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I was thrilled when I discoveredÌýChristianity in my late teens. TheÌýpeople I met were well meaning andÌýmany were genuinely kind. ChristianityÌýanswered many existential andÌýemotional questions for me, butÌýsadly, at that stage in my life, I hadÌýneither learned to think critically norÌýwas I encouraged to do so.

I did not have a close mentor whoÌýcould help me make safe choices;Ìýindeed I did not think I needed to beÌýwary; and my passion led me down aÌýroad into ‘community’ (the in-thing inÌýthe 1970s) and into what ultimatelyÌýbecame an abusive cult. Like theÌýallegorical frog being slowly heatedÌýin the pan, by the time I might haveÌýrealised I was in hot water, it was tooÌýlate to get out.

A word about the term ‘cult’

Cults occur in any setting, includingÌýpsychotherapy, politics, religion,Ìýspirituality; and there are also ‘one-on-one’ cults: a two-person intenseÌýdomestic abuse relationship whereÌýthe more powerful partner assertsÌýtheir superiority and leadership,Ìýoften on a spiritual level.

The term ‘cult’ is controversial andÌýraises many more questions than itÌýdoes answers, but a suitable alternativeÌýhas yet to be found¹. I have beenÌýasked: ‘Are all cults harmful?’ TheÌýanswer to that question depends, ofÌýcourse, on how you define a cult.ÌýLangone² states that, ‘Some groupsÌýmay harm some people sometimes,Ìýand some groups may be more likelyÌýto harm people than other groups’. OfÌýcourse, some groups harm everyone,Ìýsuch as the community that I joined.ÌýGroups orÌý relationships may be positiveÌýin some aspects, but harmful andÌýpathological in others, and this canÌýoccur on a continuum within oneÌýsetting and in relation to widerÌýsociety³. Langone defined a cult inÌý1993⁴ and there has been no reasonÌýto change this. His definition is fromÌýa psychological perspective, whichÌýacknowledges the potential for harm:

‘A group or movement that, to aÌýsignificant degree

• exhibits great or excessive devotionÌýor dedication to some person, idea,Ìýor thingÌý
• uses a thought-reform programmeÌýto persuade, control, and socialiseÌýmembers (ie to integrate them intoÌýthe group’s unique pattern ofÌýrelationships, beliefs, values andÌýpractices)Ìý
• systematically induces states ofÌýpsychological dependency inÌýmembersÌý
• exploits members to advance theÌýleadership’s goalsÌý
• causes psychological harm toÌýmembers, their families and theÌýcommunity.’

I cannot move away from the termÌýbecause there is at least someÌýpopular understanding that cults areÌýphenomena that society has toÌýgrapple with. Sadly there are manyÌýmyths, and cult members are oftenÌýseen as weird, crazy or plain stupid –Ìý‘I couldn’t be duped like that’ being aÌýcommon response to the genuinelyÌýoutrageous and extreme stories thatÌýoccasionally get cited in the press¹.

My personal journey

The community I joined in 1974 wasÌýa breakaway independent group thatÌýwas open and free to begin with butÌýwhich I have since come to seeÌýdeveloped into an extremistÌýenvironment, with ‘all or nothing’Ìýthinking. ‘Sin’ was punished by physicalÌýbeatings, slapping, shunning andÌýrebuking. The leadership redefinedÌýthe word ‘sin’ to mean anything thatÌýthey disagreed with or that didn’tÌýcomply with their requirements. TheyÌýengendered regression and dependency.ÌýThey engaged in illicit sexual contactÌýwith the women in their communityÌýhouseholds and these double standardsÌýcaused cognitive dissonance in manyÌýof the members, cognitive dissonanceÌýbeing the emotional state set up whenÌýthere is a conflict between belief andÌýbehaviour⁵. It was a confusing andÌýterrifying milieu to live in, and theÌýpsychological imprisonment, like theÌýdog in the electrocuted cage that doesÌýnot realise the door is open, was nearlyÌýtotal for me. At that point in my life,ÌýI was living in an environment ofÌýtotal control.

