Steven Hassan

Steven Hassan, PhD, MA, MEd, LMHC, NCC has helped thousands of individuals and families recover from undue influence (mind control). With over 45 years of experience, he is sought after as one of the foremost authorities on undue influence and controlling groups and individuals. Steve understands the subject from a unique perspective as both a former cult member and as a clinical professional.

Steven is the Founding Director of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center, a coaching, consulting, and training organization dedicated to supporting individuals to have the freedom to think clearly and to freely consider how they want to live their lives.  Steven pioneered a breakthrough method called the Strategic Interactive Approach (SIA), an effective and legal alternative for families to help cult members.  The SIA teaches family and friends how to strategically influence the individual involved in the cult.

Contact Freedom of Mind to schedule a consultation or to learn about offered services.

Learn about how the Strategic Interactive Approach can help rescue your friend or loved one out from under predatory influence.

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Birth, Parenting, and Empowerment with Birth Doula, Certified Lactation Counselor and New Parent Educator Julie Hartman 

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e often focus on the dark side of the influence continuum on the podcast. This time we are discussing preparing how to do ethical parenting with Julie Hartman, a Certified Birth Doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, and New Parent Educator. She supports families in the perinatal period through support groups and teaching classes on living with a newborn. Most importantly, she is the mom of three adult children and can connect with the people she works with through shared experiences. 

Birth, Parenting, and Empowerment with Birth Doula, Certified Lactation Counselor and New Parent Educator Julie Hartman  Read More

Watchtower Society: Understanding the Jehovah’s Witnesses with Isaac Carmignani 

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Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) are well-known for their door-to-door solicitation and distributing literature, such as their Watchtower and AWAKE! magazines. However, most people do not know of the authoritarian BITE Model policies that affect JWs. Consequently, former JW elder Isaac Carmignani, a friend and colleague, shares critically important facts about this religious organization.  

Carmignani was raised a Jehovah’s Witness (JW) and was baptized at age 11. As a child, he experienced severe corporal punishment, a well-known cult practice. From 1995 to 2006, he was an elder in the JW organization; however, in 2007, Carmignani formally disassociated himself. He disagreed with their interpretation of the Bible and the belief that only JWs were good Christians while all other Christians were evil. In fact, a member was not allowed to enter any church other than a Kingdom Hall; the name JWs call their meeting places.

Watchtower Society: Understanding the Jehovah’s Witnesses with Isaac Carmignani  Read More

What is Hypnosis? Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)?  Scientology and more!

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In the past months, I have been working on two chapters on “The Dark Side of Hypnosis” for a forthcoming International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis. I asked law professor emeritus Alan Scheflin to work with me as well as Jon Atack. Scheflin focused on one chapter on the U.S. government mind control program MKUltra and George Estabrooks. I focused on authoritarian cult leaders like Ron Hubbard of Scientology infamy and others. For anyone interested in Scientology or the topic of cults, I recommend Atack’s paper Never Believe a Hypnotist. It is of interest that Hubbard used those very words. Hubbard was a hypnotist. 

What is Hypnosis? Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)?  Scientology and more! Read More

Nazis of Copley Square: The Forgotten History Of The Christian Front With Charles R. Gallagher  

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Nazism, anti-semitism, and their anti-communist hateful and fearful rhetoric are aimed to stir true believers against those who oppose them. Rachel Maddow’s podcast, Ultra, is about Nazism in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s. She based her podcast on the scholarly work of a Jesuit historian Professor Charles R. Gallagher, and his award-winning book. I was fascinated to learn more and discovered that he teaches at nearby Boston College. So we met for lunch, and he kindly consented to this fascinating interview.

Nazis of Copley Square: The Forgotten History Of The Christian Front With Charles R. Gallagher   Read More

Freeing People From Indoctrination With Rachel Bernstein, LMFT 

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Working with people in cults or who have escaped them requires much empathy, compassion, and knowledge. Rachel Bernstein has all those and more, which she’s used for the last 30 years in her work in cult intervention and re-acclimation.  

