violated—for any bit of recognition they could
get from the leader they idealized. One of the
reasons many of the people who leave cultic
groups choose not to identify their own
experience as abusive is because to do so would
mean acknowledging an extraordinary degree of
grief over the loss of a deeply cherished,
idealized attachment connected to their most
cherished hopes about themselves and about life,
along with the unleashing of an extraordinary
degree of shame about their own self-deception
and gullibility, and shame and rage about the
amount of abuse they were willing to endure for
the sake of maintaining their tie to the leader.
Eventually, the realization that their devotion
and labor within in the group led to no real
personal growth, and to no significant
contribution to society, will also become a
source of deep shame and regret.
I speak to many people who report not feeling
understood, and even feeling doubted or blamed,
when they have tried to describe their cult
experience to a therapist. It is important to
assess the reality testing of a former member
whose narrative is particularly “crazy,” because
some people who have left cults may have a
prior history of thought disorder or more serious
mental illness such as bipolar disorder or
schizophrenia. Even without a prior history,
some therapy patients suffering post-cult
traumatic stress can experience paranoid
ideation or flashes of psychosis that the therapist
should explore carefully to determine whether
those responses have any basis in reality. It is
important for therapists to recognize that the
range of behaviors in cultic groups can include
bizarre and sometimes criminal activities.
Many people have also reported to me that they
were recruited into a cult while they were in
therapy, and that they wondered why the
therapist neglected to find out about the group
and bring information to their attention. Perhaps
most unfortunately, many people have been
recruited into cultic groups by their therapists—
therapists may have signs on display in their
offices of a particular group with which they are
affiliated, such as photos of the leader, altars,
books, recordings, incense, and other
paraphernalia.
My colleagues at the ICSA and I are aware of a
tremendous amount of abuse in cultic groups,
worldwide, that never makes the headlines and
that goes unnoticed, even in the mental-health
community, in the same way that the sexual
abuse of children, or rape, or the battering of
women by violent partners once went unnoticed.
In fact, former members very often describe the
experience of being abused in a cult as akin to
what it must be like to experience incest, rape, or
battering. Although we can compare the
betrayal and violation that occurs in cults to
some aspects of rape and incest, what truly
corresponds is the lack of empathetic witnessing
many former cultists experience with friends,
family, and therapists as they make their way
through postcult recovery.
References
Bach, S. (1985). Narcissistic states and the therapeutic process.
New York, NY: Jason Aronson.
Bach, S. (1994). The language of perversion and the language of
love. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
Bateson, G., Jackson, D. D., Haley, J., &Weakland, J. (1956)
Toward a theory of schizophrenia. Behavioral Science, 1, 251–264.
Fairbairn, R. (1952). Psychoanalytic studies of the personality.
London, England: Tavistock Publications.
Lifton, R. J. (1961). Thought reform and the psychology of
totalism: A study of “brainwashing” in China. New York, NY:
Norton.
Lifton, R. J. (2000). Destroying the world to save it: Aum
Shinrikyo, apocalyptic violence, and the new global terrorism.
New York, NY: Macmillan.
Rosenfeld, H. (1965). Psychotic states: A psychoanalytical
approach. London, England: Hogarth Press.
Singer, E. (1968). The reluctance to interpret. In E. F. Hammer
(Ed.), Use of interpretation in treatment (pp. 364–371). New York,
NY: Grune &Stratton.
Singer, M. and Lalich, J. (1996). Crazy therapies: What are they?
Do they work? San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
About the Author
Daniel Shaw, LCSW, is a psychoanalyst in
private practice in New York City and Nyack,
New York Faculty and Clinical Supervisor, The
National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP),
New York, New York and former cochair,
Continuing Education Committee, The
International Association for Relational
Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. Shaw spent
13 years as a staff member in Siddha Yoga
10 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 5, 2014
get from the leader they idealized. One of the
reasons many of the people who leave cultic
groups choose not to identify their own
experience as abusive is because to do so would
mean acknowledging an extraordinary degree of
grief over the loss of a deeply cherished,
idealized attachment connected to their most
cherished hopes about themselves and about life,
along with the unleashing of an extraordinary
degree of shame about their own self-deception
and gullibility, and shame and rage about the
amount of abuse they were willing to endure for
the sake of maintaining their tie to the leader.
Eventually, the realization that their devotion
and labor within in the group led to no real
personal growth, and to no significant
contribution to society, will also become a
source of deep shame and regret.
I speak to many people who report not feeling
understood, and even feeling doubted or blamed,
when they have tried to describe their cult
experience to a therapist. It is important to
assess the reality testing of a former member
whose narrative is particularly “crazy,” because
some people who have left cults may have a
prior history of thought disorder or more serious
mental illness such as bipolar disorder or
schizophrenia. Even without a prior history,
some therapy patients suffering post-cult
traumatic stress can experience paranoid
ideation or flashes of psychosis that the therapist
should explore carefully to determine whether
those responses have any basis in reality. It is
important for therapists to recognize that the
range of behaviors in cultic groups can include
bizarre and sometimes criminal activities.
Many people have also reported to me that they
were recruited into a cult while they were in
therapy, and that they wondered why the
therapist neglected to find out about the group
and bring information to their attention. Perhaps
most unfortunately, many people have been
recruited into cultic groups by their therapists—
therapists may have signs on display in their
offices of a particular group with which they are
affiliated, such as photos of the leader, altars,
books, recordings, incense, and other
paraphernalia.
My colleagues at the ICSA and I are aware of a
tremendous amount of abuse in cultic groups,
worldwide, that never makes the headlines and
that goes unnoticed, even in the mental-health
community, in the same way that the sexual
abuse of children, or rape, or the battering of
women by violent partners once went unnoticed.
In fact, former members very often describe the
experience of being abused in a cult as akin to
what it must be like to experience incest, rape, or
battering. Although we can compare the
betrayal and violation that occurs in cults to
some aspects of rape and incest, what truly
corresponds is the lack of empathetic witnessing
many former cultists experience with friends,
family, and therapists as they make their way
through postcult recovery.
References
Bach, S. (1985). Narcissistic states and the therapeutic process.
New York, NY: Jason Aronson.
Bach, S. (1994). The language of perversion and the language of
love. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
Bateson, G., Jackson, D. D., Haley, J., &Weakland, J. (1956)
Toward a theory of schizophrenia. Behavioral Science, 1, 251–264.
Fairbairn, R. (1952). Psychoanalytic studies of the personality.
London, England: Tavistock Publications.
Lifton, R. J. (1961). Thought reform and the psychology of
totalism: A study of “brainwashing” in China. New York, NY:
Norton.
Lifton, R. J. (2000). Destroying the world to save it: Aum
Shinrikyo, apocalyptic violence, and the new global terrorism.
New York, NY: Macmillan.
Rosenfeld, H. (1965). Psychotic states: A psychoanalytical
approach. London, England: Hogarth Press.
Singer, E. (1968). The reluctance to interpret. In E. F. Hammer
(Ed.), Use of interpretation in treatment (pp. 364–371). New York,
NY: Grune &Stratton.
Singer, M. and Lalich, J. (1996). Crazy therapies: What are they?
Do they work? San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
About the Author
Daniel Shaw, LCSW, is a psychoanalyst in
private practice in New York City and Nyack,
New York Faculty and Clinical Supervisor, The
National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP),
New York, New York and former cochair,
Continuing Education Committee, The
International Association for Relational
Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. Shaw spent
13 years as a staff member in Siddha Yoga
10 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 5, 2014