I lost myself completely and had noÌýthought of leaving – that would haveÌýbeen ‘rebellion’ and the punishmentÌýwould have been eternal damnationÌýor hell. I really believed that – it wasÌýnot a metaphor to me – I could pictureÌýit, as I had heard it so many timesÌýfrom the community.

I have since come to realise that, inÌýorder to be a full member of theÌýcommunity, I developed a ‘cult pseudo-personality’⁶ of which I will say more,Ìýlater. I became very different to howÌýI had been before joining, or how I amÌýnow. I was serious, lacking any humour;Ìýintensely focused on my religiousÌýbeliefs (not boys as I had been beforeÌý– yet I was only 18); I stopped swearingÌý(hard for my friends to imagine!) andÌýdressed quite differently – resemblingÌýa 1950s’ housewife instead of wearingÌýmy usual long hippy dresses.

I learned many years later thatÌýothers have written about the cultÌýpseudo-personality. Singer⁷ notesÌýthat it forms as part of the changeÌýprocess expected in many cults. SheÌýadds that people take on a ‘newÌýsocial identity, which may or may notÌýbe obvious to an outsider’. Many groupsÌýtalk about being ‘transformed,Ìýreborn, enlightened, empowered,Ìýre-birthed, or cleared’ (I would addÌýto that: saved, and surrendered).Ìý‘The group-approved behaviour isÌýreinforced and reinterpreted asÌýdemonstrating the emergence of theÌýnew person. Members are expectedÌýto display this new social identity’.

It is hard even now to share thisÌýsoft underbelly of my experience.ÌýIt took many years to heal my heart,Ìýbroken by spiritual abuse from a formÌýof ‘Christianity’ that had started outÌýso well. Over the years I have receivedÌýmany different reactions from peopleÌýI have spoken to about this time inÌýmy life, ranging from: ‘How couldÌýyou have done that to your family;Ìýthey must have been so worriedÌýabout you?’ to ‘I could never joinÌýsomething like that’; and ‘If it was thatÌýbad, surely you would have left?’.ÌýAnecdotally, I know of others whoÌýhave received similar reactions. I haveÌýrarely experienced shock from othersÌýthat a group that promised to bringÌýGod’s love, healing, life, creativity,Ìýfun, Christian truth and to make theÌýworld a better place, could wearÌýsomeone down and treat them inÌýsuch an abusive way.

I know that I was naive and idealistic;Ìýbut West notes that idealism is aÌýpositive aspect of spirituality⁸. Sadly,ÌýI believed the hard sell: that we – theÌýcommunity – would change the worldÌýand make it a better place. But asÌýthe years passed and as my alreadyÌýunderdeveloped critical facultiesÌýwere worn down, I did not questionÌýwhether we were actually saving theÌýworld or what was going on. And soÌýthe abuse continued.

It is rare for a cult to do so, but inÌý1981 the community I had joined,Ìýdisbanded, following a coup by theÌýwomen who were being abused inÌýthe leader’s house. And I left.

I continued with church attendanceÌýbut did not examine the full force ofÌýthe abuse until 14 years later, whenÌýI attended another abusive church,Ìýand was reminded of the community.ÌýI was now healed enough to realiseÌýthat I had finally had enough, andÌýI left this latter abusive church, too.ÌýI received psycho-educational exitÌýcounselling, which helped me toÌýleave and understand what hadÌýhappened to me. Giambalvo⁹ definesÌýthe purpose of exit counselling asÌýbeing to ‘promote critical thinkingÌýskills especially regarding the use ofÌýmind control. Exit counsellors willÌýnot violate clients’ rights to self-determinationÌýnor will they undulyÌýinfluence clients’ ideological orÌýspiritual orientation.’

