All posts tagged: Undue Influence

Parental Abduction and Alienation: A Discussion with Psychiatrist Nick Child

A few weeks ago, I spoke to a gathering of a group of parentally alienated mothers and fathers in Waltham, Massachusetts. Parental alienation is a phenomenon where children are turned against one of their parents (either mother or father) by the other parent, usually when there is a divorce, without good reason. In some cases,

Steven Hassan, June 6, 2019

Robert Jay Lifton’s Eight Criteria of Thought Reform (Brainwashing, Mind Control)

  The following excerpt is used with permission from Robert Jay Lifton’s The Future of Immortality and Other Essays for a Nuclear Age (New York, Basic Books, 1987) is a concise explanation of Lifton’s eight criteria for defining mind control. His 1961 book, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of “Brainwashing” in

Steven Hassan, May 30, 2019

Trump, Cults, and Deprogramming: A Discussion with Forensic Expert Dr. Steve Eichel

This week, I share an interview with my old friend and colleague, Steve Eichel, Ph.D. He is a forensic psychologist, an authority on hypnosis, expert witness, counselor, author, and educator. He specializes in destructive cults, coercive persuasion, brainwashing and deprogramming. In 1989, he wrote his doctoral dissertation on the subject of deprogramming. Dr. Eichel’s introduction

Steven Hassan, May 9, 2019

The Anatomy of Undue Influence: Scientific Study and Elsevier Journal Article

This is my first peer-reviewed academic journal article. It’s genesis began when I gave a talk entitled, The “anatomy of undue influence used by terrorist cults and traffickers to induce helplessness and trauma, so creating false identities” at the prestigious 2017 Congress of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health in Prague. I blogged about

Steven Hassan, April 25, 2019

National Child Abuse Prevention Month: Educate, Protect and Support

Since 1983, April has been designated as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. It “recognizes the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse and neglect and promotes the social and emotional well-being of children and families. During the month of April and throughout the year, communities are encouraged to increase awareness and

Steven Hassan, April 11, 2019

Christian Nationalism, Dominionism, the New Apostolic Reformation; A Discussion with Dr. André Gagné

André Gagné, Ph.D. This week, I have the pleasure of sharing an interview with Dr. André Gagné. We discuss his journey as a former evangelical pastor, his academic journey becoming a tenured professor and his work involving the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR).  André Gagné, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of

Steven Hassan, March 14, 2019

Terror, Love & Brainwashing: A Discussion with Alexandra Stein About Extremist Political Cults

This week, I have the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Stein, a cult survivor and renowned expert on cults and totalitarianism. Alexandra Stein, Ph.D. is a writer and educator specializing in the social psychology of ideological extremism and other dangerous social relationships. She is an academic, having taught at the University of Minnesota, Birkbeck, and the University

Steven Hassan, February 28, 2019

Human Trafficking: Learn to Recognize the Signs and Help Save a Life

Danielle Bastien, Henry Ford Health System Trafficking is a Large-Scale Issue of Undue Influence Meet Emergency Room nurse, Danielle Jordan Bastein. Kudos to her! Danielle has pioneered the development of a new protocol to more systematically identify warning factors for the ER that a patient might be a trafficking victim. Trafficking victims almost always suffer a

Steven Hassan, February 7, 2019

Exvangelicals Find a Voice and Speak Out Against Authoritarianism

Dominionism A few weeks before the 2016 Presidential election, Stanford Russian history Ph.D. Dr. Chrissy Stroop wrote an article, “After the Trump Tapes: Evangelical Authoritarianism Revisited.” In it, she shared her concerns about what she saw was a powerful group of people publicly defined as white evangelical Christians who were supporting Trump and who exhibited

Steven Hassan, January 17, 2019

Islamophobia and Psychiatry: Recognition, Prevention, and Treatment

Introduction The book begins by covering the general and clinical challenges that are unique to Muslims, drawing from an internationally, ethnically, and intergenerationally diverse pool of experts.  The text covers not only how psychiatrists and other clinicians can intervene successfully with patients, but how we as clinicians can have a role in addressing other societally

Steven Hassan, January 12, 2019
The BITE Model and Scientology

Scientology and The BITE Model

BITE Model In June of 2018, I did an interview with psychologist and ex-Mormon John Dehlin for his Mormon Stories podcast. In preparation for the show, John read Combating Cult Mind Control and told me that the book was transformative. Then he did a wonderful analysis of the BITE model of the Mormon Church which

Steven Hassan, December 20, 2018