Psychedelic research and experimentation are increasing around the nation under serious academic scrutiny. Findings indicate that in some instances, psychedelics may be helpful in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), particularly among veterans, where symptoms are common in areas such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, anger, and post-concussive syndrome. In a group where suicidality shows an alarming increase, adding another therapeutic tool using appropriate caution and influence appears hopeful.  

However, as research picks up in these areas of psychology, rarely do we discuss the potential dangers of cults, mind control, undue influence, or authoritarian control surrounding the topic of psychedelics. Silicon Valley billionaires reportedly are increasingly using psychedelics in non-therapeutic ways to produce business breakthroughs. In this community, there is a societal push for others to use them in a hugely irresponsible and potentially manipulative way.  

Neşe Devenot, Ph.D., addresses many of these concerns in her paper TESCREAL hallucinations: Psychedelic and AI hype as inequality engines. Neşe is a Senior Lecturer in Writing at Johns Hopkins University. She has participated in the interdisciplinary field of psychedelic study since 2010. Her postdoctoral fellowship is in the Department of Bioethics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and she received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, she achieved a research fellowship at the New York Public Library’s Timothy Leary Papers and the New York University Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Study. She explores the intersections between medical humanities, psychedelic bioethics, and rhetorical analysis as a scholar. 

Psychedelics as a Distraction from Raging Inequalities of Wealth and Resources 

Neşe began our interview by explaining that her interest in psychedelic study started after a firsthand experience with LSD in college at 18 years old that she found beneficial. She discovered a profound change in her lifelong history of debilitating obsessive-compulsive disorder and social anxiety that she believes stemmed from neurodivergence. However, as she pursued the path of psychedelic study, Neşe began to realize that not everything was “light and rainbows” in this area. She said she is now pushing for a more nuanced and critical perspective on psychedelics.  

One of the areas that concerns Neşe the most is the parallels she’s noticed between discussions around the perception of all-encompassing world-saving solutions in AI or the use of psychedelics. She points out that the vast inequalities between Silicon Valley billionaires and the general population actually cause widespread harm.  

As she researched deeper into the similarities between AI hype and psychedelic hype, she found themes of ultra-wealthy billionaires using both AI and psychedelics to distract from problems caused by inequality. Recurring themes of transhumanism and longtermism provide insight into billionaires’ plans to profit from the combination of technology, psychedelics, and modified consciousness.  

The acronym TESCREAL comes from the combination of many of those philosophies, such as Transhumanism, Extropianism, Singularitarianism, Cosmism, Rationalism, Effective Altruism, and Longtermism. In her paper released in the Journal of Psychedelic Studies, the conclusion stated, “This article demonstrates that TESCREALism is a driving force in major segments of the psychedelic pharmaceutical industry, where it is influencing the design of extractive systems that directly contradict the field’s world-healing aspirations. These findings contribute to a developing subfield of critical psychedelic studies, which interrogates the political and economic implications of psychedelic medicalization.” 

Exploring a Nuanced Approach to Psychedelic Therapeutic Use 

Neşe noted her motivation to come forward to discuss the problems in the psychedelic research community while acknowledging her history of beneficial experiences with psychedelics. Describing the field, she recalled a time when the fear that saying anything negative about the research could undo the attempts to legitimize institutional research and academic conversation. “I think it’s actually much better if those of us who do think that there’s value and potential in these substances are the ones to mention that it’s not always a positive outcome,” she stated.   

Tripsitters, Shamans, Therapists and Power Differentials 

Another area that Neşe noted concerns is the topic of tripsitters or psychedelic “guides” and the level of influence that person or persons might have within the role of a supervised psychedelic session. We discussed the risks for cult indoctrination, rape, ideological harm, and ethical complications involving multiple roles or dissolution of boundaries. I recalled Professor Alan Scheflin’s Social Influence Model. I noted the challenges of a vulnerable person in a relationship with an influencer of notable power differential, especially during an altered state.  

Neşe noted that with the limited positions available for participants in legitimate research trials, those desperate to find guided support often turn to underground channels. She cautions that there is much potential for abuse even in above-board trials, let alone in underground contexts. She discussed the delicate state known as the “afterglow” following a psychedelic experience, in which a person may be highly suggestible. She also described concerns about whether the positive effects noted in the afterglow state are reliable for reporting a cure. As individuals leave the afterglow, they may realize that the perceived benefit or cure is only temporary.  

Psychedelic Bioethics for Tripsitters and the Draw of Control 

Perhaps most concerning to Neşe is the appeal of the tripsitter role to individuals who may have a drive to exert control. I mentioned that having a videotape that is given to the client as a requirement of the session may be of benefit to protect from harm, as can be done in hypnotherapy. Other topics we discussed as potentially beneficial, especially for those with a history of cult influence, included getting a second opinion, checking in with family and friends, focusing on agency, being centered within one’s own body, and finding ethical people who genuinely care who you can reality test with. My BITE Model can also be beneficial in this evaluation.  

I reminded the audience that it’s not a small thing to take a mind-altering substance. You must ask whether you are in a safe space with trustworthy people. I suggested that people write down the experience, get a consultation to process it as necessary, and note that in unethical experiences, the individual may get blamed for adverse outcomes. I also recommended a way to start the evaluation of an experience with psychedelics, including Robert Jay Lifton’s Eight Criteria of Thought Reform.  

As we were wrapping up the interview, I reminded everyone that relationships in the “real world” matter. Sleeping, exercising, and eating good food is essential. Ultimately, we want planetary survival, not a TESCREAL hallucination.  

Resources:  

Neşe Devenot | University Writing Program | Johns Hopkins University (jhu.edu) 

TESCREAL hallucinations: Psychedelic and AI hype as inequality engines in: Journal of Psychedelic Studies Volume 7 Issue S1 (2023) (akjournals.com) 

Dave Troy Presents: Psychedelic Fascism with Neşe Devenot on Apple Podcasts 

Neşe Devenot (psymposia.com) 

Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy: Contrasting Visions – Conference at Harvard

Research — Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education (cpdre.org) 

Silicon Valley elites are reportedly taking ketamine and attending psychedelic parties to bolster their focus and creativity. Here’s what the drugs do to your brain | Fortune Well 

Magic Mushrooms. LSD. Ketamine. The Drugs That Power Silicon Valley. – WSJ 

April 2024 online webinar with Jules Evans and Steven Hassan

The post Psychedelic Research and Experimentation: Maintaining Strong Guardrails to Prevent TESCREAL Hallucinations and Undue Influence with Neşe Devenot, Ph.D.  appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

Over the last four decades, I have met and worked with many former members of the Kundalini Yoga cult founded by Yogi Bhajan. He set up numerous profit and non-profit entities, including the Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization (3HO), the Kundalini Research Institute, Sikh Dharma International, the multibillion-dollar companies Yogi Tea and Akal Security and the Siri Singh Sahib Corporation overlooking them all. 

In recent years, a series of books, podcasts, social media platforms, documentaries, and websites have rattled the Kundalini Yoga community by bringing to light extensive abuses committed by Yogi Bhajan and others within its institutions. I invited former member and teacher Els Coenen, to share her insights and experiences with this damaging group. 

Els Coenen earned a Ph.D. in nuclear physics in 1985 and subsequently established a career in the banking, IT, and telecom sectors within her home country, Belgium. However, her life took a transformative turn in 2007 at the age of 49, when she attended her first Kundalini Yoga class taught by Yogi Bhajan and was instantly captivated. She went on to become a devoted Kundalini Yoga instructor, teaching yoga, assisting and organizing Kundalini Yoga teacher training programs in Belgium, neighboring countries, and East Africa. For a decade, she also presided over the Belgium Kundalini Yoga Federation. 

In 2018, following several unsettling events, she decided to distance herself from the Kundalini Yoga community. However, when allegations of half a century of concealed abuse and criminal actions by Bhajan and his associates came to light in early 2020, that impacted the lives of hundreds of his followers and their children, she felt compelled to return and assist in revealing the truth. In 2021, she created the website Abuse in Kundalini Yoga, a platform aimed at exposing and addressing the sexual abuse, child abuse, homophobia, exploitation, business fraud, and drugs and arms trafficking within the community. Els served as a member of an advisory group for the Compassionate Reconciliation Program until December 2022. She recently released a book titled Under the Yoga Mat: The Dark History of Bhajan’s Kundalini Yoga, which brings together the stories of many survivors and draws a picture of the extent and variety of abuses and crimes. 

Yogi Bhajan, a Self-Proclaimed Kundalini Yoga Master 

In 1968, Harbhajan Singh Puri, a 39-year-old Punjabi Sikh and former customs officer at New Delhi’s airport, arrived in the US from India. Asserting that he was a revered holy man back in India and part of an ancient lineage of Kundalini Yoga masters, he adopted the moniker Yogi Bhajan. In truth, the form of Kundalini Yoga he espoused in 3HO was his own concoction, amalgamating various breathing and yoga exercises he borrowed from others without attribution. He integrated Sikh mantras into the core of his yoga practice and led his followers toward his distorted interpretation of Sikhism. Despite asserting that he was the religious and administrative figure for Sikhs in the Western Hemisphere, Els explained that many in the broader Sikh community largely rejected his association. 

Yogi Bhajan was, in reality, a deceitful businessman with high-ranking political and religious connections. Demonstrating shrewd entrepreneurship, he rapidly cultivated a devoted following. He dispatched his followers to establish ashrams, or yoga communities, throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. With the self-bestowed titles of Siri Singh Sahib and Mahan Tantric, he began to expand his networks and business ventures. His form of Kundalini Yoga gained increasing popularity and quickly spread globally. Bhajan presided over his rapidly growing empire for nearly four decades as an authoritarian and omniscient spiritual leader. By his death in 2004, his business enterprises were generating hundreds of millions of dollars. 

Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini Yoga Cult and the BITE Model 

Els Coenen and other former group members have provided compelling evidence that 3HO and its associated organizations meet numerous criteria of the BITE model, thereby qualifying as a destructive mind control cult. Their assessment places the group on the highly destructive end of the Influence Continuum. Els highlighted that the most heinous acts occurred in Yogi Bhajan’s inner circle and residential schools. From the early 80s, children were uprooted from their families and enrolled in school programs in India. These children were subjected to sexual abuse, corporal punishment, isolation, neglect, and emotional abuse. 

