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made between philosophical and methodological naturalism. The former is a metaphysical
position that all of reality, including consciousness, can be explained as material events, as
―atoms and the void.‖ The latter is an epistemological principle of investigation that even
deeply religious scientists can follow to learn more about natural phenomena.
I believe that an epistemological principle of methodological self-doubt lies at the heart of
the ―deep communication‖ that enables two people to understand each other at a
fundamental, worldview level. ―Deep communication‖ refers to the nonjudgmental sharing
of fundamental, close-to-the-heart perceptions, beliefs, values, goals, and feelings. Deep
communication is perhaps most conspicuous in the psychotherapeutic process, in which
therapists place their own fundamentals in ―suspend mode‖ and nonjudgmentally open
themselves up to their clients‘ inner selves. Therapists show an interest in and willingness to
learn from clients through the clients’ words and actions within the therapeutic relationship.
Therapists do not allow their ―theories‖ to force clients‘ into categories that are inconsistent
with the clients‘ view of the world. Nevertheless, therapists do more than help clients see
themselves in a psychological mirror. Therapists use their own understanding of the world—
their own worldviews, which change constantly as a result of dialogue with their clients—to
help clients learn about themselves. Thus, the methodological self-doubt of psychotherapy
is not linear, as is methodological naturalism. Psychotherapy is an oscillation. Therapists
temporarily suspend their own worldview to try to enter the worldview of clients, but then
therapists return to their own worldview, enriched by their encounter with clients, to figure
out how to help clients address the issues that generated enough conflict to bring them into
therapy in the first place. During this back-and-forth process, therapists engage clients in a
dialogue that opens up both to other perspectives, and gives clients the confidence to try
new behaviors. In short-term psychotherapy, this process is a form of mutual problem-
solving. In long-term psychotherapy, it can, for all intents and purposes, result in a
conversion, a worldview shift of the client that enables him or her to lead a more rewarding
life.
A successful psychotherapeutic endeavor rests on respect (Langone, 1992), which honors
the client‘s
 mind, the capacity to reason.
 autonomy, the right to run one‘s own life.
 identity, however dysfunctional that identity may be.
 dignity, the need to feel worthwhile.
A psychotherapist cannot penetrate a client‘s worldview unless the client permits the
therapist to enter the client‘s inner sanctum. During successful therapy, clients slowly
disclose beliefs, sometimes beliefs that have been ―secrets‖ or beliefs of which clients have
been previously unaware, as the therapist earns their trust over time. This trust is not likely
to develop except in a context of respect. If a therapist were to demean clients‘ minds,
disregard their autonomy, assault their identity, and trample on their dignity, clients would
not trust the therapist enough to engage in any deep communication (although there are
cultic scenarios in which unscrupulous therapists can persuade vulnerable people to put up
with abuse that would not normally be tolerated).
Respect is even more important to deep communication in nontherapeutic settings, for the
other person is not coming to an expert for help. For example, a clergyman, a teacher, a
police officer, or a parent who wants to ―get through‖ to a youngster who is troubled or is
flirting with a cultic or extremist organization must begin with respect, which, as I tried to
explain above, is not the same as merely having ―good intentions‖ toward the person. These
well-intentioned people should be more ready to listen and to ask questions than to lecture
and offer opinions. They should be patient and earn the right to be admitted to the youth‘s

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inner circles they should neither expect nor demand this right. If they can succeed in
establishing a deep communication, they can understand how the youngster sees the world
and might then be able to engage him or her in a dialogue that results in positive change.
Like the therapist, the helpers must oscillate between methodological self-doubt and quiet
deliberation as they move ever closer to deep communication and informed, authentic
dialogue with the youth about whom they are concerned. Some exit counselors, for
example, put much effort into helping families with a cult-involved loved one learn how to
understand and appreciate their loved one‘s worldview. One team even requires families to
list 50 positive things about their child‘s group and his or her relationship to it (Patrick Ryan
and Joseph Kelly, personal communication, October 6, 2006), so as to help families learn
how to suspend their worldview‘s judgmental evaluations of their loved one‘s situation.
Unfortunately, such ―cross worldview communication‖ is difficult and not common. Work in
the cult arena reveals that helpers in contexts that are not overtly psychotherapeutic tend
to be so focused on changing a young person that they unwittingly sabotage their ability to
find out what the young person really thinks, knowledge of which, ironically, would make
the helpers more effective change agents. Clergy, who are well versed in theology, tend to
challenge the youth‘s overtly expressed belief system in terms of the clergy‘s belief system
(e.g., a priest who responds to a youngster‘s atheism with quotations from the Bible, when
the Bible has no more credibility with the young atheist than does Homer‘s Iliad). Teachers,
if they have experience with Socratic Method, might be a bit more inquisitive than clergy,
but still tend to have a predetermined destination toward which their educational endeavors
point. Parents‘ alarm tends to thrust them into a caretaker mode that exacerbates the
normal separation conflicts young people have with their parents. Law enforcement
professionals tend to have a narrow area of concern (Were rules broken?) and think in
terms of rewards and punishments to motivate the youngster to do what adults desire.
These criticisms are not meant to suggest that theological argument, education, emotional
entreaty, or motivational analysis have no role in the goal of helping a youngster (or an
adult) involved in or flirting with a cultic or extremist group. I do believe, however, that
such actions have a better chance of success if they are based on an informed
understanding of how the person in question sees the world. Such understanding requires a
deep communication within a shared worldview or across different worldviews, which in turn
requires the patient courtesy, the methodological self-doubt, the ongoing respect of the
therapeutic process, even though the context of the communication is not overtly
psychotherapeutic.
Recommendation Three
Parents, teachers, clergy, law enforcement personnel and others who seek to
prevent young people or adults from following a path that leads toward cultic
entanglements or extremist violence should learn and cultivate the skills of deep,
respectful communication, which are so central to the process of behavioral and
belief change and communication across worldviews.
Recommendation Four
Cultic studies experts should develop resources and training programs designed to
teach helpers how to achieve the deep communication that underlies any attempt to
understand how others see the world.
Prevention
Kropveld (2004) emphasizes the importance of considering cultural, social, legal, and
political differences among countries in evaluating and designing preventive education
programs concerning cultic groups. Among the factors that must be considered are the
following: