Monday, June 8, 2015
Freedom of Mind information
HOME
About Us
Mission Statement
SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
Help With Estranged Family Member
Help With A Controlling Relationship
Our Team
Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
About Us
Mission Statement
Privacy Policy
Articles
BITE Model of Unethical Influence
Blogs
Books
FAQ
Friends of FOM Resoruce Center
Groups
Group Database
Submit Info About A Group
Human Trafficking
Recent News
Terrorism
MEDIA
Steve Hassan Press Kit Resources
Video Archives
CONTACT
Send Us An Email
Join Our Contact List
Submit Information On A Group
Facebook (Cult Expert)
Facebook (FOM)
Youtube
Vimeo
Mission
Our Mission is to Support All Individuals in
Obtaining and Maintaining the Freedom to Both Think Clearly
and to Freely Consider How They Want to Live Their Lives.
Freedom of Mind promotes your freedom to learn, consider and decide about life choices without interference from others that can make it hard or impossible to pay attention to your own best thinking and intuitions.
Our foremost concern is to be sure that you are told the whole truth and that your rights and personal choices are respected. If you are going to make truly free, personal choices, you need unbiased sources of information and support. For over 35 years we have offered just that.
Whether you’re trying to better understand a group that may be pressuring you in uncomfortable ways, worried about an individual who seems unduly under the influence of a group or individual, or feel like you may be losing your personal choices to a controlling individual, Freedom of Mind can help you sort out the facts of the situation and develop approaches that will allow you to more freely follow your own individual path.
Controlling Individuals and Groups have Similarities
Interference, sometimes intense enough to be accurately called undue influence, robs you of your freedom of choice, your freedom of mind. Whether you’re faced with a relationship that doesn’t really allow you the safety to make up your own mind or a group that denies you the space and time to thoughtfully consider your preferences, you may be in danger of losing your freedom of mind.
Freedom of Mind can help you better understand and deal with both these potentially threatening situations.
About Our Approach
Steven Hassan and his associates are experts on alienation from family and friends, and situations that may involve pressure and mind control issues from individuals, groups and cults. Steve has created a unique method of specialized counseling, called the Strategic Interactive Approach (SIA), which offers profound respect and enhanced freedom of choice to individuals struggling with what may be mind control. The supportive, SIA approach is more respectful and has proven more effective than either exit counseling or deprogramming.
What Can We Do for You?
1.Our quick self-assessments can help you get a rough idea of whether you, or someone you know, need to be concerned about a situation. Click on the area you are most interested in: Controlling Groups, Controlling Individuals or Consulting for Former Group Members. Then review the self-assessment questions to help you evaluate the seriousness of the situation.
1.In each of the specific sections there is a FAQ section that may answer many of your questions and will orient you to concerns we think help protect your right to think and feel without undue pressure. A helpful model for understanding mind control is what we call the BITE model.
1.If you feel it would be helpful to get a more in-depth consultation and recommendation, give us a call at 617-396-4638 to hear more about how to set one up. You can also read a description of what to expect.
1.If you’d like to know more about what former group members, the media or Steve has written or said about specific groups, check out our extensive Resource Center.
HOME
SERVICES
INFORMATION
MEDIA
CONTACT
ADDRESS
716 Beacon Street
#590443
Newton, MA 02459
Phone: 617 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153 FOLLOW US
Vimeo
YouTube
COPYRIGHT © 2014 FREEDOM OF MIND RESOURCE CENTER INC.
https://freedomofmind.com/Contact/mission.php
HOME
About Us
Mission Statement
SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
Help With Estranged Family Member
Help With A Controlling Relationship
Our Team
Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
About Us
Mission Statement
Privacy Policy
Articles
BITE Model of Unethical Influence
Blogs
Books
FAQ
Friends of FOM Resoruce Center
Groups
Group Database
Submit Info About A Group
Human Trafficking
Recent News
Terrorism
MEDIA
Steve Hassan Press Kit Resources
Video Archives
CONTACT
Send Us An Email
Join Our Contact List
Submit Information On A Group
Facebook (Cult Expert)
Facebook (FOM)
Youtube
Vimeo
Mission
Our Mission is to Support All Individuals in
Obtaining and Maintaining the Freedom to Both Think Clearly
and to Freely Consider How They Want to Live Their Lives.
Freedom of Mind promotes your freedom to learn, consider and decide about life choices without interference from others that can make it hard or impossible to pay attention to your own best thinking and intuitions.
Our foremost concern is to be sure that you are told the whole truth and that your rights and personal choices are respected. If you are going to make truly free, personal choices, you need unbiased sources of information and support. For over 35 years we have offered just that.
Whether you’re trying to better understand a group that may be pressuring you in uncomfortable ways, worried about an individual who seems unduly under the influence of a group or individual, or feel like you may be losing your personal choices to a controlling individual, Freedom of Mind can help you sort out the facts of the situation and develop approaches that will allow you to more freely follow your own individual path.
Controlling Individuals and Groups have Similarities
Interference, sometimes intense enough to be accurately called undue influence, robs you of your freedom of choice, your freedom of mind. Whether you’re faced with a relationship that doesn’t really allow you the safety to make up your own mind or a group that denies you the space and time to thoughtfully consider your preferences, you may be in danger of losing your freedom of mind.
Freedom of Mind can help you better understand and deal with both these potentially threatening situations.
About Our Approach
Steven Hassan and his associates are experts on alienation from family and friends, and situations that may involve pressure and mind control issues from individuals, groups and cults. Steve has created a unique method of specialized counseling, called the Strategic Interactive Approach (SIA), which offers profound respect and enhanced freedom of choice to individuals struggling with what may be mind control. The supportive, SIA approach is more respectful and has proven more effective than either exit counseling or deprogramming.
What Can We Do for You?
1.Our quick self-assessments can help you get a rough idea of whether you, or someone you know, need to be concerned about a situation. Click on the area you are most interested in: Controlling Groups, Controlling Individuals or Consulting for Former Group Members. Then review the self-assessment questions to help you evaluate the seriousness of the situation.
1.In each of the specific sections there is a FAQ section that may answer many of your questions and will orient you to concerns we think help protect your right to think and feel without undue pressure. A helpful model for understanding mind control is what we call the BITE model.
1.If you feel it would be helpful to get a more in-depth consultation and recommendation, give us a call at 617-396-4638 to hear more about how to set one up. You can also read a description of what to expect.
1.If you’d like to know more about what former group members, the media or Steve has written or said about specific groups, check out our extensive Resource Center.
HOME
SERVICES
INFORMATION
MEDIA
CONTACT
ADDRESS
716 Beacon Street
#590443
Newton, MA 02459
Phone: 617 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153 FOLLOW US
Vimeo
YouTube
COPYRIGHT © 2014 FREEDOM OF MIND RESOURCE CENTER INC.
https://freedomofmind.com/Contact/mission.php
HOME
About Us
Mission Statement
SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
Help With Estranged Family Member
Help With A Controlling Relationship
Our Team
Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
About Us
Mission Statement
Privacy Policy
Articles
BITE Model of Unethical Influence
Blogs
Books
FAQ
Friends of FOM Resoruce Center
Groups
Group Database
Submit Info About A Group
Human Trafficking
Recent News
Terrorism
MEDIA
Steve Hassan Press Kit Resources
Video Archives
CONTACT
Send Us An Email
Join Our Contact List
Submit Information On A Group
Facebook (Cult Expert)
Facebook (FOM)
Youtube
Vimeo
Help for Ex-Members of Group or Cult
We offer extensive resources to help in former members of destructive groups recovery from their experiences.
Destructive cults or controlling family systems can have long-term effects, even if you have been physically away for some time. If you feel like you are still experiencing negative after effects, you could probably benefit from specialized counseling.
Steven Hassan M.Ed., LMHC, NCC offers short-term counseling in MA for ex-members who need assistance with their recovery. As a former member of a destructive group himself, he understands the situation in ways most mental health practitioners who have no training or experience with mind control related issues don’t.
Counseling
Steve offers professional counseling in Massachusetts. If you would like to schedule a telephone consultation with him, please call the office at 617-396-4638 with any questions about fees. You may also click here to submit an Ex-Member Case Evaluation Form. The form is also available in a Word document and a PDF here. Please note, that for lengthy submissions, it is recommended to download the Word document, fill it out then copy and paste the answers into the online submission form. This prevents the webpage from timing out and losing all the information inputted.
Most Therapists Don't Understand
Based on 36 years of experience, we know that to fully recover from an experience of undue influence, most people require specialized counseling. But most therapists are not trained to help with the aftereffects of mind control and cult-related problems. Many people complain that they have spent money on therapy sessions in which they had to teach the therapist about cult mind control.
One common complaint is that the therapist ignored, minimized, or simply did not understand the deception, manipulation and mind control that are hallmarks of the cult experience. Many clients are mistakenly directed by their therapists to look at childhood issues to explain why they ‘joined’ the cult, ignoring the fact that most members are deceptively recruited.
What Steve learned as a counselor and ex-member is that dealing with childhood issues is usually best done after dealing with the entire mind control experience.
After receiving specialized counseling, most ex-members realize that they have endured years of unnecessary suffering. Individuals who left cults or abusive relationships as long as 30 years or more ago, still suffer from beliefs programmed by the cult. They often experience a variety of psychological and relationship problems—anxiety disorders, panic attacks, sleep disorders, lack of trust, paranoia and feelings of alienation. Untreated, they often become especially vulnerable to the normal stresses of life, such as health problems, the deaths of friends and loved ones, divorce and, especially in recent years, economic pressures and the threat of terrorism.
Everyday Situations Can Trigger Aftereffects
In addition, environmental cues often trigger aspects of left-over cult programming that ex-members still carry. Some ex-members get to the point that they actually think about returning to the cult, or feel they must seek out some new guru, leader, or group. It takes time and often guidance to get beyond the black and white, us-versus-them, elitist mentality that cults tend to program into their members.
The way to recover from destructive mind control is to learn to control your own mind. In our practice we help people develop increased self-awareness so that they can reclaim, or in some cases, create for the first time, a healthy internal locus (center) of control. Cults actively work to short-circuit this internal locus of authority.
Using a variety of mind control techniques, and especially the cultivation of allegiance to a central authority figure, cults can turn even the most independent-minded person into an obedient cult member. Though one of our main aims is to undo this cult programming, we have found that what works best is for people to take responsibility for their own recovery. Steve serves as counselor and coach to help people know themselves so that they can change and grow in healthy ways that they choose.
Steve has found that doing very intense, deep work over a period of a few days or, in some cases, a few weeks is the fastest and most effective way to recover from the effects of undue influence. Meeting once or twice a week for an hour, while much better than doing nothing, is a much less effective approach for most people. On a slow schedule, it could take years to accomplish what could be done in a relatively short period of time. Though we offer telephone as well as email counseling with individuals all over the world, the most effective options are often the following.
Option One: Short intense in-person counseling work done in Boston over a few days.
Intense, work means six to eight hours a day for three or four days. This allows you to go into great detail and get as deep as you can. We identify the areas of greatest concern and plan sessions accordingly, essentially creating a plan just for you.
For example, some people want help understanding how destructive mind control was used on them. They may want Steve to teach them about altered states of consciousness—hypnosis, meditation, chanting and other exercises and processes used by undue influence agents—and how to use those techniques themselves in appropriate and healthy ways. Others have had very unhappy childhood experiences and traumas, which can set them up for years of destructive relationships, and possibly group involvement(s). They want to focus on how to heal past traumas, create healthy relationships, and move forward. Each person is best served by a truly customized approach. Steve is able to draw from a large toolbox of different strategies that help empower you to heal yourself. We apply the ones that work best for you in your sessions.
Breaks are taken whenever you choose. Though Steve spends a great deal of time talking with clients, he also employs a variety of media, including audio and videotapes, to augment the educational component of your work together. Sharing the experiences of other ex-members, through our collection of excellent videotapes of news and television shows, helps many people to better understand the patterns of mind control. You may be asked to consider watching a video, reading, writing or practicing a healing technique between sessions.
Option Two: Moderately paced in-person counseling done in Boston over one or two weeks.
If you have trouble focusing for long hours you may need a less intense therapeutic experience. We have found that counseling one to three hours a day over a one or two week period may work best for you. Some clients fly to Boston, stay with friends or relatives, or get a bed and breakfast or hotel room. Some find that visiting the great city of Boston, combining personal growth and vacation, is a powerful mix.
Option Three: Steve travels to you for a number of days.
Unlike most therapists, Steve is willing to travel almost anywhere to help. For many ex-members, traveling to Boston feels like too big a step; cult phobias can make them quite anxious or fearful. Counseling in the comfort and safety of their own home is often much easier. An additional benefit to home-based counseling is that, if you wish, Steve can also work to educate those close to the ex-member, perhaps family or friends.
Educated family and friends are often able to offer excellent long-term personal support and encouragement. And clients really appreciate the chance to have loved ones sit in on some sessions and actively take part in the recovery process, especially the videotape presentations. Family members and friends, many of whom were traumatized by the cult involvement, report that they benefit tremendously from participating. If requested, Steve can do family counseling, teach strategies and techniques for effective communication, and help resolve any long standing family issues. An option is to include some group sessions that include other former members.
Option Four: Sponsor a workshop or attend a scheduled ex-member workshop.
If you are on a very limited budget but would like to work with Steve in person, consider organizing a program in your city. If there are a number of other former members who also want to work on issues relating to cult involvement, then pooling financial resources is a good choice. If you have experience at event planning, or are just a highly motivated person and have good organizational skills and free time, just contact the office for more information.
Option Five: Ask Steve to supervise your local therapist.
If you have a good working relationship with a local therapist, but they have no formal training to work with ex-members, they may be willing to get professional help (therapists call it supervision) via telephone from Steve.
If they want professional training, please encourage them to contact the office and we will discuss training opportunities. You might also encourage him or her to visit the freedomofmind.com web site, read Steve’s books (and others too, of course), and learn more about the group or situation that most closely fits your experience.
If your therapist seems uninterested in learning about the lasting effects that cults and mind control can have, we encourage you to strongly consider an alternative therapist, as your needs are not likely to be met.
To find out more about an option, call 617 396-4638 during office hours.
We would really like to be of help.
To make the most of the initial consultation, we strongly suggest you fill out our ex-member evaluation form before your appointment. You can copy the online background evaluation form or just complete it securely online. We recommend that you keep a copy of whatever you send to the office for your own files. Please be assured that your information is completely confidential. Steve is a licensed mental health counselor and follows the highest ethical standards of his profession. During the initial phone consultation, a decision will be made together how to proceed.
Frequently Asked Questions
We have a Frequently Asked Questions section that may be of help in answering some of your questions.
Ethics
Steve Hassan is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) and also a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. His license number is 820. He is a member of the American Counseling Association, and the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association. He also belongs to the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis and the International Society of Hypnosis. As a member of the American Counseling Association, he adheres to their ethical guidelines.
HOME
SERVICES
INFORMATION
MEDIA
CONTACT
ADDRESS
716 Beacon Street
#590443
Newton, MA 02459
Phone: 617 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153 FOLLOW US
Vimeo
YouTube
COPYRIGHT © 2014 FREEDOM OF MIND RESOURCE CENTER INC.
https://freedomofmind.com/Services/help2.php
HOME
About Us
Mission Statement
SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
Help With Estranged Family Member
Help With A Controlling Relationship
Our Team
Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
About Us
Mission Statement
Privacy Policy
Articles
BITE Model of Unethical Influence
Blogs
Books
FAQ
Friends of FOM Resoruce Center
Groups
Group Database
Submit Info About A Group
Human Trafficking
Recent News
Terrorism
MEDIA
Steve Hassan Press Kit Resources
Video Archives
CONTACT
Send Us An Email
Join Our Contact List
Submit Information On A Group
Facebook (Cult Expert)
Facebook (FOM)
Youtube
Vimeo
Help for Ex-Members of Group or Cult
We offer extensive resources to help in former members of destructive groups recovery from their experiences.
Destructive cults or controlling family systems can have long-term effects, even if you have been physically away for some time. If you feel like you are still experiencing negative after effects, you could probably benefit from specialized counseling.
Steven Hassan M.Ed., LMHC, NCC offers short-term counseling in MA for ex-members who need assistance with their recovery. As a former member of a destructive group himself, he understands the situation in ways most mental health practitioners who have no training or experience with mind control related issues don’t.
Counseling
Steve offers professional counseling in Massachusetts. If you would like to schedule a telephone consultation with him, please call the office at 617-396-4638 with any questions about fees. You may also click here to submit an Ex-Member Case Evaluation Form. The form is also available in a Word document and a PDF here. Please note, that for lengthy submissions, it is recommended to download the Word document, fill it out then copy and paste the answers into the online submission form. This prevents the webpage from timing out and losing all the information inputted.
Most Therapists Don't Understand
Based on 36 years of experience, we know that to fully recover from an experience of undue influence, most people require specialized counseling. But most therapists are not trained to help with the aftereffects of mind control and cult-related problems. Many people complain that they have spent money on therapy sessions in which they had to teach the therapist about cult mind control.
One common complaint is that the therapist ignored, minimized, or simply did not understand the deception, manipulation and mind control that are hallmarks of the cult experience. Many clients are mistakenly directed by their therapists to look at childhood issues to explain why they ‘joined’ the cult, ignoring the fact that most members are deceptively recruited.
What Steve learned as a counselor and ex-member is that dealing with childhood issues is usually best done after dealing with the entire mind control experience.
After receiving specialized counseling, most ex-members realize that they have endured years of unnecessary suffering. Individuals who left cults or abusive relationships as long as 30 years or more ago, still suffer from beliefs programmed by the cult. They often experience a variety of psychological and relationship problems—anxiety disorders, panic attacks, sleep disorders, lack of trust, paranoia and feelings of alienation. Untreated, they often become especially vulnerable to the normal stresses of life, such as health problems, the deaths of friends and loved ones, divorce and, especially in recent years, economic pressures and the threat of terrorism.
Everyday Situations Can Trigger Aftereffects
In addition, environmental cues often trigger aspects of left-over cult programming that ex-members still carry. Some ex-members get to the point that they actually think about returning to the cult, or feel they must seek out some new guru, leader, or group. It takes time and often guidance to get beyond the black and white, us-versus-them, elitist mentality that cults tend to program into their members.
The way to recover from destructive mind control is to learn to control your own mind. In our practice we help people develop increased self-awareness so that they can reclaim, or in some cases, create for the first time, a healthy internal locus (center) of control. Cults actively work to short-circuit this internal locus of authority.
Using a variety of mind control techniques, and especially the cultivation of allegiance to a central authority figure, cults can turn even the most independent-minded person into an obedient cult member. Though one of our main aims is to undo this cult programming, we have found that what works best is for people to take responsibility for their own recovery. Steve serves as counselor and coach to help people know themselves so that they can change and grow in healthy ways that they choose.
Steve has found that doing very intense, deep work over a period of a few days or, in some cases, a few weeks is the fastest and most effective way to recover from the effects of undue influence. Meeting once or twice a week for an hour, while much better than doing nothing, is a much less effective approach for most people. On a slow schedule, it could take years to accomplish what could be done in a relatively short period of time. Though we offer telephone as well as email counseling with individuals all over the world, the most effective options are often the following.
Option One: Short intense in-person counseling work done in Boston over a few days.
Intense, work means six to eight hours a day for three or four days. This allows you to go into great detail and get as deep as you can. We identify the areas of greatest concern and plan sessions accordingly, essentially creating a plan just for you.
For example, some people want help understanding how destructive mind control was used on them. They may want Steve to teach them about altered states of consciousness—hypnosis, meditation, chanting and other exercises and processes used by undue influence agents—and how to use those techniques themselves in appropriate and healthy ways. Others have had very unhappy childhood experiences and traumas, which can set them up for years of destructive relationships, and possibly group involvement(s). They want to focus on how to heal past traumas, create healthy relationships, and move forward. Each person is best served by a truly customized approach. Steve is able to draw from a large toolbox of different strategies that help empower you to heal yourself. We apply the ones that work best for you in your sessions.
Breaks are taken whenever you choose. Though Steve spends a great deal of time talking with clients, he also employs a variety of media, including audio and videotapes, to augment the educational component of your work together. Sharing the experiences of other ex-members, through our collection of excellent videotapes of news and television shows, helps many people to better understand the patterns of mind control. You may be asked to consider watching a video, reading, writing or practicing a healing technique between sessions.
Option Two: Moderately paced in-person counseling done in Boston over one or two weeks.
If you have trouble focusing for long hours you may need a less intense therapeutic experience. We have found that counseling one to three hours a day over a one or two week period may work best for you. Some clients fly to Boston, stay with friends or relatives, or get a bed and breakfast or hotel room. Some find that visiting the great city of Boston, combining personal growth and vacation, is a powerful mix.
Option Three: Steve travels to you for a number of days.
Unlike most therapists, Steve is willing to travel almost anywhere to help. For many ex-members, traveling to Boston feels like too big a step; cult phobias can make them quite anxious or fearful. Counseling in the comfort and safety of their own home is often much easier. An additional benefit to home-based counseling is that, if you wish, Steve can also work to educate those close to the ex-member, perhaps family or friends.
Educated family and friends are often able to offer excellent long-term personal support and encouragement. And clients really appreciate the chance to have loved ones sit in on some sessions and actively take part in the recovery process, especially the videotape presentations. Family members and friends, many of whom were traumatized by the cult involvement, report that they benefit tremendously from participating. If requested, Steve can do family counseling, teach strategies and techniques for effective communication, and help resolve any long standing family issues. An option is to include some group sessions that include other former members.
Option Four: Sponsor a workshop or attend a scheduled ex-member workshop.
If you are on a very limited budget but would like to work with Steve in person, consider organizing a program in your city. If there are a number of other former members who also want to work on issues relating to cult involvement, then pooling financial resources is a good choice. If you have experience at event planning, or are just a highly motivated person and have good organizational skills and free time, just contact the office for more information.
Option Five: Ask Steve to supervise your local therapist.
If you have a good working relationship with a local therapist, but they have no formal training to work with ex-members, they may be willing to get professional help (therapists call it supervision) via telephone from Steve.
If they want professional training, please encourage them to contact the office and we will discuss training opportunities. You might also encourage him or her to visit the freedomofmind.com web site, read Steve’s books (and others too, of course), and learn more about the group or situation that most closely fits your experience.
If your therapist seems uninterested in learning about the lasting effects that cults and mind control can have, we encourage you to strongly consider an alternative therapist, as your needs are not likely to be met.
To find out more about an option, call 617 396-4638 during office hours.
We would really like to be of help.
To make the most of the initial consultation, we strongly suggest you fill out our ex-member evaluation form before your appointment. You can copy the online background evaluation form or just complete it securely online. We recommend that you keep a copy of whatever you send to the office for your own files. Please be assured that your information is completely confidential. Steve is a licensed mental health counselor and follows the highest ethical standards of his profession. During the initial phone consultation, a decision will be made together how to proceed.
Frequently Asked Questions
We have a Frequently Asked Questions section that may be of help in answering some of your questions.
Ethics
Steve Hassan is a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) and also a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. His license number is 820. He is a member of the American Counseling Association, and the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association. He also belongs to the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis and the International Society of Hypnosis. As a member of the American Counseling Association, he adheres to their ethical guidelines.
HOME
SERVICES
INFORMATION
MEDIA
CONTACT
ADDRESS
716 Beacon Street
#590443
Newton, MA 02459
Phone: 617 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153 FOLLOW US
Vimeo
YouTube
COPYRIGHT © 2014 FREEDOM OF MIND RESOURCE CENTER INC.
https://freedomofmind.com/Services/help2.php
HOME
About Us
Mission Statement
SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
Help With Estranged Family Member
Help With A Controlling Relationship
Our Team
Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
About Us
Mission Statement
Privacy Policy
Articles
BITE Model of Unethical Influence
Blogs
Books
FAQ
Friends of FOM Resoruce Center
Groups
Group Database
Submit Info About A Group
Human Trafficking
Recent News
Terrorism
MEDIA
Steve Hassan Press Kit Resources
Video Archives
CONTACT
Send Us An Email
Join Our Contact List
Submit Information On A Group
Facebook (Cult Expert)
Facebook (FOM)
Youtube
Vimeo
Help Reconnecting with Estranged Family Member
There are things you can do to help a loved one who is in a controlling relationship or estranged from family or friends.
Evaluating Your Concerns
If you have doubts about whether help is needed, you may find it helpful to review some of the Major Warning Signs.
Your Support Can Make a Big Difference
Our experience shows that loved ones who are in difficult relationships are often relieved that their families helped them break free from the tight control they were living under, but this process takes patience and persistence. Quick solutions are appealing, but carry the risk of further alienation and of driving individuals deeper into the relationship. We can help you evaluate the difficulties you face and plan an effective approach.
We work with you to tailor an approach that meets your needs, whether by phone or in person, intense or deliberately paced, involving just family or also friends, with additional support staff or a simpler style.
Information and Support
It is important that your loved one is able to make free and conscious choices about their future. They need respectful support and information. Throughout this process, we are your consultants and support.
We can show you how to break through the invisible wall that may have developed between you. We listen closely to your questions and concerns and then carefully describe what can work and recommend next steps.
The respectful, quiet approach that we use was developed by Steve Hassan and is practiced by all Freedom of Mind consultants. It encourages a positive, warm relationship while helping to raise essential questions for your family members to consider.
If you would like additional information, a talk Steve gave in 2003 describes his Strategic Interaction Approach, which details many aspects of our work. Don’t let his reference to cults put you off. The general approach will give you some good insights into our approach with estranged family members.
Initial Consultation
When you’re ready, we encourage you to call 617 396-4638 to discuss your concerns and questions or make an appointment.