According to Els, Bhajan demanded unwavering obedience from his followers, encapsulated in his mantra, “obey, serve, love, excel.” His teachings fostered a divisive, absolutist ideology. Among his many spurious claims, Bhajan professed to see auras and predict the future. He was implicated in numerous reports of sexual assault, separated families, and propagated his teachings through intimidation. A particularly shocking claim from a YouTube video has Bhajan stating that “rape is always invited.” His manipulation of his followers was extensive – he cheated, lied, evaded taxes, engaged in the illegal trade of drugs and weapons, swindled devotees of their life savings, and issued death threats to his opponents. While a few of his close business associates were convicted and imprisoned for their criminal activities, Bhajan evaded justice. 

In 1980, I became aware that Yogi Bhajan was studying Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). He aimed to master sophisticated hypnotic techniques to control his followers more effectively. Over my 47 years of helping people involved with destructive cults, I can professionally validate the depths of trauma and suffering endured by those within his group. 

Revelations From Survivors Reveal 3HO Abuses 

The veil concealing the grim history of Yogi Bhajan’s 3HO cult was finally lifted in early 2020 with the publication of Pamela Saharah Dyson’s book, Premka: White Bird in a Golden Cage: My Life with Yogi Bhajan, whom I also had the opportunity to interview. Pamela, who served as the 3HO’s Secretary General for 16 years until 1985, broke decades of silence to recount Bhajan’s egregious abuses of power. Her revelations triggered an avalanche of similar testimonies from others who had endured traumatic experiences at the hands of Bhajan or within the Kundalini Yoga community.  

When the book was released, Els believed that purification, truth-telling, and healing would be possible. She reconnected with the community and took on her previous role of international representative for Belgium. However, despite the outpouring of stories, the leadership’s response was driven more by a desire to salvage their image than to acknowledge and address the harm inflicted upon the survivors. Recognizing their unwillingness to fully expose the extent of the wrongdoings, Els launched her website to reveal abuses within the group and give survivors a voice and started writing Under the Yoga Mat.  

Els also shared the disturbing fact that Bhajan was posthumously recognized by the United States Congress, an acknowledgment that starkly contrasts the countless lives he adversely affected. Els hopes this recognition will be recanted to reflect the whole truth about Yogi Bhajan’s damaging legacy. For this same reason, the “Yogi Bhajan Memorial Highway” in New Mexico should be renamed. 

The World of Kundalini Yoga Continues Amidst Revelations 

Despite Bhajan’s demise, his legacy remains within the various enterprises he established. Active group members continue to recruit followers under the guise of Sikhism and Kundalini Yoga teacher training programs. The group’s rebranding efforts, including the erasure of Yogi Bhajan’s name, are attempts to whitewash their tainted past, while the truth about its origins is essentially swept under the rug. It’s important to remember that the roots of an organization, regardless of its evolution over time, remain significant. If a group is founded on the deceit and criminality of an individual claiming divine powers, the most prudent decision would be to distance oneself from any residual influence of such a group. 

While the practices might have benefited many and were harmless to them, understanding the full context and source of Bhajan’s teachings is essential as they contain all elements for a cult to thrive. Els Coenen’s tireless efforts to expose the truth about Yogi Bhajan and his cult provide an invaluable service to survivors and serve as a cautionary tale for the wider public. It’s vital to approach spiritual teachings and practices with a discerning eye, particularly when they’re tied to an individual or group with a controversial history. 

Resources 

Under the Yoga Mat: The Dark History of Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini Yoga

Abuse in Yogi Bhajan’s 3HO Kundalini Yoga World – Website by Els Coenen 

Former 3HO Official Pamela Dyson Discusses Yogi Bhajan’s Use of Sex, Money, and Power to Deceive and Control  

Premka: White Bird in a Golden Cage: My Life with Yogi Bhajan by Pamela Saharah Dyson  

Vice documentary – True Believers: Empire of Yoga 

Vice YouTube: Yogi Bhajan: Yoga’s Biggest Predatory 

Vice YouTube: Inside the ‘Abusive’ World of Yoga Guru Yogi Bhajan  

The Disturbing Mainstream Connections of Yogi Bhajan  

Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini Yoga and his 3HO Healthy-Happy-Holy Organization 3HO  

Complaint filed by four women about the abuse of Yogi Bhajan, filed at the Supreme Court of California / Los Angeles.  

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Inside the Mind of an Alienated Child: Dana Laquidara’s Story of Parental Alienation 

Parental alienation is a highly destructive form of undue influence where one parent systematically manipulates a child to reject the other parent. This damaging form of child psychological abuse disrupts family dynamics and can leave lasting emotional scars on the child, potentially impacting their development, mental health, and future relationships. Often, children are not only alienated from their mother or father but the entire side of the family, traumatizing all who are related. The BITE Model of Authoritarian Control can be used to analyze any case. 

Over the last 47 years that I have spent working with former cult members, I have seen first-hand how destructive groups like the Moonies, Scientology, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mormons, and others manipulate parental bonds to exert control. If a parent decides to leave the group, the remaining parent is often instructed to instill fear, anger, and disgust in their children towards the departing parent. This insidious form of alienation is widespread in cults, but it’s also a global issue impacting millions of children and parents, typically following marriage breakdowns. I have previously done multiple blogs on parental alienation with experts, including Dr. Amy Baker and Dr. Nick Child. 

To provide a deeper understanding of this issue, I invited Dana Laquidara, a professional author and writer who brings a unique perspective as an adult survivor of parental alienation, which she also shares on her website, danalaquidara.com. We previously did a blog about her journey of estrangement from her mother, and now she has published a book titled YOU-KNOW-WHO: An Alienated Daughter’s Memoir. Through this memoir, she seeks to raise awareness and support parents and children ensnared in this devastating form of mind control and abuse. 

Dana’s Story: A Child Alienated from Her Mother 

Dana’s ordeal began at age four following her parents’ tumultuous divorce. Within just a few months of their separation, Dana’s mother and all maternal family members were abruptly erased from her life. A smear campaign led by her father painted her mother as unfit and unworthy, implying that she had abandoned her children when, in reality, she was escaping an abusive marriage. Meanwhile, her father concealed gifts and letters from their mother, effectively obstructing any attempts at contact. 

Dana’s alienation from her mother had been sudden, thorough, and devastating. As a young child, Dana was helpless and unable to properly understand, grieve, or speak about her mother’s departure from her life. Fearful of upsetting and angering her father, Dana complied with his narrative, gradually suppressing positive memories of her mother. Her childhood and teenage years were shadowed by her mom’s absence and were further complicated by her father’s remarriage to a woman Dana was told to call ‘mother’  even though she was her stepmother. 

Despite the narrative of abandonment, Dana’s memories of her mother were only ones of love and affection, causing her to eventually question the story she had been told. Over time, Dana began to unravel the truth about her father’s actions, but she struggled with guilt about not having spoken up or demanding to see her mother. But once Dana learned about undue influence and mind control, she recognized it was not her fault, nor due to any weakness. Instead, it resulted from the manipulative environment she had been subjected to. 

Dana eventually made the brave decision to reestablish contact with her mother, seeking to mend the severed ties and introduce her children to a grandmother they had never met. However, the process was fraught with challenges as years of conditioning left Dana battling doubts about her mother. She was also fearful about revealing her reconnection with her mother to her father and sister, and she dreaded the possibility of being exiled from her family. 

Parental Alienation as a Form of Undue Influence 

Parental alienation is a damaging process in which a child is manipulated or coerced by one parent (the alienating parent) to unjustifiably reject the other parent (the targeted parent). This manipulation typically involves the alienating parent employing various tactics such as spreading negative and false stories about the targeted parent and limiting the child’s contact with the other parent. The child, caught in this destructive crossfire, begins to internalize the negative image of the targeted parent, leading to strained or wholly severed ties. 

Parental alienation is a manifestation of undue influence and control, which leads to profound changes in the child’s behavior, beliefs, or feelings towards the targeted parent. In a healthy parent-child relationship, the child’s interests are prioritized. Still, when parental alienation is the case, the unhealthy parent typically puts their own needs and feelings above the child’s well-being, using the child as a tool to hurt the other parent. 

The Problem with Parental Alienation in the Legal System 

Countless parents have expressed their profound frustration over the difficulty of proving parental alienation in court. These parents often find themselves embroiled in exhaustive legal battles, causing significant emotional and financial strain, frequently with little to no success.  

Unfortunately, there is a lack of understanding in the legal system about how to assess undue influence. That’s why I focused my doctoral dissertation on a framework for evaluating the differences between ethical and unethical influence. Such a model would enhance the handling of parental alienation cases in court and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable.  

Building Bridges: Reconnecting with Alienated Family Members 

Dana is a voice for alienated children and fervently believes that adult survivors must face the truth, figure out how to recover, and, when they are ready, reach out to their alienated parent. Learning about mind control, undue influence, and parental alienation as a form of psychological abuse can help alienated parents and children understand what has happened to them and begin to heal.  

As a mental health professional, I advise people to maintain their authenticity, prioritize safety, and strategically explore options without jeopardizing their well-being. If you are an adult survivor of parental alienation considering reconnection with a family member, I recommend working yourself first with a counselor who understands this phenomenon. Then consider utilizing a professional third-party, such as a mediator or therapist, to reach out first. Remember, no one lives forever. So waiting might rob everyone of the potential for healing and or closure. Concentrating on the present and moving to a healthier future instead of dwelling on past grievances is advised. Expressions of love and a willingness to reconnect are potent tools in repairing relationships damaged by parental alienation. 

Resources 

YOU-KNOW-WHO An Alienated Daughter’s Memoir by Dana Laquidara 

Dana Laquidara’s website 

Alienated Parent Rock star Lita Ford – Mother (official video) 

Parental Alienation and Patterns of Cult Mind Control with Dana Laquidara  

Parental Alienation: Turning Children Against Their Parent with Dr. Amy Baker  

Parental Abduction and Alienation: A Discussion with Psychiatrist Nick Child 

Alex Jones vs. Kelly Jones  Parental Alienation Harms Children by Using Undue Influence 

Child Protection, Shunning, and Parental Alienation: A Discussion About the Word of Faith Fellowship With Former Member John Huddle  

FOM’s page on Parental Alienation 

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Jen Senko’s experience with her father, Frank, hits close to home for many Americans today.  Frank was a happy-go-lucky progressive Democrat when he came across a talk radio show hosted by Bob Grant.  He started being more critical of Democrats and was somewhat combative about it.  When he fully retired, he discovered Rush Limbaugh and listened to him for three hours daily. Then he started watching Fox News. At that point, his personality changed.  He was always angry and couldn’t have discussions with his family anymore without them turning to politics.   

