10 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 10, 2019
Historically, dissociation has been seen as
relatively negative. However, recent research
investigating the positive effects of dissociative
states indicates that dissociation in some
instances can activate healing by stimulating
social engagement with one’s self or with
transpersonal images (Granqvist, Gewirtz,
Mikulincer, &Shaver, 2012 Granqvist,
Hagekull, &Ivarsson, 2012 Stromsted, 2009
Tantia, 2012). Thus, helping clients learn to use
their dissociative states to reconnect with
themselves or to foster a spiritual sense outside
of the cult may ultimately be a more powerful
form of healing than trying to end dissociation.
With that being said, counselors should be
especially careful with their use of alternate
states. As with creativity, cults often use the
capacity for absorption and alternate states of
consciousness to further the influence over
members when they are more vulnerable to
suggestion and influence (Aguado, 2015
Jenkinson, 2010 Singer, 2003). It is especially
important with cult survivors that counselors
elicit meaning from the client rather than
imposing meaning on the client (Boik &
Goodwin, 2000). Moreover, clinicians should
never use an alternate state of consciousness
without first educating clients about the process,
what the risks are, and how they can make
informed choices to protect themselves. This
holds true for everything from deeply trance-like
processes such as authentic movement to
seemingly normative activities such as music
and dancing (Aguado, 2015 Nunes &Timoner,
2007 Tantia, 2012 Wolfe, 2011).
Ethical Issues
There are a number of ethical issues that
counselors should keep in mind in working with
survivors of cultic groups. Those associated with
power dynamics and cultural sensitivity are
particularly important.
Power and Control
Although multiple theoretical orientations can be
adapted to work effectively with cult survivors
(Eichel, 2016 Goldberg, 2006 Rosen, 2014), a
client-centered approach is imperative. Because
of the way power and authority are abused
within cultic environments, counselors run the
risk of repeating toxic power dynamics unless
there is active intention directed toward
deconstructing the power within the counselor-
client relationship (Matthews &Salazar, 2014
Rosen, 2014). Counselors who assume a savior-
like role run the risk of further inhibiting the
empowerment of the client (Herman, 1997)
additionally, treatments that take control away
from the client, perhaps by fostering obedience
or acquiescence to therapist instructions, may
seem effective in changing behaviors or
achieving goals, but ultimately may reinforce an
unhealthy power structure that fails to foster
either autonomy or critical thinking.
Survivors of cultic groups often come to
counseling in vulnerable states, many leaving
behind the very views with which they made
sense of the world. In many ways, survivors may
resemble children because the group has
deliberately stunted or regressed their
development (Singer, 2003 Ward, 2011). While
counselors may need to foster the emotional
growth of clients, they also must be conscious of
the fact that many clients may be looking for a
new anchor. Counselors need to be wary of
clients developing dependency on the counselor
as an authority figure to replace their lost leader
or group (Matthews &Salazar, 2014 Rosen,
2014).
Multicultural Concerns
Counselors must also show a willingness to
learn from their clients. A general knowledge of
cultic techniques is beneficial, but it cannot
replace the personal perspective and experience
of the individual (Matthews &Salazar, 2014
Rosen, 2014). This principle is especially
important when one considers the
intersectionality of various identities. None of
the literature I found for this paper examines the
specific experiences and needs of survivors who
fall under the Queer umbrella, or for survivors of
color, two populations that may have to contend
with discrimination or abuse in other arenas as
well.
As “invisible immigrants” (Rosen, 2014), cult
survivors often have a unique culture compared
to the surrounding community in which the cult
resides. Rosen (2014) emphasizes the
importance of not pathologizing culturally
different practices that may have been part of a

International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 10, 2019 11
cultic group’s beliefs or culture. When it comes
to family types, religious beliefs, or alternative
lifestyles, she reminds counselors to remember
that it is not necessarily the practices or beliefs
themselves that are toxic, but the abuse and
control of the group. Not everything within the
cultic group will have been toxic, and there may
be ways in which survivors feel their experience
was beneficial to them as well (Kendall, 2016
McKibbon et al., 2002). Survivors may want to
reclaim some of the positive cultural aspects of
the cult that still resonate with them, and to learn
how to incorporate those values and practices in
healthy ways (Rosen, 2014). Thus, for their
work with nontraditional families, minority
groups, and uncommon beliefs, counselors may
need to further educate themselves on
multicultural competencies.
Limitations to Application
Although I have attempted to present some of
the potential applications of some treatment
modalities in this article, it is limited largely
because of a lack of clinical research on this
particular population. Parallels can be drawn
between other populations such as refugees or
survivors of complex trauma and intimate
partner violence, but clinicians must keep in
mind that generalizations may be limited
(Herman, 1997 Rosen, 2014 van der Kolk,
2014). Even within the field of trauma research,
not much has been done to differentiate which
types of trauma may respond best to different
types of treatment (Brom et al., 2017 van der
Kolk, 2014). More research needs to be
conducted on the effectiveness of interventions
for complex, relational, or developmental trauma
versus single-incident trauma, and also on the
application of treatment modalities in the case of
comorbid diagnoses.
Conclusion
Cult survivors are a unique and often overlooked
population within the mental health field.
Working competently with a survivor to foster
recovery and healing requires knowledge of how
abusive systems can affect individuals. Although
cult survivors share similarities shared with
other types of populations, their experiences also
embody unique features that must be understood
and addressed (Singer, 2003). In this narrative
synthesis review, I have identified no single
treatment as the definitive way to work with
survivors of cultic abuse but a thorough
knowledge of trauma and cult theory can guide a
clinician in making informed choices about what
kinds of interventions may work best with
individual clients.
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