Most families start with an initial consultation with an experienced Freedom of Mind coach, which includes a complete review of the situation and an explanation of what will be helpful. You will hear specific things you can do to help your loved one disentangle him or herself.
To learn more or schedule an initial consultation you can call our office at(617) 396-4638.
You may use Visa or MasterCard, or if you prefer, you may mail a check or money order before the appointment. Please call 617-396-4638 with any questions or concerns.
You will get even more benefit from a consultation if we have a chance to preview basic information about your situation beforehand. Please use our contact form to let us know more about your situation.
Please be assured that your information will be kept completely confidential. We know how important it is to follow the highest ethical standards of privacy.
It’s fine if you prefer to not fill out the form. We will, of course, be glad to do a consult anyway. You are also welcome to arrange for a longer consultation if you choose. Just call 617-396-4638 to let us know what you prefer.
Family member case evaluation and background form
Frequently Asked Questions
Related articles and resources
Estranged Family Member FAQ
HOME
SERVICES
INFORMATION
MEDIA
CONTACT
ADDRESS
716 Beacon Street
#590443
Newton, MA 02459
Phone: 617 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153 FOLLOW US
Vimeo
YouTube
COPYRIGHT © 2014 FREEDOM OF MIND RESOURCE CENTER INC.
https://freedomofmind.com/Services/help3.php
HOME
About Us
Mission Statement
SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
Help With Estranged Family Member
Help With A Controlling Relationship
Our Team
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Help Reconnecting with Estranged Family Member
There are things you can do to help a loved one who is in a controlling relationship or estranged from family or friends.
Evaluating Your Concerns
If you have doubts about whether help is needed, you may find it helpful to review some of the Major Warning Signs.
Your Support Can Make a Big Difference
Our experience shows that loved ones who are in difficult relationships are often relieved that their families helped them break free from the tight control they were living under, but this process takes patience and persistence. Quick solutions are appealing, but carry the risk of further alienation and of driving individuals deeper into the relationship. We can help you evaluate the difficulties you face and plan an effective approach.
We work with you to tailor an approach that meets your needs, whether by phone or in person, intense or deliberately paced, involving just family or also friends, with additional support staff or a simpler style.
Information and Support
It is important that your loved one is able to make free and conscious choices about their future. They need respectful support and information. Throughout this process, we are your consultants and support.
We can show you how to break through the invisible wall that may have developed between you. We listen closely to your questions and concerns and then carefully describe what can work and recommend next steps.
The respectful, quiet approach that we use was developed by Steve Hassan and is practiced by all Freedom of Mind consultants. It encourages a positive, warm relationship while helping to raise essential questions for your family members to consider.
If you would like additional information, a talk Steve gave in 2003 describes his Strategic Interaction Approach, which details many aspects of our work. Don’t let his reference to cults put you off. The general approach will give you some good insights into our approach with estranged family members.
Initial Consultation
When you’re ready, we encourage you to call 617 396-4638 to discuss your concerns and questions or make an appointment.
Most families start with an initial consultation with an experienced Freedom of Mind coach, which includes a complete review of the situation and an explanation of what will be helpful. You will hear specific things you can do to help your loved one disentangle him or herself.
To learn more or schedule an initial consultation you can call our office at(617) 396-4638.
You may use Visa or MasterCard, or if you prefer, you may mail a check or money order before the appointment. Please call 617-396-4638 with any questions or concerns.
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It’s fine if you prefer to not fill out the form. We will, of course, be glad to do a consult anyway. You are also welcome to arrange for a longer consultation if you choose. Just call 617-396-4638 to let us know what you prefer.
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About Kerry Noble
About Kerry Noble
Born in 1952 in Abilene, Texas, Kerry Noble grew up in a positive, optimistic, idealistic world, always following after knowledge, understanding and purpose. His world was Christian-based (stressing the Golden Rule and love for God) and was community-minded and family-oriented.
“I began participating in community service at the age of 6, in the first grade, when I was a member of the Safety Patrol. That was in the days when school children worked the school crossings. I did this throughout my grade school years. In Junior High I began competing in the Interscholastic League (math, debate, science), a practice that continued throughout high school. In high school, I was president of the Future Farmers of America, Future Teachers of America and the Math Club. In the ninth grade I began to study law, wanting to be an attorney. As a senior, I was recommended for the police academy by my counselor. I graduated in the top quarter of my class, with a 91.4 GPA. I volunteered for the military when I was 18 (though turned down for health reasons). I was called into the ministry at the age of 19, licensed to preach by the Southern Baptist church at the age of 20, and was ordained by an independent Charismatic fellowship at the age of 24. I can honestly say that I can never remember a time growing up when I didn’t love Christ Jesus and our Heavenly Father.
“I was active in church, and was raised to be non-violent and to treat all people the same. My childhood memories are happy ones, never exposed to abuse. My parents were middle-class, God-fearing, moral, upstanding citizens, who always encouraged me. I did volunteer work at the age of 14 and got my first paying job at the age of 15. I went to college for a year and a half and then to Bible school for one year. I got married when I was 21. I celebrated my 28th wedding anniversary in September 2001 and am the proud father of 6 children, and a grandfather of three. “But if you have either read a newspaper or news magazine, or watched news programs, in the last 18 years, you have probably read about me or seen me at some point. My 15 minutes of fame? In 1977, my wife and I joined a small religious community — a quiet, rural, peaceful dream world that evolved into a destructive nightmare. However, by 1983 I had become the #2 man of what would become the #2 domestic terrorist organization in the country by 1985. Then in 1984, I was within seconds of committing the largest domestic terrorist act in this country. I do not fit the typical stereotype of what people generally consider a good candidate for the hate movement or for a domestic terrorist.
“However, today, I am the only individual to have been a leader within the extremist hate movement, to have been involved in an armed standoff with the federal government, and to have turned around for the good. I am unique in my field and an expert in it.”
It was during the 8 years that Kerry and his wife were members of this community that his life radically changed — in many ways for the better; in some for the worse. There Kerry was introduced to the biblical teachings of sovereignty, predestination and the reconciliation of all. Later, however, this small Christian community grew from 8 families to a height of 32 families, while also declining from a joyous, quiet, rural, pacifistic church into an doom-and-gloom, extremist hate group. During this time, the Kerry Noble of 1982-85 became the antithesis of the Kerry Noble of 1977 and of the Kerry Noble of today. Kerry wrote of his experiences in that cult (which he left in 1985) in a book called Tabernacle of Hate, published by Voyageur Publisher in 1998.
In 1977, Kerry Noble joined a small Arkansas church, known as Zarephath-Horeb Community Church, whose members and doctrine underwent a frightening metamorphosis from pacifist to survivalist to paramilitarist to terrorist in the short span of four years. The church’s dark descent began when its members embraced the extremist notion that the federal government was bent on world domination and the elimination of Christian thought. By 1981, the group designated itself “Covenant, Sword and Arm of the Lord” (CSA) and adopted teachings against Jews, blacks, homosexuals and other groups.” The CSA became a terrorist organization in every sense of the word, and its “Propaganda Minister” was Kerry Noble.
Noble is all too familiar with the evolution of the right-wing extremist movement and is intimately familiar with paranoia and hate. He knows first-hand how they can seize control of the body and soul so completely that they twist the psyche into a grotesque antithesis of humanity. He knows that the transformation can take place swiftly and absolutely, leaving one without thought, without conscience, utterly unaware of the corrupt nature of his conversion.
In 1991, Kerry began writing the story of CSA. After 7 years, that story was published as Tabernacle of Hate. In early 1995, Kerry began teaching law-enforcement agencies about the dangers and teachings of the extremist right-wing movement. To date, Kerry is the only former cult leader who has written a book which details the racist and violent philosophies of the Christian Identity Movement.
As related by Kerry:
I was still committed to the extremist hate movement theology and philosophy by the end of 1982, while still an elder at CSA. By this time I had written most of the propaganda booklets that our group had put out. But something changed for me the next year.
STEP ONE TO FREEDOM: THE REVELATION — In February of 1983, while studying for a Bible study I was to teach, I was reading Matthew chapter 24. A revelation hit me that suddenly and totally changed my entire vision and undestanding of the Latter Days, the time before Christ was suppose to return to earth and establish His Kingdom. Although I had read this chapter dozens, if not hundreds of times, before, it suddenly brought on a new meaning. Jesus, it seemed to me, was saying in this chapter that except these days be shortened, even the very elect would almost be deceived. I had always been taught that the deception was in the form of false christs, or cult leaders. But for the first time I realized that Christ was speaking about the time period itself, not people.
Then I logically asked, “How could a time period almost deceive God’s elect, those people who walked closest to God and who understand more of Him than others did? How could they be deceived by some evil antichrist thinking he might be Jesus?” And then it hit me: Deception can only be by something that looks so much like the real thing that it is almost impossible to distinguish between the two, except by an expert!
For the first time I realized that the latter days could not possibly be what we had always envisioned it to be: a dark and gloomy time period which manifested to worst in man, where an evil, new age, witchcraft-inspired government would make war on Christianity. That would not almost deceive the very elect! Instead, it had to look so much like the real Kingdom of God that THAT would almost deceive God’s chosen. In other words, it would have to be not the worst that man could do, but the best. It could not be an evil New World Order, but a godly one based, not upon witchcraft, but upon God’s laws and upon Christian principles. And it could not be ruled by an evil antichrist, but by someone so like Jesus Himself, that people would think him to be the real Son of God.With this change came also the realization that everything we were doing as a group was based upon the errorneous interpretation. And if our basis or premise was wrong, then our actions had to be also. For what we all do stems from what we believe. Now, for the first time, I began to question what we were doing and where we were headed.
My understanding of the basic nature of man also now changed. The former understanding stemmed from a denominational teaching that man was basically sinful and evil and, were it not for the grace of God, would manifest the very nature of the devil upon the earth. Instead, now I saw that man was created perfect and, were it not for the frailty and weakness of the flesh, would indeed manifest the nature of God upon the world!
In other words, a totally 180 degree change in my theology!!! I now saw the world anew and God’s purpose anew!
Though I still had many questions to answer, I suddenly saw numerous scriptures that I never understood before, to now make sense. But when I approached our group’s leader with this new revelation, he would not listen, and instead said this was simply based upon my fear of being a warrior for God. But deep down inside I knew I was right and he was wrong.
I now believed that, as a group, we should not be making plans for destruction, but should instead to a positive influence in the local community. Our leader allowed me to open a health food store in the area in order to appease me. His real motivation, though, was as a convenient way to cash in on the food stamps our group’s members were taking from the government.
But 1983 soon brought us back into the fold of the right-wing, after our group experienced a split (when we lost 2/3 of our members), with the death of tax-protester Gordon Kahl. That summer and fall war was declared by the movement on the government of the United States and we began criminal activities. By early 1984, the leader of our group and I were arguing almost continually over the direction of our group. But in August 1984, in a move to appease him and out of being tired of arguing, I initiated a plan “to start the revolution.”
STEP TWO: ALMOST BECOMING A DOMESTIC TERRORIST — My idea was to take a briefcase of military explosive C4 and a silenced .22 to Kansas City, Missouri, with another man from CSA who was from Kansas City. There we would circle a gay park late Saturday night and shoot anyone we saw, figuring them to be homosexuals. After that, I would take the briefcase into an adult bookstore/arcade and blow it up. Thus making war on two evils in society: homosexuals and pornography. As in all cases in the movement, I thought this action would then be followed by others in the movement and revolution would begin.
We got to the park on Saturday night around 11pm or midnight (with silenced .22 in hand), circled it several times, and SAW NO ONE! Absolutely no one! Frustrated, I decided to go on to the adult arcade. I went in with the explosive device and realized what I had not contemplated before. Upon arriving, the clerk said I could go in but had to leave my briefcase with him! Then I realized that he would suspect me of shoplifting unless I left the case with him. That, obviously, would not work — I couldn’t set the timer before giving him the case; I sure couldn’t set it and go on in, unless I wanted to die in the explosion (which was not my plan); and I couldn’t set it and leave without raising suspicions. So I left with the briefcase!
Not knowing what to do, we decided to simply stay over in Kansas City that night and see “where God would lead us” the next morning. That Sunday morning, my accomplice asked if I wanted to see the Baptist Church “where he had gotten saved.” So we drove there. Upon arriving I asked him if he were sure this was the right church. It said it was. I informed him it was no longer a Baptist church but was now a gay church, the Metropolitan Community Church. This infuriated him and seemed to be the sign from God we were looking for: the correct target to start the revolution!
Before going inside I informed my friend that we would have to stay inside for probably 15-30 minutes before setting the timer on the briefcase and leaving, so we wouldn’t raise any suspicions. We entered the church and were welcomed by the usher, who probably assumed we were two gay men looking for a church to visit. The scene was unlike anything we had ever seen before. Here, the men sat on one side of the congregational pews and the women on the other side of the aisle. Men were showing affection to men (arms around each other; holding hands; heads on shoulders; etc) and women were showing affection to women. In addition the male preacher was discussing his affair with the male music director. This represented everything we had come to believe was wrong with America! I was now ready to commit what would have been the largest domestic terrorist act in the country up till that time.