Jen, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, decided to delve deep into this phenomenon.  Her experience making the documentaries Road Map Warrior Women (2000) and The Vanishing City (2010) gave her the tools not only to discover that this is a familiar story in America but also to investigate and uncover the purposeful efforts of the conservative media machine to exert undue influence on hundreds of millions of Americans. Her documentary The Brainwashing of My Dad (2016), adapted into a critically acclaimed book, tracks right-wing media’s divisive and dangerous rise and how it divided Americans and gravely wounded our democracy. The film won the prestigious 2021 Webby People’s Voice Award in Public Service & Activism. 

The brainwashing depicted in the documentary is not confined to isolated cults; it demonstrates how media outlets, political factions, and even social networks can gradually sway people’s opinions and beliefs. This process is known as “thought reform” or “coercive persuasion” and is a method commonly employed by cult groups to recruit and indoctrinate people into “true believers.” 

Conservative Media Undue Influence 

In this week’s episode of The Influence Continuum podcast, I spoke with Jen about her father and the process of undue influence he experienced.  Jen describes Frank’s personality change, and I found many similarities to the personality change I experienced in the Moon cult.  It was as if Frank had adopted a cult personality as I did. There are also a lot of similarities between Jen’s documentary and my book, The Cult of Trump. 

Jen, through her documentary, pointed out how effective the media’s use of propaganda can be. Jen’s father wasn’t stupid or uneducated.  He had an engineering degree, but the daily barrage of information from Bob Grant, Rush Limbaugh, and Fox News that was designed to cause anger entrapped him. As I’ve described in the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control, controlling a person’s emotions is an effective first step toward controlling their thoughts and behaviors. 

The right-wing media also tries to control the information of its consumers by claiming that all other media is biased and dishonest.  This approach causes more anger.  The T in BITE stands for thought, and the hosts we’ve been talking about are masters at presenting information in such a confident manner that the consumers of it trust it and adopt the same thinking.  I saw all these characteristics of the BITE model in Senko’s documentary. 

Social Isolation and Echo Chambers 

The Brainwashing of My Dad offers valuable insights into the red flags indicative of mind control. These include changes in behavior and personality, the rejection of previously held beliefs, and the adoption of rigid ideologies without critical examination. Another significant aspect explored in the film is the impact of social isolation and the creation of echo chambers. Once a person becomes thoroughly indoctrinated, they may sever ties with friends, family, and even reality. The documentary highlights how the father’s increasing immersion in conservative media led to the deterioration of his relationships and his inability to engage in rational discussions. This isolation creates a feedback loop, reinforcing distorted beliefs and preventing the individual from considering alternative perspectives. Understanding these signs can help loved ones identify when someone is being manipulated and take steps to initiate meaningful dialogue, and support them in questioning their beliefs. 

Exposed From the Inside 

I want everyone to watch this documentary and read her book because she interviews people involved in right-wing media. They explain that this coercive control is deliberate.  It is not just a happy story of someone radicalized and freed but a description of intentional psychological warfare that Jen revealed through due diligence and research.  She mentioned the John Birch Society, and we talked about the Lewis Powell memo, which was a blueprint for corporate domination of American Democracy.  These things sound like a conspiracy theory, but it is an actual not-so-secret conspiracy. 

Disconnection Leads to Recovery 

Jen Senko described how the eventual malfunctioning of his radio began a softening of Frank’s personality.  It came when he unplugged from right-wing media. Again, the similarity to my van crash when I was in a hospital away from the Moon cult gave me some time (and sleep) to begin a return to my identity. In my case, this led to a call to my sister and a subsequent deprogramming. 

 The Brainwashing of My Dad is a powerful reminder of the dangers posed by manipulative media and the potential for individuals to become trapped in a cycle of mind control. We must be vigilant and aware of groups’ tactics to influence our beliefs. By fostering critical thinking, promoting open dialogue, and supporting those affected, we can counteract the effects of brainwashing and empower individuals to reclaim their freedom of thought. Let this film be a wake-up call, inspiring us to question the narratives presented to us and to protect ourselves and our loved ones from falling prey to undue influence. To invite people to reality-test for themselves, in my TEDx talk “How to Tell If You’re Brainwashed,” I explain the four steps for how to answer the question for yourself. 

Resources 

The Brainwashing of My Dad- the documentary 

The Brainwashing of My Dad: How the Rise of the Right-Wing Media Changed a Father and Divided Our Nation―And How We Can Fight Back 

The Freedom of Mind Definitive Guide for Helping People in the Cult of Trump 

Shadow Network: Media Money And The Secret Hub Of The Radical Right With Anne Nelson 

Disinformation Expert Dave Troy Explains Big History Behind January 6th 

Religious Freedom vs. Christian Dominionism with Frederick Clarkson 

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

The Powell Memo

Links from The Brainwashing of My Dad 

• https://fair.org 
• https://mediamatters.org 
• https://alternet.org 
• https://democracynow.org 
• https://commondreams.org 
• https://readersupportednews.org 
• https://truthout.org 

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The legal system has long operated under the incorrect assumption that humans are rational agents. Judges and juries base their decisions on effective storytelling. Arbiters of law often use the belief that individuals act with autonomy and personal control. However, this perspective overlooks the powerful effects of systematic social influence processes. In my dissertation, The BITE Model of Authoritarian Control: Undue Influence, Thought Reform, Brainwashing, Mind Control, Trafficking, and the Law, I make the case that our justice system urgently needs to be updated to incorporate research on neuroscience as well the psychology of undue influence. I was delighted to have the opportunity to interview attorney and ex-cult member Faith Jones who has developed an innovative model for applying the law to the concept of undue influence. Her approach complements my work in this field and contributes to driving a much-needed transformation within the legal system. 

Faith Jones is an accomplished corporate attorney, author, speaker, and passionate advocate for women’s rights. A graduate of Georgetown School of Foreign Service and UC Berkeley Law School, she now runs her own law firm, specializing in acquisitions and contract law. She has authored two books, I Own Me and Sex Cult Nun, in which she recounts her powerful story of growing up in the oppressive Children of God cult. As my guest on my Influence Continuum podcast, Faith shares her life within the cult and how her journey inspired her to develop a model based on our legal and moral rights to our bodies. Faith also gave an outstanding TEDx talk; I Own Me: Understanding Our Property Rights to Our Own Bodies. 

The Children of God Cult 

The Children of God cult, later known as “The Family,” was established by Faith’s grandfather David Berg, a self-proclaimed prophet and pedophile, in Huntington Beach, California, in 1968. Faith’s parents were early members, and she was raised within the cult’s confines. The group targeted disenfranchised young people, particularly anti-establishment ones who sought to make a difference in the world. Initially a fundamentalist Christian group, Berg twisted the interpretation of Bible verses to justify his predatory inclinations. Over the past four decades, I have worked with many victims of this cult who have sought help to escape its influence.  

Faith described the group’s authoritarian nature, with her grandfather using his knowledge of scripture to manipulate and control followers. She recounted the coercive punishments within the group, including physical discipline, food restrictions, and isolation, all justified by twisted interpretations of Bible verses. Faith also shared her experiences with coerced sex, which was justified by the leadership as her duty to God. She was told that her body did not belong to her but to God, and God wanted her to share his love through sex. In the 1970s, for a decade, the cult introduced sexual doctrines like “Flirty Fishing,” where women were sent to have sex with strangers to recruit new members. In her early 20s, Faith left the cult and began questioning its teachings, eventually realizing that she needed to create a new mental model to break free.  

“I Own Me” – Applying Property Rights to Undue Influence 

While reflecting on her experiences within the Children of God cult, Faith utilized her knowledge of the law to create a simple framework called the “I Own Me” model. Its primary principle is that individuals own their bodies and their inner world of thoughts and feelings and have a moral right to them. Without this right, acts such as slavery, rape, and assault wouldn’t be deemed morally reprehensible. These crimes all breach an individual’s property rights to their body. In ‘legal speak,’ no one else can access our bodies, thoughts, or feelings without our explicit, freely given consent. 

When I first became involved with the forensic think tank at Harvard Medical School, my law professor and friend, Dr. Alan Scheflin, introduced me to the concept of undue influence, a centuries-old British legal principle rooted in property rights. Originally designed to ensure that an individual’s heirs would inherit their property rather than allow it to be usurped by opportunistic caregivers, undue influence was not initially concerned with psychological manipulation. So, I was fascinated by Faith’s idea that our bodies represent our personal property.  

Faith emphasizes that our society’s foundation is built upon property rights and exchanges. All business deals and contracts rely on five key elements: a clear offer, willing acceptance, an exchange of value, mental capacity, and the absence of undue pressure. If any of these elements are missing, enforcing a contract is morally wrong and tantamount to property theft. By acknowledging that our bodies are our property, we can understand that violating these principles within personal relationships is also wrong, regardless of the reason or motivation behind it. Faith says that grasping this concept helps people to identify and avoid abusive situations. 

The “I Own Me” model complements my own research and work to establish a more precise method of identifying undue influence. To evaluate the type of influence in various situations, I use my Influence Continuum and BITE Model of Authoritarian Control, which assist in determining the extent of unhealthy influence and mind control present in individuals, leaders, organizations, and relationships.  

Coercive Control and the Law 

The slow pace of the law in recognizing the harmful effects of mind control is tragic. However, countries such as the UK and Ireland have made progress in criminalizing undue influence in relationships with coercive control laws, which is a step towards holding abusers accountable and acknowledging the devastating impact of such behavior. Faith and I discussed how women experience most coercive control cases, but men can also be victims. Anyone can experience abuse, regardless of gender, and it’s something that we as a society need to become more aware of. 

While some countries have recognized coercive control in relationships, the law still narrowly limits it to one-on-one abuse. There is a need for clear definitions of what constitutes due and undue influence, ethical versus destructive authoritarian control, and recognition that the same type of unhealthy control can be exerted within groups.  