My professional journey

At this point I decided that I wantedÌýto help others who had left an abusiveÌýcult and I began pastoral counsellingÌýdiploma training. I was not able toÌýattend a secular training, as I was stillÌýtoo afraid of the consequences ofÌýmoving out of the Church/ChristianÌýfield of training. The diploma was aÌývital part of healing my thoughtÌýprocesses because I met ChristiansÌýwho were not immersed in culticÌýthinking, who were allowed to thinkÌýfor themselves and therefore gaveÌýme the space and kindness to thinkÌýfor myself without any agenda otherÌýthan gaining my diploma.

I initially decided to leave anyÌýthoughts of working with ex cultÌýmembers on one side as I undertookÌýthis core training and healed myself.ÌýI did voluntary work with Cruse,ÌýMind and Sheffield Rape and SexualÌýAbuse Counselling Service. By the endÌýof the third year of my diploma inÌý1998, however, I was starting to thinkÌýabout working with ex cult membersÌýand tentatively informed my trainingÌýgroup that I was considering attendingÌýan International Cultic StudiesÌýAssociation (ICSA) conference inÌýChicago. I went to the conference,Ìýand ended up doing my dissertationÌýon the theme of ‘What does a pastoralÌýcounsellor need to know about cultsÌýand ex cult members to be anÌýeffective helper?’

As a result of attending theÌýconference I met Dr Paul Martin ofÌýÌýin OhioÌýand he agreed that I could attendÌýWellspring as an Intern, which I did inÌýthe summer of 1999. That internshipÌýwas where I learned the basic theoryÌýof working with ex cult members asÌýI shadowed him in the counsellingÌýsessions and learned how the Center’sÌýpsychoeducational ‘Thought ReformÌýModel’ worked. Dr Martin became myÌýmentor until he tragically died in 2009Ìýof leukaemia.

I had been attending therapy forÌýsome years since starting my diploma.ÌýAlthough my first therapist had beenÌýunable to engage with the cult issues,Ìýmy second, a Gestalt therapist, hasÌýalways been open to my cultÌýexperience and to learning from me.ÌýI loved her approach and in 2001 IÌýbegan an MA in Gestalt Psychotherapy.

I felt it essential that I fullyÌýunderstood my cult experience beforeÌýentering psychotherapy and completedÌýmy own healing before working withÌýothers, so I specifically chose aÌýgroup-based training in order toÌýattend to any residual group-basedÌýissues. The training proved to beÌýenriching and healing in many ways.

In order to move my work andÌýexperience away from myself I decidedÌýto do research. For my final MAÌýdissertation I asked eight self-confessedÌýex cult members what had helpedÌýthem recover from their abusive cultÌýexperience. The aim of the research wasÌýto give former cult members a voiceÌýand to investigate the most effectiveÌýtherapeutic approach for them.

Given my own experience of notÌýbeing able to find a psychotherapistÌýwho was trained in working with theÌýcult problem, I hypothesised that manyÌýformer cult members were probablyÌýsimilarly floundering around, tryingÌýto find the right sort of therapy. PaulÌýMartin¹⁰, perhaps controversially,Ìýstated that it is only half true thatÌýformer cult members should seek helpÌýfrom mental health professionalsÌý(therapists). He qualified this by sayingÌýthat therapy is ‘only helpful if theÌýtherapist has some expertise regardingÌýcultic phenomena. Unfortunately,Ìýtherapists have been known to failÌýmiserably if they are not sensitive toÌýthe issues of cult involvement.’ ThisÌýstatement intrigued me and verifiedÌýmy own experience and that ofÌýothers to whom I had spoken.

My research

My data has highlighted a numberÌýof areas that help former cultÌýmembers recover and I have spentÌýthe intervening years since 2005Ìýdeveloping my thinking throughÌýfurther reading, client work,Ìýreturning to Wellspring, and writing.

