degree from Lesley University. She is also a former member who is establishing a Boston area practice designed specifically for ex-cult members: The Gentle Souls Revolution, Healing Arts. She recovered her voice, and life, through writing, songwriting and music. In turn, she has helped others using the insights and tools gleaned, including family members of current members, active members who have reached out for help exiting, and former members who needed support while transitioning back into their lives. In 2014, she volunteered to interview defendants who were being, or had been, threatened by cultic litigation for an ICSA study on free speech, and reported on their experiences. She presented her findings in 2015, at ICSA’s conference in Santa Fe, which included an interview with Attorney Peter Skolnik, who has been providing legal counsel to Rick Ross, Cult Education Institute, since 2000. She published an article about that interview in ICSA Today. She believes recovery from cultic groups requires the exercise of free speech, through which former members take the narrative back, reclaim their voices and thus, their identities. (781) 951-4433; gsr6418@hushmail.com. Massachusetts

Leona Furnari, MSW, LCSW, is a psychotherapist in Boulder, CO, specializing in recovery from trauma, including recovery from abusive groups, spiritual abuse and harmful relationships. Ms. Furnari is a former member of an Eastern/New Age group, and it was that experience that led to her commitment to help others recover from abusive groups or cultic experiences. She has been a regular facilitator/presenter at ICSA's former-member workshops and cult-education conferences since 1998. She has worked in child protection, community mental health, and as a school social worker. She is an EMDR International Association certified therapist and consultant. In 2010 ICSA awarded her the Margaret L. Singer Award for advancing the understanding of coercive persuasion and undue influence. Website: www.leonafurnari.com Email: info@leonafurnari.com Phone: (303) 444-0992. Colorado

Rev. Kenneth Garrett, DMin, is senior pastor of Grace Church, located in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. After a twenty-year career as a paramedic he completed seminary studies and transitioned to the pastorate. For 12-years Ken and his wife Sharon belonged to a high-demand, abusive church whose members lived communally, practicing an overbearing, extreme form of the Christian faith. Ken and Sharon made a painful exit from the church in 1996 with their three daughters. They now enjoy many opportunities to counsel and care for survivors of abusive churches from the Portland-metro area, and have begun a quarterly Spiritual Abuse Forum to promote friendship and education for survivors of spiritual abuse. Ken has earned a Doctor of Ministry degree, with a dissertation focusing on the recognition of spiritually abusive churches and recovery from the trauma they inflict on members. Ken loves reading, travelling, and hiking in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. kengarrett1960@gmail.com 503.522.4309. Oregon

Lorna Goldberg, LCSW, PsyA, Board member and past president of ICSA, is a psychoanalyst in private practice and Dean of Faculty at the Institute of Psychoanalytic Studies. In 1976, she and her husband, William Goldberg, began facilitating a support group for former cult members that continues to meet on a monthly basis in their home in Englewood, New Jersey. In1989, Lorna and Bill received the Hall of Fame Award from the authentic Cult Awareness Network and, in 1999; they received the Leo J. Ryan Award from the Leo J. Ryan Foundation. In 2009, she received the Margaret T. Singer Award from ICSA. Lorna joined ICSA’s Board of Directors in November 2003. Along with Rosanne Henry, she co-chaired ICSA’s Mental Health Committee until her term as President of ICSA from 2008 to 2012. Lorna has published numerous articles about her therapeutic work with former cult members in professional journals, most recently: Goldberg, L. (2012). Influence of a Charismatic Antisocial Cult Leader: Psychotherapy with an Ex-Cultist Prosecuted for Criminal Behavior. International Journal of Cultic Studies, 2, 15-24; Goldberg, L. (2011). Diana, Leaving the Cult: Play Therapy in Childhood and Talk Therapy in Adolescence. International Journal of Cultic Studies, 2, 33-43. She also wrote a chapter on guidelines for therapists in the ICSA book, Recovery from Cults, edited by Michael Langone. Lorna has co-written with Bill Goldberg, a chapter on psychotherapy with targeted parents in the book, Working with Alienated Children and Families (2012), edited by Amy J.L. Baker & S. Richard Sauber. She is also co-editor of ICSA's Cult Recovery: A Clinician's Guide to Working With Former Members and Their Families, which was published in 2017. Website: blgoldberg.com Email: Lorna@BLGoldberg.com Phone: (201) 894-8515. New Jersey (Englewood) 

