6 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 10, 2019
activity, most members will be pressured into
participating in the abuse of fellow members, be
it parents physically abusing their children
according to doctrinal instruction or peers
emotionally or physically abusing each other
(Bardin, 2005 Casoni et al., 2015 Kendall,
2011, 2016 Lalich &McLaren, 2018 Lifton,
1963 Matthews &Salazar, 2014 Singer, 2003).
Survivors may need assistance in coming to
terms with how they have harmed others (Casoni
et al., 2015 Matthews &Salazar, 2014). When
possible, making amends may be healing
however, Matthews and Salazar (2014)
emphasize that options of how to reconcile
safely may be limited if those to whom a
survivor wishes to make amends are still in the
cult. In such instances, symbolic interactions,
such as role playing and letter writing, may be
beneficial for the survivor.
Processing and Making Meaning
For those coming out of cultic groups who have
been traumatized, it is often difficult to pinpoint
a single traumatizing event because they may
have experienced continual psychological and
emotional abuse (Hassan, 1990 Herman, 1997
Kendall, 2016 Lalich &McLaren, 2018 Lifton,
1963 Rosen, 2014 Singer, 2003). Many also
contend with physical and sexual abuse
(Herman, 1997 Kendall, 2011 Rosen, 2014).
As a result, survivors may display a range of
trauma symptoms, including but not limited to
hypervigilance, somatic distress, flashbacks,
nightmares, state-dependent emotional
memories, phobias, and difficulties with
emotional regulation (Herman, 1997 Kendall,
2016 Lalich &McLaren, 2018 Lifton, 1963
Singer, 2003). Those who grew up in the group
may have additional markers of complex
posttraumatic stress (C-PTSD) that manifests as
splitting, relational turmoil, depression, anxiety,
and self-harm (Herman, 1997 Kendall, 2016).
Singer (2003) and Herman (1997) both warn
about the possibility of misdiagnosis. Some
clients may even exhibit symptoms of psychosis
(Lifton, 1963 Rosen, 2014 Singer, 2003)
however, clinicians should be wary of
overlooking the severe effects of the trauma of
an abusive system. Singer (2003) has actively
discouraged the diagnosis of psychosis with cult
survivors, indicating that hallucinations and
paranoia are often a result of conditioning.
Rosen (2014) has further clarified that
symptoms which can resemble other diagnoses
can be a misattributed aspect of C-PTSD.
As with many forms of relational trauma, those
who are recovering from a cultic experience will
need to process what has happened to them.
Although processing can be done in a number of
ways, these methods must provide a means for
survivors to tell their own stories and create a
sense of understanding and meaning around
them (Herman, 1997 Rosen, 2014). Although
recent developments in trauma treatment
indicate that telling the trauma story is not
always necessary for healing, when the trauma
involves relational wounds, shame, and
silencing, telling one’s story becomes an act of
reclamation important to the healing process
(van der Kolk, 2015). The very act of telling the
trauma story is a healing intervention,
particularly while in a relationship with a
counselor who believes, validates, and
empathizes with the pain of the trauma (Herman,
1997 van der Kolk, 2014).
Determining the most effective method to
facilitate processing and making meaning will
depend upon each survivor’s individual
experience. Although evidence-based trauma
treatments have grown over the years, no single
trauma treatment has been found to work for all
trauma (Brom et al., 2017). Van der Kolk (2014)
encourages clinicians treating trauma to be open
to finding what works for each individual as
opposed to assuming one way is the right way.
The need for individual considerations is
especially important in the case of survivors of
abusive groups. Because cultic groups can use a
variety of tools and techniques to manipulate
and influence members, including modalities
that can also be used for therapeutic purposes,
clinicians should take precautions to ensure that
any intended therapeutic intervention does not
inadvertently retraumatize a survivor (DeYoung,
2009 Herman, 1997). Treatments that may
resemble techniques used to control or abuse can
create distrust or distress thus, informed consent
and reinforced autonomy throughout the
therapeutic process are essential (Aguado, 2015
DeYoung, 2009 Singer, 2003).

