“Wouldn’t it be great if children came with a handbook?” Healthy parenting requires a deep commitment of time, energy, emotional maturity, and insight. Most likely, every parent has wished for a handbook more than once! […]
Healthy Parenting Helps Children Develop Their Unique Selves Read More
The Internet and social media have the potential to serve as a uniting force and are tools that can be used in positive ways. Certainly, during the on-going COVID-19 crisis, the Internet has been a vital way to continue working and learning, and maintaining at least a minimum of social contact, which is vital to the emotional health of human beings. The virus was first discovered in China and the genetic code of the virus was uploaded…
A Cure to the Metaverse: Relational Maturity- Aureet Bar-Yam Hassan’s Developmental Theory Read More
Ever hear of the Messianic Communities? or the Twelve Tribes? or the Yellow Deli? Well, this is a group I have known about and worked on for over thirty years. In fact, I wrote in Combating Cult Mind Control about an intervention…
Roger Griffin, former leader and 20 year member of “Twelve Tribes” Authoritarian Cult Read More
This past Sunday (January 9, 2022), I was invited to answer questions about the Mormon Church during an Ask Me Anything (AMA) for the subreddit group, ExMormon. This is the link to the entire thread: AMA: I’m Steven Hassan, Ask Me Anything! : exmormon (reddit.com). I had recently written…
LDS (Mormon) Church, Leaving & Recovery–Reddit AMA: ExMormons Read More
When most people think about cult mind control, they envision fringe religious leaders. In reality, cult mind control is used in many different circumstances: human trafficking, multi-level marketing, violent extremism. I strongly believe…
Overcoming Authoritarianism: Understanding Colonialism as Mind Control Read More
Back in 2018, I had the honor of being asked to participate in a podcast called Mormon Stories produced by Dr. John Dehlin, a former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (more commonly known as the Mormon Church). After being on…
Psychologist John Dehlin, former 6th Generation Mormon, on the LDS Church Read More
Thanksgiving has always been a time for families to come together. Unfortunately, many families have experienced polarization or division regarding topics like politics, religion…
How to help a friend or family member out of their extreme belief Read More
In my work with ex-cult members, I have been aware of the use of parental alienation tactics for many years. It occurs in situations where one parent leaves a cult, but the other parent remains. In such cases, cult policies usually call for extreme measures to “demonize” the ex-member and turn their children…
Parental Alienation: Turning Children Against Their Parent – with Dr. Amy Baker Read More
I am delighted to speak again with my colleague and friend, Gina Catena, about her experience being raised in the Transcendental Meditation cult, and how she successfully left and created a rich and meaningful life for herself and her children.
Escaping Transcendental Meditation: Nurse Midwife Gina Catena Tells Her Story Read More
Cults take on many disguises to recruit and control members, including religious organizations, marketing schemes, drug treatment, and even yoga or martial arts groups. But the tactics of recruitment and control are very similar, and the malignant narcissists who profit from the cults also act in similarly destructive ways.
Synanon and Enthusiastic Sobriety: Cults Disguised as Drug Treatment Read More
In previous blog posts, I have mentioned Shincheonji several times, most significantly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The cult was blamed by South Korean officials for the worst outbreak of this virus outside of
Shincheonji: A Cult Engaged in World-Wide Deceptive Recruitment Read More
LuLaRoe is one of the largest multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs) in history. Founded in 2012, the company became famous for selling colorful, patterned leggings and advertising heavily on social media. Last month, Amazon Prime released the original series “LuLaRich,” and brought LuLaRoe’s use of undue influence and mind control to the public’s attention.
LuLaRoe and the World of Commercial Cults: Interview With Roberta Blevins Read More