Then, while waiting to set the timer, the music finally began in the service. And for the first time I watched homosexuals reaching out to God in the best way they understood how: in praise to Him. And I reacted, not in anger, but in compassion. For the first time, I looked at these people, not as demonic beings filled with lust and depravity, but as individuals trying to love God to the best of their ability. Now I saw them as people just like other people: with mothers and fathers, brothers, sisters, other family members, friends, etc.
Then for the first time I began to question what would happen if I really went through with this act. First of all, I would kill about 50-70 people who had never done me any harm, who had never harmed anyone I loved. I no longer saw them as a threat to my existence, but as real people. And if I did this act, I would kill not only them, but possibly innocent residents across the street.
That was “mistake #1” — putting a face on the enemy.
“Mistake #2” (in terrorist terms) was to start thinking about the consequences of my actions. Now I had to be brutally honest with myself: would this action, if I go through with it, really start the so-called Second American Revolution by causing others to uprise and do likewise? Or would I simply go down in history as a mass murderer after being caught by the police and either die in a shoot-out or spend the rest of my life in prison or on death row (not to mention losing my family and friends)? I knew the truth and it didn’t appeal to me. I had lost my desire to appease the leader of our group and told my friend next to me to get up, that we were leaving.
Kansas City was my slap in the face of reality. The reality of what I had become and what I almost became. I didn’t like this reality.
STEP THREE: MOTIVES — I explain my thoughts to my accomplice while driving back to CSA. I knew I would find disappointment there with the leader. Upon entering his living room, where he was watching for the news of the event, he asked what had happened. After filling him in, it was clear he was disappointed in me. I no longer cared.
Over the next several months, our leader and I continued to argue over God’s purpose and the direction of CSA. I saw our standard for allowing others to join us lower; I saw us leaving God and things of the spirit for Identity, a larger army to replace those who had left the year before, and for the glory of the flesh. And reality hit me again.
Now I began to understand the motives and intents of the leaders of the hate movement. They were not concerned with God, with race, with the Constitution. They were all concerned over one thing and one thing alone: POWER. CONTROL. Now I realized how leaders had been manipulating members to commit crimes in the name of God, watching them either die (now proclaiming them as Martyrs) or go to prison (now Prisoners of War). All in order to support their own “ministries.” If the leaders wanted war so badly, why not start it themselves??? No, it was easier to sacrifice the sheep at the slaughter than to expect the shepherds to sacrifice themselves.
I knew I could not stay at CSA with the way things were and decided to quit trying to change it back to where it was when I first came. The time had come to leave. But I didn’t get out soon enough.
STEP FOUR: THE SIEGE ON CSA — On April 19, 1985 the government’s #1 SWAT team, the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), surrounded our group for a four-day standoff. The next step in my changing and leaving the movement came through the enemy itself. Their leader, Danny Coulson, and his team of 200 behaved opposite of what I thought they would do. Instead of storming the compound with a desire to kill us all, they waited and negotiated. I was the negotiator between our group and the government and immediately liked and respected their leader. He broke several FBI rules in order to show us respect. He never lied to us during the entire ordeal. And after 4 days, our “courageous” leader surrendered to the Beast. Then I watched over the next 4 days, while the government searched our property for evidence (mostly illegal weapons) and saw them take care NOT to destroy our place.
STEP 5: BETRAYAL — I was arrested on May 31, 1985 for weapons charges. The government initially offered me no prison time, only probation, if I would agree to testify against the leader of CSA. I declined the offer. Our leader, on the other hand, asked me to help him by supplying information to the government. I reluctantly agreed, though I knew he was lying to them. I was confused and angry with him for what he was doing, but I felt like I still owed him for so much. But by the time the government offered me a plea bargain with a maximum of 5 years, without testifying against him, our leader, Jim Ellison, had already asked me to take the blame for everything that had happened at CSA, for me to say I was the power behind the throne. I declined.
At my sentencing, the leader of CSA could have stood before the judge and said that none of his men were in control, and chances are none of the men would have gotten any more than probation. But he did not. When I was sentenced to the maximum the man I had once looked up to and revered said the time would do me good. I no longer wanted anything to do with him or his betrayal — of the movement and of his own men.
I began to understand that the leadership of the extremist movement cared only for themselves. I finally said good-bye to Jim Ellison in 1989.
STEP 6: PRISON — 26 months in jail and prison gave me time to think. Though still indoctrinated with Identity, over time I did manage to take Hebrew classes and attended 2 synagogue services off grounds. I finally came to grips that Jews and others were no different than us whites; they had feelings, loved their family and could be honorable men. Though prison gave me time to think further about my life and what I had done, I still had so many unanswered questions: racial questions.
But I had no one to talk to that could help me.
STEP 7: PUBLIC SPEAKING — What helped me so much to escape the mental bondage of the movement was to speak out. I did this first by calling the Jewish Anti-Defamation League and telling them how sorry I was for what I had done and said, and for the actions of CSA.
Next, in 1991, I joined a Toastmasters Club and for the first time was able to speak publicly about my experiences to a group of people who not only did not judge me for my past, but who befriended me. For several years probably 70% of my speeches had to do with my past, ALL of it.
That same year I began writing my book as a venue for those buried emotions to surface. That book, Tabernacle of Hate, was published in 1998.
By 1992 I had my racial and spiritual questions answered enough to where the propaganda from the movement no longer bothered me. I had learned to hate and now I had unlearned it. I felt free.
Then in 1995 I began to speak out publicly about the movement, educating people about its mentality, its theology, its propaganda, its motivations. I did not make a living of this nor did I desire to. I spoke when asked and was available to media and various organizations.
STEP 8: THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL — The final step was actually there through all the steps. The grace of God; the support from my wife and children; the support from my parents, grandparents, my wife’s family; the support and encouragement from so many federal agents that had been involved in the case, including the FBI negotiator Danny Coulson, whom I became friends with.
Every day is a blessing to me now. I take nothing for granted any more. Small things mean so much for me: the sunshine, quiet surroundings, a family meal, working to support my family. I am thoroughly aware of the grace of God and how close I came to ending my life in shame and horror.
My years at CSA taught me so many good things, in spite of all the bad. My walk with Christ has never been stronger. Prison (especially the three months of solitary confinement) broke me of my ego and pride. My life is blessed and for that I am eternally thankful.
And I pray that others find a way out of the movement, so they too may know joy and peace.
Today Kerry works full-time distributing children’s books. He also occasionally speaks at law enforcement conferences, to human-rights organizations, schools and civic groups about the ramifications of the hate movement. Kerry has been interviewed by NBC’s Dateline and The Today Show, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, CNN, PBS’ News Hour with Jim Lehrer, Court TV, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Fifth Estate and various other television and print media, including Newsweek.
Having learned some hard lessons from the Potter — and some glorious insights into Him that is all-loving, all-present, all-purposeful and all-knowing — Kerry now ministers a message of “going out in joy and being led by peace.”
QUOTES ABOUT KERRY:
“Kerry Noble knows more about the Christian Identity Movement than anyone I have ever known. His rejection of that hateful philosophy helped us avoid a bloodbath in the Ozarks.” Danny Coulson, FBI Agent, ret.
“Kerry Noble tells a riveting story of a part of America few people could ever imagine exists. Noble has emerged from a truly incredible journey as a witness to a dark side of our world.” James Ridgeway, author of Blood in the Face.
“I met Kerry Noble while working on a story about the Oklahoma City bombing. In the early ’80s he had committed himself and his family to a cause for which he was willing to give his life. Kerry then had the courage to see that what he was willing to die for was wrong. The turmoil he experienced has left him a humble, respectful, intelligent and wiser man. He knows of what he speaks and he says it straight. I am glad I have made his acquaintance.” Michael Singer, Producer CBS
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About Kerry Noble
About Kerry Noble
Born in 1952 in Abilene, Texas, Kerry Noble grew up in a positive, optimistic, idealistic world, always following after knowledge, understanding and purpose. His world was Christian-based (stressing the Golden Rule and love for God) and was community-minded and family-oriented.
“I began participating in community service at the age of 6, in the first grade, when I was a member of the Safety Patrol. That was in the days when school children worked the school crossings. I did this throughout my grade school years. In Junior High I began competing in the Interscholastic League (math, debate, science), a practice that continued throughout high school. In high school, I was president of the Future Farmers of America, Future Teachers of America and the Math Club. In the ninth grade I began to study law, wanting to be an attorney. As a senior, I was recommended for the police academy by my counselor. I graduated in the top quarter of my class, with a 91.4 GPA. I volunteered for the military when I was 18 (though turned down for health reasons). I was called into the ministry at the age of 19, licensed to preach by the Southern Baptist church at the age of 20, and was ordained by an independent Charismatic fellowship at the age of 24. I can honestly say that I can never remember a time growing up when I didn’t love Christ Jesus and our Heavenly Father.
“I was active in church, and was raised to be non-violent and to treat all people the same. My childhood memories are happy ones, never exposed to abuse. My parents were middle-class, God-fearing, moral, upstanding citizens, who always encouraged me. I did volunteer work at the age of 14 and got my first paying job at the age of 15. I went to college for a year and a half and then to Bible school for one year. I got married when I was 21. I celebrated my 28th wedding anniversary in September 2001 and am the proud father of 6 children, and a grandfather of three. “But if you have either read a newspaper or news magazine, or watched news programs, in the last 18 years, you have probably read about me or seen me at some point. My 15 minutes of fame? In 1977, my wife and I joined a small religious community — a quiet, rural, peaceful dream world that evolved into a destructive nightmare. However, by 1983 I had become the #2 man of what would become the #2 domestic terrorist organization in the country by 1985. Then in 1984, I was within seconds of committing the largest domestic terrorist act in this country. I do not fit the typical stereotype of what people generally consider a good candidate for the hate movement or for a domestic terrorist.
“However, today, I am the only individual to have been a leader within the extremist hate movement, to have been involved in an armed standoff with the federal government, and to have turned around for the good. I am unique in my field and an expert in it.”
It was during the 8 years that Kerry and his wife were members of this community that his life radically changed — in many ways for the better; in some for the worse. There Kerry was introduced to the biblical teachings of sovereignty, predestination and the reconciliation of all. Later, however, this small Christian community grew from 8 families to a height of 32 families, while also declining from a joyous, quiet, rural, pacifistic church into an doom-and-gloom, extremist hate group. During this time, the Kerry Noble of 1982-85 became the antithesis of the Kerry Noble of 1977 and of the Kerry Noble of today. Kerry wrote of his experiences in that cult (which he left in 1985) in a book called Tabernacle of Hate, published by Voyageur Publisher in 1998.
In 1977, Kerry Noble joined a small Arkansas church, known as Zarephath-Horeb Community Church, whose members and doctrine underwent a frightening metamorphosis from pacifist to survivalist to paramilitarist to terrorist in the short span of four years. The church’s dark descent began when its members embraced the extremist notion that the federal government was bent on world domination and the elimination of Christian thought. By 1981, the group designated itself “Covenant, Sword and Arm of the Lord” (CSA) and adopted teachings against Jews, blacks, homosexuals and other groups.” The CSA became a terrorist organization in every sense of the word, and its “Propaganda Minister” was Kerry Noble.
Noble is all too familiar with the evolution of the right-wing extremist movement and is intimately familiar with paranoia and hate. He knows first-hand how they can seize control of the body and soul so completely that they twist the psyche into a grotesque antithesis of humanity. He knows that the transformation can take place swiftly and absolutely, leaving one without thought, without conscience, utterly unaware of the corrupt nature of his conversion.
In 1991, Kerry began writing the story of CSA. After 7 years, that story was published as Tabernacle of Hate. In early 1995, Kerry began teaching law-enforcement agencies about the dangers and teachings of the extremist right-wing movement. To date, Kerry is the only former cult leader who has written a book which details the racist and violent philosophies of the Christian Identity Movement.
As related by Kerry:
I was still committed to the extremist hate movement theology and philosophy by the end of 1982, while still an elder at CSA. By this time I had written most of the propaganda booklets that our group had put out. But something changed for me the next year.
STEP ONE TO FREEDOM: THE REVELATION — In February of 1983, while studying for a Bible study I was to teach, I was reading Matthew chapter 24. A revelation hit me that suddenly and totally changed my entire vision and undestanding of the Latter Days, the time before Christ was suppose to return to earth and establish His Kingdom. Although I had read this chapter dozens, if not hundreds of times, before, it suddenly brought on a new meaning. Jesus, it seemed to me, was saying in this chapter that except these days be shortened, even the very elect would almost be deceived. I had always been taught that the deception was in the form of false christs, or cult leaders. But for the first time I realized that Christ was speaking about the time period itself, not people.