Ownership of Our Minds and Bodies 

Faith Jones’ “I Own Me” model aligns with my therapeutic approach, in which I encourage individuals recovering from authoritarian mind control to take ownership of their minds and bodies. By being present in their bodies, developing a positive orientation towards the future, using tools to analyze situations, listening to their inner voice, and having an internal locus of control, former cult members can begin to heal. Faith Jones’ approach is inspiring and empowers people, particularly women born and raised in authoritarian cults, to make informed decisions and break free from coercion. Ultimately, we must control our minds and bodies to gain freedom from undue influence. 

Resources 

Faith Jones’ website 

TEDx Talk I Own Me. 

The Family International  

Growing up in a Sex Cult with Former Army Captain Daniella Mestyanek Young  

Freedom of Mind: Evaluating Undue Influence in Legal & Mental Health Settings  

Evaluating Undue Influence: Scheflin’s Model as a Framework 

The Need to Educate Judges, Attorneys, Citizens, and Governments About Undue Influence  

Coercive Control, Undue Influence, Emotional Abuse, and the Law  

One-on-One Cults – How Coercive Control Made Sarma Melngailis the Bad Vegan  

Steve Hassan’s Dissertation 

The post Attorney Faith Jones, Ex-Children of God Member, on “I Own Me”    appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

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. He experienced severe corporal punishment, a well-known cult practice as a child. 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.   

History of Jehovah’s Witnesses 

In 1879, Charles Taze Russell (later known as Pastor Russell), influenced by Millerite and Adventist teachings, published a religious journal in Pennsylvania. It was well received among people troubled by distressful world events, which were anticipating Jesus’s second coming that would result in a long-awaited 1,000-year Judgment Day. That fear can motivate people to give their time and money to recruit others. Soon an association of believers named “Bible Students” was organized in 1881. Russell named the association ZION’S WATCH TOWER TRACT SOCIETY. That association was legally incorporated in 1884 in Pennsylvania, known today as the WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PA, INC. Within a few years, another corporation was formed, known as the WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC., both of which are large and powerful religious entities used by JWs leaders to direct the “spiritual” lives of millions of believers. 

When C. T. Russell died in 1916, the organization, known by members as the Watchtower Society, was gradually taken control of by its legal counsel, (Judge) Joseph F. Rutherford. He ignored Russell’s legal will and became president of the Society in 1917 through means that the Bible Students saw as a hostile takeover. Rutherford moved the organization toward a centralized structure he termed a “theocracy,” and in 1931, changed the religion’s name to Jehovah’s Witnesses.    

JWs believe that when they die, only 144,000 of their members will go to heaven while the rest of JWs will live on a paradise earth. Carmignani notes that even though most of the members since this doctrine was introduced over 140 years ago, who claimed to be of the 144,000 heavenly number, have long since died, thousands more JWs are still claiming they are going to heaven too. In effect, the number never decreases when a head count is made. This is one of many confounding pieces of their doctrine.   Raymond Franz was born into the organization and rose to its highest power structure, The Governing Body. He realized that the leadership was not following God or the Scriptures and he resigned. he later wrote the book, Crisis of Conscience. Many members exited the cult as a result. Recently, Anthony Morris III left he governing body but no information is yet forthcoming if he was demoted or resigned. or what?

Rigidity and Constriction 

The patriarchal structure of the group is another issue. Males have the final say on spiritual matters in JW’s congregations and in the home. However, most JW men take this a step further, although it’s not an organizational policy, and demand final authority in secular matters, too, as it’s believed the husband is the head of the household. It is also decreed that people must marry within the group, and marrying someone outside means you’re not marrying in the Lord. There are so many do’s and don’ts connected with this religion that non-Jehovah’s Witnesses generally avoid discussions about the restrictions. 

Corporal punishment of children involved using belts, spoons, paddles, and hands.  Like many destructive cults, children are expected to behave like adults. Punishment is delivered to program children to be obedient to authority figures. Normal child play is frowned upon, especially when the family is at a meeting. It is well established that violence to discipline children creates trauma. 

JWs require members to follow a specific type of dress code. Their lives are filled with excessive Bible study and disproportionate meeting attendance. Because of believing that being a part of the world is unacceptable, they shun holidays such as Christmas, Mother’s Day, and birthdays which causes the group to fit well within my BITE Model of Authoritarian Control.  

No Blood Transfusions Allowed 

Did you know JWs believe that God forbids a lifesaving blood transfusion? Pastor Russell did not teach this. The earliest mention in JWs literature regarding the sacredness of the blood was in 1927. Initially, JWs used verses of dietary laws found in the Torah, known by Christians as the Old Testament, to bolster the teaching of blood sanctity. In 1944, a few years after Rutherford, the president of the JWs organization, died, blood transfusions were emphasized in The Watchtower. When transfusions became an issue confronting them, in 1945, JWs leaders explained at length the requirement to abstain from blood, although there was no penalty if the constraint was ignored. However, beginning in 1961, any member who accepted blood transfusions and was not sorry was excommunicated. Due to the Witnesses’ no-blood transfusion dogma, countless JWs in need of blood died.    

This is where a blood transfusion issue can arise with a JW and a non-JW spouse. If a JW marries a non-JW and the JW woman becomes pregnant, subsequently requires blood transfusions, and refuses blood, it could mean death for the mother, the baby, or both. I’ve had clients who were in this situation with traumatic outcomes. 

Carmignani explains that the religion’s rules regarding blood transfusions and blood products are convoluted and difficult to understand. Although JWs’ position is religious, a complicated organizational directive suggests Witnesses learn about medical treatments to be used other than blood if such a need arises. Erythropoietin, a hormone that causes the body to make red blood cells, is a treatment JWs are told to ask for. Most JWs can’t pronounce the drug when well, let alone if they are sick. Rather than discuss the medical treatment that is complicated and confusing to them, many JWs refuse transfusions and let it go at that. This can have catastrophic consequences in cases of injuries from car accidents, complicated births, and diseases such as cancer.  

Thousands of Names of Reported JWs Child Molesters in a Database at JW Headquarters  

Former JW member, Barbara Anderson, became a whistleblower after she found out during the time she was a staff member at JWs Watchtower corporate world headquarters in New York that JWs child molesters were not being reported to the police by JWs appointed ministers. Consequently, children were not being protected. The religion has a bizarre doctrine that requires the testimony of two material witnesses against a purported child sex abuser to prove an accusation of child abuse. In recent years there have been countless lawsuits by women and men who had been sexually traumatized by someone in the cult. Since the group moved its headquarters from Brooklyn to Upstate New York, a state law was passed enabling child sexual abuse victims to file a civil lawsuit, even though the abuse happened many years previously. Anderson chronicles her story about this on her website.  

Lost in Translation 

JWs recognize their own version of the Bible, the New World Translation (NWT), which has been criticized as inaccurate by virtually every Jewish and Christian theologian. Therefore, when JWs offer to study the Bible with people but fail to disclose that the NWT is not a legitimate translation, it violates everyone’s informed consent. It’s a deceptive practice! People believe they are actually studying the actual real Bible. The group then indoctrinates members to believe they can’t understand the Bible without studying their interpretations of it.

Discrimination Against Former Members 

 As a religious organization, JWs are entitled to have religious tax exemption status or other subsidies in the United States and other countries. However, currently, in Norway, there is a case where the Norwegian Government is considering stripping them of this exemption. This is due to a human rights infraction, that of disfellowshipping members and their subsequent shunning by JW’s relatives and friends. This is especially problematic for children not being allowed to associate with a disfellowshipped parent or other disfellowshipped relatives. The group was deregistered because of violations of adult members’ freedom of expression and right to freedom of religion. A timeline of events and English translations of the documents between the Watchtower Society and the Norwegian Government can be found here.   

Australia investigated the Watchtower Society via The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which published its case study in October 2016.  

Digging Deep    

Religious organizations such as JWs don’t appear to be cults on the surface. But through investigation, digging deep into their history and into their doctrines to try to understand if what they assert is factual is extremely important. The time spent to do this can prevent us from falling prey to cult indoctrination and will also make it possible for us to help others break free from falsehood.   

RESOURCES: 

Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse – Report on Case #29: Jehovah’s Witnesse

Isaac’s blog: Beyond Jehovah’s Witnesses 

The BITE Model of Authoritarian Control and the Watchtower Society 

From Growing up in the Jehovah’s Witnesses to Counseling people who wish to Exit it with Frances Peters 

Advocate for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses 

Facts About Jehovah’s Witnesses 

Barbara Anderson’s Watchtower Documents 

Advocates for Jehovah’s Witness Reform on Blood 

Jehovah’s Witnesses Blood Transfusions and the Tort of Misrepresentation 

Isaac’s New York City Social group 

Twitter: @isaaccarmignani  Protonmail: exjwelder@proton.me

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In the past months, I have been working with law professor emeritus Alan Scheflin on two chapters on “The Dark Side of Hypnosis” for a forthcoming International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis. I decided to use Hubbard and Scientology as an exemplar of cult mind control. Naturally, I went to the world authority on Hubbard and his cult, my colleague and dear friend, 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, in fact, a hypnotist. 

Most people know that after my deprogramming from the Moon cult, I became fascinated to learn how my mind got hacked by the cult. I began learning about the psychology of persuasion, influence, thought reform, brainwashing, and mind control. I am a licensed mental health counselor interested in updating the legal system to understand better and manage undue influence issues. I’m a member of the New England Society of Clinical Hypnosis (NESCH), The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH), and The International Society of Hypnosis (ISH). I use my knowledge of hypnosis to help explain it to people and rarely use it in my practice as I seek to establish high levels of trust with anyone contacting Freedom of Mind. 

I became interested in this topic in 1980 when a friend, a social worker, invited me to a workshop on hypnosis. She introduced me to Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP), explaining that John Grinder and Richard Bandler developed it based on the work of psychiatrist Milton Erickson. Erickson was the founder of ASCH. 

I attended the workshop and became deeply interested in NLP, moving to Santa Cruz, CA, to apprentice with John Grinder. I attended extensive training programs and read many books. I decided within a year to no longer be involved with any forcible deprogramming. I sought to find a legal, non-coercive way to assist people in cults to reevaluate their involvement. In less than two years, I became disillusioned. I realized that NLP was an amoral system based on “doing what works” with no values or consideration of ethics. It is completely dependent on the practitioner’s ethics. I decided to get my master’s degree in counseling psychology and start taking courses with the Erickson Institute as well as other credentialed experts. 

