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strategic interactive approach

Ex-MAGA Troll David Weissman Gives Interview about His Process of Realizing That Facts Matter

2019-11-21T13:12:02-05:00November 21st, 2019|Blog|

This past Monday, November 18, 2019, was the 41st anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre where over 900 people were killed. Last year, I wrote a blog about this tragedy and how it forever changed me: Jonestown and the Mind Control Cult of Jim Jones: A Survivor’s Story. Most of the people who died were members of the People’s Temple, led by cult leader Jim Jones. When many think of this tragedy, brainwashing and mind control is the lesson to remember. People were programmed to do what Jones told them to do as they widely believed him to be God’s authority on earth. [...]

What Is Wrong with Asking “How to Deprogram People from a Fervent Belief in Trump?”

2019-10-31T14:32:24-05:00October 31st, 2019|Blog|

I have been doing interviews for The Cult of Trump book and, increasingly, the question of deprogramming is used, especially in the header. What I would like my readers to understand is that this comes from the editor or producer and not at my request. I have never liked the term "deprogramming", even though I was successfully deprogrammed from the Moonies in 1976 and spent a year of helping people exit the Moonies using a forcible method. When judges would no longer grant an ex-parte conservatorship to parents of cult members, it became clear that it was illegal to do [...]

Webinar: How to Help a Family Member Who Is Being Mind Controlled

2019-09-27T13:00:47-05:00September 27th, 2019|Blog|

Next Thursday, October 3rd, I will be doing my first webinar with Donna Andersen, founder of the nonprofit, Lovefraud Education and Recovery. It will be live starting at 6:30 p.m.- 8:30 pm Eastern. It will be recorded for anyone unable to participate in the live program. The description and details are below. Donna Andersen, program administrator, launched Lovefraud.com in 2005, and has collected more than 10,000 cases of people who have been involved with sociopaths. It is a great idea to do training videos for mental health and other healthcare professionals, as well as, the general public. My webinar [...]

The Ninth International Conference on Complex Systems 2018 Sponsored by NECSI

2019-10-21T08:39:30-05:00July 26th, 2018|Blog, News and Updates|

July 26, 2018, This past Sunday, July 22, 2018, I was honored to be the opening plenary speaker at the 9th International Conference on Complex Systems (ICCS) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. My talk was entitled, A Complex Systems Approach to Countering Mind Control, Trafficking and, Terrorism. It was well-received, the questions were many, and the feedback was excellent. The video of my talk is here. Founder and President of NECSI, Dr. Yaneer Bar-Yam and myself ICCS is a unique interdisciplinary forum that unifies and bridges the traditional domains [...]

Freedom of Mind: Index of Blogs

2018-12-16T20:52:05-05:00July 19th, 2018|Blog|

June 19, 2018 I try to blog every week with updates about my work, research, current events, high control groups, coercive control, media and other topics.  I have written pieces on U.S. politics, world news, child abuse, human trafficking, terrorism, undue influence, multi-level marketing, and healing and recovery.  Whether you are new to Freedom of Mind or have been a long-time supporter or even former client, I think you will benefit from this resourceful list of previous articles. If you like one of these blogs, please share it on your social media. If you have suggestions for future blogs, [...]

Errant Belief #10: “We Have Lost Hope”

2018-12-16T19:33:48-05:00June 21st, 2018|Blog, Resources and Support|

Have a Positive Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Not a Negative One In my opinion, giving up hope is a dysfunctional coping mechanism to deal with the pain. Unfortunately, it suggests incorrectly that there is nothing constructive that can be done. If family members and friends no longer believe that the person will reestablish contact (if they have disconnected) or leave the group, then at least they will no longer be angry, frustrated, sad, disappointed and even depressed. Some people have actually told me that they have grieved their loved one as if he had already died. I say, “If the person [...]

Errant Belief #9: “She’ll Walk out on Her Own When She Is Ready”

2018-12-16T19:34:00-05:00May 31st, 2018|Blog|

Is She Really Free to Leave? This attitude presumes that the cult member has the freedom of mind, finances, and the resources to just "leave." The bars are invisible but very real. In my experience, depending on the length of his involvement, the "exit cost" is usually very high to walk out of a high demand group. The indoctrination of the group's beliefs, along with the habits ingrained into behavior, make it difficult to leave without help. If she did have freedom of mind, I can say from my own experience, she would have left the group long ago. [...]

The Freedom of Mind Approach to Recovery and Healing from Destructive Cults

2018-12-16T19:49:06-05:00May 17th, 2018|Blog, Resources and Support|

The Freedom of Mind approach to recovery and healing from destructive cults is customizable and designed to meet the needs of most any person who has been influenced by a cult. People who were born or raised in a cult have spent their early developmental years under cult control. Other people may have entered into a cult later on in life as adolescents, young adults, adults, or older adults. Both sets of former cult members may have very significant needs for recovery and healing. The Freedom of Mind approach to recovery and healing helps the former cult member to [...]

Errant Belief #6: “He’s Too Intelligent to Join a Cult”

2018-12-16T19:34:44-05:00April 19th, 2018|Blog|

Intelligent People Fall Prey to Cults Creativity & Imagination Can Be Used to Control a Person Cult mind control groups thrive to the extent that they can recruit such intelligent, dynamic people. It is essential for all members of the Team (part of the SIA) to realize that cults target these people for recruitment. The more creative a mind a person has, the more his imagination can be used to control him. Indeed, bright people sometimes have even more sophisticated fantasies about the group and its doctrine than does the cult leader. The bright member usually follows his [...]

Charles Duhigg’s New York Times Podcast: “Change Agent”

2018-12-16T20:52:18-05:00March 8th, 2018|Blog, Media Reviews|

The "Change Agent" podcast is a five-episode series by The New York Times. It is hosted by Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and author of "The Power of Habit" and "Smarter Faster Better." It uses real-life problems to try and solve a surprising story. (When we worked on the podcast last year, Duhigg was a senior editor, but since then he is no longer there.) The New York Times describes it "as a new five-part podcast series that turns obstacles into opportunities. Each episode unearths surprising stories from science and business to offer answers to people’s problems. [They] [...]