The heart of the recovery processÌýis helping clients to shed the cultÌýpseudo-personality, described earlier,Ìýenabling them to return to the pre-cultÌýpersonality and move forwardÌýinto a post-cult personality.

I have investigated through readingÌýand clinical work how this cult pseudo-personalityÌýforms. Cult pseudo-personalityÌýis part of the conversion toÌýa new belief system and complianceÌýmechanism. A number of writersÌýrefer to it as a dissociated part of theÌýpersonality. I suggest, however, thatÌýcult pseudo-personality mimicsÌýdissociation⁷. The essential featureÌýof dissociation is a ‘disruption in theÌýusually integrated functions ofÌýconsciousness, memory, identity, orÌýperception. The disturbance may beÌýsudden or gradual, transient or chronic’.Ìý(Diagnostic and Statistical ManualÌýof Mental Disorders IV). I do thinkÌýdissociation is present for many, ifÌýnot most, former cult members, butÌýas a separate (coping) mechanism.

My research and experience withÌýclients leads me to suggest that cultÌýpseudo-personality is in fact anÌýintrojected part of the personality thatÌýneeds chewing over and digesting,Ìýallowing what is nourishing to remain,Ìýand eliminating the rest. IntrojectionÌýmay be thought of as a ‘material wayÌýof acting, feeling, evaluating – whichÌýyou have taken into your system ofÌýbehaviour but which you have notÌýassimilated in such a fashion as toÌýmake it a genuine part of yourÌýorganism, yourself’¹¹.

The cult experience needs chewingÌýover but if, as a therapist, you do notÌýunderstand the process of how thisÌýintrojected cult pseudo-personalityÌýhas formed, how can you effectivelyÌýhelp a client? Singer states: ‘The arrayÌýof necessary adjustments [post cult]Ìýcan be summed up as coming out ofÌýthe pseudo-personality. I present themÌýin a sequence... a kind of peeling offÌýof the outer layer of identity that wasÌýtaken on while in the cult. The processÌýis a matter of recovering one’s self andÌýone’s value system, and of keepingÌýwhatever good was learned duringÌýcult days while discarding all theÌýnot-so-good.’⁶

I now work predominantly withÌýformer cult members, and theÌýtherapeutic approach that I haveÌýfound to be most effective in assistingÌýrecovery for these clients is a relationalÌýpsychoeducational model. I envisageÌýthe cult pseudo-personality beingÌýlaid down like pieces of a jigsawÌý(Singer’s layers) and I use this metaphorÌýwith clients. Each psycho-educationalÌýarea I work on with clients is a pieceÌýof the jigsaw that correlates to theÌýlayers of the cult pseudo-personalityÌýlaid down in the client while they wereÌýin the cult. The psychoeducationalÌýsubject areas needing to be addressedÌýto facilitate recovery include: thoughtÌýreform (see Lifton’s work whichÌýexplains how control and conversionÌýoccur¹²); influence; dealing withÌýtrauma, including rape and sexualÌýabuse; returning to family and friendsÌý(many former cult members have beenÌýcut off from their family); changingÌýthe way they look (many cults expectÌýtheir members to adhere to a dressÌýcode); sexuality (many have becomeÌýcelibate or in some groups have hadÌýto prostitute themselves to recruitÌýothers); owning their own spirituality;Ìýlearning how to handle money andÌýpractical issues of being in the ‘realÌýworld’ (many cults take all theÌýmembers’ money and the group takesÌýcontrol of managing money); andÌýother areas that are specific to thatÌýformer cult member’s particularÌýexperience.