Today NLP is all over the internet, and several now-identified disinformation influencers touted their knowledge of NLP. From my perspective, NLP is a set of models for understanding how people operate from different mental models. For individuals trained in its methodology, it provides protection to detect it when it is being used. If a person wishes power, money, and sex and cares little about ethics, it can be very harmful. 

With NLP, it’s essential to understand that ethical therapists will not just use it deliberately and covertly on anyone. Ever. They will teach it to the person and explain how and why it works. This is vastly important when it comes to deprogramming or exit counseling and helping people reintegrate. It’s about teaching people how to control their own minds, not controlling their minds for them. If you are in the hands of the practitioner, you are in an amoral system. The goal is for you to be in your own hands with the assistance of a practitioner who helps you learn how to do so.  

Bandler and Grinder reportedly agreed to a business arrangement with Tony Robbins, who took his knowledge of NLP and developed it into a multimillion-dollar enterprise, teaching, and training corporate executives, including former presidents. I was only able to find one event that linked Tony Robbins and Donald Trump. 

I developed the Influence Continuum and the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control to help create a simple framework for assessing ethical influence, including informed consent. The more BITE Model criteria are utilized, the more unethical a group or relationship will be assessed to be as the goal is making people into a pseudo-cult identity: dependent and obedient.   

I’ve continued doing workshops and learning about the topic of hypnosis for over forty years now. When researching my book The Cult of Trump, I contacted my colleague, Stephen Lankton, the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. I had seen Trump using some NLP techniques and patterns and asked him for the latest definition of hypnosis. He told me he asked eighteen experts in the field and got eighteen different answers. He was unwilling to go on the record about Trump’s public speaking voice and interaction style. 

What we can say definitively is that hypnosis is not sleep. It is a state of heightened concentration that makes people more suggestible. Neuroscientifically speaking, the part of the brain that lights up in a trance is the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC). It is normal for people to go in and out of states of consciousness throughout the day. Being in a flow state feels great, and it allows a heightened ability to accomplish a lot. I am a big fan of learning how to do self-hypnosis but caution the public from listening randomly to strangers with no mental health credentials or ethical guidelines. Caveat Emptor! If you are going to use a cell phone app, make sure you have really checked the credentials of the people you are allowing in your mind. In my professional opinion, many things called “guided meditations” or “visualizations” are, in actuality, hypnotic inductions. They may be utterly clean and beneficial. However, they also might be used to influence you unduly. That is why I recommend really doing solid research into any person or program that wants your time and money. Make sure they have high ethical standards. Fully informed consent is essential to anything worthwhile. 

The Hypnotic effects of being Online: Ever heard of or experienced doom-scrolling? This phenomenon occurs when one checks a social media app. The next thing you notice is that it is an hour later. In hypnosis, this is called “time distortion,” and it is a feature of a trance state. I was interviewed by Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin of the Center for Humane Technology on their podcast Your Undivided Attention. A hypnotic trance is, at its core, a concentration of attention with heightened suggestibility.  

Atack and I talk about hypnosis and its positive and negative uses. I relied on a clinical psychologist trained in hypnosis when I underwent treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I was so fearful and worried. I had trouble sleeping and was overcome with distress. I was able to go into a state of deep relaxation, and my therapist recorded the trance sessions, which I loaded onto my iPod and could listen to if and when I had trouble sleeping or was just overcome with anxiety.  I could fully trust my therapist and was able to direct my mind’s positive healing power to get well. It is well known that high levels of cortisol undermine the immune system’s ability to heal the body. I could focus on the three months of chemo and radiation, accept the treatment as helping me to defeat the cancer cells, and visualize my future healthy self.  

The negative side of hypnosis is something Atack is familiar with, having been a member of Scientology and studying L. Ron Hubbard’s techniques. Atack talks about Hubbard’s statement Never Trust the Hypnotist and his surprise at how hypnotic all of the Scientology systems really are. Hubbard purported to have learned hypnosis at 16, which he discussed in his book Science of Survival, wherein he also stated never to trust the hypnotist. This hypnotic technique called the “double bind,” was often used by Hubbard. In Dianetics, Hubbard uses the words hypnosis or suggestibility, trance, and reverie and makes statements like nothing in Dianetics comes from hypnosis. Later in the book, it’s said that a lot of hypnotic research went into Dianetics.  

Atack tells us when Hubbard received the commission to write the book, he felt deep trance hypnosis wasn’t popular, so he needed to come up with something new, which proves there was zero research behind the method. We talk about Freud and his dismissal of what would become the dianetic technique in a 1909 lecture at Clark University in Massachusetts. Freud posited that the problem with the technique was “it makes you ever more dependent upon the therapist, so it has the exact opposite effect of what you want.” 

Atack discusses that Scientology is the most extreme form of mind control ever devised, telling us that authors Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman in Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change state it has the most debilitating set of rituals in any cult in America. We talk about the effects of being in Scientology, which can reverberate in one’s life for many years after exiting it. This differs from other cults, in which the effects may not last as long. Atack tells us, “it’s more likely that if you’ve been in Scientology without help, you’ll never recover.” 

This aligns with Scientology getting people to reinforce the condition in themselves, like the method of “study-tech,” where a believer is instructed to constantly look up the meaning of words to indoctrinate themselves into the Hubbard language system. We talk about the Training Routines (TRs), which include the predator stare technique and how that affected Atack long after leaving the group. Staring into a cult member’s eyes is a form of eye fixation. It also reinforces the cult belief that the Scientologist needs to become the master of Matter, Energy, Space, and Time (MEST) to achieve God-like powers in the upper levels of the “bridge to total freedom.” 

Atack tells us Scientology also has the most elaborate loaded language of any group and how people start to think within the concepts of that language. People believe those things without applying thought to them, which means breaking free is difficult because critical thinking is an important piece of letting go of false belief systems. Essentially, people are indoctrinating themselves. 

I am grateful to Jon Atack and all of his incredible contributions to the field, as he has been involved with helping to write academic textbook chapters as well as helped to edit the updated edition of Combating Cult Mind Control. 

Ultimately, what is most important is understanding that it is your mind, and only you should control it—exercising reality testing, but finding trustworthy people and credible experts and sources of information is vital. Never trust anyone or anything blindly. Always be open to evidence to change your beliefs or revise your past commitments. 

We encourage you to check out Atack’s book, Opening Our Minds, and his Youtube channel.  

The post What is Hypnosis? Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)?  Scientology and more! appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

Working with people in cults or who have escaped them requires empathy, compassion, and knowledge to help free them from indoctrination. 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.   

She appeared (as do I) in the documentary SEDUCED: Inside the NXIVM cult and the Netflix series Unwell in addition to many media appearances over the years. She is the host of IndoctriNation: A weekly podcast covering cults, manipulators, and protecting yourself from systems of control, where she has interviewed hundreds of cult survivors, journalists, and experts. Her webinar lecture for cult survivors entitled “Living In Freedom” is available at Rachelbernsteintherapy.com. 

Missing Civility 

We discuss the need to bring civility back to the social discourse because that can help us understand each other and the issues affecting us all. Bernstein discusses needing less of a torches and pitchfork mentality and more common sense in the approach we take to the issues defining our world, so we have less polarization and more productivity in moving forward.  

We discussed Transcendental Meditation (TM) and the negative experiences some had with it, including Gina Catena, who was raised in it, and talked about the abuse of children within that environment. I shared Gina’s story in the updated Combating Cult Mind Control edition. 

Switching Off the Soul 

We talk about the difficulties of seeing our loved ones in cults and the changes they undergo, making them almost unrecognizable to the person we know. It’s as if the lights that brighten their soul are turned off, but when they come out of the cult, the lights come back on. We discuss how scary it is to know that the connectedness with the self can dissolve when someone is in a cult environment. There is something very dark about the people we share space with on the planet being willing to freely abuse their power for their personal gain or, worse, their entertainment.  

Conscience Disconnection 

Bernstein discusses her background being raised in an activist home where she was taught that if something matters to you, you do something about it, you say something about it. Bernstein and I talk about the Nazi rallies and how there is not much difference between those and the cult events, such as the Scientology rallies. Bernstein remarks There is a lot that can work people up and “make them disconnected from their own conscience.” We talk about how kids are taken to church events in the mountains, and their understanding is they are going on a weekend away but cannot answer questions about the organization’s name, whether their parents know they’re going, and so forth. It’s easy to draw people in with little information given. People are inherently trusting and sometimes do not ask the questions they need to be asking.  

Bernstein talks about seeing this play out repeatedly in various situations in her life, telling the story of working at the now-closed Cult Clinic at the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles. Her first client was a Scientologist who climbed out of a window in one of the buildings. She was on the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF) and was “scared out of her mind.” At that time, Bernstein didn’t know much about Scientology, and the woman explained it to her. She asked Bernstein if she was going to put electrodes on her because that was something she had been told would happen by the cult.  

What are you going to do? 

She tells us about the various things she did to help the woman feel comfortable, including keeping the door open as many former cult members are held against their will. Bernstein tells the story of her father being harassed by cult groups, including three groups that called her home in the middle of the night. She remembers being shaken by this and asking her father what he was going to do. His reply was, “I’m going to go back to sleep and not let the bullies win. What are you going to do? And there was something so calm about that.” Bernstein remembers those words from her father when her current work brings the bullies out.  

We talk about the burnout among therapists who take the most traumatized clients, which cult members often are. It’s vitally important to balance this work with time to recharge and work with people who are not cult members to balance intense and less intense clients.  

Bernstein talks about remembering to check in with herself and asking others to check on her as well when she might not be remembering how difficult, scary, or intense something is to hear about on her podcast. She’s heard the stories and worked with them for years, but other people don’t have that lens and may hear it for the first time, which can be traumatic.  

There are Answers 

We talk about the belief that some people hold about the issues presented, not having answers when they do because, as Bernstein states, “…if it hasn’t been offered before, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” She talks about the reassurance she gains from her podcast guests, the professionals doing this work, and the people who have lived experiences of being in cults and getting out. She feels reassured knowing there are people working on these issues and hopefully making inroads. We talk about a support group she facilitates and seeing attendees finally relax in an environment where other people get it, they understand. No one needs to explain themselves or be concerned about being dismissed or misunderstood.  

Grouping Up 

We discuss the importance of vetting group members, and Bernstein tells us stories of cult members trying to infiltrate the support groups and how she managed that. We talk about group dynamics and issues within groups, including the fear people have of attending, being late, and being chastised for it. Bernstein talks with us about questions from group members, such as ensuring confidentiality and how that isn’t possible within a group setting as we can ask/require it, but that doesn’t mean people will do it, so understanding that is helpful for group members to discern what they want to share. 

