Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 64
Organisation
The Association is directed and administered by a presidency and the board (voluntary
posts, without compensation and selected by vote in the members assembly).
AIS activity is divided as follows:
 Information service (1 clinical psychologist and 1 webmaster).
 Therapeutic service (1 doctor, 1 clinical psychologist and 1 psychiatrist)
 Legal service (1 lawyer).
 Documentation service (1 documentation expert and 1 assistant)
 Administration (1 clerk)
 Scholarship holders and students doing practical work: coming from the Faculties of
Psychology, Sociology, Law, and Journalism.
 Volunteers: developing support tasks in the different departments.
Summary of Activities Performed by AIS during 2002
At an Institutional Level
 For the second year running, the Collaboration Agreement between AIS and the
Ministries of Presidency, Social Welfare, Justice and Home Office, Health and Social
Security, Home Affairs and Institutional Relations, Employment, Universities,
Research and the Information Society of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia,
was renewed, the aim being the encouragement of actions of a social, preventive,
training, and informative nature related to our institution‘s activities.
 As a consultant institution, AIS participates in the creation of the Interdepartmental
Commission for the Study and Follow-up of the situation of psychologically
manipulative groups in Catalonia, in compliance with an agreement of the Catalonian
Parliament. This Commission, presided by the General Youth Secretary and
integrated by the Conselleries (Ministries) of the Autonomous Government of
Catalonia, referred to in the previous section, the College of Psychologists and other
experts, was incorporated on October 29th 2002.
 At a local level, contacts and exchanges have been made with those responsible for
social welfare and other Departments (Culture, Personal Services) of different
Catalonian and Spanish Town Halls.
 AIS has contacted different Catalonian political groups providing information of the
work performed and about psychological manipulation groups.
At the University Level
 Within the collaborative framework with the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the
study ―Research Work on the Legal Implications of the Psychologically Manipulative
Group Phenomenon‖ completed by a group of researchers from the civil, penal, and
international departments of the Law Faculty has been finished, the final document
having being submitted.
Relation with Public Institutions
 The Civil Rights Department of Barcelona Town Hall has financed an information and
prevention campaign, consisting of the distribution of printed material published by
AIS and directed to young people using the civic and cultural centers and youth
associations of Barcelona.

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 65
 The personal services of Barcelona Town Hall have subsidised the publication and
distribution of two issues of the magazine Infosect, which intends to report the
phenomenon of psychologically manipulative groups. The campaign was directed at
experts and users of civic and cultural centers and youth associations of Barcelona.
 The Ministry of Social Affairs has subsidised a part of the salary of an AIS
documentation service worker, recognizing the importance of this service to the
many inquirers reaching the institution from all over Spain.
Relation with Private Institutions
 The Sant Joaquim Foundation has economically supported AIS activities.
Relation with National and Autonomic Police Forces
 Informative meetings have been held with Mossos de Escuadra, Ertzaina, Civil
Guard, and National Police.
Clinical Care
 Increase in the number of therapeutic visits: implementation of the new
computerized clinical history model.
 Computerized database updating of therapeutic cases, maintenance and review of
clinical histories and their statistical treatment.
 Widening of the fields of AIS activities to other situations inducing dependency
disorders (non-pharmacological addictions).
Research and Publication of Technical Work
 Preparation of a proposal for a sociological study regarding the implementation and
characteristics of psychologically manipulative groups in Catalonia: consensus of the
initial proposal between AIS and the Institution AEP Desenvolupament Comunitari
entrusted with the preparation of the study. Initial contacts with possible
collaborating institutions were made.
 Publication of three technical articles.
 Participation of the AIS therapeutic team in three international conferences with
seven papers.
Information, Prevention and Diffusion
 Information and personalised telephone advice service, visits, and electronic mail,
with a total of 2,591 inquiries attended to.
 The documentation service finished the purging and classification process of the
material available, the design and maintenance of documentation databases, and the
physical organisation of the resulting documents.
 AIS has completed three information campaigns of printed material with an
informative and preventive character directed to young people and the public as a
whole, distributing 28,000 copies.
 Six monthly publications of the magazine Infosect, with an annual circulation of
1.000 copies.
 Translation of 71 documents (articles, news, etc) from English and German.
 Participation in 10 radio and television programmes.