Phone/Electronic Consultation Possible

William Goldberg, LCSW, PsyA, is a clinical social worker and psychoanalyst with over forty years’ experience working with former cult members. He and his wife, Lorna, co-lead a support group for former cult members, which has been meeting for over forty years. It is the oldest group of its kind in the world. In 2007, Bill retired from the Rockland County, NY Department of Mental Health, where he directed several programs and clinics. He is presently an adjunct professor in the social work and social science departments of Dominican College and he is on the faculty of the Institute for Psychoanalytic Studies. Bill has published numerous articles in books and professional journals, and he is one of the editors of a soon to be published book, sponsored by ICSA, which will focus on clinical work with former cult members. Bill is a frequent speaker at ICSA conferences, and he and Lorna have been the recipients of the Authentic CAN Hall of Fame Award and the Leo J. Ryan Award. In 2010, Bill was the recipient of ICSA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also co-editor of ICSA's Cult Recovery: A Clinician's Guide to Working With Former Members and Their Families, which was published in 2017.  (201) 894-8515   Website: blgoldberg.com Email:bill@blgoldberg.com    New Jersey (Englewood) 

Phone/Electronic Consultation Possible

Vega González Bueso, Degree in Psychology from the University of Barcelona. Diploma Specialist Clinical Psychology from the University of Barcelona. Diploma in Nursing from the University of Barcelona. Master in Language Disorders, University Polytechnic of Catalonia. Graduate Judicial Expertise University Polytechnic of Catalonia. Currently Manager/ Director of AIS (Care and Research Social Addictions). Clinical psychologist specialist. Professor at the University of Valencia and the University of Barcelona in the subject Groups of Psychological Manipulation (coercive sects). Since 2003 also works within the scope of care and research for people affected by their membership in groups or sects using coercive psychological manipulation. Email: vgonzalez@ais-info.org Phone: 93301.30.24. Spain (Barcelona)

Cathy S Harris is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in San Diego, California with over 20 years' experience treating and educating about cultish groups and trauma. She has been licensed in Iowa, Arizona, California and Texas. She trained for the Master of Social Work degree at the Inpatient Trauma Unit under the direction of Dr. Colin Ross in Dallas, Texas. Cathy has worked in hospital settings, inpatient and outpatient, with adults and adolescents. She was in private practice in Ames, Iowa for 7 years, working in collaboration with Dr. James Trahan, who calls her “my local trauma expert.” In addition, she has worked as an in-home therapist, residential counselor with adults and adolescents coping with addictions, crisis center clinician, Military Family Life Counselor and Licensed Independent Practitioner with the US Navy's residential substance abuse program in San Diego. Cathy has maintained a private practice from the time she became independently licensed, in 2004. Throughout her career she has endeavored to share her knowledge and experience working with trauma-Informed perspective. Cathy found little professional support while leaving a cult. Today, she offers support to ex- and exiting members of high-control groups via psychotherapy and coaching—face-to-face and online. She focuses on two core concepts that helped her make sense of shame, internalized self-blame, and ambivalence about leaving. She has developed strategies for coping and for pursuing real freedom while creating her own best life. www.freedomfromcults.com; 619-807-9159. California (San Diego) 

Phone/Electronic Consultation Possible

Steven Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, has helped thousands of individuals and families recover from undue influence (mind control). With over 40 years of experience, he is sought after as one of the foremost authorities on undue influence and controlling groups and individuals. Steve understands the subject from a unique perspective as both a former cult member and as a clinical professional. Steven is the Founding Director of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center, a coaching, consulting, and training organization dedicated to supporting individuals to have the freedom to think clearly and to freely consider how they want to live their lives. Steven pioneered a breakthrough method called the Strategic Interactive Approach (SIA), an effective and legal alternative for families to help cult members. The SIA teaches family and friends how to strategically influence the individual involved in the cult. He is the author of Combating Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults (1988, 1990, 2015), Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves (2000) and Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults & Beliefs (2012, 2013). He is also the Co-Developer of Ending the Game, a non-coercive curriculum designed to educate and empower sex trafficking victims to leave pimps and traffickers. Steven provides training workshops and seminars for mental health professionals, educators, ​government,​ and law enforcement officers worldwide, as well as for families of cult members. He writes and speaks out about the importance of viewing ISIS/Daesh and other terrorist groups as destructive cults. As of 2018, Steven is a founding member of the International Society for Therapeutic Jurisprudence. An active member of the Program in Psychiatry and the Law, Steven is embarking on a vigorous research effort with the aim of publishing in peer-reviewed journals while pursuing a doctorate at Fielding University. This incredible think tank of forensic experts is interested in learning about vital areas of undue influence. By updating the law in the United States and around the world victims of undue influence will be served. It is also critical to ensure proper institutional policies to protect human rights. Dr. Michael Commons has invited Steven to create a division within his not-for-profit dareassociation.org which has its own website at www.freedomfromundueinfluence.org in order to help facilitate this research. Website: http://freedomofmind.com/ Email: center@freedomofmind.com Phone: (617) 396-4638. Massachusetts