We talk about the different approaches to healing and helping former victims. There is sometimes a belief that therapists must be former cult members to help those who are, but this isn’t the case. A high degree of empathy, compassion, and listening skills are necessary, but a lived experience as a cult member is not. Bernstein adds humility is also necessary because we can’t assume we understand someone’s experience. We need to know that going into the interaction. Instead, we can be a resource in helping them understand their experiences and working out what that means for them going forward. 

Department of (In)Justice? 

Bernstein talks about her work with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and our goals to change the laws around undue influence and its consequences. She shares the discussion on her podcast with Carol Merchasin, an attorney focusing on spiritual abuse cases, and her own experiences working in this field of law.  

Bernstein talks about a case she had with the DOJ. She was contacted through the Victims Assistance Program to assist a woman who had been in La Luz del Mundo, a group that was sex trafficking young girls and women. They were indoctrinated at ages 8, 9, and 10 years old. As young women 18-20 years old, they are trying to rebuild their lives to understand what happened to them. Bernstein counseled them, and many opened up to her immediately but were still cautious because their families didn’t know they were speaking to a therapist.  

Unfortunately, about five months before the court date of the cult leader, Naasón Joaquín García, the DOJ cut off funding. The survivors were left with no resources except very old therapy contacts given to them, many of whom were out of business or had no background in cults. Bernstein decided to continue working with them for free. García was ultimately sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison, a pittance of time given all the trauma he inflicted on these women.  

Legal Matters 

We talk about the difficulties within the law regarding child victims of sex crimes within cults. They don’t understand what happened to them sometimes well into what we consider adulthood, but given that the frontal cortex doesn’t fully develop until around 26, we need to change the statute of limitations for bringing suits against people perpetuating these crimes.  

Exiting the Cult, Entering the Field 

We discuss the importance of entering the field of undue influence and working toward bettering society for survivors. There is a huge need within the psychology field for people who understand cults and mind control techniques, who can work with people who have survived these horrific situations and help them find their way back to a free life. There is much work to be done, and everyone can play a role, whether that is a therapist, funding the organizations working with survivors, or spreading the word about these organizations. We all have a part to play in freeing people from undue influence.  

Resources: 

Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSEd website 

IndoctriNation podcast 

IndoctriNation cited in the New York Times: 6 Podcasts About Cults and Their Enduring Sinister Attraction 

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[As approved by Professor Scheflin. Taken from Jon Atack’s Opening Our Minds: avoiding abusive relationships and authoritarian groups (Trentvalley ltd, Colchester, 2021) with permission from the author.]

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. 

Let us suppose you believe that you have been a victim of an impermissible form of mind manipulation or coercive thought control. And you now want to sue the perpetrators. The first problem you will encounter is finding an attorney sufficiently qualified to handle these very specialized types of cases. 

While “cultic” organizations and other persuasion groups are armed with attorneys well versed in defending their clients in these cases, there are very few lawyers with expertise in advocating for injured parties such as yourself who have been the victims of such organizations. Once you have found an attorney willing to take your case to court, there are new hurdles to conquer. 

In the past, judges have refused to step into litigation that involved topics such as “brainwashing” or “mind control” or “thought reform.” What plaintiffs needed was a recognized legal theory that would open the doors to the courtroom. They found such a theory in the concept of “undue influence,” which has been recognized for hundreds of years as providing monetary relief for people who have essentially been swindled out of their money. 

Fortunately, in recent years legislatures have added new laws making it easier to obtain financial compensation when “coercive control” or “predatory alienation” has been involved. 

At this point, the attorney must prove that you, the plaintiff-victim, were taken advantage of in such a manner that justice demands relief. To accomplish this goal, Professor Scheflin created the Social Influence Model (SIM) in 2015.

Professor Scheflin’s inspiration came from a section of Rudyard Kipling’s poem “My Six Servants,’ published in Just So Stories (1902): 

I keep six honest serving-men 

They taught me all they knew; 

Their names are What and Why and When

And How and Where and Who. 

The Social Influence Model (SIM) has these six components: 

1. Influencer [Identity and Status] [Who] 

2. Influencer’s Motives [Purpose] [Why] 

3. Influencer’s Methods [Techniques] [What/How] 

4. Circumstances [Timing & Setting] [Where/When] 

5. Influencee’s Receptivity/Vulnerability [Individual Differences] [Who]

6. Consequences [Results] [What]

The SIM is designed to be a benefit to five different audiences: 

1. Victims – You are going to court because you have been made a victim by the person or organization you are now suing. In order to assist your lawyer, you will need to provide him or her with a factual description of what happened to you over the course of your mental enslavement. Interestingly, the Kipling poem is taught in journalism courses as a guide for reporters to be able to present the most instructive and compelling story. Readers of such stories will have the most complete understanding of what happened when each of the Six Servants is represented. 

In bringing a legal case, you are the reporter of your own story and need to provide to your lawyer each of the Six Servants in order for him or her to present the facts by which the judge and jury can comprehend fully the circumstances that have brought you before them. Your lawyer will want to know what happened to you, when it took place, where it took place, how it happened, why it happened, and who was involved in making it happen. It is always advisable to put your presentation into a chronological format and to state carefully the various details, both factual and emotional, of your experience. This process should help clarify the experience you had and enable both you and others to view it clearly and dispassionately.

2. Lawyers – A good lawyer must make your case come alive in the hearts and minds of the jurors and the judge. Factual evidence and scientific evidence must be woven together to fit into the legal theory your lawyer will present. Every legal theory has certain elements which must be proven before financial compensation can be awarded. 

For lawyers, the SIM has several purposes. Lawyers prove their cases by presenting witnesses to explain the facts and experts to explain the science. A lawyer could make a chart of the SIM and include the information you have provided and the testimony witnesses and experts will give. Lawyers long ago discovered that the eye is more powerful than the ear. While jurors can hear evidence, it is much more dramatic if they see a visual representation of it. For example, in a case involving an automobile and locomotive collision, a lawyer in a courtroom brought in a full-sized model of the front of a train engine, which had a much more formidable impact than just referring to the train. In another case involving overcrowding in prisons, a lawyer constructed a life-size mock-up of a prison cell so jurors could see how physically confining it was when an excessive number of prisoners were put into it. 

Similarly, charts and graphs in which evidence and science have been summarized into categories are more compelling than jurors being asked to remember hours and hours of often technical testimony. The SIM also focuses the lawyer’s attention by directing the jurors’ attention to each element that must be proven in order for you to prevail. Indeed, most presentations given by lecturers involve some type of PowerPoint or similar computer-assisted visual presentations. A further benefit is that the organization of each of the elements aids the jurors in providing a structure for their deliberations.

3. Experts – It is the job of expert witnesses to explain science to the jury and judge. With regard to cases involving allegations of some type of mind control or undue influence, technical scientific data can be more easily structured using the SIM. For example, the Influencer’s Methods may involve a variety of psychological persuasion techniques carefully used on innocent victims unaware that they are being manipulated. To take an easy example, in cases involving various aspects of child abuse and seduction, an expert might present evidence of what is called  “grooming,” with the accompanying scientific literature supporting how what seems to start as an innocent introduction to someone leads to their mental and physical domination. 

Another example involves the Influencee’s Receptivity/Vulnerability. It is well known that people have different personality styles. Some people are more susceptible to influence than others. This is often called Individual Differences. 

There are various scientific testing instruments that can determine a person’s receptivity to suggestion or influence. These scales often appear in cases involving hypnosis and cases involving police interrogation. Because expert testimony is often the most difficult for jurors to process, the SIM provides a visual reminder of why jurors are hearing this particular expert testimony and why it is relevant to the resolution of the case. 

There are volumes of books and manuals for salespeople and telemarketers where they are taught a variety of techniques for keeping a potential customer engaged until the point of sale. In fact, this is another example of grooming. This knowledge is usually outside the realm of the victim’s conscious understanding.

4. Jurors – Jurors appreciate having evidence organized for them. In court, evidence is usually not presented in a sequential manner, especially given the fact that two sides deliver entirely different conceptions of what the case is about and the nature of the relevant facts. The SIM allows the jurors to take both sides of the case and understand how to make decisions about what evidence to accept or reject. It gives them a clearer path to the verdict they will reach. Jurors appreciate that.

5. Judges – For the same reasons that the SIM is persuasive for jurors; it is also persuasive for judges. A judge decides what evidence is admissible, what legal theories are permissible, and what jury instructions are acceptable. Jurors may ultimately decide the case, but it is the judge who is the gatekeeper as to what evidence the jury can hear and what expert testimony is relevant. The SIM is a useful structure for the judge to understand the significance of certain expert testimony that the judge might otherwise consider irrelevant. Judges appreciate when a lawyer has made their task easier.

Conclusion: We began with the Myth of the Unmalleable Mind and we conclude with the Myth of Irreversible Mind Control. This is the belief that mind control techniques turn people into human robots who cannot be salvaged. Just as people are wrong to believe their minds cannot be unduly influenced, people are wrong to believe that once having fallen under the influence, people cannot be brought back to their senses. Indeed, the SIM is part of the process of this reverse engineering. 

For many people, the greatest threat, often unthought and unspoken, is that other people can comfortably be doing their thinking for them. Group conformity is easier than individual responsibility, but it also diminishes the soul. We should concentrate less on teaching people what to think, and more on how to think. 

The United States Supreme Court in 1969 in Stanley v. Georgia [394 U.S. 557] said: “Our whole constitutional heritage rebels at the thought of giving government the power to control men’s minds.” Our whole human heritage should rebel at the thought of giving people the power to control men’s minds.^[i]

~ Jon Atack, taken from Opening Our Minds: avoiding abusive relationships and authoritarian groups (Trentvalley ltd, Colchester, 2021), with his permission

see also Jon’s YouTube channel, jonatack, family and friends.

^[i] See Scheflin, “Supporting Human Rights by Testifying Against Human Wrongs”, International Journal of Cultic Studies, Vol. 6, 2015, 69-82.

