International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 8, 2017 41
relationships, marriage relationships, and
boss/employee relationships. Counselors can
help clients strengthen their personal thoughts
and beliefs by teaching assertiveness skills and
the difference between aggressiveness and
assertiveness, increasing their client’s power and
ability to say “no,” and strengthening their
clients’ ability to rationally weigh an authority
figure’s words to them (Singh &Salazar, 2010).
Theme 3: Decision Making
Related to obedience to authority, all
participants discussed how all decisions were
made by the cult leaders, or in some cases,
fathers in the community. Cult members and
family members were not allowed to question
the authority or decisions of leaders. One
participant stated, “All decisions were made by
the leader—guilt, shame, and shunning occurred
if you hadn’t accepted him as your leader or
accepted his decisions.” Another stated, “The
leader taught that he alone understood the mind
of God his church members needed only to get
the mind of God by listening to and obeying the
leader.” Another shared, “I just did what I was
told. I followed directions and I was
submissive.” Many participants mentioned that
physical, emotional, or psychological abuse
would follow if decisions made by the leader
were not followed.
Some participants left because they were tired of
obeying and blindly following leader decisions.
Once they left, participants experienced
difficulty with black and white or polarized
thinking, magical thinking, and trying to find the
one right answer to a problem or question. One
individual mentioned, “I had to rethink every
single decision to see if it fit or whether it was
‘cult think.’” Similarly, Boeri (2002) noted that
individuals born and raised in a cult had very
little experience with decision making and were
entirely dependent on the leaders in the cult.
Combined with very little employment training
or education, many former members can find it
extremely difficult to function independently
and make decisions on their own once leaving
the cult.
Counselors can teach SGA clients about mind
control and how it impacted their thinking.
Lifton’s criteria for mind control (1961) can be
discussed in terms of how cult leaders
manipulated and controlled members’ thoughts.
Counselors can also teach goal-setting and
decision-making skills by practicing with small
goals and decisions. Because mistakes are often
punished in cults, helping clients learn from
mistakes would be useful in teaching self-
acceptance. Discussing grey areas in decision
making would also help clients move away from
polarized or black and white thinking.
Empowering clients to make decisions on their
own could strengthen former members in their
ability to move forward toward independence
(Singh &Salazar, 2010 Toporek, Lewis, &
Crether, 2009).
Theme 4: Group and Relationship Support
In a cult, all relationship support comes from the
group because members are isolated from the
outside world. Cult leaders utilize isolation as a
means of control and to ensure members’ loyalty
and fidelity (Lalich &Tobias, 2006 Singer,
2003). Likewise, for participants in this study,
all relationship support came from within the
cult because they had no outside ties or means of
connecting with the outside world or persons.
For those raised in a compound, homeschooling
was the norm, and going outside the compound
was allowed only under direct supervision.
Those living in the outside world were taught to
“Be in the world but not of the world.” Because
of the isolation, most participants dated, courted,
and married within the group, thus solidifying
the isolation of the cult structure. Several
participants stated, “Outside influences and
associations were bad,” “The cult is where
safety is and where God is,” and “Be with us
[the cult] and be separate from the world.”
During the leaving process, almost all
participants had been shunned or ostracized by
other cult members. One participant stated,
“Every person that I had ever known in my
entire life were [sic] not allowed to speak to me
at all, even a greeting. I had to start over
socially.” Another conveyed, “Because I grew
up in [the cult] I lost everything.” Today, many
participants discuss how they are continuing to
deal with the loss of family and friends, loss of
their personal history, and feelings of being
judged by others outside of the cult because of
relationships, marriage relationships, and
boss/employee relationships. Counselors can
help clients strengthen their personal thoughts
and beliefs by teaching assertiveness skills and
the difference between aggressiveness and
assertiveness, increasing their client’s power and
ability to say “no,” and strengthening their
clients’ ability to rationally weigh an authority
figure’s words to them (Singh &Salazar, 2010).
Theme 3: Decision Making
Related to obedience to authority, all
participants discussed how all decisions were
made by the cult leaders, or in some cases,
fathers in the community. Cult members and
family members were not allowed to question
the authority or decisions of leaders. One
participant stated, “All decisions were made by
the leader—guilt, shame, and shunning occurred
if you hadn’t accepted him as your leader or
accepted his decisions.” Another stated, “The
leader taught that he alone understood the mind
of God his church members needed only to get
the mind of God by listening to and obeying the
leader.” Another shared, “I just did what I was
told. I followed directions and I was
submissive.” Many participants mentioned that
physical, emotional, or psychological abuse
would follow if decisions made by the leader
were not followed.
Some participants left because they were tired of
obeying and blindly following leader decisions.
Once they left, participants experienced
difficulty with black and white or polarized
thinking, magical thinking, and trying to find the
one right answer to a problem or question. One
individual mentioned, “I had to rethink every
single decision to see if it fit or whether it was
‘cult think.’” Similarly, Boeri (2002) noted that
individuals born and raised in a cult had very
little experience with decision making and were
entirely dependent on the leaders in the cult.
Combined with very little employment training
or education, many former members can find it
extremely difficult to function independently
and make decisions on their own once leaving
the cult.
Counselors can teach SGA clients about mind
control and how it impacted their thinking.
Lifton’s criteria for mind control (1961) can be
discussed in terms of how cult leaders
manipulated and controlled members’ thoughts.
Counselors can also teach goal-setting and
decision-making skills by practicing with small
goals and decisions. Because mistakes are often
punished in cults, helping clients learn from
mistakes would be useful in teaching self-
acceptance. Discussing grey areas in decision
making would also help clients move away from
polarized or black and white thinking.
Empowering clients to make decisions on their
own could strengthen former members in their
ability to move forward toward independence
(Singh &Salazar, 2010 Toporek, Lewis, &
Crether, 2009).
Theme 4: Group and Relationship Support
In a cult, all relationship support comes from the
group because members are isolated from the
outside world. Cult leaders utilize isolation as a
means of control and to ensure members’ loyalty
and fidelity (Lalich &Tobias, 2006 Singer,
2003). Likewise, for participants in this study,
all relationship support came from within the
cult because they had no outside ties or means of
connecting with the outside world or persons.
For those raised in a compound, homeschooling
was the norm, and going outside the compound
was allowed only under direct supervision.
Those living in the outside world were taught to
“Be in the world but not of the world.” Because
of the isolation, most participants dated, courted,
and married within the group, thus solidifying
the isolation of the cult structure. Several
participants stated, “Outside influences and
associations were bad,” “The cult is where
safety is and where God is,” and “Be with us
[the cult] and be separate from the world.”
During the leaving process, almost all
participants had been shunned or ostracized by
other cult members. One participant stated,
“Every person that I had ever known in my
entire life were [sic] not allowed to speak to me
at all, even a greeting. I had to start over
socially.” Another conveyed, “Because I grew
up in [the cult] I lost everything.” Today, many
participants discuss how they are continuing to
deal with the loss of family and friends, loss of
their personal history, and feelings of being
judged by others outside of the cult because of