Denis Healy’s specific expertise is in working with Senior Executives, either individually, in “corporate couples,” or in teams to get beyond the “noise” of current dysfunctional behaviors and illuminate their underlying causes. He brings a unique set of skills through his own career in senior management roles, extensive coaching experience with senior executives, and formal qualifications in counselling, coaching, and psychotherapy. Over the past twenty-five years Denis has become one of Australasia’s most experienced executive counsellors. His clients have included Federal Cabinet Ministers, Chairmen and CEO’s of publicly listed organizations, Partners and Managing Partners of the Big 4 Accounting Firms, Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries within both State and Australian Public Service organizations and a Chief Judge. He has over 10,000 hours of “1 on 1” development sessions with senior executives. Denis’s credentials include: Master’s Degree (Counselling & Applied Psychotherapy); Grad Dip (Counselling); Bachelor of Arts (Psychology); Fellow, Australian Human Resources Institute; Member CAPA; PACFA Registered; Accredited Coach; Fellow, Australian Institute of Management. Website: www.the executivewhisperer.com.au Email: denis@theexecutivewhisperer.com.au Phone: (61) 41146-3534. Australia

Rosanne Henry, MA, LPC, emeritus director of ICSA, is a psychotherapist practicing in Littleton, Colorado. For more than thirty years she has been active in the cult-education movement, working closely with the former Cult Awareness Network and ICSA. She served on the Board of Directors of ICSA from 2004 to 2018 and was Chair of ICSA’s Mental Health Committee. She cofacilitated ICSA’s recovery workshops for 25 years. In her private practice, Rosanne specializes in the treatment of cult survivors and their families. She is a former member of Kashi Ranch. In 2010, Ms. Henry received ICSA’s Margaret T. Singer Award (shared with the other Colorado workshop facilitators).  She is also coauthor (with Carol Giambalvo) of “The Colorado Model” (ICSA Today, 1[1], 2010); coauthor (with Leona Furnari) of “Lessons Learned From SGAs About Recovery and Resiliency” (ICSA Today, 2[3], 2011); and coeditor (with Lorna Goldberg, William Goldberg, and Michael Langone) of ICSA’s Cult Recovery: A Clinician's Guide to Working With Former Members and Their Families, published in 2017.  

Website: www.CultRecover.com Phone: (303) 797-0629. Colorado 

Phone/Electronic Consultation Possible

Heidi Hewett (she/her) offers in-person and online sessions in Georgia, Florida, and Oklahoma. She focuses on centering the client as the authority in order to support healing autonomy and to foster reconnection with Self in the safety of a therapeutic container.  Heidi has a professional and personal background in religious de-programming and recovery. Heidi works primarily with AFAB/females, teens (14 yo+) through adults, with anxiety, depression, identity development, existential concerns, & spiritual/religious trauma. The best way to learn about Heidi through her website in order to get a good sense of how she operates as a therapist: www.heidihewettcounseling.com 

Info-Cult/Info-Secte.  Founded in Montreal (Quebec, Canada) in 1980, the bi-lingual Info-Cult/ Centre for Assistance and for the Study of Cultic Phenomena is a nonprofit charitable organization that offers information and help with regard to groups, their ideology, their functioning as well as the interpersonal relationships within a cultic context. Directed by Mike Kropveld and located in Montreal, Info-Cult can refer to mental health professionals in Canada.  (514) 274-2333    infosecte@qc.aibn.com