Resources:

Jon Atack’s paper, “Never Believe a Hypnotist“

Interview with Steven Hassan and Alan Scheflin: Evaluating Undue Influence: Scheflin’s Model as a Framework

Steven Hassan’s dissertation: The BITE Model of Authoritarian Control: Undue Influence, Thought Reform, Brainwashing, Mind Control, Trafficking, and the Law

The post Professor Alan Scheflin’s Social Influence Model (SIM) appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

On January 20^th, 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. 

Levin holds an MFA from the University of California, Irvine. He is the recipient of several writing fellowships, with his work appearing in publications including Provincetown Arts, Bat City Review, and The Sarah Lawrence Review.  

Levin talks with us about his goal for his memoir of “walking people through the experience of being compelled by a powerful personality by making that experience relatable and legible.” He hopes people who have difficulty imagining themselves in that position will be able to understand how a master manipulator operates. He talks about indoctrination into a cult as not a simple flip of a switch but rather someone attempting to survive in the way that we are all trying to do. 

Living with the Enemy

Levin attended Sarah Lawrence College, and in 2009 during his sophomore year, he lived in a Slonim Woods 9, a house-style dorm with several friends. One of his dorm mates described her father, who had been framed and unjustly sent to jail, needed a place to stay for a few days. She claimed her father was an ex-Marine and had worked for intelligence agencies, among other amazing things.  

The students agreed to let him stay for a bit. He bought food for everyone and later got access to a Manhattan apartment where Levin and his friends ended up living. When Ray arrived, “he sort of took over the whole environment, the social group.” Levin describes Ray as a narcissist and megalomaniac who slowly started to suck in his friends by offering his help, support, and version of alleged “therapy.” He incrementally started to confuse and disorient everyone, making them do rigorous exercises in combination with sleep deprivation. He initially did love bombing, a common practice used by cults. 

Opening Up and Being Pulled In

Daniel and I talked about the inherent power imbalance–Ray was middle-aged compared to Levin and his friends, who were 18 and 19 years old. Ray acted like a father figure, making it easier to prey on Levin and his friends. Ray was the best man of disgraced convicted N.Y. police commissioner Bernie Kerik and claimed relationships with high-ranking individuals such as Gorbachev and George H.W. Bush. Kerik was pardoned by Trump. He conned everyone to believe he was a great counselor who could help the students with their childhood trauma or identity issues. There was trust created because of Ray’s certainty and claims of penetrating knowledge about human nature. Eventually, Ray demanded total obedience and punished the students if they hesitated or didn’t do what he told them they had to do. 

Levin had a long conversation with Ray one day, where Levin talked about his mother being sick all of his life and the insecurities Levin had about his body, sex and sexuality, and relationships. After leaving the meeting, Ray and Levin walked to a waiting limousine that all of Levin’s friends were in. He later realized they were waiting the entire time he talked to Ray, which was between six and nine hours. This is something Levin himself would later experience, waiting in cars for hours for Larry. 

Reality According to Ray

Ray used almost every element in the BITE Model of Authoritarian control and operated like a pimp and trafficker. He used confusion techniques, sleep deprivation, lying, gaslighting, and much more. For example, he would use shame and guilt constantly- accusing Levin and others of doing things to harm him. This co-opted their reality testing mechanisms that all healthy people need to understand what is really happening in their world. Hammering someone over and over with the idea that, in reality, isn’t true can cause them to believe it is, a mind control technique people like Ray are experts at employing. 

Ray perpetrated sexual and psychological manipulation and physical abuse on his victims. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York press release, he “extracted false confessions from the victims to causing purported damages to Ray and his family and associates and then extorted payment for those purported damages through several means.” 

Paying What You Don’t Owe

The press release discusses how Ray forced one female victim into commercial sex acts as a way to pay damages she didn’t actually owe. He ended up collecting millions in proceeds from the forced prostitution of this woman. 

Because Levin was living in Ray’s apartment and Ray was buying the food, cooking the meals, and providing for him, Levin was made to feel he owed Ray as well. At one point, he was sleeping “maybe four hours a night,” which contributes to the ease with which Ray could exert control and is also a common mind control technique. 

With this kind of continuous exhaustion, people just want the relief of being able to sleep and will start to admit to things they didn’t do because their minds are so muddled with exhaustion. They start thinking the cult leader is all-knowing, so maybe they did what they’re being accused of. It’s a vicious cycle. 

Later, Levin spent time in England, which gave him literal space from Ray, but he still felt that pull to his abuser. He didn’t trust his own feelings about what was going on, which was a part of the program he’d been indoctrinated into. His friends seemed to be learning and growing through this, so Levin felt something was wrong with him. He felt intense relief being thousands of miles away in England while also feeling deep dread and panic.  

Levin talks about returning to the Manhattan apartment and Ray increasing the intensity of the abuse, which Levin later saw as Ray testing the boundaries of what he could get away with. He discusses the hierarchy within the cult where someone always needed to be on the bottom, and it would rotate, which created a power dynamic in which everyone was desperate not to be on the bottom rung.  

Brainwashed

We discussed how we could know if we were being brainwashed and the Tedx talk I did. The first step is getting away from the environment, turning off your phone, and stopping doing the practice. Sleep, eat, listen to music, do things that connect you to your reality, and then learn about mind control paradigms. Net study models of mind control. Then deliberately seek out critics and former believers. Then honestly, reflect on your own direct experiences with this new information. Go back in your memory to the beginning of your exposure and ask yourself, “If I knew then what I know now, what would I do or say differently?” If the answer is that you would never have allowed the opening contact, then you know it is time to leave.  

When Levin began writing his book, his friends were not yet out of the cult, so he hoped they would read it and see the truth. He talks about not being able to ask one another whether something seemed off or weird while they were in the cult, but he surmises that maybe they were wondering those things privately, and his saying it in the book might help crack something open. Additionally, he participated in a New York Magazine article linked below, which helped break the story and begin an FBI investigation. 

Crossing the Gulf Publicly

Levin discusses the difference it made to him to be more public about his experience, how helpful this was to his mental health, and his feeling of being present. While he spoke about it in therapy to his parents and his girlfriend, being able to share it publicly helped him embrace it more fully. There was a gulf between him and others while he lived with the secret, but crossing that gulf, while scary, was life-changing. 

Vulnerability

The conversation with Levin and how he got in, got out, and recovered from mind control can be life-changing for everyone who reads his book and watches the HULU docuseries,  STOLEN YOUTH: INSIDE THE CULT AT SARAH LAWRENCE. We must remember that people involved in cults are not stupid. They are vulnerable and being human means being vulnerable at various points in our lives. It’s worthwhile to understand that this could happen to any of us and to learn about the techniques used to pull us in so we can avoid it and help others do the same.  

Note: Lawrence Ray Sentenced For 60 Years-Long Predatory Crimes Against Students At Sarah Lawrence College And Others

Resources: 

Slonim Woods 9: a Memoir by Daniel Barban Levin 

Website for Daniel Barban Levin 

The Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence What happened to the group of bright college students who fell under the sway of a classmate’s father? By Ezra Marcus and James D. Walsh April 2019  

A New Documentary Grapples With the Sarah Lawrence Cult  

Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence HULU docuseries 

WBUR Here & Now part one: How did a group of Sarah Lawrence roommates end up in a cult? ‘Stolen Youth’ charts terrifying path

WBUR Here & Now part two: How easy is it to get trapped in a cult?

WBUR Here & Now Op-Ed: Hulu’s new cult doc ‘Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence’ proves what Trump and QAnon know: It’s actually very easy to manipulate people’s minds

Hulu’s Impact x Nightline episode 16: “Under his Spell: Sarah Lawrence Dad Turned Predator” with Steven Hassan and survivors Daniel Barban Levin and Felicia Rosario

Impact x Nightline Podcast: “Under His Spell: Sarah Lawrence Dad Turned Predator” (podcast version of above)

Feb. 14, 2023 legal statement by former member Claudia in response to 4 year sentence of Isabella Pollack

The post Recruited at Sarah Lawrence College Into The Larry Ray Cult With Daniel Barban Levin  appeared first on Freedom of Mind Resource Center.

Leaving a cult or another situation of undue influence is a truly heroic feat. Unfortunately, however, the experience of being in a cult can leave former members with many long-term effects, including radical personality change, psychological and relationship problems, and difficulties in their daily lives. It takes time and often the experience of a therapist trained in cult recovery to get beyond the mentality that authoritarian cults indoctrinate into their members.

Until recently, few programs have been available to train therapists in the unique skills they need to help people heal from cults and other forms of mind control abuse. Former cult members who become trained as mental health counselors often have not done their own self-recovery work or learned what they need to know before they advertise their services to others. I was excited to talk to Dr. Gillie Jenkinson on my Influence Continuum podcast about her work and new book.

Dr. Gillie Jenkinson is an accredited psychotherapist in the UK, an international speaker, and a director of Hope Valley Counselling. For over 25 years, she has specialized in the challenges faced by those who have experienced coercive, cultic, and spiritual abuse. She developed an innovative program called Post-Cult Counselling and trains mental health professionals through her Certificate in Post-Cult Counselling. She also has a forthcoming book called Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic, and Spiritual Abuse: A Workbook for Recovery and Growth, which will be published by Routledge Press in the spring of 2023.

Gillie got interested in training mental health professionals because, like me, she exited a destructive cultic group. Back then, not many recovery services were available for people who had experienced mind control abuse. She also encountered unethical treatment by therapists who were untrained in this area.

The Importance of Specialized Training in Cult Recovery 

Most people require specialized counseling to recover from an experience of cult indoctrination. But many therapists that work with former members are not trained to help with the after-effects of mind control and cult-related problems, such as the formation of a pseudo “cult identity.” People need to understand what happened to them in the cult and how they were brainwashed and controlled, so they can process that cult identity effectively and get to the root of the issues.

Gillie and I share the concern that therapy can be ineffective and even dangerous if these underlying cult-related issues aren’t addressed. A former client of mine had been in the Boston Church of Christ for thirteen years and was suicidal and self-harming. She was in the mental health system for eleven years, misdiagnosed, and given therapy that was exacerbating her difficulties. After I gave her intensive counseling, which addressed her cult-related issues, she got off all her medication and stopped having any impulses of self-harm or suicidality. That’s why this area of training therapists in mind control abuse is so important.

