16 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 3, 2012
leader. As the group becomes more
authoritarian, the intensity of the absolute belief
system and demand for personal commitment to
the leader’s ideals increase. Simultaneously, in
cults, followers are induced to suppress negative
feelings or doubts about the leader and the cult
experience.
Throughout history, dangerous charismatic cult
leaders have appealed to a wide range of
individuals, with troubling consequences. These
charismatic individuals have led (usually) young
people, often idealistic, naïve, and hungry for a
powerful parental figure, to their potential
destruction. Lifton (1999) explains, in his book
on Aum Shinrikyo, that those who are recruited
to extremist groups often respond to the promise
of being on the path to honor some version of
God they come to see their deaths as a way to
provide dramatic meaning and importance to
their lives.
Aberbach (1995) has theorized that the
alienation and uncertainly that crisis breeds may
bond group members with a charismatic leader
in a way that eliminates their respective senses
of alienation and anomie. Adding to Aberbach’s
understanding of the defensive nature of the
leader, Shaw (2003) views the cult leader as
experiencing his dependency needs as so
shameful that he utilizes a delusion of
omnipotence to ward off this intense shame. He
states,
Manic defenses help sustain the
delusion, but in addition, followers must
be seduced and controlled so that the
loathsome dependence can be
externalized, located in others and
thereby made controllable… So while
apparently inviting others to attain his
state of perfection (shamelessness) by
following him, the cult leader is actually
constantly involved in inducing shame
in his followers, thereby maintaining his
dominance and control. (p. 111)
This shame induced in the cult members further
propels them to purge their former selves in
order to be pure.
In my clinical work, I have treated many former
members of cults who have shown the
aftereffects of life with a narcissistic, paranoid,
and/or antisocial charismatic cult leader. These
cult leaders have unleashed their worst impulses
on their own members and on the larger society.2
Over time, the ex-cultists with whom I have
worked have reflected on and come to a better
understanding of how this abusive relationship
has impacted their personalities and their present
lives. Although I have focused in the past on the
antisocial acts cult leaders have perpetrated on
followers (including physical and sexual abuse,
slave labor, financial exploitation, etc.), I have
not described how cult members, after being
seduced by these leaders, might begin to
perform antisocial acts toward other cult
members and society at large and become
victimizers themselves. Although most cult
members have learned to deceive those outside
the cult, middle-management former cultists
often were also in the position to deceive, abuse,
and exploit lower-level members. Some of these
cult members may have had antisocial
personality tendencies prior to their cult
involvement. However, in therapy I have seen
only former cult members who were troubled by
and have shown remorse for antisocial
characteristics they displayed within the cult.
The Cult Leader’s Interaction With My
Client’s Unique Character Features That
Resulted in the Transformation of Her
Moral Code
To illustrate the cult leader’s influence on my
client’s character, I will concentrate on two
areas: First, I will demonstrate how therapy
served to increase my client’s understanding of
herself, particularly the inner and outer forces
that brought her into the cult. Secondly, I will
indicate how the psycho-educational model was
integrated into therapy to enrich and reinforce
the client’s awareness of how cult manipulations
and her complementary responses to this served
to modify her beliefs and behaviors.
2 Kernberg’s (1986) description of “malignant narcissist” is
applicable to this group of individuals: Kernberg highlights
paranoid regressive tendencies, chronic self-destructiveness or
suicidal behavior, antisocial behavior, and malignant grandiosity
with overt sadistic efforts. These behaviors are utilized in the
service of triumphing over all authority (p. 195).
leader. As the group becomes more
authoritarian, the intensity of the absolute belief
system and demand for personal commitment to
the leader’s ideals increase. Simultaneously, in
cults, followers are induced to suppress negative
feelings or doubts about the leader and the cult
experience.
Throughout history, dangerous charismatic cult
leaders have appealed to a wide range of
individuals, with troubling consequences. These
charismatic individuals have led (usually) young
people, often idealistic, naïve, and hungry for a
powerful parental figure, to their potential
destruction. Lifton (1999) explains, in his book
on Aum Shinrikyo, that those who are recruited
to extremist groups often respond to the promise
of being on the path to honor some version of
God they come to see their deaths as a way to
provide dramatic meaning and importance to
their lives.
Aberbach (1995) has theorized that the
alienation and uncertainly that crisis breeds may
bond group members with a charismatic leader
in a way that eliminates their respective senses
of alienation and anomie. Adding to Aberbach’s
understanding of the defensive nature of the
leader, Shaw (2003) views the cult leader as
experiencing his dependency needs as so
shameful that he utilizes a delusion of
omnipotence to ward off this intense shame. He
states,
Manic defenses help sustain the
delusion, but in addition, followers must
be seduced and controlled so that the
loathsome dependence can be
externalized, located in others and
thereby made controllable… So while
apparently inviting others to attain his
state of perfection (shamelessness) by
following him, the cult leader is actually
constantly involved in inducing shame
in his followers, thereby maintaining his
dominance and control. (p. 111)
This shame induced in the cult members further
propels them to purge their former selves in
order to be pure.
In my clinical work, I have treated many former
members of cults who have shown the
aftereffects of life with a narcissistic, paranoid,
and/or antisocial charismatic cult leader. These
cult leaders have unleashed their worst impulses
on their own members and on the larger society.2
Over time, the ex-cultists with whom I have
worked have reflected on and come to a better
understanding of how this abusive relationship
has impacted their personalities and their present
lives. Although I have focused in the past on the
antisocial acts cult leaders have perpetrated on
followers (including physical and sexual abuse,
slave labor, financial exploitation, etc.), I have
not described how cult members, after being
seduced by these leaders, might begin to
perform antisocial acts toward other cult
members and society at large and become
victimizers themselves. Although most cult
members have learned to deceive those outside
the cult, middle-management former cultists
often were also in the position to deceive, abuse,
and exploit lower-level members. Some of these
cult members may have had antisocial
personality tendencies prior to their cult
involvement. However, in therapy I have seen
only former cult members who were troubled by
and have shown remorse for antisocial
characteristics they displayed within the cult.
The Cult Leader’s Interaction With My
Client’s Unique Character Features That
Resulted in the Transformation of Her
Moral Code
To illustrate the cult leader’s influence on my
client’s character, I will concentrate on two
areas: First, I will demonstrate how therapy
served to increase my client’s understanding of
herself, particularly the inner and outer forces
that brought her into the cult. Secondly, I will
indicate how the psycho-educational model was
integrated into therapy to enrich and reinforce
the client’s awareness of how cult manipulations
and her complementary responses to this served
to modify her beliefs and behaviors.
2 Kernberg’s (1986) description of “malignant narcissist” is
applicable to this group of individuals: Kernberg highlights
paranoid regressive tendencies, chronic self-destructiveness or
suicidal behavior, antisocial behavior, and malignant grandiosity
with overt sadistic efforts. These behaviors are utilized in the
service of triumphing over all authority (p. 195).
