2 ICSA TODAY
A Message of Understanding and Hope
From
Note: In the first weeks of March, as the COVID-19 pandemic was
surging, Patrick Rardin wrote to me and to Lorna and Bill Goldberg
expressing his concern about how people born or raised in cultic
groups might be suffering at this time, as the anxieties and fears of
the past may be triggered by and compound the anxieties and fears
of the present. (Patrick and I began attending the ICSA’s Workshop
for Those Born or Raised in Cultic Groups when it started 15 years
ago, and became facilitators together about nine years ago.)
Patrick asked if we could email an article or message to people
who have attended the Born or Raised workshop over the past 15
years, to help “assuage their fears.” Lorna and Bill volunteered to
write a letter, which they did. When I read it, I felt it had relevance
far beyond the born-or-raised community and offered wisdom and
hope to many or all former group members. The letter is rich with
the knowledge, experience, and compassion gained through the
authors’ many years of working with former members. It has since
been sent to thousands of former group members by email and on
social media. We are proud to publish it here.
—Ann Stamler, Associate Editor
Dear Friends,
All of us have been severely impacted by the fear caused by the
novel coronavirus. Many of us are dealing with ongoing anxiety
and a feeling of helplessness when we’re faced with a such a
powerful threat, as this one is, that we can’t control. Those who
have been traumatized in the past are particularly vulnerable to
the anxiety caused by this situation. Past traumas are stirred up
by present fears and when dealing with a new trauma, we can
become lost in memories and fantasies that emanate from earlier
traumas. We experience our memories of past situations as if they
were a part of our present life, and our reaction to these memories
can undermine our ability to make the most of our lives in the
present.
Probably one of the bravest actions that you ever took was to leave
your totalitarian and fraudulent environment. While in the cult,
you may have believed that your leader or the leader’s doctrine
would protect you from frightening things in the noncult world.
When you left, you may have felt that you were risking entry into a
more unprotected environment. However, you had the courage to
leave the cult despite these troublesome fears.
Since leaving, perhaps you’ve come to understand Steve Hassan’s
concept of phobia induction. This phobia induction was the cult
leader’s “insurance policy” to keep you from considering the fact
that you would be better off without the cult.
In this stressful present situation, which might make you feel
vulnerable, you may unconsciously yearn for that feeling of
absolute protection that you once convinced yourself you had
in the cult. Of course, examining the situation realistically, you
recognize that cult members are not protected from the virus by
their membership in the cult but your logical mind doesn’t always
overcome the gut-level fear that situations like this one can evoke.
It might help to remind yourself that the leader, whom you were
supposed to regard as a protective savior, dealt with his or her own
feelings of insecurity and vulnerability by creating a false front of
power and invincibility. (If the leader had not been so insecure, he
or she would have tolerated disagreement and challenges from
the cult’s membership. Despite an outward shell of power, a bully
is always a fearful coward who can’t tolerate the thought that
someone could be wiser, more spiritual, more popular, or more
powerful.) By identifying with the leader’s false shell of power and
Letter to Former Cultic Group Members: Recovery in the
Era of COVID-19
Lorna Goldberg,
LCSW, PsyA, Board
Member and Past
President of ICSA
Bill Goldberg,
LCSW, PsyA, Adjunct
Professor, Dominican
College, Orangeberg,
New York
Patrick Rardin,
Facilitator, ICSA CT
Workshop for Those
Born or Raised in
Cultic Groups
A Message of Understanding and Hope
From
Note: In the first weeks of March, as the COVID-19 pandemic was
surging, Patrick Rardin wrote to me and to Lorna and Bill Goldberg
expressing his concern about how people born or raised in cultic
groups might be suffering at this time, as the anxieties and fears of
the past may be triggered by and compound the anxieties and fears
of the present. (Patrick and I began attending the ICSA’s Workshop
for Those Born or Raised in Cultic Groups when it started 15 years
ago, and became facilitators together about nine years ago.)
Patrick asked if we could email an article or message to people
who have attended the Born or Raised workshop over the past 15
years, to help “assuage their fears.” Lorna and Bill volunteered to
write a letter, which they did. When I read it, I felt it had relevance
far beyond the born-or-raised community and offered wisdom and
hope to many or all former group members. The letter is rich with
the knowledge, experience, and compassion gained through the
authors’ many years of working with former members. It has since
been sent to thousands of former group members by email and on
social media. We are proud to publish it here.
—Ann Stamler, Associate Editor
Dear Friends,
All of us have been severely impacted by the fear caused by the
novel coronavirus. Many of us are dealing with ongoing anxiety
and a feeling of helplessness when we’re faced with a such a
powerful threat, as this one is, that we can’t control. Those who
have been traumatized in the past are particularly vulnerable to
the anxiety caused by this situation. Past traumas are stirred up
by present fears and when dealing with a new trauma, we can
become lost in memories and fantasies that emanate from earlier
traumas. We experience our memories of past situations as if they
were a part of our present life, and our reaction to these memories
can undermine our ability to make the most of our lives in the
present.
Probably one of the bravest actions that you ever took was to leave
your totalitarian and fraudulent environment. While in the cult,
you may have believed that your leader or the leader’s doctrine
would protect you from frightening things in the noncult world.
When you left, you may have felt that you were risking entry into a
more unprotected environment. However, you had the courage to
leave the cult despite these troublesome fears.
Since leaving, perhaps you’ve come to understand Steve Hassan’s
concept of phobia induction. This phobia induction was the cult
leader’s “insurance policy” to keep you from considering the fact
that you would be better off without the cult.
In this stressful present situation, which might make you feel
vulnerable, you may unconsciously yearn for that feeling of
absolute protection that you once convinced yourself you had
in the cult. Of course, examining the situation realistically, you
recognize that cult members are not protected from the virus by
their membership in the cult but your logical mind doesn’t always
overcome the gut-level fear that situations like this one can evoke.
It might help to remind yourself that the leader, whom you were
supposed to regard as a protective savior, dealt with his or her own
feelings of insecurity and vulnerability by creating a false front of
power and invincibility. (If the leader had not been so insecure, he
or she would have tolerated disagreement and challenges from
the cult’s membership. Despite an outward shell of power, a bully
is always a fearful coward who can’t tolerate the thought that
someone could be wiser, more spiritual, more popular, or more
powerful.) By identifying with the leader’s false shell of power and
Letter to Former Cultic Group Members: Recovery in the
Era of COVID-19
Lorna Goldberg,
LCSW, PsyA, Board
Member and Past
President of ICSA
Bill Goldberg,
LCSW, PsyA, Adjunct
Professor, Dominican
College, Orangeberg,
New York
Patrick Rardin,
Facilitator, ICSA CT
Workshop for Those
Born or Raised in
Cultic Groups
