8 ICSA TODAY 6
to freedom. Soon after my 18th birthday, he seduced
me. Those encounters were scary and intoxicating.
George swore me to secrecy. He had a wife and two
preteen children. (Burchard, 2020)
Manipulation of Behavior
The abuser infiltrates the target’s life, consumes her schedule,
and redirects her plans. He convinces her to participate in
activities generated by the cultic system and to socialize with
him/other members. With increased involvement come requests
for concessions on her part. Convincing her to change her plans
for him or extracting a financial contribution are common.
Within a year, George was fired. Taking five of the
psychiatrist’s patients with him, he opened up shop
in my mother’s Upper West Side apartment where we
all attended a weekly group meeting. After a lonely
childhood, this new family felt like exactly what I had
been missing. George encouraged us to spend time
with each other to reinforce his teachings. “Those
dumbos in the Crazy World will hold you back. You
should only visit with them to break your connections
and to learn how not to live.” Obediently, my mother
and I abandoned the few friends and family that we
had. George had cast his spell, successfully installing
himself at the center of our universe. (Burchard, 2020)
Stage 2: Totalistic Indoctrination
The second stage involves reprogramming (“unfreezing and
changing” Hassan, 1990, p. 67) and commitment (“refreezing”
Hassan, 1990, p. 67). It is marked by contrived scenarios and
strategically applied tools of influence, prompting increasing
levels of compliance on the victim’s part. The abuser erases
the past of the victim and frames her present, forging a cultic
pseudopersonality compatible with his self-serving autocracy
wherein roles and power dynamics are defined to suit his
agenda. Employing coercive tactics cloaked beneath half-truths
and distractions, the abuser works diligently to assimilate the
victim into his distorted, alternate reality. Eventually, as she
moves toward full submission to his will, the perpetrator’s mask
slips and his abusive practices progressively emerge.
Unfreezing and Changing
The hallmarks of the unfreezing and changing (Hassan, 1990,
p. 67) phase are the stripping of the victim’s authentic identity
and the construction of a pseudoidentity through isolation
and engulfment. To establish a foundation for change, the
perpetrator launches a campaign of identity disassembly. He
may change the victim’s appellation, clothing, or hairstyle.
Through suggestion, condemnation, or outright demand,
he provokes severance from her social ties—particularly
those that are supportive and loving—inserting himself (or
cult group members) in lieu of them. She may be coerced
into discontinuing her education, resigning from her place
of employment, or disaffiliating from other groups and
institutions. To create disempowerment and dependency, he
controls how her basic needs such as food, clothing, bathing,
and toileting are met. He may deny her privacy, subject her
to degrading conditions, interrupt sleep, or overschedule her
to the point of exhaustion. While she adjusts to and practices
abuser-defined lifestyle changes, he introduces stress, fear,
and ultimately, terror, in stark contrast to the honeymoon.
This process completes the trauma bond—the superglue
that tethers victim to abuser—an addictive state of instability
marked by unpredictable rewards and punishments. Thus, the
cultic abuser fabricates his omnipotence he is the ultimate
authority over all.
After completing my bachelor’s degree in
biochemistry, I gave up my plans to attend medical
school, focusing instead on George. There were
about 15 devotees, and we called ourselves the
“Group.” While holding jobs in the real world and
sharing homes with unenlightened family, we steadily
separated ourselves, both mentally and emotionally.
George claimed that without the Energy, there was no
truth. Thus, all outsiders lacked credibility. According
to him, spending time in his presence was the only
path to spiritual freedom and safety. Competition
surged as we all attended numerous, costly sessions,
seeking to top one another. Exhausting our finances
to feed the addiction, many of us had trouble paying
basic expenses.
George’s personality began to change. Unpredictably,
his sweet, fatherly disposition gave way to violent
rage. Murderously ranting, he called us cowards,
ungrateful failures, and destructive to the quest. We
trembled in fear as he reminded us that he had three
black belts and knew how to kill someone. Randomly,
he would choose a target for the hot seat and
demand them to “stop resisting the Energy.” To avoid
similar treatment, the rest of us contributed to the
attack, proving we knew better. Escalating, he would
eject the terrified devotee from his house under
threat of permanent banishment. Expulsion meant
certain destruction. How could we survive outside
where no one knew what George had discovered?
Thus inevitably, after much apologizing and pleading,
he would relent, magnanimously offering one more
final chance. His control over present and future was
absolute. (Burchard, 2020)
During my two decades
with the guru of a small,
New Age cult in New York
City, I experienced both
interpersonal violence and
cultic abuse.
to freedom. Soon after my 18th birthday, he seduced
me. Those encounters were scary and intoxicating.
