2 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 10, 2019
trauma and abuse, and to have recovery needs as
a result, the various sections should not be
misunderstood to apply universally to every
person who has been in or come out of a cult.
Therefore, I encourage readers not to get caught
up in defining a client’s experience for the client
at the expense of looking at the client’s
therapeutic goals and needs.
Practical Issues
Survivors of cultic groups share similarities with
other populations, such as domestic-violence
survivors and immigrants, particularly regarding
practical matters that the survivors may need to
address with the aid of a counselor (Herman,
1997 Kendall, 2016 Rosen, 2014 Singer,
2003). Those who come out of cultic groups
may have experienced an inordinate amount of
control exercised over their everyday lives
(Hassan, 1990 Herman, 1997 Lalich &
McLaren, 2018 Singer, 2003). Leaving one’s
group often means losing not just an ideology
but a support network, a livelihood, and even a
home (Kendall, 2016 Lalich &McLaren, 2018
Matthews &Salazar, 2014 Singer, 2003).
Consequently, helping stabilize a survivor by
addressing immediate and practical needs is
paramount (Rosen, 2014).
Moreover, for many individuals coming out of
highly controlling or abusive situations, leaving
is not a process that happens all at once (Brown
et al., 2005 Eichel, 2016 Herman, 1997 Lalich
&McLaren, 2018). Counselors may watch
clients return to a group or get involved in
another group multiple times (Eichel, 2016
Hassan, 1990). In instances of domestic
violence, researchers have found that it can take
multiple attempts for a person to leave before
leaving becomes final (Brown et al., 2005).
Intermittent therapy is by no means an indication
of failure of treatment (Eichel, 2016). Rather,
the cycle of leaving and returning may be a
process of one gathering the necessary internal
resources to make a permanent choice (Brown et
al., 2005 Herman, 1997). Therefore, clinicians
need to be able to allow clients the autonomy to
come and go as needed, and to provide a space
that promises respect for clients’ autonomy and
support that contrasts with the control of the
group (Eichel, 2016). To this end, Eichel (2016)
recommends pairing treatment with motivational
interviewing to ensure that interventions meet
survivors wherever they are in their process.
Stabilizing a clients’ immediate needs as much
as possible is often a primary step in therapy
(Rosen, 2014). Certain basic necessities, such as
clients finding a place to live and acquiring a
job, may need to be addressed before other types
of therapeutic work become an option (Rosen,
2014 Singer, 2003). In this context, it’s
important for clinicians to be aware of how
profound the culture shock may be for survivors
of cultic groups (Kendall, 2016 Lifton, 1963
Rosen, 2014 Singer, 2003). Rosen (2014) dubs
cult survivors “invisible immigrants” (p. 21)
who often experience difficulties in transitioning
similar to those acclimating to a new location
from other countries (Kendall, 2016 Rosen,
2014 Singer, 2003). Many survivors may need
to develop new skills to handle money, seek
medical care, and engage in various other tasks
and make other decisions that a clinician might
take for granted (Goldberg, 2006 Kendall,
2016 Singer, 2003).
If a survivor comes from a group in which
employment was strictly controlled or kept
within the confines of the group, the survivor
may need assistance with finding a job. Often in
situations of emotional or physical dependence,
finding employment and managing finances
become key in empowering someone to break
free (Brown et al., 2005) however, in such cases
in which lack of employment is a barrier to
one’s leaving a group, a survivor may also lack
relevant work experience. Like survivors of
intimate-partner violence, cult survivors can
learn to reframe the skills they used for survival
into marketable language on a resume
(Goldberg, 2006 Kendall, 2016 Morris,
Shoffner, &Newsome, 2009).
Developmental Concerns
Counselors must be aware of both the similar
and unique developmental aspects of recovery
for both first- and second-generation survivors
Frequently, survivors may struggle with issues
related to decision-making and may find
themselves grappling with rigid, black-and-
white thinking instilled by the group.

International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 10, 2019 3
Decision-Making Dilemmas
For adults who entered a cultic situation later in
life (first-generation survivors), the demands,
control, and absolute power of the group over
the individual can have a regressive effect,
infantilizing those who find themselves
dependent on the leader or group for making
decisions they previously might have been able
to make on their own (Ward, 2011). Healing
requires that they regain a sense of autonomy
around their decision-making and life choices
(Hassan, 1990 Singer, 2003).
Those who were raised in a group or brought in
at a young age (second-generation survivors)
face even more challenges around
developmental recovery (Goldberg, 2006
Kendall, 2016 Lalich &McLaren, 2018
Matthews &Salazar, 2014 Singer, 2003). With
no outside influence during their critical stages
of development, their personalities were formed
within the cult (Matthews &Salazar, 2014
Singer, 2003). As such, they have no former
identity on which to draw (Goldberg, 2006
Kendall, 2016 Lalich &McLaren, 2018 Lifton,
1963 Matthews &Salazar, 2014 Singer, 2003).
As a result, many second-generation survivors
may find choices overwhelming because they
have had no previous opportunities to make
decisions on their own (Matthews &Salazar,
2014). In interviews with second-generation
survivors, Matthews and Salazar (2014) found
that the extreme black-and-white thinking of the
cult makes decision-making a terrifying
experience whereby survivors search for the
“one right answer” (p. 194). The concept that
there may be multiple good choices or nuance to
choice seems foreign.
Although some clients may be eager to assume
responsibility for their choices and decisions,
others may look to the therapist as a surrogate
authority (Matthews &Salazar, 2014).
Counselors should resist making decisions for
clients and encourage them to develop autonomy
and competence around decision-making at the
same time, they need to be mindful of the
developmental limitations clients may have. In
such cases, clients may need scaffolding and
guidance in making their own decisions, with
the counselor walking clients through the
process of thinking through a choice.
A Black-and-White World
Both first- and second-generation survivors must
fight conditioning for absolute obedience
(Matthews &Salazar, 2014 Singer, 2003 Ward,
2011) however, second-generation survivors
also have to contend with the developmental
effects of such a rigid environment. Just as the
cult world is split into us versus them, good
versus evil, and right versus wrong, a child
growing up in a cultic environment may
experience a similar internal splitting that
associates the infantilized, obedient parts of the
child with the “good” group, and the
individuating parts that begin to develop as the
child ages with the “bad” outside world
(Goldberg, 2006). Many children have been
taught that any type of questioning or
individuality is rebellion or sin (Kendall, 2016
Lalich &McLaren, 2018 Matthews &Salazar,
2014 Singer, 2003).
The splitting of the “good” and “bad” parts of
self tends to lead to the development of a secret
self (Lalich &McLaren, 2018 Lifton, 1963
Matthews &Salazar, 2014 Rosen, 2014).
Because the secret self often holds the parts of
the survivor that craved freedom and autonomy,
the secret self is a valuable tool in the recovery
process (Matthews &Salazar, 2014 Rosen,
2014). It is important for counselors to strive for
the client to join with the secret self,
destigmatizing the desire for individual
expression and validating the authenticity of the
secret self. However, counselors also need to be
aware of the risk of continued splitting
(Goldberg, 2006 Lalich &McLaren, 2018). A
client who is unable to integrate the seemingly
opposing aspects of character may switch to
splitting off and denying the cultic experience in
an attempt to distance from the emotional pain
and turmoil. Rosen (2014) underscores the role
that friendships can play in helping the client
break out of rigid, black-and-white thinking,
stating that “learning to hear many opinions and
to digest or reject those opinions can be
enormously centering” (p. 24).
While the freedom to decide what to accept and
believe may be liberating in some respects, it