Then I logically asked, “How could a time period almost deceive God’s elect, those people who walked closest to God and who understand more of Him than others did? How could they be deceived by some evil antichrist thinking he might be Jesus?” And then it hit me: Deception can only be by something that looks so much like the real thing that it is almost impossible to distinguish between the two, except by an expert!
For the first time I realized that the latter days could not possibly be what we had always envisioned it to be: a dark and gloomy time period which manifested to worst in man, where an evil, new age, witchcraft-inspired government would make war on Christianity. That would not almost deceive the very elect! Instead, it had to look so much like the real Kingdom of God that THAT would almost deceive God’s chosen. In other words, it would have to be not the worst that man could do, but the best. It could not be an evil New World Order, but a godly one based, not upon witchcraft, but upon God’s laws and upon Christian principles. And it could not be ruled by an evil antichrist, but by someone so like Jesus Himself, that people would think him to be the real Son of God.With this change came also the realization that everything we were doing as a group was based upon the errorneous interpretation. And if our basis or premise was wrong, then our actions had to be also. For what we all do stems from what we believe. Now, for the first time, I began to question what we were doing and where we were headed.
My understanding of the basic nature of man also now changed. The former understanding stemmed from a denominational teaching that man was basically sinful and evil and, were it not for the grace of God, would manifest the very nature of the devil upon the earth. Instead, now I saw that man was created perfect and, were it not for the frailty and weakness of the flesh, would indeed manifest the nature of God upon the world!
In other words, a totally 180 degree change in my theology!!! I now saw the world anew and God’s purpose anew!
Though I still had many questions to answer, I suddenly saw numerous scriptures that I never understood before, to now make sense. But when I approached our group’s leader with this new revelation, he would not listen, and instead said this was simply based upon my fear of being a warrior for God. But deep down inside I knew I was right and he was wrong.
I now believed that, as a group, we should not be making plans for destruction, but should instead to a positive influence in the local community. Our leader allowed me to open a health food store in the area in order to appease me. His real motivation, though, was as a convenient way to cash in on the food stamps our group’s members were taking from the government.
But 1983 soon brought us back into the fold of the right-wing, after our group experienced a split (when we lost 2/3 of our members), with the death of tax-protester Gordon Kahl. That summer and fall war was declared by the movement on the government of the United States and we began criminal activities. By early 1984, the leader of our group and I were arguing almost continually over the direction of our group. But in August 1984, in a move to appease him and out of being tired of arguing, I initiated a plan “to start the revolution.”
STEP TWO: ALMOST BECOMING A DOMESTIC TERRORIST — My idea was to take a briefcase of military explosive C4 and a silenced .22 to Kansas City, Missouri, with another man from CSA who was from Kansas City. There we would circle a gay park late Saturday night and shoot anyone we saw, figuring them to be homosexuals. After that, I would take the briefcase into an adult bookstore/arcade and blow it up. Thus making war on two evils in society: homosexuals and pornography. As in all cases in the movement, I thought this action would then be followed by others in the movement and revolution would begin.
We got to the park on Saturday night around 11pm or midnight (with silenced .22 in hand), circled it several times, and SAW NO ONE! Absolutely no one! Frustrated, I decided to go on to the adult arcade. I went in with the explosive device and realized what I had not contemplated before. Upon arriving, the clerk said I could go in but had to leave my briefcase with him! Then I realized that he would suspect me of shoplifting unless I left the case with him. That, obviously, would not work — I couldn’t set the timer before giving him the case; I sure couldn’t set it and go on in, unless I wanted to die in the explosion (which was not my plan); and I couldn’t set it and leave without raising suspicions. So I left with the briefcase!
Not knowing what to do, we decided to simply stay over in Kansas City that night and see “where God would lead us” the next morning. That Sunday morning, my accomplice asked if I wanted to see the Baptist Church “where he had gotten saved.” So we drove there. Upon arriving I asked him if he were sure this was the right church. It said it was. I informed him it was no longer a Baptist church but was now a gay church, the Metropolitan Community Church. This infuriated him and seemed to be the sign from God we were looking for: the correct target to start the revolution!
Before going inside I informed my friend that we would have to stay inside for probably 15-30 minutes before setting the timer on the briefcase and leaving, so we wouldn’t raise any suspicions. We entered the church and were welcomed by the usher, who probably assumed we were two gay men looking for a church to visit. The scene was unlike anything we had ever seen before. Here, the men sat on one side of the congregational pews and the women on the other side of the aisle. Men were showing affection to men (arms around each other; holding hands; heads on shoulders; etc) and women were showing affection to women. In addition the male preacher was discussing his affair with the male music director. This represented everything we had come to believe was wrong with America! I was now ready to commit what would have been the largest domestic terrorist act in the country up till that time.
Then, while waiting to set the timer, the music finally began in the service. And for the first time I watched homosexuals reaching out to God in the best way they understood how: in praise to Him. And I reacted, not in anger, but in compassion. For the first time, I looked at these people, not as demonic beings filled with lust and depravity, but as individuals trying to love God to the best of their ability. Now I saw them as people just like other people: with mothers and fathers, brothers, sisters, other family members, friends, etc.
Then for the first time I began to question what would happen if I really went through with this act. First of all, I would kill about 50-70 people who had never done me any harm, who had never harmed anyone I loved. I no longer saw them as a threat to my existence, but as real people. And if I did this act, I would kill not only them, but possibly innocent residents across the street.
That was “mistake #1” — putting a face on the enemy.
“Mistake #2” (in terrorist terms) was to start thinking about the consequences of my actions. Now I had to be brutally honest with myself: would this action, if I go through with it, really start the so-called Second American Revolution by causing others to uprise and do likewise? Or would I simply go down in history as a mass murderer after being caught by the police and either die in a shoot-out or spend the rest of my life in prison or on death row (not to mention losing my family and friends)? I knew the truth and it didn’t appeal to me. I had lost my desire to appease the leader of our group and told my friend next to me to get up, that we were leaving.
Kansas City was my slap in the face of reality. The reality of what I had become and what I almost became. I didn’t like this reality.
STEP THREE: MOTIVES — I explain my thoughts to my accomplice while driving back to CSA. I knew I would find disappointment there with the leader. Upon entering his living room, where he was watching for the news of the event, he asked what had happened. After filling him in, it was clear he was disappointed in me. I no longer cared.
Over the next several months, our leader and I continued to argue over God’s purpose and the direction of CSA. I saw our standard for allowing others to join us lower; I saw us leaving God and things of the spirit for Identity, a larger army to replace those who had left the year before, and for the glory of the flesh. And reality hit me again.
Now I began to understand the motives and intents of the leaders of the hate movement. They were not concerned with God, with race, with the Constitution. They were all concerned over one thing and one thing alone: POWER. CONTROL. Now I realized how leaders had been manipulating members to commit crimes in the name of God, watching them either die (now proclaiming them as Martyrs) or go to prison (now Prisoners of War). All in order to support their own “ministries.” If the leaders wanted war so badly, why not start it themselves??? No, it was easier to sacrifice the sheep at the slaughter than to expect the shepherds to sacrifice themselves.
I knew I could not stay at CSA with the way things were and decided to quit trying to change it back to where it was when I first came. The time had come to leave. But I didn’t get out soon enough.
STEP FOUR: THE SIEGE ON CSA — On April 19, 1985 the government’s #1 SWAT team, the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), surrounded our group for a four-day standoff. The next step in my changing and leaving the movement came through the enemy itself. Their leader, Danny Coulson, and his team of 200 behaved opposite of what I thought they would do. Instead of storming the compound with a desire to kill us all, they waited and negotiated. I was the negotiator between our group and the government and immediately liked and respected their leader. He broke several FBI rules in order to show us respect. He never lied to us during the entire ordeal. And after 4 days, our “courageous” leader surrendered to the Beast. Then I watched over the next 4 days, while the government searched our property for evidence (mostly illegal weapons) and saw them take care NOT to destroy our place.
STEP 5: BETRAYAL — I was arrested on May 31, 1985 for weapons charges. The government initially offered me no prison time, only probation, if I would agree to testify against the leader of CSA. I declined the offer. Our leader, on the other hand, asked me to help him by supplying information to the government. I reluctantly agreed, though I knew he was lying to them. I was confused and angry with him for what he was doing, but I felt like I still owed him for so much. But by the time the government offered me a plea bargain with a maximum of 5 years, without testifying against him, our leader, Jim Ellison, had already asked me to take the blame for everything that had happened at CSA, for me to say I was the power behind the throne. I declined.
At my sentencing, the leader of CSA could have stood before the judge and said that none of his men were in control, and chances are none of the men would have gotten any more than probation. But he did not. When I was sentenced to the maximum the man I had once looked up to and revered said the time would do me good. I no longer wanted anything to do with him or his betrayal — of the movement and of his own men.
I began to understand that the leadership of the extremist movement cared only for themselves. I finally said good-bye to Jim Ellison in 1989.
STEP 6: PRISON — 26 months in jail and prison gave me time to think. Though still indoctrinated with Identity, over time I did manage to take Hebrew classes and attended 2 synagogue services off grounds. I finally came to grips that Jews and others were no different than us whites; they had feelings, loved their family and could be honorable men. Though prison gave me time to think further about my life and what I had done, I still had so many unanswered questions: racial questions.
But I had no one to talk to that could help me.
STEP 7: PUBLIC SPEAKING — What helped me so much to escape the mental bondage of the movement was to speak out. I did this first by calling the Jewish Anti-Defamation League and telling them how sorry I was for what I had done and said, and for the actions of CSA.
Next, in 1991, I joined a Toastmasters Club and for the first time was able to speak publicly about my experiences to a group of people who not only did not judge me for my past, but who befriended me. For several years probably 70% of my speeches had to do with my past, ALL of it.
That same year I began writing my book as a venue for those buried emotions to surface. That book, Tabernacle of Hate, was published in 1998.
By 1992 I had my racial and spiritual questions answered enough to where the propaganda from the movement no longer bothered me. I had learned to hate and now I had unlearned it. I felt free.
Then in 1995 I began to speak out publicly about the movement, educating people about its mentality, its theology, its propaganda, its motivations. I did not make a living of this nor did I desire to. I spoke when asked and was available to media and various organizations.
STEP 8: THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL — The final step was actually there through all the steps. The grace of God; the support from my wife and children; the support from my parents, grandparents, my wife’s family; the support and encouragement from so many federal agents that had been involved in the case, including the FBI negotiator Danny Coulson, whom I became friends with.
Every day is a blessing to me now. I take nothing for granted any more. Small things mean so much for me: the sunshine, quiet surroundings, a family meal, working to support my family. I am thoroughly aware of the grace of God and how close I came to ending my life in shame and horror.
My years at CSA taught me so many good things, in spite of all the bad. My walk with Christ has never been stronger. Prison (especially the three months of solitary confinement) broke me of my ego and pride. My life is blessed and for that I am eternally thankful.
And I pray that others find a way out of the movement, so they too may know joy and peace.
Today Kerry works full-time distributing children’s books. He also occasionally speaks at law enforcement conferences, to human-rights organizations, schools and civic groups about the ramifications of the hate movement. Kerry has been interviewed by NBC’s Dateline and The Today Show, CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, CNN, PBS’ News Hour with Jim Lehrer, Court TV, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Fifth Estate and various other television and print media, including Newsweek.
Having learned some hard lessons from the Potter — and some glorious insights into Him that is all-loving, all-present, all-purposeful and all-knowing — Kerry now ministers a message of “going out in joy and being led by peace.”
QUOTES ABOUT KERRY:
“Kerry Noble knows more about the Christian Identity Movement than anyone I have ever known. His rejection of that hateful philosophy helped us avoid a bloodbath in the Ozarks.” Danny Coulson, FBI Agent, ret.
“Kerry Noble tells a riveting story of a part of America few people could ever imagine exists. Noble has emerged from a truly incredible journey as a witness to a dark side of our world.” James Ridgeway, author of Blood in the Face.
“I met Kerry Noble while working on a story about the Oklahoma City bombing. In the early ’80s he had committed himself and his family to a cause for which he was willing to give his life. Kerry then had the courage to see that what he was willing to die for was wrong. The turmoil he experienced has left him a humble, respectful, intelligent and wiser man. He knows of what he speaks and he says it straight. I am glad I have made his acquaintance.” Michael Singer, Producer CBS
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Understanding False Charges by Destructive Groups
...by Steven Alan Hassan M.Ed., LMHC, NCC
For the record, I believe in freedom of religion. I am Jewish and an active member of Temple Beth Zion in Brookline, Massachusetts since 1998. Healthy religious involvement encourages people to question. It encourages people to read whatever they want to read. It encourages people to seek out other’s opinions and discuss things freely. It encourages people to maintain old friendships and develop new ones outside of the group. If a friend decides to leave a healthy religious organization, friendships are maintained. Healthy religions encourage people to have close relationships with family and friends. They do charity for others–especially outside their own immediate faith community. There are no hidden agendas. No authoritarian leaders. No phobias that you have to do what the leader says (in my case, the Rabbi) or else you will be treated as disloyal.