George swore me to secrecy. He had a wife and two
preteen children. (Burchard, 2020)
Manipulation of Behavior
The abuser infiltrates the target’s life, consumes her schedule,
and redirects her plans. He convinces her to participate in
activities generated by the cultic system and to socialize with
him/other members. With increased involvement come requests
for concessions on her part. Convincing her to change her plans
for him or extracting a financial contribution are common.
Within a year, George was fired. Taking five of the
psychiatrist’s patients with him, he opened up shop
in my mother’s Upper West Side apartment where we
all attended a weekly group meeting. After a lonely
childhood, this new family felt like exactly what I had
been missing. George encouraged us to spend time
with each other to reinforce his teachings. “Those
dumbos in the Crazy World will hold you back. You
should only visit with them to break your connections
and to learn how not to live.” Obediently, my mother
and I abandoned the few friends and family that we
had. George had cast his spell, successfully installing
himself at the center of our universe. (Burchard, 2020)
Stage 2: Totalistic Indoctrination
The second stage involves reprogramming (“unfreezing and
changing” Hassan, 1990, p. 67) and commitment (“refreezing”
Hassan, 1990, p. 67). It is marked by contrived scenarios and
strategically applied tools of influence, prompting increasing
levels of compliance on the victim’s part. The abuser erases
the past of the victim and frames her present, forging a cultic
pseudopersonality compatible with his self-serving autocracy
wherein roles and power dynamics are defined to suit his
agenda. Employing coercive tactics cloaked beneath half-truths
and distractions, the abuser works diligently to assimilate the
victim into his distorted, alternate reality. Eventually, as she
moves toward full submission to his will, the perpetrator’s mask
slips and his abusive practices progressively emerge.
Unfreezing and Changing
The hallmarks of the unfreezing and changing (Hassan, 1990,
p. 67) phase are the stripping of the victim’s authentic identity
and the construction of a pseudoidentity through isolation
and engulfment. To establish a foundation for change, the
perpetrator launches a campaign of identity disassembly. He
may change the victim’s appellation, clothing, or hairstyle.
Through suggestion, condemnation, or outright demand,
he provokes severance from her social ties—particularly
those that are supportive and loving—inserting himself (or
cult group members) in lieu of them. She may be coerced
into discontinuing her education, resigning from her place
of employment, or disaffiliating from other groups and
institutions. To create disempowerment and dependency, he
controls how her basic needs such as food, clothing, bathing,
and toileting are met. He may deny her privacy, subject her
to degrading conditions, interrupt sleep, or overschedule her
to the point of exhaustion. While she adjusts to and practices
abuser-defined lifestyle changes, he introduces stress, fear,
and ultimately, terror, in stark contrast to the honeymoon.
This process completes the trauma bond—the superglue
that tethers victim to abuser—an addictive state of instability
marked by unpredictable rewards and punishments. Thus, the
cultic abuser fabricates his omnipotence he is the ultimate
authority over all.
After completing my bachelor’s degree in
biochemistry, I gave up my plans to attend medical
school, focusing instead on George. There were
about 15 devotees, and we called ourselves the
“Group.” While holding jobs in the real world and
sharing homes with unenlightened family, we steadily
separated ourselves, both mentally and emotionally.
George claimed that without the Energy, there was no
truth. Thus, all outsiders lacked credibility. According
to him, spending time in his presence was the only
path to spiritual freedom and safety. Competition
surged as we all attended numerous, costly sessions,
seeking to top one another. Exhausting our finances
to feed the addiction, many of us had trouble paying
basic expenses.
George’s personality began to change. Unpredictably,
his sweet, fatherly disposition gave way to violent
rage. Murderously ranting, he called us cowards,
ungrateful failures, and destructive to the quest. We
trembled in fear as he reminded us that he had three
black belts and knew how to kill someone. Randomly,
he would choose a target for the hot seat and
demand them to “stop resisting the Energy.” To avoid
similar treatment, the rest of us contributed to the
attack, proving we knew better. Escalating, he would
eject the terrified devotee from his house under
threat of permanent banishment. Expulsion meant
certain destruction. How could we survive outside
where no one knew what George had discovered?
Thus inevitably, after much apologizing and pleading,
he would relent, magnanimously offering one more
final chance. His control over present and future was
absolute. (Burchard, 2020)
During my two decades
with the guru of a small,
New Age cult in New York
City, I experienced both
interpersonal violence and
cultic abuse.
