18 ICSA TODAY
Cult Recovery: A
Clinician’s Guide to
Working With Former
Members and Family
Edited by Lorna Goldberg, William Goldberg, Rosanne Henry,
and Michael Langone
Bonita Springs, FL: International Cultic Studies Association. 2017.
ISBN-10: 0931337097 ISBN-13: 978-0931337093 (paperback). 500
pages. 79.00 (Amazon.com).
Reviewed by Robin Boyle
This timely collection of essays provides an overview of current
approaches to understanding and treating cultic trauma. It is a
clinical book, yet eminently readable and definitely appropriate
for people who have experienced cultic abuse, their families
and friends, researchers, scholars, and the public in general.
This book is a remarkable compilation of models and therapy
strategies. Drawing upon the contributors’ years of experience
in working directly with those who were harmed by cults, this
resource provides new developments in the counseling and
research field.
When the topic of cults comes up in conversation among those
outside of a group, a question often asked is whether cults still
exist. Michael Langone’s 2005 survey explains that not only are
cults still in existence, but the average length of one’s stay in a
cult has more than doubled: In the 1970s, the average term was
2.7 years, in contrast with the more recent statistic of 6.7 years.
Moreover, the average age of the cult member went from 21
years (college age) to older—24.8 years. And more so than when
they were younger, these older former members tend to seek
help independently of their families doing so. That’s not to say
that family members don’t seek help, as well.
The advent of children being born to cult members necessitated
new discoveries about different counseling strategies. Whereas
in the 1970s and 1980s mostly young adults were recruited, fast
forward to the year 2000, when those born into the cults now
began seeking treatment themselves. This group is sometimes
referred to as second-generation adults (SGAs), although it has
become apparent that even this term is not fully representative
because today there are people whose cultic background
extends for multiple generations. People born or raised in
cults have personalities shaped within a controlled and often
destructive environment. They differ from those recruited as
young adults who had a former identity, personality, and sense
of family/friends outside of the group. As those who sought
treatment have changed, so has the therapy.
The chapters in Cult Recovery: A Clinician’s Guide… are divided
into five sections, beginning with Helping Families Cope
with Loved Ones’ Cult Membership. Authors introduce useful
structures, such as Lorna and William Goldberg’s phases of
familial reactions: ignorance or denial, recognition, exploration,
and action. William Goldberg discusses helping family members
understand and cope with a loved one’s involvement in what
appears to be a problematic group (Chapter 1). He provides a
helpful explanation of what exit counseling and intervention
mean today: “…a successful intervention with a cult counselor
will only give the cult member the opportunity to make an
informed choice of whether to stay in the cult or leave” (p. 14).
Another approach is appropriate when loved ones’ exiting
a group seems unlikely. Then, as Patricia Millar and Cristina
Caparesi explain, mediating disputes among family members
within and outside the group using a relational conflict-
resolution model may be an option (Chapter 2). Finally, Carol
Giambalvo traces the history and discusses different types of exit
counseling and those who have provided it, explaining that the
goal is for members to examine their commitment to the group
(Chapter 3).
The second set of chapters pertains to Helping Former
Members—Individual Psychotherapy. Experienced therapists
bring to light their successful, yet continually evolving,
theories of treating those who have suffered from trauma and
cult experiences. Explored are treatment for trauma victims
(Shelly Rosen, Chapter 4) executive-functioning enhancement
techniques (Steve K. D. Eichel, Chapter 5) attachment theory
(Rosanne Henry, Chapter 6) therapeutic approaches (Leona
Furnari, Chapter 7, and Madeleine L. Tobias, Chapter 8) therapy
for first-generation former members (Doni Whitsett, Chapter
9) the role of self-care (Linda Dubrow-Marshall and Rod
Dubrow-Marshall, Chapter 10) and techniques for helping
first-generation parents and second-generation children (Lorna
Goldberg, Chapter 11). These chapters include case examples,
which are very useful, particularly for a reader who might not be
familiar with the theories presented.
The third section covers Support Groups. Here, the Goldbergs
explain that support groups are valuable for helping former
members deal with harms they may have experienced within
their cultic groups, unresolved feelings and symptoms, and the
many challenges they encounter in their postcult lives (Chapter
12). Patrick J. Knapp details a model of the faith-based approach
to support groups (Chapter 13).
...the average length of one’s stay
in a cult has more than doubled:
In the 1970s, the average term
was 2.7 years, in contrast with
the more recent statistic of 6.7
years. Moreover, the average
age of the cult member went
from 21 years (college age) to
older—24.8 years.
