An Object Relations Approach to Cult Membership

Salande, Joseph D.; Perkins, David R.

doi:10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2011.65.4.381

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 15 publications

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“…Some researchers propose that cults foster disorganised attachment (Stein & Russell, 2016) which is reminiscent of the earlier comments (Mitchell, L.J., guest, 2019) regarding bonding with field guides at the moment of psychological collapse. Other researchers point to the demand for compliance, uncritical thinking, denial of volition, and denial of the self (Salande & Perkins, 2011) that were previously identified as WT conditions in the pursuit of dissonance. The aftermath of cult experiences, described by S. Rosen (2017) is similar to WT survivor accounts of derealisation, amnesia and fugue with co-existing cult and non-cult selves, and 'shame and guilt about pleasure, self-promotion and self-expression' (p. 20).…”

Section: Critical Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The dissociative mechanism of change in wilderness and adventure therapy; Psychological harm and possible malpractice

Pringle,

Dubon,

Mater

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Wilderness and adventure therapy (WT, AT) have employed cognitive or adaptive dissonance and involuntary treatment for decades. Cognitive dissonance occurs when people are faced with situations that do not confirm their expectations. Past WT participants have protested that involuntary, inescapable and harsh conditions harmed them through PTSD and dissociation. We compare dissonance and dissociation using a critical realist and argumentative research process using publicly available data. We argue that dissociation is a response, recorded both in the design of WT and in participant statement, that is mistaken for dissonance. Deliberate use of forced cognitive dissonance during involuntary treatments are also the conditions that may cause dissociation. Therefore, planning to enforce cognitive dissonance during coercive WT or AT is likely to be harmful and, knowing of this potential, may be regarded as malpractice.

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Section: Critical Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The dissociative mechanism of change in wilderness and adventure therapy; Psychological harm and possible malpractice

Pringle,

Dubon,

Mater

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Cult membership: What factors contribute to joining or leaving?

Rousselet

Duretete

Hardouin

et al. 2017

Psychiatry Research

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We assumed that, as in the case of addiction disorders, former cult members exhibit vulnerability and protective factors for cult commitment and membership. Thus, the aim of our study was to identify vulnerability factors that are involved in the commitment and in the retention in the group, as well as protective factors that are involved in the departure. We interviewed 31 former cult members, using semi-structured interviews to evaluate their clinical profile, characteristics of the cultic group and their experience in the group. Cult membership and addictive disorders share some characteristics: persistence despite damage, initial psychological relief, occupation of an exclusive place in the thoughts of members, high psychiatric comorbidity prevalence, high accessibility, leading to social precariousness and the importance of familial support when leaving. Three main axes of improvement were highlighted: regulations concerning cults in order to limit their social presence, which appears to be a vulnerability factor for commitment; social and therapeutic follow-up when a member leaves a group so that social precariousness does not become an obstacle to departure; and familial support to maintain a link with the member, as the intervention of a person from outside of the group is an important protective factor for leaving.

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An analysis of the writing of ‘suicide cult’ members

Hodges

Paxton-Fear

2021

Digital Scholarship in the Humanities

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The infamous ‘Heaven’s Gate cult’ committed a mass suicide in 1995 believing members of the group would achieve salvation through bodily transformation and departure aboard UFOs. The group left a large volume of writing available as a book and a website which outlined their belief structure. This writing, largely by the group’s leaders Ti and Do, is supplemented by ‘exit statements’ written by the group members. We analysed these writings and demonstrated how the texts evolve from accessible texts for recruiting individuals into the group through more complex texts for cementing the belief structure and reinforcing the ingroup. We also identify differences in the ‘exit statements’ that demonstrate the ideas and concepts that gained traction with the group members.

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An Object Relations Approach to Cult Membership

Cited by 3 publications

References 15 publications

The dissociative mechanism of change in wilderness and adventure therapy; Psychological harm and possible malpractice

The dissociative mechanism of change in wilderness and adventure therapy; Psychological harm and possible malpractice

Cult membership: What factors contribute to joining or leaving?

An analysis of the writing of ‘suicide cult’ members

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