Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1991, Page 32
Residential Treatment: The Potential for Cultic Evolution
David A. Halperin, M.D.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York
Arnold Markowitz, M.S.W.
Cult Hotline and Clinic, New York
Abstract
Residential treatment centers give residents an opportunity to develop
psychologically within a close-knit, structured community. Certain
psychological and political processes, however, can on occasion lead
residential treatment centers to a cult-like culture of indoctrination and self-
suppression rather than a culture of self-awareness and education. Lifton‟s
(1961) analysis of totalistic systems is helpful in understanding how such an
evolution can take place. Specific examples of cultic residential treatment
centers are discussed to illustrate the processes under study.
The residential treatment center provides an invaluable holding environment where the
severely impaired are helped to develop intrapersonal awareness, interpersonal skills, and
the ability to function autonomously. In real and symbolic terms, the residential treatment
setting serves as a second-chance family. Here residents are given the opportunity to
experience and grow within a close-knit community with a goal of enhancing the sense of
self. As with all psychotherapeutic efforts, the individual‟s ultimate growth is the product of
an initial period of dependency and regression. In this context, responsible mental health
professionals have questioned whether or not the development of intense dependency
bonds may render individuals incapable of functioning outside of this “protective” setting.
This concern is especially acute when working with individuals so lacking in ego strength
that their primary mode of relating to the outside world often entails repeated abuse of
several substances.
The residential treatment center sponsored and staffed by mental health professionals is not
the only facility that attempts to work with the severely dysfunctional. A plethora of
“treatment” facilities have been created under the auspices of cult-like groups. Within these
rigidly structured environments, group processes are used in ways that lead to a diminution
of the individual‟s sense of self. Here indoctrination replaces education, and regression is
valued over independence or autonomy. This article examines the political and psychological
processes that encourage regression and the group processes within the residential
treatment center that sponsor the development of a culture of indoctrination rather than a
culture of self-awareness and education. It examines the group dynamics that may lead to
the transformation of a respected residential treatment center into a cult-like organization.
The Cult Group
Cults and cult-like groups function in ways that destroy the member‟s emotional autonomy.
Their modus operandi is reflected in their organization. The destructive cult group is
organizationally characterized by the following (Halperin, 1983a):
1. A current living leader who is venerated by his or her followers and claims to have been
chosen by God or some other supranatural force. In some cases, the leader may claim
access to knowledge of a psychological or political nature.
2. The cult leader often lives a very lavish lifestyle, whereas cult members are encouraged
to live a life of privation and austerity.
Residential Treatment: The Potential for Cultic Evolution
David A. Halperin, M.D.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York
Arnold Markowitz, M.S.W.
Cult Hotline and Clinic, New York
Abstract
Residential treatment centers give residents an opportunity to develop
psychologically within a close-knit, structured community. Certain
psychological and political processes, however, can on occasion lead
residential treatment centers to a cult-like culture of indoctrination and self-
suppression rather than a culture of self-awareness and education. Lifton‟s
(1961) analysis of totalistic systems is helpful in understanding how such an
evolution can take place. Specific examples of cultic residential treatment
centers are discussed to illustrate the processes under study.
The residential treatment center provides an invaluable holding environment where the
severely impaired are helped to develop intrapersonal awareness, interpersonal skills, and
the ability to function autonomously. In real and symbolic terms, the residential treatment
setting serves as a second-chance family. Here residents are given the opportunity to
experience and grow within a close-knit community with a goal of enhancing the sense of
self. As with all psychotherapeutic efforts, the individual‟s ultimate growth is the product of
an initial period of dependency and regression. In this context, responsible mental health
professionals have questioned whether or not the development of intense dependency
bonds may render individuals incapable of functioning outside of this “protective” setting.
This concern is especially acute when working with individuals so lacking in ego strength
that their primary mode of relating to the outside world often entails repeated abuse of
several substances.
The residential treatment center sponsored and staffed by mental health professionals is not
the only facility that attempts to work with the severely dysfunctional. A plethora of
“treatment” facilities have been created under the auspices of cult-like groups. Within these
rigidly structured environments, group processes are used in ways that lead to a diminution
of the individual‟s sense of self. Here indoctrination replaces education, and regression is
valued over independence or autonomy. This article examines the political and psychological
processes that encourage regression and the group processes within the residential
treatment center that sponsor the development of a culture of indoctrination rather than a
culture of self-awareness and education. It examines the group dynamics that may lead to
the transformation of a respected residential treatment center into a cult-like organization.
The Cult Group
Cults and cult-like groups function in ways that destroy the member‟s emotional autonomy.
Their modus operandi is reflected in their organization. The destructive cult group is
organizationally characterized by the following (Halperin, 1983a):
1. A current living leader who is venerated by his or her followers and claims to have been
chosen by God or some other supranatural force. In some cases, the leader may claim
access to knowledge of a psychological or political nature.
2. The cult leader often lives a very lavish lifestyle, whereas cult members are encouraged
to live a life of privation and austerity.