Greg Jemsek, MA, is a narrative therapist, author, educator, and leadership coach. His work in three different countries over the course of the past 38 years includes the publication of Quiet Horizon: Releasing Ideology and Embracing Self-Knowledge, an award-winning book using Greg’s own involvement working at world headquarters in a 1970’s cult as the foundation for deconstructing psychological, narrative, and transpersonal dimensions of the cult experience. In the 1980s, Greg taught this material in a religious-studies course, New Religious Movements, at John F. Kennedy University in California. Since then, Greg’s understanding of how ideologies work has broadened by virtue of his training as a narrative therapist, in which the approach to therapy is concerned in part with how issues of power imbalance arise when the dominant discourses a society or subgroup chooses undercut the multistoried nature of human experience. Greg currently teaches, The Dogma Dialogues, a course that examines how the interplay between dominant societal metanarratives, normalized narcissism, surrogate relationships, and confusion between emotional excitation and genuine transformation make all of us more vulnerable to the conversion efforts of religious and secular organizations. His passion is to assist people in reclaiming sovereignty over their lives through a commitment to their own self-knowledge. Website: www.gregjemsek.com Email: greg@quiethorizon.com Australia

Gillie Jenkinson, PhD, is an accredited counsellor and psychotherapist in UK and is experienced in delivering counselling face-to-face as well as on the telephone and Skype. She served two internships at Wellspring Retreat Center, Ohio, and has many years’ experience working with trauma, including survivors of spiritual and cult abuse, and sexual abuse. She has developed an approach to counselling former members - "Time Away for Post-Cult Counselling." Gillie was a member of an abusive Bible-based cult in the 1970’s. She is a regular presenter at conferences and a published author, including a co-authoring a chapter entitled "Pathological Spirituality" for a medical text book entitled Spirituality and Psychiatry, published by RCPsych Publications in UK - 2009. She is the Mental Health Editor for ICSA Today. Gillie’s doctoral research dissertation is entitled: ‘Freeing the authentic-self: Phases of Recovery and Growth from an Abusive Cult Experience’. Website: www.hopevalleycounselling.com Email: info@hopevalleycounselling.com Phone: +44 1433 639032. United Kingdom

Kathryn Keller, PhD, is a Licensed Psychologist and Licensed Professional Counselor – Supervisor in Dallas, TX.  She co-owns a group counseling practice, Dallas Therapy Collective, where she sees clients for individual therapy. Kathryn completed her master’s in counselor education at the University of Virginia in 2008. After working in college mental health for a few years, she moved to Texas to pursue her doctorate in Counseling Psychology. She graduated from Texas Woman's University in 2016. Her dissertation resulted in the first known scale measuring spiritual abuse that can be used for clinical and/or research purposes. Kathryn’s interest in spiritual abuse stems from her own personal experiences in a hyper-evangelical Christian church, observations from clients’ experiences in high-control religious systems, and observing both healthy and harmful ways spirituality and religion have been used with clients healing from various forms of childhood trauma. Kathryn’s practice is focused on clients who have experienced traumatic stress, including spiritual and religious abuse. In addition to therapy, she enjoys training, consulting, supervision, and running many of the behind the scenes business aspects of her group practice. Kathryn can be reached at: drkeller@dallastherapycollective.com or 469-608-1187. 

Joseph F. Kelly, a graduate of Temple University, has been a thought reform consultant since 1988. He spent 14 years in two different eastern meditation groups. He has lectured extensively on cult-related topics, and is a co-author of Ethical Standards for Thought Reform Consultants, published in ICSA’s Cultic Studies Journal. For many years, Mr. Kelly has also co-facilitated ICSA pre-conference workshops for ex-members. Recently, he helped to initiate ICSA’s monthly meeting in Philadelphia. . Websites: intervention101.com; cultmediation.com; cultrecovery101.com Email: joekelly411@gmail.com Phone: (267) 679-5493. Pennsylvania

Heidi I. Knapp is a certified life-coach in stress management, recovery coaching, and hope coaching through life crisis situations along with currently pursuing a substance abuse counseling certification for the state of Colorado. Her topics of study have included; Spiritual Abuse, Codependency, Healthy Boundaries for personal relationships, Stress Management and Skills for coping through crisis. She co-directs Becoming Free along-side her husband Pat with whom she co-facilitates support and recovery groups for those who have experienced spiritual abuse. Heidi contributes to the educational process of writing curriculum for these support and recovery groups. She has had personal experience with three different aberrant Christian groups. Heidi has spent 20 years of education on recovery issues and continues her education through accredited workshops. She is a member of the International Cultic Studies Association, The American Association of Christian Counselors, and The International Christian Coaching Association. Additionally, she has previously coordinated and lead support groups for parents raising special needs children. Website: www.BecomingFree.org Email: becomingfree.org@gmail.com Phone: (720) 227-8695. Colorado

Patrick J. Knapp, PhD, completed an MA (Philosophy of Religion) from Denver Seminary (Winter, 2000).  His MA thesis was titled “The Place of Mind Control in the Cult Recovery Process.”  His doctoral studies focused on marriage and family systems and attachment with his PhD (Pastoral Psychology) thesis at Graduate Theological Foundation “A Survey of Religious Abuse and Recovery.” He and his wife (Heidi I. Knapp) co-direct Becoming Free, LLC (www.BecomingFree.org). Their organization facilitates educational support for all those who have been religiously abused. As a life-recovery coach for over 35 years Pat has assisted people to process harmful spiritual experiences for improved insight and emotional healing.  He and his wife (Heidi) provide HIPAA compliant video internet and in-person life coaching both for former members as well as friends and family affected by religious or spiritual abuse. In 2017 he contributed a chapter on support groups in Cult Recovery: A Clinician’s Guide to Working with Former Members and Families (Goldberg, L. et al, 2017).  His first full book publication was Understanding Religious Abuse and Recovery: Discovering Essential Principles for Hope and Healing (Pickwick Publications, 2021). In this book he evaluates various perspectives of religious abuse recovery and introduces a new perspective (SECURE), a synthesis model that incorporates family systems and attachment theory as understood within a Christian worldview.  His most recent publishing efforts are found in ICSA’s recently released book. Wounded Faith: Understanding and healing from spiritual abuse, chapter 4: Stages of Recovery and chapter 9: Marital Damage and Recovery Following Religious Abuse (co-authored with his spouse, Heidi I. Knapp) 

Alyssa Kosmer is a Psychotherapist specializing in trauma and cultic abuse. She provides virtual psychotherapy to adults 18+ in New York State. Surviving high-control groups and narcissistic abuse can be reality bending, confusing, and highly emotionally traumatic. Alyssa works at the pace of each individual client to build trust, unpack history, and process trauma, to cultivate well-being and autonomy. Alyssa’s therapeutic approach is trauma-informed and psychodynamic, and she is certified in Trauma Therapy through the Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy’s post-graduate program in NYC.

J. Paul Lennon, STL, MA, After retiring from his "day-job" as a Child and Family Therapist in 2014, Paul has been contacted by individuals and parents involved with various Catholic and Christian groups. He still counsels and supports members and former members of the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi as well as members of other heretofore bona fide but high-demand Catholic groups, associations, and orders. He continues to coordinate ReGAIN, Inc, where he can be contacted. Presently living in La Antigua, Guatemala, he is available to residents and visitors involved with or concerned about questionable groups. irishmexican43@yahoo.com. Guatemala

Helena Löfgren is a licensed psychotherapist, former member of the Unification church (1990-1992), member of the support group FRI, co-founder of the former Swedish support group SESAM, and co-founder of an informal network in Sweden for people who meet members or former members of high demand groups in their work. Ms. Lofgren received treatment by Wellpring, when they came to Sweden in 1992. For about 20 years she has been involved in helping former members of different high demand groups in Sweden as a volunteer in the support group FRI and as a member of the board of the support group SESAM in Sweden. Since 2009 she has also treated patients who grew up in different high demand groups. She co-authored a book with personal stories, and a book about Influence for students Sect disease (edited by Håkan Järvå). For many years she has given lectures about influence and manipulation, also at the University of Stockholm. Over the years she has participated in numerous TV-programs and radio-programs to spread awareness about cultic groups and processes. In 2004 one person was killed and one was injured in the small congregation Knutby in Sweden. She visited the congregation, talked to leaders and former members and the police. Thereafter she witnessed the trial and commented on the event on TV and also at a conference organized by FECRIS in Hamburg. Website: lofgrensanalys.se/en (in English) Email: helena.lofgren@lofgrensanalys.se Phone: +46708197777. Sweden

Grisel Lopez-Escobar, PhD., offers a safe therapeutic space to examine your thoughts and find out more about transitioning into secularity. Her clients grapple with a wide variety of beliefs, fears, anxieties, confusion and in some cases, shame. Regardless of your current beliefs, the reasons why you are leaving or left, or whether or not you’ve already come out to your friends and family,  she offers you a safe place to land. Dr. Lopez-Escobar has a PhD in Counseling. 