Training Therapists in Post-Cult Counseling

Inspired by her experience encountering unethical and inexperienced therapists, Gillie created an approach to counseling former members, which she calls Post-Cult Counselling (PCC), that brings together ethical therapy and the knowledge of cults.  PCC aids recovery, helping individuals ‘chew over’ their experience, discarding what is not healthy while holding on to what is nourishing in order to restore their authentic identity (whether they joined or were born or raised in the cult). PCC incorporates relational psychoeducation and the use of a Recovery Workbook, which addresses many different areas such as identity, introjects, trauma theory, thought reform, and unmasking the cult leader, amongst others. Her new book, Walking Free, is an expanded version of this workbook. It is based on the premise that psychoeducation leading to understanding how cults gain control is just as important for recovery as the therapeutic relationship itself.

After delivering Post-Cult Counselling to more than 100 clients and realizing there was a demand for her services that she could not meet personally, Gillie developed a Certificate in Post-Cult Counselling. She trains therapists and other mental health professionals to work with survivors of undue influence and to use the psychoeducational Recovery Workbook. She also mentors, coaches, and supervises therapists, which is vital for everyone in this field. Gillie is now able to refer potential clients to therapists trained in PCC.

After 45 years of speaking out, organizing, and helping people to exit and heal from mind control cults, I wholeheartedly agree with Gillie’s approach to dealing with the cult experience. In my own Foundational Course for Clinicians, I provide mental health professionals with an understanding of the dynamics of cultic groups, thought reform theory, and the ‘cult mindset’ so they can work with these issues.

The Freedom of Mind approach to recovery and healing helps the former cult member to find an internal locus of control, self-awareness, self-efficacy, and the tools needed to maintain their well-being and effective functioning. This method focuses on addressing the issues created by cult influence. When therapists undertake specialized training to work with this approach, they can help former members identify their authentic selves and function in a healthy, balanced way.

Mental health professionals are on the frontlines in efforts to heal the damage that various forms of undue influence have done. That’s why I believe that education and training about mind control and cult-related issues should be a priority for everyone in this field.

A note on the video: I wish to apologize to my listeners and to Gillie. There was an internet delay problem that caused us to talk over each other and long silences. We have since switched to a new platform so this will not happen again.

Resources

Hope Valley Counselling

Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse: A Workbook for Recovery and Growth

Understanding Cults: Foundational Course for Clinicians

Negative Issues Experienced by Former Members of High Control Groups

Fifty Years of Helping People Out of Cults

The Freedom of Mind Approach to Helping Individuals Born in High-Demand Groups and Cults

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Children are impressionable and what they learn at a young age often stays with them throughout their life. The old adage, children learn what they live, is very much at play with our guest Aaron Smith-Levin, who was raised in Scientology. 

His mother joined when he was four, and he grew up in the cult, later joining the Sea Org, a sub-group in Scientology where members make a billion-year commitment. He left the Sea Org in 2006 and officially left Scientology in 2014, starting a YouTube channel called Growing Up in Scientology. He is also the vice president of the Aftermath Foundation, which is dedicated to helping those who want to leave Scientology and the Sea Organization but lack a system of support they can rely on while getting on their feet in the outside world. Now living in Florida with his wife and three daughters, he talks with us about growing up in Scientology. 

“Seeing” Through the Lens of a Child

Aaron discusses the uniquely damaging and empowering aspects of Scientology when it is viewed through the lens of a child. Scientology sees children not as small humans but rather as billion-year-old spirits in new little bodies. Because children don’t often like to be treated as children where they are condescended to and have no rights and no freedoms, Aaron talks about how easy it is to pass on these beliefs to them as they feel they’re being treated like the adults they want to be. He discusses how being given the freedoms of adults is an empowering aspect of this.

Aaron was able to contrast his experience as a Scientologist with his experience of being a child in public school, which he attended up until the sixth grade. He reports in school that he didn’t feel listened to or respected. However, as a staff member at a Scientology organization, he was suddenly being paid and given the freedom and liberties of an adult. 

The downside to having the freedom and liberties of adults is also having the responsibilities and burdens of adults. We talk about the severe emotional consequences of not allowing children to be children, of placing adult responsibilities on their shoulders and excising the normal childhood experimentation, fun, play, and imagination that is an integral part of emotional development. 

Parenting in the Aftermath of a Cult

Another consequence of this for Aaron is difficulty parenting his teenage daughters, who are 16, 14, and 12. He talks about the uncertainty of what an everyday teenage experience is supposed to look like because he never had one. He defers to his wife on some decisions because she had a typical high school experience. This is a very common issue for people recovering from cults. They need to learn what typical, healthy development looks like, as it’s not something they have ever experienced. Cults do not typically value the child; the organization is always the number one priority.

Everyday Undue Influence

Aaron talks about the common question, “how could anybody fall for this?” He discusses the idea that no one thinks they’re joining a cult, and this is something it’s essential to emphasize. The word “cult” is so pejorative for most people that if they genuinely thought they were joining a cult, they wouldn’t do so. We like to think we’re stronger emotionally and mentally than to fall for that. However, we fall for things every day. The entire concept of advertising is built around influencing people: we think we’re immune, but every day, people are buying into concepts of influence. It’s not that difficult to think they would buy into the concept of a group where they feel comfortable, accepted, and loved, which cults are experts at.

It’s so important to be humble and human in understanding that everybody falls for a lie. Everybody can be tricked. There are feelings of shame and embarrassment at falling for things, but everyone has been there in some form or another.

It’s also important to remember that two things that appear to be opposites can be true at the same time. Aaron talks about his time in Scientology and then after leaving as a researcher for hedge funds and investments. That is, a job takes a certain level of intelligence. He was able to do those things while also having been under the influence of mind control techniques. 

Accelerated Adolescence

Aaron discusses beginning full-time work in Scientology when he was 12 and finishing the training at 15. He doesn’t have any formal education beyond that point at this time. He talks about feeling like his formative years were compressed into a single stage. He didn’t have the normal developmental stages, instead going through his adolescence and adult years all at once from age 13. 

Show Me (no) Money

Once he finished his training in Clearwater, Florida, he returned to the organization he was from in Philadelphia and worked full-time, which meant seven days a week from 8 am to 10 pm. The pay for this ranged from $50 to $100 per week. Despite the very small wages for the amount of time spent working, Aaron talks about feeling as though it was “almost virtuous to do all that work and expect nothing in return.”

This kind of thinking leads to feeling like one is part of an elite group, which also resonates with my time in the Moonies, where we felt like we were the elite, the chosen ones like we had a superior understanding of the absolute truth. Aaron talks about Scientologists believing they have this kind of superiority even without a concept of a god or supreme being. 

Human Bodies as Prisons

At the same time, Aaron explains how Scientology sees the human body as a prison. People trapped themselves in these prisons over trillions of years despite being infinitely godlike in their potential. He says that “we think we’re physical bodies. We think we’re living lives of free will, but we have terminal amnesia of all of our previous lives. We have none of our inherent godlike powers.” 

L Ron Hubbard convinced Scientologists that completing Scientology’s Bridge to Total Freedom is the only way to free yourself from bodily prison and amnesia. However, Aaron talks about how all levels of that bridge are confidential, and no one is allowed to discuss what is on them. This means one can be at the highest level of Scientology (the Sea Organization) and be at the lowest level of the bridge and still have no understanding of what the confidential levels are all about. Aaron talks about this as almost being a cult within a cult.

Phenomenal Wealth

Despite paying its workers very little for long hours of servitude, Scientology is very money-driven in that it is phenomenally wealthy and does nothing for charity. Aaron talks about the $50 a week Sea Org members are paid, often being cut to even lower amounts because there’s not enough left to pay the members after management gets its cut. 

Aaron talks about the contradiction in Scientology wanting to recruit new members. Still, many people are not able to afford the high cost of it, not just in lack of pay from the organization, but in the upfront costs of joining and continuing in the activities. This is likely one of the many reasons we see celebrities linked to Scientology, such as Tom Cruise. 

Given this, members of Scientology tend to be people who can afford it, such as affluent business owners and professionals such as attorneys, doctors, and so forth. Aaron shares with us the Scientology practice of packing course materials for sale to non-Scientologists, some of this under the guise of business consulting, which is a way to get unsuspecting people into the organization.

The Red Flag Parade

We talk about some of the red flags of cults, including being asked to cut out people from your life, paying upfront for courses with little understanding of what they are about, and there is one person at the head of the organization who is all-knowing such as Hubbard is for Scientologists. In looking at Hubbard’s background, he was a science fiction writer who claimed to be a Naval war hero and to possess a PhD in Nuclear Physics, but there is no evidence for either of these claims. 

We talk about my research of malignant narcissists as the stereotypical profile of cult leaders and how the criteria of malignant narcissism apply to cult leaders, including Hubbard. Opening Minds by Jon Atack explores this more deeply.

Legal Consequences

Aaron discusses the current legal case filed against David Miscavige and several organizations within Scientology. The plaintiffs are former Sea Org members Gawain and Laura Baxter (a married couple) and Valeska Paris. They allege labor trafficking abroad on the Scientology ship Freewinds. An amended complaint alleges several sexual assaults against Valeska Paris by members of the Scientology organization. The plaintiffs have been unable to legally serve Miscavige and recently filed a motion to declare Miscavige served and in default. 

Should a judge rule that he’s been served, discovery will proceed, meaning Miscavige can be deposed, and we discuss how no cult leader wants to have to answer honestly in a court of law for their actions.

Aaron talks about the argument lawyers for Scientology are making that the three plaintiffs signed contracts while members of the Sea Org that they would agree to settle disputes within the organization rather than using the legal system. We discuss the many issues with this including the lack of informed consent on the part of the plaintiffs when signing this and the undue influence inherent in saying they need to sign these contracts in order to move to the next level in the organization. 

Changing the Law to Reflect Undue Influence Truths

In some cases, courts have upheld such agreements, which is indicative of a complete lack of understanding in the legal arena of how cults work and the undue influence at play. Changing the law to reflect comprehension of how authoritarian control works and how undue influence can create disastrous consequences is so important.

A good start to understanding this is studying the BITE Model of Authoritarian Control, the Influence Continuum, and visiting Aaron’s Aftermath Foundation. Additionally, I’ve recently launched a course, Understanding Cults: A Foundational Course for Clinicians, but anyone interested in learning more about cults is welcome to participate. 

Resources:

Aaron’s YouTube Channel: Growing Up in Scientology

The Aftermath Foundation

Scientology and the BITE Model

Freedom of Mind Resource Page: Scientology

Opening Our Minds: Avoiding Abusive Relationships and Authoritarian Groups

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