12 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 5, 2014
Cults: A Natural Disaster—
Looking at Cult Involvement Through a Trauma Lens
Shelly Rosen
Trauma Studies Center, Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy
Abstract
Recent advances in neuroscience, anthropology,
psychology, and economics have highlighted the
importance of social networks in human
behavior. The author argues that the propensity
for individuals to be drawn to nonkin groups is
hard-wired and epigenetic. Narcissistic cult
leaders are adept at creating cohesive groups
attractive to those who are most drawn to
nonkin groups—the altruists, idealists, and
transcendence seekers. The slow process of
indoctrination and social submission
perpetrated by both narcissistic leaders and the
cultic group dynamic is highly traumatizing to
members and their children. Those drawn to
cultic groups in adulthood are at risk for
symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD). People who are born and raised in
these groups are likely also to experience lags in
the development of or dissociation from their
own agency, identity, and core self-attributes,
characteristic of complex post-traumatic stress
disorder (C-PTSD). Longtime members who
leave groups suffer the trauma of immigration.
In addition, cult involvement is an under-
recognized phenomena, and members are often
labeled as pathological, which increases their
shame, guilt, and isolation. The author contends
that seeking group involvement with a
charismatic leader is natural and human, and
that cult involvement has the potential to induce
profoundly painful and traumatic stress
reactions. Rather than label cult involvement as
aberrant, it is more humane to label it a natural
disaster. Thus, cult involvement is akin to a
hurricane or earthquake in its ubiquity in human
history and its ability to shake people’s nervous
systems in profound ways. Finally, because of
the betrayal trauma induced by the leader, cult
involvement may be more traumatic than
surviving what we traditionally label mass
disasters.
Working with former members involves
understanding the severity of the trauma and the
power of group dynamics. This paper highlights
the special considerations necessary for
professionals who work with former cult
members. Best practices include stage-oriented
treatment that emphasizes stabilization and
psychoeducation.
Trauma Is in the Body, Not in the Event
On September 11th, 2001, Peter1 was working
in tower seven at the World Trade Center. He
looked out the window and saw what was
happening at tower one just as his brother John
stumbled into his office. Peter screamed, “John,
don’t look—we have got to go—the collapse
area of a building like this is huge!” Peter knew
this because he is a volunteer firefighter in
Yonkers. His coworkers stood frozen around
him, staring out the window. He dragged his
brother out of the building and they ran all the
way to Canal Street, where he aggressively
cornered a cab and sped home. Peter presented
as a client later that week. He was upbeat and
grateful, and he began working in a new
Manhattan office where he still works today. He
was somewhat nervous during his commute to
the city the first few weeks following 9/11, but
he had no symptoms of traumatic stress.
Another client, Michael, was between semesters
at graduate school when Linda, the girl he was
dating, brought him to an all-day workshop that
combined his interests in politics and
psychotherapy. The charismatic speaker at the
workshop reached Michael, who was soon
working long hours distributing leaflets and
1 All clinical material in this paper disguises the identity of the
patients mentioned furthermore, although the vignettes did
happen, they sometimes represent a composite, pieces of
experience drawn from different clients.
Cults: A Natural Disaster—
Looking at Cult Involvement Through a Trauma Lens
Shelly Rosen
Trauma Studies Center, Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy
Abstract
Recent advances in neuroscience, anthropology,
psychology, and economics have highlighted the
importance of social networks in human
behavior. The author argues that the propensity
for individuals to be drawn to nonkin groups is
hard-wired and epigenetic. Narcissistic cult
leaders are adept at creating cohesive groups
attractive to those who are most drawn to
nonkin groups—the altruists, idealists, and
transcendence seekers. The slow process of
indoctrination and social submission
perpetrated by both narcissistic leaders and the
cultic group dynamic is highly traumatizing to
members and their children. Those drawn to
cultic groups in adulthood are at risk for
symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD). People who are born and raised in
these groups are likely also to experience lags in
the development of or dissociation from their
own agency, identity, and core self-attributes,
characteristic of complex post-traumatic stress
disorder (C-PTSD). Longtime members who
leave groups suffer the trauma of immigration.
In addition, cult involvement is an under-
recognized phenomena, and members are often
labeled as pathological, which increases their
shame, guilt, and isolation. The author contends
that seeking group involvement with a
charismatic leader is natural and human, and
that cult involvement has the potential to induce
profoundly painful and traumatic stress
reactions. Rather than label cult involvement as
aberrant, it is more humane to label it a natural
disaster. Thus, cult involvement is akin to a
hurricane or earthquake in its ubiquity in human
history and its ability to shake people’s nervous
systems in profound ways. Finally, because of
the betrayal trauma induced by the leader, cult
involvement may be more traumatic than
surviving what we traditionally label mass
disasters.
Working with former members involves
understanding the severity of the trauma and the
power of group dynamics. This paper highlights
the special considerations necessary for
professionals who work with former cult
members. Best practices include stage-oriented
treatment that emphasizes stabilization and
psychoeducation.
Trauma Is in the Body, Not in the Event
On September 11th, 2001, Peter1 was working
in tower seven at the World Trade Center. He
looked out the window and saw what was
happening at tower one just as his brother John
stumbled into his office. Peter screamed, “John,
don’t look—we have got to go—the collapse
area of a building like this is huge!” Peter knew
this because he is a volunteer firefighter in
Yonkers. His coworkers stood frozen around
him, staring out the window. He dragged his
brother out of the building and they ran all the
way to Canal Street, where he aggressively
cornered a cab and sped home. Peter presented
as a client later that week. He was upbeat and
grateful, and he began working in a new
Manhattan office where he still works today. He
was somewhat nervous during his commute to
the city the first few weeks following 9/11, but
he had no symptoms of traumatic stress.
Another client, Michael, was between semesters
at graduate school when Linda, the girl he was
dating, brought him to an all-day workshop that
combined his interests in politics and
psychotherapy. The charismatic speaker at the
workshop reached Michael, who was soon
working long hours distributing leaflets and
1 All clinical material in this paper disguises the identity of the
patients mentioned furthermore, although the vignettes did
happen, they sometimes represent a composite, pieces of
experience drawn from different clients.