Ginny Lupka, MAC, PLPC is a therapist in St. Louis, Missouri. Working with adults and couples, Ginny welcomes issues of religious trauma, specializing in Purity Culture and Christian Science recovery. She also works with clients who are navigating dynamics of women’s wellness, such as seasons of infertility or postpartum. Ginny obtained her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature at the University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC) and her Masters of Counseling at Covenant Theological Seminary (St. Louis, MO). Ginny is passionate about creating a safe, inclusive, and empowering space for all of her clients, particularly those that have felt excluded and dismissed by their religious communities. She is supervised by Jane Burns, LPC. You can connect with Ginny at glupka@chesterfieldca.com or 314-339-6908. Missouri

Peter T. Malinoski, Ph.D., HSPP has been a clinical psychologist in private practice in Indianapolis, IN since 2001. He specializes in psychological assessment and has experience working with former cult members and their families. Website: catholictherapists.com/mps Phone: 317.536.5482 Email: malinoski@faxtone.com. Indiana

Joyce Martella, MA, PhD, was raised in a pseudo-Christian cultic group in Northern California. The estranged daughter of the group's prophet-leader, she left after 24 years in 1984 and has been cut off from her many siblings and relatives there. She has completed her PhD in Depth Psychology, and her dissertation on how to help SGA's heal from complex trauma. She is also a speaker and facilitator in trauma and cult recovery. In 2010 ICSA awarded her the Margaret L. Singer Award for advancing the understanding of coercive persuasion and undue influence. She is currently living in South Korea while her husband serves the needs of our solders. Email: joyceemartella@aol.com  Washington

Michael Martella, PhD, LMFT, MAC is a state-licensed counselor. He was raised in a Bible-based cult for 24 years and left in 1984. He has lectured, written, and facilitated in cult survivor recovery. He also provided counseling and expert training in domestic violence treatment in San Diego, California. Mike is currently the Clinical Director of an Army Substance Use Disorders program at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. In 2010 ICSA awarded him the Margaret L. Singer Award for advancing the understanding of coercive persuasion and undue influence. Email: GoldenMic@aol.com Phone: (619)994-2293. Washington

Arthur Mary, PhD, lives in France where he works as a clinical psychologist in private practice. He holds degrees in psychology, philosophy, cultural anthropology, and medical hypnosis and has a Master's degree in clinical and intercultural psychopathology. He wrote a PhD thesis about cults from a psychoanalytical (Lacanian) perspective and some academic articles about cult influence, the notion of mind manipulation, and its roots within a cultural context, the social phenomenon of salafi movements (quietists, djihadists...). He is a researcher associated with the LIRCES (Interdisciplinary Laboratory Narratives Cultures and Societies, University of Nizza-Sophia Antipolis) and for two years has been a temporary lecturer and research assistant at LCPI (Laboratory for Psychopathologic and intercultural Clinical Approaches, University of Toulouse-Le Mirail). He is a member of ADFI (Association for the Defense of Families and Individuals). His interest in cults dates back to when he was a trainee in the department of victimology of the Hospital of Reunion Island, his homeland. In 2006, Juliano Verbard's small cult became a societal phenomenon on the island, and former followers were sent to this hospital department. Thereafter, Arthur conducted various academic researches and his PhD paper with former cult members and actual followers of controversial groups, both small and large groups, religious as well as political groups. Website: coming soon Email: a.mary@gmx.com Phone: +33 (0)6 84.57.86.30. France

Ingo Michehl, MEd, is a counseling psychologist who completed his masters degree thesis on Cult Trauma and Recovery and his Heilpraktiker Psychotherapie counseling certification in his home country, Germany, after an intensive cult experience with, CARP, student branch of the Unification Church (‘Moonies’) from 1986 to 93. This traumatic loss of freedom of mind as well as mental, emotional, and physical abuse within the group led him to exploring conventional and unconventional therapies as part of his self-healing journey. Mr. Michehl is firmly committed to freedom of mind and promotes self determination and cognitive balance as the answer to cult mind control / manipulation. During his masters degree program at Cambridge College, Boston, he worked with cult expert Steven Hassan, the author of Combatting Cult Mind Control, on voluntary exit counseling to help free members of the group from its destructive influence. He has given talks and presentations on the subject of cults and mind control at schools and universities in both the USA and Germany and is available for lectures, consulting, counseling and a PhD project on the subject. Website: Counseling-Psych.com, http://minet.org/www.trancenet.net/moonism/munexpo.shtml Email: ingomichehl@gmail.com Phone: +498938157755. Germany