International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 3, 2012 17
Initial Therapy Sessions
Almost twenty years ago, Katie, a former
member of a small, new age cult, contacted me.
Katie had been sentenced on fraud and
conspiracy charges stemming from acts she had
committed while she was a member of this
group. Upon the urging of her cult leader, Katie
had convinced several other members to borrow
money for student loans that never were used for
assistance with education, but were handed over
to the leader. When some of the members left,
they realized that they were burdened with
repaying large financial loans to the government.
With the advice of an attorney, they reported
their cult exploitation to the state attorney
general’s office. The state forgave the loans
and, armed with the former members’ testimony,
chose instead to prosecute Katie and her cult
leader for fraud and conspiracy.
During the trial, the attorney general’s office (on
behalf of the former cult members who had
taken out student loans) gave evidence of the
mind-controlling nature of the group and the
way in which the leader and Katie, as the voice
of the leader, had made the cult members believe
that this fraudulent action was warranted
because it served the higher purpose of the cult.
Katie, who had been one of several women
chosen for this leader’s top echelon, had been
solely responsible to deliver this plan to the
membership. At the beginning of the trial, she
had viewed her leader as a saintly figure, who
needed to be protected. However, once Katie
was separated from the leader, she had the space
(both physical and emotional) and time to think
for herself without his influence.
During this period, a former member who had
been close to her in the group contacted Katie.
With the help of this woman, Katie was able to
begin to objectify her increasing doubts about
the cult leader, which had been stimulated by the
information presented during the trial. After 12
years in the cult, she decided to leave.
Before I began seeing Katie, I had worked as a
therapist with other former members of her
group, and they had described her to me as a
powerful force—someone who always
demanded a high standard of performance from
others. In contrast to this image, Katie
sheepishly entered my office. She wore little
makeup and was dressed conservatively. She
told me, in an emotionally detached manner, that
she knew I had heard about her crime. Initially,
I had considered that her presenting behavior
might be a ploy for sympathy, and I was
prepared to explore potential exploitative and
manipulative tendencies. However, over time, I
began to experience a woman who appeared
depleted, emotionally detached, and filled with
shame. (At a later stage we explored how
members of the cult had viewed Katie as rather
arrogant. This perception contrasted sharply
with her postcult behavior with me. Katie was
able to reflect upon a lifelong tendency toward
certainty that had been shaken this shift,
ultimately, led to cult vulnerability and to her
sense of smallness now that she had made such a
major mistake. Over time, I wished to help Katie
see that knowing nothing was as unrealistic a
point of view as knowing everything.)
In our first session, I asked Katie why she had
decided to see me. She was troubled and wanted
a better understanding about how her morals in
the group had contrasted so greatly from those
she had held before she joined.
In our initial sessions, Katie related that she had
grown up in a religious Catholic home in
Connecticut, the oldest of five children. She
described her father as a hard-working,
successful businessman and her mother as a
devoted housewife and mother. Katie attended
parochial school, and she believed that she was
seen as a good daughter, pleasing both parents
and teachers, and serving as a model for her
younger siblings. Katie believed that she had a
clear sense of right and wrong before her cult
involvement.
In reflecting on her adolescence, I noted that she
presented a history with little rebellion. This
account led me to wonder if that, indeed, was the
case, or whether, as a result of her cult
experience, her history was a revised version of
perfection influenced by years of having
defended against conflicts.3 In addition to
3 I have found that cult leaders often influence members to develop
revised memories of their precult life in ways that serve the cult
leaders’ needs. I considered that Katie, a young woman who was
held up as a role model and leader in the group, might have
developed a revised or somewhat exaggerated version of her
Initial Therapy Sessions
Almost twenty years ago, Katie, a former
member of a small, new age cult, contacted me.
Katie had been sentenced on fraud and
conspiracy charges stemming from acts she had
committed while she was a member of this
group. Upon the urging of her cult leader, Katie
had convinced several other members to borrow
money for student loans that never were used for
assistance with education, but were handed over
to the leader. When some of the members left,
they realized that they were burdened with
repaying large financial loans to the government.
With the advice of an attorney, they reported
their cult exploitation to the state attorney
general’s office. The state forgave the loans
and, armed with the former members’ testimony,
chose instead to prosecute Katie and her cult
leader for fraud and conspiracy.
During the trial, the attorney general’s office (on
behalf of the former cult members who had
taken out student loans) gave evidence of the
mind-controlling nature of the group and the
way in which the leader and Katie, as the voice
of the leader, had made the cult members believe
that this fraudulent action was warranted
because it served the higher purpose of the cult.
Katie, who had been one of several women
chosen for this leader’s top echelon, had been
solely responsible to deliver this plan to the
membership. At the beginning of the trial, she
had viewed her leader as a saintly figure, who
needed to be protected. However, once Katie
was separated from the leader, she had the space
(both physical and emotional) and time to think
for herself without his influence.
During this period, a former member who had
been close to her in the group contacted Katie.
With the help of this woman, Katie was able to
begin to objectify her increasing doubts about
the cult leader, which had been stimulated by the
information presented during the trial. After 12
years in the cult, she decided to leave.
Before I began seeing Katie, I had worked as a
therapist with other former members of her
group, and they had described her to me as a
powerful force—someone who always
demanded a high standard of performance from
others. In contrast to this image, Katie
sheepishly entered my office. She wore little
makeup and was dressed conservatively. She
told me, in an emotionally detached manner, that
she knew I had heard about her crime. Initially,
I had considered that her presenting behavior
might be a ploy for sympathy, and I was
prepared to explore potential exploitative and
manipulative tendencies. However, over time, I
began to experience a woman who appeared
depleted, emotionally detached, and filled with
shame. (At a later stage we explored how
members of the cult had viewed Katie as rather
arrogant. This perception contrasted sharply
with her postcult behavior with me. Katie was
able to reflect upon a lifelong tendency toward
certainty that had been shaken this shift,
ultimately, led to cult vulnerability and to her
sense of smallness now that she had made such a
major mistake. Over time, I wished to help Katie
see that knowing nothing was as unrealistic a
point of view as knowing everything.)
In our first session, I asked Katie why she had
decided to see me. She was troubled and wanted
a better understanding about how her morals in
the group had contrasted so greatly from those
she had held before she joined.
In our initial sessions, Katie related that she had
grown up in a religious Catholic home in
Connecticut, the oldest of five children. She
described her father as a hard-working,
successful businessman and her mother as a
devoted housewife and mother. Katie attended
parochial school, and she believed that she was
seen as a good daughter, pleasing both parents
and teachers, and serving as a model for her
younger siblings. Katie believed that she had a
clear sense of right and wrong before her cult
involvement.
In reflecting on her adolescence, I noted that she
presented a history with little rebellion. This
account led me to wonder if that, indeed, was the
case, or whether, as a result of her cult
experience, her history was a revised version of
perfection influenced by years of having
defended against conflicts.3 In addition to
3 I have found that cult leaders often influence members to develop
revised memories of their precult life in ways that serve the cult
leaders’ needs. I considered that Katie, a young woman who was
held up as a role model and leader in the group, might have
developed a revised or somewhat exaggerated version of her
