Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2006, Page 104
[ii] If at this point the reader hears in my description of the malignant narcissist a speculative
character analysis of G. W. Bush that would explain his rationale for the invasion of Iraq, the reader
would be correct.
[iii] ―The razor‘s edge,‖ the title of a W. Somerset Maugham novel about a westerner seeking
enlightenment in India (there are also two film versions), is a phrase from the Katha Upanishad,
referring to the danger of delusion inherent in any spiritual quest for enlightenment.
References
Balint, M. (1968). The Basic Fault. Therapeutic Aspects of Regression. London: Tavistock
Publications.
Black, D. (1975). ―Totalitarian therapy on the upper west side.‖ New York, Dec. 15th, 1975.
Celenza, A. (1995). ―Love and hate in the countertransference: supervisory concerns.‖
Psychotherapy. 32(2):301-307.
Celenza, A. and Gabbard, G. (2003). ―Analysts who commit sexual boundary violations: a
lost cause?‖ Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 51(2):617-636.
Conason, J. and McGarrahan, E. (1986). ―Escape from Utopia.‖ The Village Voice, April 22,
1986.
Levine, H. and Reed, G., eds. (2003). ―Problems of power in psychoanalytic institutions.‖
Psychoanalytic Inquiry, (24)1:1-139.
Lifton, R. J. (1999). Destroying the World to Save It. Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence,
and the New Global Terrorism. New York: Henry Holt and Co., LLC.
Pearce, J. and Newton, S. (1965). The Conditions of Human Growth. New York: Citadel
Press.
Shaw, D. (2003). ―Traumatic abuse in cults: a psychoanalytic perspective.‖ Cultic Studies
Review (2)2:101-129.
Daniel Shaw, CSW
Acknowledgement
This review was originally published in Contemporary Psychoanalysis, Volume 41, #4,
October 2005, pp. 765-773. It is reprinted with permission.
Daniel Shaw, CSW, is in private practice in New York City and in Nyack, New York. He is a
clinical supervisor at The National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP) in New York, and a
member of the Education Committee of the International Association for Relational
Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (IARPP).
ocCULT: They Didn't Think It Could Happen in Their Church
June Summers, Las Vegas, NV: Global Strategic Resources, 2005. Fiction. ISBN 0-
9754214-8-4 (soft cover) $13.95. 372 pages.
Although I found some valuable insights about cult behavior in this self-published novel, I
would not recommend it for general reading. The author, June Summers, reports that she
escaped from a cult 20 years ago. I assume that she belonged to a charismatic Christian
church much like the one in her novel. Summers adopts a definition of cult as any religion
that does not comply with a particular form of evangelical Christianity. Among her ―signs‖ of
a cult is ―emphasis on experience and emotion instead of scriptural truths.‖
In the story, Penny, the main character in the novel, moves from her home in the Midwest
to the Portland, Oregon area to try to find herself. She quits her job and has a conflict with
her boyfriend Rick, who is dedicated to his golf career and does not wish to relocate with
her to Portland. In Oregon, Penny encounters a lively Christian community in Grace Church.
[ii] If at this point the reader hears in my description of the malignant narcissist a speculative
character analysis of G. W. Bush that would explain his rationale for the invasion of Iraq, the reader
would be correct.
[iii] ―The razor‘s edge,‖ the title of a W. Somerset Maugham novel about a westerner seeking
enlightenment in India (there are also two film versions), is a phrase from the Katha Upanishad,
referring to the danger of delusion inherent in any spiritual quest for enlightenment.
References
Balint, M. (1968). The Basic Fault. Therapeutic Aspects of Regression. London: Tavistock
Publications.
Black, D. (1975). ―Totalitarian therapy on the upper west side.‖ New York, Dec. 15th, 1975.
Celenza, A. (1995). ―Love and hate in the countertransference: supervisory concerns.‖
Psychotherapy. 32(2):301-307.
Celenza, A. and Gabbard, G. (2003). ―Analysts who commit sexual boundary violations: a
lost cause?‖ Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 51(2):617-636.
Conason, J. and McGarrahan, E. (1986). ―Escape from Utopia.‖ The Village Voice, April 22,
1986.
Levine, H. and Reed, G., eds. (2003). ―Problems of power in psychoanalytic institutions.‖
Psychoanalytic Inquiry, (24)1:1-139.
Lifton, R. J. (1999). Destroying the World to Save It. Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence,
and the New Global Terrorism. New York: Henry Holt and Co., LLC.
Pearce, J. and Newton, S. (1965). The Conditions of Human Growth. New York: Citadel
Press.
Shaw, D. (2003). ―Traumatic abuse in cults: a psychoanalytic perspective.‖ Cultic Studies
Review (2)2:101-129.
Daniel Shaw, CSW
Acknowledgement
This review was originally published in Contemporary Psychoanalysis, Volume 41, #4,
October 2005, pp. 765-773. It is reprinted with permission.
Daniel Shaw, CSW, is in private practice in New York City and in Nyack, New York. He is a
clinical supervisor at The National Institute for the Psychotherapies (NIP) in New York, and a
member of the Education Committee of the International Association for Relational
Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (IARPP).
ocCULT: They Didn't Think It Could Happen in Their Church
June Summers, Las Vegas, NV: Global Strategic Resources, 2005. Fiction. ISBN 0-
9754214-8-4 (soft cover) $13.95. 372 pages.
Although I found some valuable insights about cult behavior in this self-published novel, I
would not recommend it for general reading. The author, June Summers, reports that she
escaped from a cult 20 years ago. I assume that she belonged to a charismatic Christian
church much like the one in her novel. Summers adopts a definition of cult as any religion
that does not comply with a particular form of evangelical Christianity. Among her ―signs‖ of
a cult is ―emphasis on experience and emotion instead of scriptural truths.‖
In the story, Penny, the main character in the novel, moves from her home in the Midwest
to the Portland, Oregon area to try to find herself. She quits her job and has a conflict with
her boyfriend Rick, who is dedicated to his golf career and does not wish to relocate with
her to Portland. In Oregon, Penny encounters a lively Christian community in Grace Church.
