44 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 8, 2017
public humiliation, intimidation, and threats. “I
was yelled at I was put on the spot in front of
everybody I was silenced for a week, berated,
and then told, it was ‘because we love you.’”
Some participants even talked about how they
were manipulated into and participated in the
abuse of disobedient or defiant members. They
discussed the guilt and shame they experienced
because of the abuse, and how they left because
they could not tolerate inflicting abuse upon
others. “With the leader’s approval, I would take
initiative to verbally attack anyone in the church
who was not following the program … He
intentionally used me to reprimand members of
my own family.”
Several participants discussed how they had to
leave because they were so angry, depressed,
and even physically ill because of the abuse.
One spoke of her meetings with doctors
regarding her physical illness and how together
they made the connection that cult abuse was
causing the physical illness. One participant
reported, “I was scared all the time. I had never
had nightmares before [a particular abusive
incident]. I had problems sleeping and my
thoughts were racing too much.”
During the leaving period, almost all participants
suffered some sort of abuse from the other cult
members, including threats, shunning, being cut
off from family members physically and
financially, and so on. As one participant stated,
“Everybody turns their back on you and they
can’t talk to you. You are dead.” Today,
participants report that they still deal with
depression, anger, guilt, shame, PTSD, and some
physical symptoms, and they still feel vulnerable
to the abuse of others in terms of trust and lack
of trust in relationships. One stated, “I don’t
think I am going to feel whole ever again. It is
rooted in me.” Participants who were parents
expressed concern regarding disciplining their
own children and tended to lean toward leniency
in discipline because they did not want to inflict
harm or damage upon their children. “I have a
son who[m] I am very permissive with. I can’t
tolerate the thought of anyone hitting him. It
worries me that I am so permissive.”
Counselors can assess for past abuse and trauma
of former cult members and help unravel threats
and curses from current members as they occur.
They can explore with SGAs their own guilt and
personal shame about past abuses toward others
in the cult, putting those abuses in the context of
thought reform and manipulation. Counselors
can also explore discipline techniques and
effective parent education.
Theme 8: Outside Influences
Because these former cult members were
separated from the outside world while in the
cult, they saw outside influences such as work,
school, and counseling as evil and to be avoided.
Many were homeschooled to keep their
education in compliance with cult teachings.
One participant reported, “People of the world—
they were bad associations that would lead to
bad habits. You were not to associate with those
people.” If participants did participate in outside
organizations, they were chastened to be “in the
world but not of the world”: “If you were part of
the world you were going to be destroyed. …
Outside-world individuals were seen as
acquaintances and inside people were seen as
friends.” In all instances, participants were
expected to donate all time, energy, and money
to the cult. One explained, “My whole life was
the church.” Schooling itself was often
discouraged because it was a negative influence,
as one person stated: “You need to get out of
college—you have everything in life from your
parents” and another was told, “Jesus could
come at any moment and it is a waste of time to
educate yourself.”
Several participants found that, when they did
seek outside educational and counseling
experiences, they found new ways of thinking,
doing, and being. Several explained how classes
started them thinking about things they had not
considered before and strengthened them in their
resolve to leave. Almost all reported that they
felt behind in education, finances, and
employment. Because all their time had been
spent working in the cult, they had not had the
opportunity to advance their own skills and
abilities. “I kind of feel like I’m from another
age sometimes. Like I’m from another time. Out
of time. And that will never change” and “There
were a lot of gaps and a lot of things that I knew
nothing about, but it wasn’t going to stop me.”
public humiliation, intimidation, and threats. “I
was yelled at I was put on the spot in front of
everybody I was silenced for a week, berated,
and then told, it was ‘because we love you.’”
Some participants even talked about how they
were manipulated into and participated in the
abuse of disobedient or defiant members. They
discussed the guilt and shame they experienced
because of the abuse, and how they left because
they could not tolerate inflicting abuse upon
others. “With the leader’s approval, I would take
initiative to verbally attack anyone in the church
who was not following the program … He
intentionally used me to reprimand members of
my own family.”
Several participants discussed how they had to
leave because they were so angry, depressed,
and even physically ill because of the abuse.
One spoke of her meetings with doctors
regarding her physical illness and how together
they made the connection that cult abuse was
causing the physical illness. One participant
reported, “I was scared all the time. I had never
had nightmares before [a particular abusive
incident]. I had problems sleeping and my
thoughts were racing too much.”
During the leaving period, almost all participants
suffered some sort of abuse from the other cult
members, including threats, shunning, being cut
off from family members physically and
financially, and so on. As one participant stated,
“Everybody turns their back on you and they
can’t talk to you. You are dead.” Today,
participants report that they still deal with
depression, anger, guilt, shame, PTSD, and some
physical symptoms, and they still feel vulnerable
to the abuse of others in terms of trust and lack
of trust in relationships. One stated, “I don’t
think I am going to feel whole ever again. It is
rooted in me.” Participants who were parents
expressed concern regarding disciplining their
own children and tended to lean toward leniency
in discipline because they did not want to inflict
harm or damage upon their children. “I have a
son who[m] I am very permissive with. I can’t
tolerate the thought of anyone hitting him. It
worries me that I am so permissive.”
Counselors can assess for past abuse and trauma
of former cult members and help unravel threats
and curses from current members as they occur.
They can explore with SGAs their own guilt and
personal shame about past abuses toward others
in the cult, putting those abuses in the context of
thought reform and manipulation. Counselors
can also explore discipline techniques and
effective parent education.
Theme 8: Outside Influences
Because these former cult members were
separated from the outside world while in the
cult, they saw outside influences such as work,
school, and counseling as evil and to be avoided.
Many were homeschooled to keep their
education in compliance with cult teachings.
One participant reported, “People of the world—
they were bad associations that would lead to
bad habits. You were not to associate with those
people.” If participants did participate in outside
organizations, they were chastened to be “in the
world but not of the world”: “If you were part of
the world you were going to be destroyed. …
Outside-world individuals were seen as
acquaintances and inside people were seen as
friends.” In all instances, participants were
expected to donate all time, energy, and money
to the cult. One explained, “My whole life was
the church.” Schooling itself was often
discouraged because it was a negative influence,
as one person stated: “You need to get out of
college—you have everything in life from your
parents” and another was told, “Jesus could
come at any moment and it is a waste of time to
educate yourself.”
Several participants found that, when they did
seek outside educational and counseling
experiences, they found new ways of thinking,
doing, and being. Several explained how classes
started them thinking about things they had not
considered before and strengthened them in their
resolve to leave. Almost all reported that they
felt behind in education, finances, and
employment. Because all their time had been
spent working in the cult, they had not had the
opportunity to advance their own skills and
abilities. “I kind of feel like I’m from another
age sometimes. Like I’m from another time. Out
of time. And that will never change” and “There
were a lot of gaps and a lot of things that I knew
nothing about, but it wasn’t going to stop me.”