Bernstein is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) from Los Angeles, California. She serves on the advisory board of the International Cultic Studies Association and has worked with the Department of Justice, providing support to cult victims who testify against their perpetrators. Bernstein and her father have known and worked together for decades now.

Freeing People From Indoctrination With Rachel Bernstein, LMFT  Read More

Born Into And Married In The Moon Cult With Elgen Strait

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Elgen Strait was not only born into the Moonies but participated in an arranged mass marriage ceremony (the so-called “blessing”). His parents were active members when I was in the cult in the 1970s.  He’s a fellow survivor. Strait hosts Falling Out with Elgen Strait, a podcast focused on the experiences of second-generation survivors of the Moonies. Strait’s work on the podcast aims to expose the abuse, manipulation, and hypocrisy of the Moon cult. He provides a forum for ex-second-generation members to share resources that can aid them in their journeys out of the cult and through the transition into living in the “outside world.” Listening to Falling Out has been a catalyst for many members to wake up and exit the cult. Many who left the cult continue to have difficulty staying connected and accepted by their parents, who remain in the cult. 

Born Into And Married In The Moon Cult With Elgen Strait Read More

How Online Spaces And Communities Are Indoctrinating Gen Z And Gen A With Chloe Combi 

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The digital age has brought about a massive change in the way we think, feel, communicate, and behave. For young people born and raised in a digital world, being online for an average of eleven hours a day affects not only their brain development, such as shortened attention span, ability to concentrate, social skills, and mental well-being. As well as this, young people’s need for connection and belonging is being exploited by unhealthy ‘influencers’ online, who are using the internet to indoctrinate and radicalize them.

How Online Spaces And Communities Are Indoctrinating Gen Z And Gen A With Chloe Combi  Read More

Professor Alan Scheflin’s Social Influence Model (SIM)

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Law Professor Alan W. Scheflin coined the phrase The Myth of the Unmalleable Mind which is the basic belief that we are in control of our own minds and cannot be unfairly influenced outside of our awareness. This is a comforting thought; however, history has shown that this “comforting thought” is a myth. Most readers of this book have come to this understanding the hard way. 

Professor Alan Scheflin’s Social Influence Model (SIM) Read More

Autism, Extremism, And Protecting The Vulnerable With Dr. Tony Attwood

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I feel honored to interview Dr. Tony Attwood, one of the world’s foremost experts on Autism Spectrum Disorder. His first book, Asperger’s Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals, is considered a must-read book. Dr. Attwood hailed from the U.K. and completed his education with an honors degree in psychology, a master’s degree in clinical psychology, and a Ph.D. His interest in autism was first sparked when he volunteered at a school during the summer of 1971. He met two autistic children and became fascinated with their interests, abilities, and challenges. Some thirty years later, he realized his own son was “on the spectrum.”

Autism, Extremism, And Protecting The Vulnerable With Dr. Tony Attwood Read More

Mormonism, Mental Health, And Whistleblowing With Dr. John Dehlin 

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Whistleblowers often suffer consequences for speaking out, and our guest Dr. John Dehlin knows that first-hand. A 6th generation member, he was excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) for speaking up about gay rights and the suicide problem within the LDS church and for hosting a podcast that discussed problems with LDS Church history, truth claims, etc. They didn’t like him raising those issues, but he persevered and is now helping provide support for Mormons experiencing religious faith crises.   

Mormonism, Mental Health, And Whistleblowing With Dr. John Dehlin  Read More

Recruited at Sarah Lawrence College Into The Larry Ray Cult With Daniel Barban Levin 

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On January 20th, 2023, Larry Ray was sentenced to 60 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy, violent crime in aid of racketeering, extortion, sex trafficking, forced labor, tax evasion, and money laundering offenses. Daniel Barban Levin escaped the cult and used writing to process his mind control experience. He also wanted to do something to help his friends, who were still psychologically imprisoned. His memoir, Slonim Woods 9, published in 2021, was a revealing and poetic description of his time in a mind control cult. Former members sometimes utilize writing as a device to release painful experiences through journaling, poetry, and novels. I loved listening to this book.

Recruited at Sarah Lawrence College Into The Larry Ray Cult With Daniel Barban Levin  Read More