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
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