I am an activist who fights to protect people’s right to believe whatever they want to believe. That is why my work has had broad support of religious leaders from a variety of spiritual orientations including: Catholic; Baptist; Methodist; Episcopalian; Church of Christ; Lutheran; Unitarian; United Church of Christ; Jewish; Buddhist; Hindu; Pagan and Neo-Pagan and others. I am proud to say that many unorthodox religions have expressed their gratitude to me for my books because it clearly shows them NOT to be a destructive cult. It is very clear from anyone who has ever heard me lecture or read my books that one of my chief motivations in exposing the destructive and deceptive practices of mind control cults is my high regard for spirituality and for religious freedom. I believe that everyone has the right to believe and the right not to believe whatever he/she chooses to believe. Even members of groups I consider to be a destructive cult. Of course, until a member takes the time and makes the effort to learn about unethical social influence and learn about the facts about the group’s leader, the group policies, and listen to former members, I do not believe they are operating with the knowledge fully needed to make an informed decision. Can I make someone want to get this information? Of course not! They have to be willing. Do family members and friends have the right to emotionally and intellectually engage the member and ask him/her to do the research? Of course!
The truth is that I was involved in about a dozen deprogrammings of members of the Moon cult in 1976-77. For one year only! With members of the Moon cult only. Some of them were legal conservatorships. Others were not. Never did I ever abduct, restrain, hit or threaten anybody. I did not and do not like the deprogramming method and stopped doing them in 1977! I have spoken out publicly against forcible deprogrammings since 1980. Read my three books, Freedom of Mind, Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs (2012), Combatting Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults (1988) and Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves (2000).
In my book, Releasing the Bonds, I go so far to include a testimonial from a woman who was traumatized by her deprogramming, even though she decided to leave the cult. I strongly encourage you to actually read my books for yourself, rather than rely on someone else to take things out of context and tell you what to think.
Point 1: Response to Roselle information. Disinformation is more like it!
Arthur “Skip” Roselle’s affidavits? Scientology now takes some lines from the 1976 affidavit to insinuate that I’m a violent person and an anti-religious person. Now I see Roselle’s 1991 affidavit is online to imply what I am doing now is unethical. I need to set the record straight.
I acknowledge that I was involved with the Roselle deprogramming attempt in 1976. But I was never involved in violence of any kind. One main issue is that the family felt that they needed to secure him with a rope before I arrived at the neighbor’s house. Skip had reportedly punched and bitten his father as well as friends of his from the football team who were very concerned about him. When I arrived and learned Skip was in the basement tied up and violent, I turned around to leave. it was his mother’s tears and other family members who begged me to speak with him. I decided to go downstairs and with tears in my eyes, begged him to just listen to what I had to share with him and if he wanted to go back to the Moonies, he was free to do so. He agreed and we talked for days. He even agreed to go to Arizona to a rehab center. There were many other people present- members from Skip’s former football team, family members, etc. I never restrained him or did any of the things he later wrote about.
Please understand that at the time, Roselle was grateful for his family’s love and the intervention. However, he did go back to the group to try to get his friends out of the Moonies, but got drawn back in. I am attaching separate sheets written by Roselle before he got re-involved. At the point that he went back into the Moonies, they apparently told him to write the phony affidavit alleging all of these horrendous things. The important thing is that criminal charges were never made against me. In fact, the group never even tried to civilly sue me either. They knew these accusations against me were baseless and his family and friends would never allow anyone to threaten or hurt Skip. They were present during the whole time. Please see Joanne Roselle’s (Skip's mother's) affidavit.
In 1991, I learned that Roselle had left the Moonies. I immediately wrote a letter to him and asked his family to give it to him. Naturally, I (and they) assumed he would “come clean” and tell the truth. What I didn’t realize is that he had just become re-involved with the Moonies. There was never a legal jam. I just wanted him to tell the truth. I was tired of cults like the Moonies and Scientology trying to make me out to be a violent, anti-religious person.
It is true that Scientology did try to frivolosusly harass me by trying to include me in a $12 million lawsuit filed against the Sally Jessy Raphael television show. I was quickly dropped from the lawsuit when the producer of the show and the two ex-Scientologists did an affidavit explaining that I had no knowledge of the segment that involved the women’s mother–a Scientologist. It might interest you to see a tape of the show that Raphael did on Scientology. One of the women who appeared later died of brain cancer–she had relied on Scientology tech to help her with her headaches. What she needed was real medical help. Now it is too late for her. I believe the transcript of the show is on the Internet.
Point 2. The false assertion that the American Psychological Association memo of 1987, the DSM IV and others do not subscribe to theories of undue influence and mind control
First the APA memo. The important words of this memo are, “BSERP does not believe we have sufficient information available to guide us in taking a position on this issue."
They stated that they didn’t want Singer and Ofshe to state that the APA officially endorsed their findings based on what they had submitted. They felt it was not thorough enough for APA to state an official position. They did not say they didn’t believe that mind control existed.
For a very thorough analysis of the issue of the APA, and cult propaganda efforts, please see Mind Control in New Religious Movements and the American Psychological Association and Blind, or Just Don’t Want to See? published in Cults & Society: An Internet Journal Vol. 1 No. 1 2001 and in the Cultic Studies Journal: Psychological Manipulation and Society, AFF Volume 17, 2000, p101-121.
Another article of great interest is: “Scientology and the European Human Rights Debate: A Reply to Leisa Goodman, J. Gordon Melton, and the European Rehabilitation Project Force Study.” Marburg Journal of Religion 8 No. 1 (September 2003).
I am attaching these articles.
It is patently incorrect to state that The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) does not mention the issue of brainwashing. It does, in fact mention the words "brainwashing" and "thought reform". Please look at a copy of Dissociative Disorder NOS 300.15. Prior versions of the DSM did, in fact, use the word cult. It appears that there has been a political effort within the APA to get the word “cult” taken out of this category. The website for The American Psychiatric Association is http://www.psych.org/.
Statements and articles in the American Psychological Association’s publication, the Monitor, as recently as November 2003, indicate the belief that unethical social influence does exist. Destructive cults, like the People’s Temple, have hurt people. Dr. Philip Zimbardo has been teaching a course at Stanford University for many years, entitled The Psychology of Mind Control and used chapters from my first book. Please read his President’s Column in the APA Monitor, Mind control: Psychological Reality or Mindless Rhetoric?.
Former Air Force psychiatrist and Harvard professor Dr. Robert Jay Lifton is a legendary figure. He is author of Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: Brainwashing in China (1961) and worked for military intelligence in the 1950’s, along with Margaret Singer, Louis Jolyon West and Edgar Schein. All of these mental health professionals wrote about the power of “thought reform” or mind control. Lifton has given many lectures over the years on the subject and in 1999, authored an important book entitled, Destroying the World to Save it: Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence and the New Global Terrorism. In this volume, Lifton writes about the sarin gas cult of Shoko Asahara in Japan as well as other destructive groups. Lifton is considered to be one of the most highly respected psychiatrists in the world, writing about the horrors of nuclear bomb proliferation, issues of veterans of the Vietnam War, the psychology of Nazi Doctors, and many other socially important topics. I have known Dr. Lifton since 1976 and he has never vacillated in any interaction with me about the veracity of his research or opinions.
In conclusion, I do believe there are substantive issues that require your immediate attention. I do hope that you will consider how much deception is used in this material designed to make people distrust me as a valuable source of information.
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Understanding False Charges by Destructive Groups
...by Steven Alan Hassan M.Ed., LMHC, NCC
For the record, I believe in freedom of religion. I am Jewish and an active member of Temple Beth Zion in Brookline, Massachusetts since 1998. Healthy religious involvement encourages people to question. It encourages people to read whatever they want to read. It encourages people to seek out other’s opinions and discuss things freely. It encourages people to maintain old friendships and develop new ones outside of the group. If a friend decides to leave a healthy religious organization, friendships are maintained. Healthy religions encourage people to have close relationships with family and friends. They do charity for others–especially outside their own immediate faith community. There are no hidden agendas. No authoritarian leaders. No phobias that you have to do what the leader says (in my case, the Rabbi) or else you will be treated as disloyal.
I am an activist who fights to protect people’s right to believe whatever they want to believe. That is why my work has had broad support of religious leaders from a variety of spiritual orientations including: Catholic; Baptist; Methodist; Episcopalian; Church of Christ; Lutheran; Unitarian; United Church of Christ; Jewish; Buddhist; Hindu; Pagan and Neo-Pagan and others. I am proud to say that many unorthodox religions have expressed their gratitude to me for my books because it clearly shows them NOT to be a destructive cult. It is very clear from anyone who has ever heard me lecture or read my books that one of my chief motivations in exposing the destructive and deceptive practices of mind control cults is my high regard for spirituality and for religious freedom. I believe that everyone has the right to believe and the right not to believe whatever he/she chooses to believe. Even members of groups I consider to be a destructive cult. Of course, until a member takes the time and makes the effort to learn about unethical social influence and learn about the facts about the group’s leader, the group policies, and listen to former members, I do not believe they are operating with the knowledge fully needed to make an informed decision. Can I make someone want to get this information? Of course not! They have to be willing. Do family members and friends have the right to emotionally and intellectually engage the member and ask him/her to do the research? Of course!
The truth is that I was involved in about a dozen deprogrammings of members of the Moon cult in 1976-77. For one year only! With members of the Moon cult only. Some of them were legal conservatorships. Others were not. Never did I ever abduct, restrain, hit or threaten anybody. I did not and do not like the deprogramming method and stopped doing them in 1977! I have spoken out publicly against forcible deprogrammings since 1980. Read my three books, Freedom of Mind, Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults and Beliefs (2012), Combatting Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults (1988) and Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves (2000).
In my book, Releasing the Bonds, I go so far to include a testimonial from a woman who was traumatized by her deprogramming, even though she decided to leave the cult. I strongly encourage you to actually read my books for yourself, rather than rely on someone else to take things out of context and tell you what to think.
Point 1: Response to Roselle information. Disinformation is more like it!
Arthur “Skip” Roselle’s affidavits? Scientology now takes some lines from the 1976 affidavit to insinuate that I’m a violent person and an anti-religious person. Now I see Roselle’s 1991 affidavit is online to imply what I am doing now is unethical. I need to set the record straight.
I acknowledge that I was involved with the Roselle deprogramming attempt in 1976. But I was never involved in violence of any kind. One main issue is that the family felt that they needed to secure him with a rope before I arrived at the neighbor’s house. Skip had reportedly punched and bitten his father as well as friends of his from the football team who were very concerned about him. When I arrived and learned Skip was in the basement tied up and violent, I turned around to leave. it was his mother’s tears and other family members who begged me to speak with him. I decided to go downstairs and with tears in my eyes, begged him to just listen to what I had to share with him and if he wanted to go back to the Moonies, he was free to do so. He agreed and we talked for days. He even agreed to go to Arizona to a rehab center. There were many other people present- members from Skip’s former football team, family members, etc. I never restrained him or did any of the things he later wrote about.
Please understand that at the time, Roselle was grateful for his family’s love and the intervention. However, he did go back to the group to try to get his friends out of the Moonies, but got drawn back in. I am attaching separate sheets written by Roselle before he got re-involved. At the point that he went back into the Moonies, they apparently told him to write the phony affidavit alleging all of these horrendous things. The important thing is that criminal charges were never made against me. In fact, the group never even tried to civilly sue me either. They knew these accusations against me were baseless and his family and friends would never allow anyone to threaten or hurt Skip. They were present during the whole time. Please see Joanne Roselle’s (Skip's mother's) affidavit.
In 1991, I learned that Roselle had left the Moonies. I immediately wrote a letter to him and asked his family to give it to him. Naturally, I (and they) assumed he would “come clean” and tell the truth. What I didn’t realize is that he had just become re-involved with the Moonies. There was never a legal jam. I just wanted him to tell the truth. I was tired of cults like the Moonies and Scientology trying to make me out to be a violent, anti-religious person.
It is true that Scientology did try to frivolosusly harass me by trying to include me in a $12 million lawsuit filed against the Sally Jessy Raphael television show. I was quickly dropped from the lawsuit when the producer of the show and the two ex-Scientologists did an affidavit explaining that I had no knowledge of the segment that involved the women’s mother–a Scientologist. It might interest you to see a tape of the show that Raphael did on Scientology. One of the women who appeared later died of brain cancer–she had relied on Scientology tech to help her with her headaches. What she needed was real medical help. Now it is too late for her. I believe the transcript of the show is on the Internet.
Point 2. The false assertion that the American Psychological Association memo of 1987, the DSM IV and others do not subscribe to theories of undue influence and mind control
First the APA memo. The important words of this memo are, “BSERP does not believe we have sufficient information available to guide us in taking a position on this issue."
They stated that they didn’t want Singer and Ofshe to state that the APA officially endorsed their findings based on what they had submitted. They felt it was not thorough enough for APA to state an official position. They did not say they didn’t believe that mind control existed.