Cult Recovery: A
Clinician’s Guide to
Working With Former
Members and Family
Edited by Lorna Goldberg, William Goldberg, Rosanne Henry,
and Michael Langone
Bonita Springs, FL: International Cultic Studies Association. 2017.
ISBN-10: 0931337097 ISBN-13: 978-0931337093 (paperback). 500
pages. 79.00 (Amazon.com).
Reviewed by Robin Boyle
This timely collection of essays provides an overview of current
approaches to understanding and treating cultic trauma. It is a
clinical book, yet eminently readable and definitely appropriate
for people who have experienced cultic abuse, their families
and friends, researchers, scholars, and the public in general.
This book is a remarkable compilation of models and therapy
strategies. Drawing upon the contributors’ years of experience
in working directly with those who were harmed by cults, this
resource provides new developments in the counseling and
research field.
When the topic of cults comes up in conversation among those
outside of a group, a question often asked is whether cults still
exist. Michael Langone’s 2005 survey explains that not only are
cults still in existence, but the average length of one’s stay in a
cult has more than doubled: In the 1970s, the average term was
2.7 years, in contrast with the more recent statistic of 6.7 years.
Moreover, the average age of the cult member went from 21
years (college age) to older—24.8 years. And more so than when
they were younger, these older former members tend to seek
help independently of their families doing so. That’s not to say
that family members don’t seek help, as well.
The advent of children being born to cult members necessitated
new discoveries about different counseling strategies. Whereas
in the 1970s and 1980s mostly young adults were recruited, fast
forward to the year 2000, when those born into the cults now
began seeking treatment themselves. This group is sometimes
referred to as second-generation adults (SGAs), although it has
become apparent that even this term is not fully representative
because today there are people whose cultic background
extends for multiple generations. People born or raised in
cults have personalities shaped within a controlled and often
destructive environment. They differ from those recruited as
young adults who had a former identity, personality, and sense
of family/friends outside of the group. As those who sought
treatment have changed, so has the therapy.
The chapters in Cult Recovery: A Clinician’s Guide… are divided
into five sections, beginning with Helping Families Cope
with Loved Ones’ Cult Membership. Authors introduce useful
structures, such as Lorna and William Goldberg’s phases of
familial reactions: ignorance or denial, recognition, exploration,
and action. William Goldberg discusses helping family members
understand and cope with a loved one’s involvement in what
appears to be a problematic group (Chapter 1). He provides a
helpful explanation of what exit counseling and intervention
mean today: “…a successful intervention with a cult counselor
will only give the cult member the opportunity to make an
informed choice of whether to stay in the cult or leave” (p. 14).
Another approach is appropriate when loved ones’ exiting
a group seems unlikely. Then, as Patricia Millar and Cristina
Caparesi explain, mediating disputes among family members
within and outside the group using a relational conflict-
resolution model may be an option (Chapter 2). Finally, Carol
Giambalvo traces the history and discusses different types of exit
counseling and those who have provided it, explaining that the
goal is for members to examine their commitment to the group
(Chapter 3).
The second set of chapters pertains to Helping Former
Members—Individual Psychotherapy. Experienced therapists
bring to light their successful, yet continually evolving,
theories of treating those who have suffered from trauma and
cult experiences. Explored are treatment for trauma victims
(Shelly Rosen, Chapter 4) executive-functioning enhancement
techniques (Steve K. D. Eichel, Chapter 5) attachment theory
(Rosanne Henry, Chapter 6) therapeutic approaches (Leona
Furnari, Chapter 7, and Madeleine L. Tobias, Chapter 8) therapy
for first-generation former members (Doni Whitsett, Chapter
9) the role of self-care (Linda Dubrow-Marshall and Rod
Dubrow-Marshall, Chapter 10) and techniques for helping
first-generation parents and second-generation children (Lorna
Goldberg, Chapter 11). These chapters include case examples,
which are very useful, particularly for a reader who might not be
familiar with the theories presented.
The third section covers Support Groups. Here, the Goldbergs
explain that support groups are valuable for helping former
members deal with harms they may have experienced within
their cultic groups, unresolved feelings and symptoms, and the
many challenges they encounter in their postcult lives (Chapter
12). Patrick J. Knapp details a model of the faith-based approach
to support groups (Chapter 13).
...the average length of one’s stay
in a cult has more than doubled:
In the 1970s, the average term
was 2.7 years, in contrast with
the more recent statistic of 6.7
years. Moreover, the average
age of the cult member went
from 21 years (college age) to
older—24.8 years.