International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 10, 2019 7
Psychoeducation
Psychoeducation about cultic groups is one of
the interventions whose importance has been
emphasized consistently throughout the
development and understanding of cult theory
(Hassan, 1990 Herman, 1997 Lalich &
McLaren, 2018 Lifton, 1963 Nunes &
Timoner, 2007 Rosen, 2014 Singer, 2003).
Psychoeducation serves to empower survivors
by helping them understand and develop a
language to talk about their experiences. It also
helps survivors realize they are not alone in
going through the recovery process.
Additionally, understanding how cults function
contributes to survivors’ ability to recognize
warning signs and avoid repeating their
experiences with other relationships or groups.
Survivors may also benefit from understanding
common responses to existential terror and
worldview threats (Hayes, Schimel, &Williams,
2008). For many trauma survivors, the healing
process is painful and can be long and
overwhelming (Herman, 1997). By giving
survivors a framework within which to
understand both their cultic experiences and
their process in recovery, clinicians also give the
survivors a sense of purpose in their pain. Many
survivors, in turn, find that educating others
about the cultic experience and participating in
actions to help others is itself rewarding and
healing (Lifton, 1963 Matthews &Salazar,
2014).
Eye Movement Desensitization and
Reprocessing
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing
(EMDR) has been gaining popularity as a
trauma treatment because of its high rates of
success in resolving trauma in adults, along with
growing indications of its successful application
with children (Boukezzi et al., 2017 de Roos et
al., 2017 van der Kolk, 2015 van der Kolk et
al., 2007). EMDR involves a client tuning into a
distressing memory while undergoing bilateral
stimulation, the most common of which involves
visually following the fingers of the clinician to
stimulate a kind of rapid eye movement (EMDR
Institute, n.d.). Recent neuroimaging research
indicates that EMDR leads to increases in gray-
matter density in the medial prefrontal cortex, an
area of the brain that is often inhibited following
a traumatic event but which is key to emotion
regulation and higher-order processing
(Boukezzi et al., 2017 van der Kolk, 2014).
However, DeYoung (2009) has cautioned that
“cult members frequently remain afraid of any
type of procedure that hints of ‘mind control’ or
hypnosis-like techniques” (p. 148) and
recommends that clinicians help clients
understand how the process works. Survivors
may especially need to know that EMDR does
not require them to lose their orientation to
reality (EMDR Institute, n.d.). Rather, EMDR
assists a client in encountering a traumatic
memory in order to process and reintegrate it,
using an associative process that seems to mimic
the role of dreams (DeYoung, 2009 van der
Kolk, 2014).
In a 2009 case study, DeYoung related how he
used EMDR to successfully help a former cult
member process and integrate certain aspects of
her trauma, with a 3-year follow-up indicating
that treatment remained successful for the
specific targeted memories. However, DeYoung
(2009) noted that EMDR was not sufficient on
its own as a treatment and that other
interventions were necessary to address other
aspects of recovery. Van der Kolk and
colleagues (2007) found similar results related to
complex trauma in a study comparing EMDR to
fluoxetine and placebo. Although EMDR was
highly effective overall in the study, the
researchers found that it was most effective for
adult-onset PSTD, concluding that short-term
EMDR may not be sufficient for complex and
developmental trauma (van der Kolk et al.,
2007). Although EMDR is designed to help a
client remain engaged, Rosen (2014) has
expressed concern that EMDR may lack pacing
elements to prevent a client from becoming
overwhelmed with dissociation therefore, for
clients who lack the capacity to moderate their
dissociative responses, other interventions with
built-in stabilizers may be more appropriate.
Sandtray
In working with survivors who experienced
trauma, particularly developmental or relational
trauma, methods of externalizing and
symbolizing can be helpful in making the trauma