Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 96
employed as a method of controlling the subject and as a means of justifying that he needs
―therapy,‖ or ―courses,‖ or those activities that the group proposes. Here‘s a case in point:
Rebeca is a 40-year-old woman who has spent eight years in a group with a
healing base. The captivator, a ―psychologist,‖ combines alternative
approaches with psychology and esoteric practices. The woman was
captivated through the establishment of a nonexistent diagnosis and was
maintained in the group with the aim to ―change.‖ In time, besides therapy,
she is advised to take courses on self-improvement, as well as courses to
train as a ―therapist.‖ After violently leaving the group, and with assistance,
the patient was able to realize that she was not ―schizophrenic,‖ as she had
been led to believe.
As you can see, in these situations and other similar ones, we can end up with two focuses
of manipulation, one corresponding to the actual group and another corresponding to the
use that people surrounding the affected party can make of the diagnosis.
Finally, there is a diagnostic aspect that I would like to recall. As we assess the group, we
are simultaneously diagnosing and setting the basis so that a posterior treatment might
take place, were it necessary. The reactions of family members to the diagnosis may vary
from acceptance to denial of the problem on other occasions, certain families seem to see
the conflict in an exaggerated dimension, maintaining that there is dependency in situations
where that is not what we, as professionals, observe.
When intervening with the follower, and during initial moments of the assessment, the
diagnosis is experienced as a violent intrusion on our part into their world, and the follower
reacts with strong rejection toward us. On occasions, this makes the follower refuse any
additional help from us, though he may go on to find it elsewhere.
Conclusions
Although several diagnostic proposals exist, it seems that research and its validation by
different specialists is still a pending matter. Criteria unification by different professionals,
as well as more extensive and international work with a specific diagnostic outline, could
help in the research of this phenomenon.
We feel it is important not to forget that, although we identify a specific syndromic pattern
valid to research and to clinical work, our work should not limit itself to detecting such a
disorder, but should also be able to explore deeply other areas of the follower‘s functioning
to accomplish a diagnosis on multiple levels.
The psychopathological manifestations both in groups and in individual followers tend to be
complex, and our function is not to attach a label but to advance in the knowledge of cult
involvement, independently of the theoretical model that supports us. Gatherings such as
this one, at the AFF conference, can help to provide the exchange of experiences, and thus
progress, in securing a solid diagnostic model, although doubtlessly we need more time to
work on the problem in depth.
References
American Psychiatric Association (1983). DSM-III. Manual Diagnóstico y Estadístico de los
Trastornos Mentales. Madrid: Masson.
Anzieu, D. (1998). El grupo y el inconsciente. Lo imaginario grupal. Madrid: Biblioteca
Nueva.
Atxotegi, J., &Font, J. (1995). ―Fanatisme et traits sectaries.‖ En Thierry de Saussure &
Others (1995), Les miroirs du fanatisme: Intégrisme, narcissisme et alterité. France:
Labor et Fides.
employed as a method of controlling the subject and as a means of justifying that he needs
―therapy,‖ or ―courses,‖ or those activities that the group proposes. Here‘s a case in point:
Rebeca is a 40-year-old woman who has spent eight years in a group with a
healing base. The captivator, a ―psychologist,‖ combines alternative
approaches with psychology and esoteric practices. The woman was
captivated through the establishment of a nonexistent diagnosis and was
maintained in the group with the aim to ―change.‖ In time, besides therapy,
she is advised to take courses on self-improvement, as well as courses to
train as a ―therapist.‖ After violently leaving the group, and with assistance,
the patient was able to realize that she was not ―schizophrenic,‖ as she had
been led to believe.
As you can see, in these situations and other similar ones, we can end up with two focuses
of manipulation, one corresponding to the actual group and another corresponding to the
use that people surrounding the affected party can make of the diagnosis.
Finally, there is a diagnostic aspect that I would like to recall. As we assess the group, we
are simultaneously diagnosing and setting the basis so that a posterior treatment might
take place, were it necessary. The reactions of family members to the diagnosis may vary
from acceptance to denial of the problem on other occasions, certain families seem to see
the conflict in an exaggerated dimension, maintaining that there is dependency in situations
where that is not what we, as professionals, observe.
When intervening with the follower, and during initial moments of the assessment, the
diagnosis is experienced as a violent intrusion on our part into their world, and the follower
reacts with strong rejection toward us. On occasions, this makes the follower refuse any
additional help from us, though he may go on to find it elsewhere.
Conclusions
Although several diagnostic proposals exist, it seems that research and its validation by
different specialists is still a pending matter. Criteria unification by different professionals,
as well as more extensive and international work with a specific diagnostic outline, could
help in the research of this phenomenon.
We feel it is important not to forget that, although we identify a specific syndromic pattern
valid to research and to clinical work, our work should not limit itself to detecting such a
disorder, but should also be able to explore deeply other areas of the follower‘s functioning
to accomplish a diagnosis on multiple levels.
The psychopathological manifestations both in groups and in individual followers tend to be
complex, and our function is not to attach a label but to advance in the knowledge of cult
involvement, independently of the theoretical model that supports us. Gatherings such as
this one, at the AFF conference, can help to provide the exchange of experiences, and thus
progress, in securing a solid diagnostic model, although doubtlessly we need more time to
work on the problem in depth.
References
American Psychiatric Association (1983). DSM-III. Manual Diagnóstico y Estadístico de los
Trastornos Mentales. Madrid: Masson.
Anzieu, D. (1998). El grupo y el inconsciente. Lo imaginario grupal. Madrid: Biblioteca
Nueva.
Atxotegi, J., &Font, J. (1995). ―Fanatisme et traits sectaries.‖ En Thierry de Saussure &
Others (1995), Les miroirs du fanatisme: Intégrisme, narcissisme et alterité. France:
Labor et Fides.