I give each client a folder ofÌýhandouts and resources so that, onceÌýthey understand the dynamics, theyÌýhave the tools and resources to goÌýforward with their recovery processÌýwithout becoming dependent on me.Ìý

I have called this model ‘Post CultÌýCounsellingHVC’. The HVC stands forÌýHope Valley Counselling and describesÌýmy approach as opposed to anyÌýother using a similar label. In orderÌýto overcome the challenge of peopleÌýliving a long way from me and theÌýtime required to pass on theÌýpsychoeducational information,Ìýclients come and stay in a B&B orÌýholiday cottage in the beautifulÌýDerbyshire Peak District. This is followedÌýup by telephone sessions, if needed.ÌýOnce the former cult memberÌýunderstands what they have beenÌýthrough and can put the pieces of theÌýjigsaw back together for themselves,Ìýthen they can work with any otherÌýopen-minded therapist, with theÌýknowledge of what has happened toÌýthem clearer in their own mind.

Conclusion

I find myself in my late 50s doingÌýthings that 30 year olds are doing.ÌýI lost my 20s to the cult I joined andÌýmy 30s as a result of not realisingÌýI was still lost in the cult mindsetÌý(but the best thing is I had my lovelyÌýchildren then!). I thereforeÌý spent myÌýprime studying and business-buildingÌýyears in another ‘mental universe’ (toÌýborrow BBC journalist Jeremy Bowen’sÌýdescription of Gaddafi’s world view).

I have since built a psychotherapyÌýservice with my husband; I amÌýcoordinator for a charity originallyÌýset up by a couple born and raised inÌýa cultic group (); I have started to trainÌýother therapists to recognise theÌýspecific needs of ex cult members;Ìýand I have begun to gather a smallÌýgroup of therapists together whoÌýwould like to specialise in this work orÌýat least find out more about it so thatÌýI can pass on what I have learned.ÌýI have been on this road now forÌýmany years; it has been a long journeyÌýand there is still much to do.

Gillie Jenkinson MA, UKCP, MÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¾«×¼×ÊÁÏ, APSCCÌýexecutive member, specialises in workingÌýwith spiritual and cult abuse, offeringÌýpsychotherapy, post-cult counselling,Ìýtraining, supervision and consultancy.ÌýShe is an international speaker andÌýco-authored chapter 13 ‘PathologicalÌýSpirituality’ in Spirituality and Psychiatry,ÌýRPsych Publications, 2009. Gillie will beÌýfacilitating a training titled ‘EffectiveÌýTherapy with Former Members of AbusiveÌýGroups and Relationships’ on May 11/12Ìý2012 and in September – dates to beÌýconfirmed. She also facilitates a smallÌýgroup in London for former cult members,Ìýwhich meets approximately every twoÌýmonths.Ìý

References

1 Jenkinson G. Thresholds. Winter 2007; 14.
2 Langone MD. Cults, psychologicalÌýmanipulation, and society: internationalÌýperspectives – an overview. CulticÌýStudies Journal. 2001; 18(2)1-12.Ìýhttp://icsahome.com/
3 Kendall L. A psychological investigationÌýinto the effects of former membership ofÌýextremist authoritarian sects. PhD thesis.ÌýDepartment of Psychology. BuckinghamÌýChilterns University College; 2006.
4 Langone MD. Recovery from cults. WWÌýNorton and Sons; 1993.
5 Reber AS, Reber E. The PenguinÌýdictionary of psychology. Third edition.ÌýPenguin; 2001.
6 Jenkinson G. Cultic Studies Review.Ìý2008; 7(3):206.
7 Singer MT. Cults in our midst. Jossey-Bass; 2003.
8 West W. Spiritual issues in therapy.ÌýLondon: Palgrave Macmillan; 2004.
9 Giambalvo C. Exit counselling. AmericanÌýFamily Foundation (now InternationalÌýCultic Studies Association); 1995.
10 Martin PM. Cult proofing your kids.ÌýLondon: Zondervan; 1993.
11 Perls FS, Hefferline RF, Goodman P.ÌýGestalt therapy: excitement and growthÌýin the human personality. Souvenir Press;Ìý1951.
12 Lifton RJ. Thought reform and theÌýpsychology of totalism: a study ofÌý‘brainwashing’ in China. University of NorthÌýCarolina Press. Reprint edition; 1989.

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