For a very thorough analysis of the issue of the APA, and cult propaganda efforts, please see Mind Control in New Religious Movements and the American Psychological Association and Blind, or Just Don’t Want to See? published in Cults & Society: An Internet Journal Vol. 1 No. 1 2001 and in the Cultic Studies Journal: Psychological Manipulation and Society, AFF Volume 17, 2000, p101-121.
Another article of great interest is: “Scientology and the European Human Rights Debate: A Reply to Leisa Goodman, J. Gordon Melton, and the European Rehabilitation Project Force Study.” Marburg Journal of Religion 8 No. 1 (September 2003).
I am attaching these articles.
It is patently incorrect to state that The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) does not mention the issue of brainwashing. It does, in fact mention the words "brainwashing" and "thought reform". Please look at a copy of Dissociative Disorder NOS 300.15. Prior versions of the DSM did, in fact, use the word cult. It appears that there has been a political effort within the APA to get the word “cult” taken out of this category. The website for The American Psychiatric Association is http://www.psych.org/.
Statements and articles in the American Psychological Association’s publication, the Monitor, as recently as November 2003, indicate the belief that unethical social influence does exist. Destructive cults, like the People’s Temple, have hurt people. Dr. Philip Zimbardo has been teaching a course at Stanford University for many years, entitled The Psychology of Mind Control and used chapters from my first book. Please read his President’s Column in the APA Monitor, Mind control: Psychological Reality or Mindless Rhetoric?.
Former Air Force psychiatrist and Harvard professor Dr. Robert Jay Lifton is a legendary figure. He is author of Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: Brainwashing in China (1961) and worked for military intelligence in the 1950’s, along with Margaret Singer, Louis Jolyon West and Edgar Schein. All of these mental health professionals wrote about the power of “thought reform” or mind control. Lifton has given many lectures over the years on the subject and in 1999, authored an important book entitled, Destroying the World to Save it: Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence and the New Global Terrorism. In this volume, Lifton writes about the sarin gas cult of Shoko Asahara in Japan as well as other destructive groups. Lifton is considered to be one of the most highly respected psychiatrists in the world, writing about the horrors of nuclear bomb proliferation, issues of veterans of the Vietnam War, the psychology of Nazi Doctors, and many other socially important topics. I have known Dr. Lifton since 1976 and he has never vacillated in any interaction with me about the veracity of his research or opinions.
In conclusion, I do believe there are substantive issues that require your immediate attention. I do hope that you will consider how much deception is used in this material designed to make people distrust me as a valuable source of information.
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Millennial Fears in the Year 1000: Apocalypse Forever
Millennial Fears in the Year 1000: Apocalypse Forever
By PETER STEINFELS
New York Times
July 17th 1999
When Patricia Bernstein, a Houston writer long fascinated by the Middle Ages, began research for an article about the year 1000, she was under an impression shared by many educated Americans.
The turn of the last millennium, she believed, was a time of apocalyptic panic, fevered preaching, penitential excesses and, for the Christian faithful, ominous signs and wonders. Daily work was set aside and property, even family, abandoned as Christian Europe waited in both dread and hope for the end of the world and the Last Judgment. Call it the Y1K problem. All very exotic, very dramatic and, as it turned out, very likely untrue.
Ms. Bernstein had barely begun her research when she found that historians generally dismiss this vision of what happened at the turn of the last millennium. More surprising yet, they had been dismissing it for more than a hundred years.
To mimic Gilbert and Sullivan, this climax apocalyptical was actually quite apocryphal. It was a tale, the historical consensus went, that was concocted out of far more imagination than evidence. “Alas for human fallibility!” lamented George Lincoln Burr, an American historian, as early as 1901.
At the most elementary level, there was the problem of the calendar. More than four centuries before the year 1000, Dionysius Exiguus, a monk and mathematician, devised a calendar that numbered years forward and backward from what he thought was the date of Christ’s birth, rather than from various dates in Roman history or other starting points. But as Europe approached the millennium, this calendar was still not universally used.
Nor did everyone agree on the date when one year ended and the next began — whether it was Christmas, Jan. 1, March 25, Good Friday or Easter. Rural life was measured less by years than by the cycles of planting and harvesting, holy days and the feast days of saints.
So were there religious terrors and overwrought expectations of the Final Judgment in the year 999? Absolutely. Also in the years 899, 1199, 1299 — you name it. One might as well turn the question around and ask, “How could it have been otherwise?”
In the period before the millennium, Christian outposts in Europe were struggling against wave after wave of invaders, among them Muslim Saracens and pagan Vikings and Magyars. In addition, there were the usual run of famines and epidemics.
“Medieval folk lived in a more or less constant state of apocalyptic expectation,” said Bernard McGinn, a leading scholar of medieval religion at the University of Chicago. The problem, McGinn wrote in the “Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism” (Continuum, 1968), which he edited, is that “it is by no means clear that fears of the end were more general circa 1000 than at other periods in the Middle Ages.”
So how did the idea of millennial frenzy a thousand years ago originate, and why?
For Ms. Bernstein, that became the real question. The answer, as she recounts it in the most recent issue of Smithsonian magazine, has a lot more to do with modern beliefs than medieval ones.
Her search for an explanation led to the year 1605 and Caesar Baronius, a Roman Catholic cardinal. Writing a church history after Reformation-era upheavals and polemics, Baronius said that at the turn of the first millennium rumors of the coming of the Antichrist abounded.
Working its way into many standard accounts, the cardinal’s statement was further elaborated by Protestant and rationalist historians who were predisposed to contrast their own Age of Reason with what they viewed as Catholic superstition in the earlier Dark Ages.
But it was Jules Michelet, a 19th-century French historian, who etched this tale into modern consciousness. In his epic accounts of the Middle Ages and the French Revolution, Michelet portrayed the French people as a kind of collective Romantic hero struggling against the tyranny of priests and kings.
In his multivolume “History of France,” Michelet painted a vivid picture of the year 1000, with prisoners, serfs, monks and lords universally awaiting the trumpet blast announcing the end of the world, and painfully torn between fear of divine wrath and anticipation of divine justice. It was a picture that perfectly expressed Michelet’s outlook, equating religion with superstition, endowing ordinary people with a potentially revolutionary energy and satisfying the Romantic taste for melodramatic conflict.
Relying on an analysis of the Y1K problem by the historian Peter Stearns of Carnegie-Mellon University, Ms. Bernstein reports that Michelet’s successors indulged “an even stronger antichurch rhetoric.”
“Later French writers suggested that greedy churchmen had encouraged millennial fears deliberately so that people would give their material possessions to the church in hopes of salvation,” she says.
Writer after writer added macabre and colorful details, and the story migrated into poems, plays and popular novels even as historians began to pick it apart.
Well, not all historians. Michelet has something of a defender in Richard Landes, a medievalist who directs the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University and who presents his case on the center’s Web site (www.mille.org). As Ms. Bernstein acknowledges, Landes maintains that apocalypticism did reach a crest — if not exactly around the year 1000, then in the decades before and after.
If there is scant documentary evidence for that, Landes says, it is because the churchmen who wrote the history and preserved the records were embarrassed by the fact that the world did not come to an end. More importantly, they were constrained by church teaching that condemned efforts to predict exactly the end of the world.
The notion of a conspiracy of silence and censorship is intriguing. In one respect it turns the earlier argument upside down: instead of a church malignly whipping up apocalyptic fervor in order to seize the flock’s belongings, here is a church sternly stamping out apocalyptic fancies in order to preserve its own credibility and to discourage any radical visions that could threaten its established status. Either way, of course, the church is the villain.
But McGinn told Ms. Bernstein that Landes’ “hidden millennialism is a figment of his imagination.”
That appears to remain the prevailing view.
Could it be, therefore, that the fears and hysteria surrounding the coming of the year 1000 were nothing compared to those surrounding the coming of the year 2000? If so, who is living in the Dark Ages?
Copyright New York Times July 17th 1999
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Millennial Fears in the Year 1000: Apocalypse Forever
Millennial Fears in the Year 1000: Apocalypse Forever
By PETER STEINFELS
New York Times
July 17th 1999
When Patricia Bernstein, a Houston writer long fascinated by the Middle Ages, began research for an article about the year 1000, she was under an impression shared by many educated Americans.
The turn of the last millennium, she believed, was a time of apocalyptic panic, fevered preaching, penitential excesses and, for the Christian faithful, ominous signs and wonders. Daily work was set aside and property, even family, abandoned as Christian Europe waited in both dread and hope for the end of the world and the Last Judgment. Call it the Y1K problem. All very exotic, very dramatic and, as it turned out, very likely untrue.
Ms. Bernstein had barely begun her research when she found that historians generally dismiss this vision of what happened at the turn of the last millennium. More surprising yet, they had been dismissing it for more than a hundred years.
To mimic Gilbert and Sullivan, this climax apocalyptical was actually quite apocryphal. It was a tale, the historical consensus went, that was concocted out of far more imagination than evidence. “Alas for human fallibility!” lamented George Lincoln Burr, an American historian, as early as 1901.
At the most elementary level, there was the problem of the calendar. More than four centuries before the year 1000, Dionysius Exiguus, a monk and mathematician, devised a calendar that numbered years forward and backward from what he thought was the date of Christ’s birth, rather than from various dates in Roman history or other starting points. But as Europe approached the millennium, this calendar was still not universally used.
Nor did everyone agree on the date when one year ended and the next began — whether it was Christmas, Jan. 1, March 25, Good Friday or Easter. Rural life was measured less by years than by the cycles of planting and harvesting, holy days and the feast days of saints.
So were there religious terrors and overwrought expectations of the Final Judgment in the year 999? Absolutely. Also in the years 899, 1199, 1299 — you name it. One might as well turn the question around and ask, “How could it have been otherwise?”
In the period before the millennium, Christian outposts in Europe were struggling against wave after wave of invaders, among them Muslim Saracens and pagan Vikings and Magyars. In addition, there were the usual run of famines and epidemics.
“Medieval folk lived in a more or less constant state of apocalyptic expectation,” said Bernard McGinn, a leading scholar of medieval religion at the University of Chicago. The problem, McGinn wrote in the “Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism” (Continuum, 1968), which he edited, is that “it is by no means clear that fears of the end were more general circa 1000 than at other periods in the Middle Ages.”
So how did the idea of millennial frenzy a thousand years ago originate, and why?
For Ms. Bernstein, that became the real question. The answer, as she recounts it in the most recent issue of Smithsonian magazine, has a lot more to do with modern beliefs than medieval ones.
Her search for an explanation led to the year 1605 and Caesar Baronius, a Roman Catholic cardinal. Writing a church history after Reformation-era upheavals and polemics, Baronius said that at the turn of the first millennium rumors of the coming of the Antichrist abounded.
Working its way into many standard accounts, the cardinal’s statement was further elaborated by Protestant and rationalist historians who were predisposed to contrast their own Age of Reason with what they viewed as Catholic superstition in the earlier Dark Ages.
But it was Jules Michelet, a 19th-century French historian, who etched this tale into modern consciousness. In his epic accounts of the Middle Ages and the French Revolution, Michelet portrayed the French people as a kind of collective Romantic hero struggling against the tyranny of priests and kings.
In his multivolume “History of France,” Michelet painted a vivid picture of the year 1000, with prisoners, serfs, monks and lords universally awaiting the trumpet blast announcing the end of the world, and painfully torn between fear of divine wrath and anticipation of divine justice. It was a picture that perfectly expressed Michelet’s outlook, equating religion with superstition, endowing ordinary people with a potentially revolutionary energy and satisfying the Romantic taste for melodramatic conflict.
Relying on an analysis of the Y1K problem by the historian Peter Stearns of Carnegie-Mellon University, Ms. Bernstein reports that Michelet’s successors indulged “an even stronger antichurch rhetoric.”
“Later French writers suggested that greedy churchmen had encouraged millennial fears deliberately so that people would give their material possessions to the church in hopes of salvation,” she says.
Writer after writer added macabre and colorful details, and the story migrated into poems, plays and popular novels even as historians began to pick it apart.
Well, not all historians. Michelet has something of a defender in Richard Landes, a medievalist who directs the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University and who presents his case on the center’s Web site (www.mille.org). As Ms. Bernstein acknowledges, Landes maintains that apocalypticism did reach a crest — if not exactly around the year 1000, then in the decades before and after.
If there is scant documentary evidence for that, Landes says, it is because the churchmen who wrote the history and preserved the records were embarrassed by the fact that the world did not come to an end. More importantly, they were constrained by church teaching that condemned efforts to predict exactly the end of the world.
The notion of a conspiracy of silence and censorship is intriguing. In one respect it turns the earlier argument upside down: instead of a church malignly whipping up apocalyptic fervor in order to seize the flock’s belongings, here is a church sternly stamping out apocalyptic fancies in order to preserve its own credibility and to discourage any radical visions that could threaten its established status. Either way, of course, the church is the villain.
But McGinn told Ms. Bernstein that Landes’ “hidden millennialism is a figment of his imagination.”
