Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 18
regain hope and belief in their own ability to go on living and growing. To facilitate these
goals, I focus initially on developing a clear picture of the abuse and exploitation they have
been subjected to in the cult. It can be helpful during this process for the follower to
speculate about the psychology of the cult leader, using the psychoanalytic theories I have
discussed here, to develop a plausible psychological understanding of the leader‘s behavior.
As the extent to which he has been manipulated and controlled becomes clearer to the
former member, I will proceed to invite him to engage in a further psychological exploration
of his own history, with the purpose of determining if there is any significant developmental
trauma that may be connected to the cult involvement. If this is the case, there may be
retraumatization that needs to be worked through as part of the exit and recovery process.
There may also be ways in which earlier traumatization contributed to vulnerability to
recruitment which can be helpful to understand, especially in terms of building healthy
relationships in the future. When the personal context and meaning of the leader/follower
relationship is illuminated fully in therapeutic work, the follower can come to feel confident
that he can avoid painfully repetitive experiences, and instead create new relational
experience.
Once the nature of the cult leader‘s abuse has been elaborated and clarified, and a useful
psychological explanation for her behavior has been developed, my focus in helping the
former member make sense of his experience will oscillate between exploration of
psychological factors emerging from the specific familial matrix of the individual,
psychological factors arising from universal developmental issues, and social and cultural
factors that may have specifically influenced the individual. Any of these factors, in an
infinite variety of combinations and proportions, may be useful to consider when seeking to
help former cult members make sense of their experience.
The community of professionals concerned with the destructive impact of cults is not
monolithic. Neither is psychoanalysis. The theoretical formulations I have brought to bear
on my work with former cult members are selected from a formidable variety of
psychoanalytic theories, and represent personal choices that reflect personal values. Even if
there were ―one‖ correct psychoanalytic theory of cults, it would be only one of many
theories from many other disciplines that could be relevant and useful. My contribution here
is not meant to represent ―the‖ position, psychoanalytic or other, on cult participation.
Rather, I hope to generate interest in the potential for psychoanalytic therapy to be helpful
to those who exit cults, and in the potential for psychoanalytic theories to be helpful to
those who study cults.
Notes
1 There are those who would consider Freud a cult leader, and psychoanalysis, his invention, a cult (e.g., Storr
[1996]). While I think that equating Sigmund Freud to, say, Jim Jones, is absurd on its face (and Storr takes far
too complex a view to make so reductionist an assertion), it is true that generations of psychoanalytic thinkers
following Freud have struggled to evaluate and reform residues of positivisim, determinism, and authoritarianism in
psychoanalytic theory and practice (see especially Fromm [1959], and Mitchel &Aron [1999]). Today, many
increasingly prominent psychoanalytic schools are actively seeking to expose and reject authoritarianism in theory
and treatment. These include the following contemporary schools: object relations, interpersonal, relational,
intersubjective, postmodern, feminist, and contemporary self psychology, to name a few. In fact, one of the most
radical critiques of psychoanalytic authoritarianism comes from one of the leaders of its most orthodox institutions,
Owen Renik, the editor of Psychoanalytic Quarterly (see Renik, 1993).
2 This dynamic is elaborated by Benjamin (1988) in her seminal study, written from a feminist psychoanalytic
perspective, of the Hegelian master/slave dialectic in the pornography classic, ―The Story of O‖ (pp. 51-84).
References
Addis, M., Schulman-Miller, J., Lightman, M. (1984). The cult clinic helps families in crisis.
Social Casework, 65(9), 515-22.
Becker, E. (1973). Denial of death. New York: The Free Press.
regain hope and belief in their own ability to go on living and growing. To facilitate these
goals, I focus initially on developing a clear picture of the abuse and exploitation they have
been subjected to in the cult. It can be helpful during this process for the follower to
speculate about the psychology of the cult leader, using the psychoanalytic theories I have
discussed here, to develop a plausible psychological understanding of the leader‘s behavior.
As the extent to which he has been manipulated and controlled becomes clearer to the
former member, I will proceed to invite him to engage in a further psychological exploration
of his own history, with the purpose of determining if there is any significant developmental
trauma that may be connected to the cult involvement. If this is the case, there may be
retraumatization that needs to be worked through as part of the exit and recovery process.
There may also be ways in which earlier traumatization contributed to vulnerability to
recruitment which can be helpful to understand, especially in terms of building healthy
relationships in the future. When the personal context and meaning of the leader/follower
relationship is illuminated fully in therapeutic work, the follower can come to feel confident
that he can avoid painfully repetitive experiences, and instead create new relational
experience.
Once the nature of the cult leader‘s abuse has been elaborated and clarified, and a useful
psychological explanation for her behavior has been developed, my focus in helping the
former member make sense of his experience will oscillate between exploration of
psychological factors emerging from the specific familial matrix of the individual,
psychological factors arising from universal developmental issues, and social and cultural
factors that may have specifically influenced the individual. Any of these factors, in an
infinite variety of combinations and proportions, may be useful to consider when seeking to
help former cult members make sense of their experience.
The community of professionals concerned with the destructive impact of cults is not
monolithic. Neither is psychoanalysis. The theoretical formulations I have brought to bear
on my work with former cult members are selected from a formidable variety of
psychoanalytic theories, and represent personal choices that reflect personal values. Even if
there were ―one‖ correct psychoanalytic theory of cults, it would be only one of many
theories from many other disciplines that could be relevant and useful. My contribution here
is not meant to represent ―the‖ position, psychoanalytic or other, on cult participation.
Rather, I hope to generate interest in the potential for psychoanalytic therapy to be helpful
to those who exit cults, and in the potential for psychoanalytic theories to be helpful to
those who study cults.
Notes
1 There are those who would consider Freud a cult leader, and psychoanalysis, his invention, a cult (e.g., Storr
[1996]). While I think that equating Sigmund Freud to, say, Jim Jones, is absurd on its face (and Storr takes far
too complex a view to make so reductionist an assertion), it is true that generations of psychoanalytic thinkers
following Freud have struggled to evaluate and reform residues of positivisim, determinism, and authoritarianism in
psychoanalytic theory and practice (see especially Fromm [1959], and Mitchel &Aron [1999]). Today, many
increasingly prominent psychoanalytic schools are actively seeking to expose and reject authoritarianism in theory
and treatment. These include the following contemporary schools: object relations, interpersonal, relational,
intersubjective, postmodern, feminist, and contemporary self psychology, to name a few. In fact, one of the most
radical critiques of psychoanalytic authoritarianism comes from one of the leaders of its most orthodox institutions,
Owen Renik, the editor of Psychoanalytic Quarterly (see Renik, 1993).
2 This dynamic is elaborated by Benjamin (1988) in her seminal study, written from a feminist psychoanalytic
perspective, of the Hegelian master/slave dialectic in the pornography classic, ―The Story of O‖ (pp. 51-84).
References
Addis, M., Schulman-Miller, J., Lightman, M. (1984). The cult clinic helps families in crisis.
Social Casework, 65(9), 515-22.
Becker, E. (1973). Denial of death. New York: The Free Press.
