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Connie A. Mitchell |Abuses Produce Similar Psychological Effects in Survivors
Abuses Produce Similar Psychological Effects in Survivors
of High Control Groups and Survivors of Sex Trafficking:
A Comparative Study
Connie A. Mitchell1 and William Douglas Woody2
Abstract: This article is the first of two related projects. It examines the characteristics of high control groups (HCGs)
and sex trafficking (ST), with emphasis on definitions, alignment with Lifton’s criteria of thought reform, typical identity
progression of members, and trauma bonds. The manuscript then compares HCGs and ST and examines similarities
related to Lifton’s criteria, identity progression, trauma bonds, and the financial, social, and psychological factors involved
in recruitment into HCGs or ST. These similarities in experiences, tactics, bonds, and neurological and hormonal factors
justify the forthcoming second part of this project, which will recommend similar therapeutic approaches to survivors of
both abusive contexts.
Keywords: sex trafficking, high control group(s), coercive control, trauma bond(s), trauma-coerced bond(s), cult
1 Freedom’s Hope Counseling, LLC
2 University of Northern Colorado
Untold millions of lives have been hijacked around
the world by sex trafficking (ST) and high-control
groups (HCGs) (Bert, 2018 Hassan &Shah, 2019
Polaris, 2026). Many parallels exist between these
forms of abuse in both environments, individuals
typically experience sexual, financial, emotional, and
psychological exploitation (Hassan, 2016 Hassan &
Shah, 2019 Lundstrom, 2019 Thomas, 2023) and
often violence (Bandow, 2016 Dubrow-Marshall,
2010 Farley, 2003). This article specifically highlights
similarities in definitions and alignment with Lifton’s
(1961/2014) criteria for thought reform, identity
progression, and trauma bonds.
This article plays a central role in a larger research
program. It compares the characteristics of HCGs
and ST and evaluates how these contexts share similar
characteristics. Based on the similarities demonstrated
in this manuscript, a subsequent manuscript seeks
to assist mental health professionals and others in
developing more effective treatment plans and other
supports for survivors from both abusive contexts. The
subsequent article will promote empathy and urgency,
as well as the development of multidisciplinary teams
in governmental, professional, and public communities
to support survivors of HCGs and ST.
doi: 10.54208/1000/00092/04
In the following materials, we compare HCGs and ST.
In particular, we first define HCGs and then consider
HCGs’ alignment with Lifton’s (1961/2014) criteria
for thought reform. Next, we describe HCG identity
progression, followed by an evaluation of first-,
second-, and multi-generation survivors, as well as the
trauma bonds that form in these contexts. Following
this review of HCGs, the authors evaluate ST using
the same strategies. The article then directly compares
HCGs and ST, concluding with an evaluation of the
many similarities in financial, social, and psychological
factors related to recruitment and retention in both
contexts. This review justifies the subsequent article,
which recommends similar treatments for survivors of
HCGs and ST.
High Control Groups
The definition and identification of groups that may
employ coercion, abuse, and manipulation can present
substantial challenges (see Bromley &Shupe, 1981
Dillon &Richardson, 1994 Lemov, 2025 Ogloff &
Pfeifer, 1992 Rosedale &Langone, 2005 Woody,
2009 Zablocki &Robbins, 2001). Rather than define
groups categorically (i.e., to consider which groups
are or are not HCGs), we recommend consideration
of degrees of influence, vulnerability, and coercion as

International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation Volume 9, Issue 2 2026 60
well as degrees of physical, emotional, financial, and
sexual exploitation and abuse that may exist in the
group or context (Dubrow-Marshall, 2010 Scheflin,
2015 Woody, 2009). Consideration of actual and
potential harm to members remains paramount (West
&Langone, 1986 Woody, 2009). Broadly, HCGs
seek new members and financial resources (Hassan,
2016), and they may also promote exercise, politics,
philosophy, self-help, religion, multi-level marketing,
and other goals—including ST or terrorism (Hassan
&Shah, 2019 Singer, 2003). To achieve these goals,
HCGs use deceptive and manipulative social and
psychological tactics, which “heighten suggestibility
and subservience” (Farber, 2014, p. 2) and shape the
behaviors, thoughts, and feelings of members to serve
the wishes and desires of the leader(s) (Hassan &Shah,
2019). Singer (1990) stated that HCG “relationships
refer to relationships in which a person intentionally
induces others to become totally or nearly totally
dependent on the leader for most major life decisions”
(p. 1). HCG leaders often deceive their followers into
believing that leaders possess special knowledge,
talents, or gifts that benefit followers only if the
followers remain loyal (Singer et al., 1990).
Hassan and Shah (2019) estimated that the number of
HCG members worldwide was in the millions. South
Korea alone has a projected two million members
of HCGs (Vice World News, 2021). Eichel (2018)
suggested there are up to 10,000 HCG groups in the
United States, and Bancroft (2022) reported up to
2,000 HCGs in the United Kingdom. Observers have
identified HCGs in Norway, Chile, Japan, Uganda,
Russia, Canada, Switzerland, and France, among
others (Boyle-Laisure, 2018). Although Clark (1993)
estimated worldwide that HCGs have 6–10 million
followers, Hassan and Shah (2019) more recently
argued that it is not possible to estimate current
numbers.
HCGs and Lifton’s Criteria
HCGs use coercion and manipulation to remain in
power. They typically reflect Lifton’s (1961/2014) eight
criteria for thought reform.
1. Milieu Control: HCGs typically dominate
the environment, communication, and
individual thought.
2. Loading the Language: HCGs strictly
manage vocabulary.
3. Purity of Thought and Actions: HCGs
required followers to denounce previous beliefs
and moral standards, using shame and guilt to
devalue them.
4. Mystical Manipulation: HCGs typically
reframe members’ past experiences in a
negative light and describe group actions as
supernatural and as the most important values
in life.
5. Confessions: HCGs lower personal and
emotional boundaries through oversharing
and public confession.
6. Sacred Science: HCGs prioritize the group’s
beliefs over science and other sources of
information.
7. Doctrine over Person: HCGs typically
emphasize the group’s needs and values over
members’ needs and values.
8. Dispensing of Existence: HCGs generally
portray those outside the group as flawed or
evil, who may gain legitimacy only by joining
the group. For example, many HGCs exclude or
deny the existence of the LGBT+ community.
HCG Identity Progression
Scholars have devoted extensive attention to identity
progression in HGCs. Prior to joining an HCG as an
adult, an individual usually has an intact pre-group
identity. Upon entering an HCG, a destabilization of
the sense of self can occur (Doychak &Raghavan,
2020 Singer, 2003), and a new HCG-identity (also
called a pseudo-identity [West &Martin, 1994 Hassan
&Shah, 2019]) forms gradually through peer pressure,
interactions with the new social structure, and the
intense psychological milieu. Silverstone et al. (2021)
describe the process as causing the victim to “break
with both their subordinate and personal levels of
identity” (p. 27) in other words, this process changes
the entire person.