That appears to remain the prevailing view.
Could it be, therefore, that the fears and hysteria surrounding the coming of the year 1000 were nothing compared to those surrounding the coming of the year 2000? If so, who is living in the Dark Ages?
Copyright New York Times July 17th 1999
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What Messages are Behind Today’s Cults?
What Messages are Behind Today’s Cults?
Cults are coming. Are they crazy or bearing critical messages?
By Philip Zimbardo, PhD
How do we make sense of the mass suicide of 21 female and 18 male members of the Heaven’s Gate extra-terrestrial ‘cult’ on March 23? Typical explanations of all such strange, unexpected behavior involve a ‘rush to the dispositional,’ locating the problem in defective personalities of the actors. Those whose behavior violates our expectations about what is normal and appropriate are dismissed as kooks, weirdos, gullible, stupid, evil or masochistic deviants.
Similar characterizations were evident in the media and public’s reaction to other mass suicides in The Order of the Solar Temple in Europe and Canada, murder-suicide deaths ordered by Rev. Jim Jones of his Peoples Temple members, as well as of the recent flaming deaths of David Koresh’s Branch Davidians and the gassing of Japanese citizens by followers of the Aum Shinrikyo group. And there will be more of the same in the coming years as cults proliferate in the United States and world wide in anticipation of the millennium.
Avoiding the stereotypes
Such pseudo-explanations are really moralistic judgments; framed with the wisdom of hindsight, they miss the mark. They start at the wrong end of the inquiry. Instead, our search for meaning should begin at the beginning: ‘What was so appealing about this group that so many people were recruited/seduced into joining it voluntarily?’ We want to know also, ‘What needs was this group fulfilling that were not being met by ‘traditional society?’
Such alternative framings shift the analytical focus from condemning the actors, mindlessly blaming the victims, defining them as different from us, to searching for a common ground in the forces that shape all human behavior. By acknowledging our own vulnerability to the operation of the powerful, often subtle situational forces that controlled their actions, we can begin to find ways to prevent or combat that power from exerting its similar, sometimes sinister, influence on us and our kin.
Any stereotyped collective personality analysis of the Heaven’s Gate members proves inadequate when tallied against the resumes of individual members. They represented a wide range of demographic backgrounds, ages, talents, interests and careers prior to committing themselves to a new ideology embodied in the totally regimented, obedient lifestyle that would end with an eternal transformation. Comparable individual diversity has been evident among the members of many different cult groups I’ve studied over the past several decades. What is common are the recruiting promises, influence agendas and group’s coercive influence power that compromise the personal exercise of free will and critical thinking. On the basis of my investigations and the psychological research of colleagues, we can argue the following propositions, some of which will be elaborated:
• No one ever joins a ‘cult.’ People join interesting groups that promise to fulfill their pressing needs. They become ‘cults’ when they are seen as deceptive, defective, dangerous, or as opposing basic values of their society.
• Cults represent each society’s ‘default values,’ filling in its missing functions. The cult epidemic is diagnostic of where and how society is failing its citizens.
• If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. As basic human values are being strained, distorted and lost in our rapidly evolving culture, illusions and promissory notes are too readily believed and bought–without reality validation or credit checks.
• Whatever any member of a cult has done, you and I could be recruited or seduced into doing–under the right or wrong conditions. The majority of ‘normal, average, intelligent’ individuals can be led to engage in immoral, illegal, irrational, aggressive and self destructive actions that are contrary to their values or personality–when manipulated situational conditions exert their power over individual dispositions.
• Cult methods of recruiting, indoctrinating and influencing their members are not exotic forms of mind control, but only more intensely applied mundane tactics of social influence practiced daily by all compliance professionals and societal agents of influence.
The appeal
What is the appeal of cults? Imagine being part of a group in which you will find instant friendship, a caring family, respect for your contributions, an identity, safety, security, simplicity, and an organized daily agenda. You will learn new skills, have a respected position, gain personal insight, improve your personality and intelligence. There is no crime or violence and your healthy lifestyle means there is no illness.
Your leader may promise not only to heal any sickness and foretell the future, but give you the gift of immortality, if you are a true believer. In addition, your group’s ideology represents a unique spiritual/religious agenda (in other cults it is political, social or personal enhancement) that if followed, will enhance the Human Condition somewhere in the world or cosmos.
Who would fall for such appeals? Most of us, if they were made by someone we trusted, in a setting that was familiar, and especially if we had unfulfilled needs.
Much cult recruitment is done by family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, teachers and highly trained professional recruiters. They recruit not on the streets or airports, but in contexts that are ‘home bases’ for the potential recruit; at schools, in the home, coffee houses, on the job, at sports events, lectures, churches, or drop-in dinners and free personal assessment workshops. The Heaven’s Gate group made us aware that recruiting is now also active over the Internet and across the World Wide Web.
In a 1980 study where we (C. Hartley and I) surveyed and interviewed more than 1,000 randomly selected high school students in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, 54 percent reported they had at least one active recruiting attempt by someone they identified with a cult, and 40 percent said they had experienced three to five such contacts. And that was long before electronic cult recruiting could be a new allure for a generation of youngsters growing up as web surfers.
What makes any of us especially vulnerable to cult appeals? Someone is in a transitional phase in life: moved to a new city or country, lost a job, dropped out of school, parents divorced, romantic relationship broken, gave up traditional religion as personally irrelevant. Add to the recipe, all those who find their work tedious and trivial, education abstractly meaningless, social life absent or inconsistent, family remote or dysfunctional, friends too busy to find time for you and trust in government eroded.
Cults promise to fulfill most of those personal individual’s needs and also to compensate for a litany of societal failures: to make their slice of the world safe, healthy, caring, predictable and controllable. They will eliminate the increasing feelings of isolation and alienation being created by mobility, technology, competition, meritocracy, incivility, and dehumanized living and working conditions in our society.
In general, cult leaders offer simple solutions to the increasingly complex world problems we all face daily. They offer the simple path to happiness, to success, to salvation by following their simple rules, simple group regimentation and simple total lifestyle. Ultimately, each new member contributes to the power of the leader by trading his or her freedom for the illusion of security and reflected glory that group membership holds out.
It seems like a ‘win-win’ trade for those whose freedom is without power to make a difference in their lives. This may be especially so for the shy among us. Shyness among adults is now escalating to epidemic proportions, according to recent research by Dr. B. Carducci in Indiana and my research team in California. More than 50 percent of college-aged adults report being chronically shy (lacking social skills, low self-esteem, awkward in many social encounters). As with the rise in cult membership, a public health model is essential for understanding how societal pathology is implicated in contributing to the rise in shyness among adults and children in America.
A society in transition
Our society is in a curious transitional phase; as science and technology make remarkable advances, antiscientific values and beliefs in the paranormal and occult abound, family values are stridently promoted in Congress and pulpits, yet divorce is rising along with spouse and child abuse, fear of nuclear annihilation in superpower wars is replaced by fears of crime in our streets and drugs in our schools, and the economic gap grows exponentially between the rich and powerful and our legions of poor and powerless.
Such change and confusion create intellectual chaos that makes it difficult for many citizens to believe in anything, to trust anyone, to stand for anything substantial.
On such shifting sands of time and resolve, the cult leader stands firm with simple directions for what to think and feel, and how to act. ‘Follow me, I know the path to sanity, security and salvation,’ proclaims Marshall Applewhite, with other cult leaders chanting the same lyric in that celestial chorus. And many will follow.
What makes cults dangerous? It depends in part on the kind of cult since they come in many sizes, purposes and disguises. Some cults are in the business of power and money. They need members to give money, work for free, beg and recruit new members. They won’t go the deathly route of the Heaven’s Gaters; their danger lies in deception, mindless devotion, and failure to deliver on the recruiting promises.
Danger also comes in the form of insisting on contributions of exorbitant amounts of money (tithing, signing over life insurance, social security or property, and fees for personal testing and training).
Add exhausting labor as another danger (spending all one’s waking time begging for money, recruiting new members, or doing menial service for little or no remuneration). Most cult groups demand that members sever ties with former family and friends which creates total dependence on the group for self identity, recognition, social reinforcement. Unquestioning obedience to the leader and following arbitrary rules and regulations eliminates independent, critical thinking, and the exercise of free will. Such cerebral straightjacketing is a terrible danger that can lead in turn to the ultimate twin dangers of committing suicide upon command or destroying the cult’s enemies.
Potential for the worst abuse is found in ‘total situations’ where the group is physically and socially isolated from the outside community. The accompanying total milieu and informational control permits idiosyncratic and paranoid thinking to flourish and be shared without limits. The madness of any leader then becomes normalized as members embrace it, and the folly of one becomes folie à deux, and finally, with three or more adherents, it becomes a constitutionally protected belief system that is an ideology defended to the death.
A remarkable thing about cult mind control is that it’s so ordinary in the tactics and strategies of social influence employed. They are variants of well-known social psychological principles of compliance, conformity, persuasion, dissonance, reactance, framing, emotional manipulation, and others that are used on all of us daily to entice us: to buy, to try, to donate, to vote, to join, to change, to believe, to love, to hate the enemy.
Cult mind control is not different in kind from these everyday varieties, but in its greater intensity, persistence, duration, and scope. One difference is in its greater efforts to block quitting the group, by imposing high exit costs, replete with induced phobias of harm, failure, and personal isolation.
What’s the solution?
Heaven’s Gate mass suicides have made cults front page news. While their number and ritually methodical formula are unusual, cults are not. They exist as part of the frayed edges of our society and have vital messages for us to reflect upon if we want to prevent such tragedies or our children and neighbors from joining such destructive groups that are on the near horizon.
The solution? Simple. All we have to do is to create an alternative, ‘perfect cult.’ We need to work together to find ways to make our society actually deliver on many of those cult promises, to co-opt their appeal, without their deception, distortion and potential for destruction.
No man or woman is an island unto itself, nor a space traveller without an earthly control center. Finding that center, spreading that continent of connections, enriching that core of common humanity should be our first priority as we learn and share a vital lesson from the tragedy of Heaven’s Gate.
Philip G. Zimbardo, PhD, is professor of psychology at Stanford University and President of the American Psychological Association for 2002. He has interviewed and worked closely with survivors of Peoples Temple and their family members, as well as former members of the Unification Church, Scientology, Synanon, Churches of Christ, and other cults.
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What Messages are Behind Today’s Cults?
What Messages are Behind Today’s Cults?
Cults are coming. Are they crazy or bearing critical messages?
By Philip Zimbardo, PhD
How do we make sense of the mass suicide of 21 female and 18 male members of the Heaven’s Gate extra-terrestrial ‘cult’ on March 23? Typical explanations of all such strange, unexpected behavior involve a ‘rush to the dispositional,’ locating the problem in defective personalities of the actors. Those whose behavior violates our expectations about what is normal and appropriate are dismissed as kooks, weirdos, gullible, stupid, evil or masochistic deviants.
Similar characterizations were evident in the media and public’s reaction to other mass suicides in The Order of the Solar Temple in Europe and Canada, murder-suicide deaths ordered by Rev. Jim Jones of his Peoples Temple members, as well as of the recent flaming deaths of David Koresh’s Branch Davidians and the gassing of Japanese citizens by followers of the Aum Shinrikyo group. And there will be more of the same in the coming years as cults proliferate in the United States and world wide in anticipation of the millennium.
Avoiding the stereotypes
Such pseudo-explanations are really moralistic judgments; framed with the wisdom of hindsight, they miss the mark. They start at the wrong end of the inquiry. Instead, our search for meaning should begin at the beginning: ‘What was so appealing about this group that so many people were recruited/seduced into joining it voluntarily?’ We want to know also, ‘What needs was this group fulfilling that were not being met by ‘traditional society?’
Such alternative framings shift the analytical focus from condemning the actors, mindlessly blaming the victims, defining them as different from us, to searching for a common ground in the forces that shape all human behavior. By acknowledging our own vulnerability to the operation of the powerful, often subtle situational forces that controlled their actions, we can begin to find ways to prevent or combat that power from exerting its similar, sometimes sinister, influence on us and our kin.
Any stereotyped collective personality analysis of the Heaven’s Gate members proves inadequate when tallied against the resumes of individual members. They represented a wide range of demographic backgrounds, ages, talents, interests and careers prior to committing themselves to a new ideology embodied in the totally regimented, obedient lifestyle that would end with an eternal transformation. Comparable individual diversity has been evident among the members of many different cult groups I’ve studied over the past several decades. What is common are the recruiting promises, influence agendas and group’s coercive influence power that compromise the personal exercise of free will and critical thinking. On the basis of my investigations and the psychological research of colleagues, we can argue the following propositions, some of which will be elaborated:
• No one ever joins a ‘cult.’ People join interesting groups that promise to fulfill their pressing needs. They become ‘cults’ when they are seen as deceptive, defective, dangerous, or as opposing basic values of their society.
• Cults represent each society’s ‘default values,’ filling in its missing functions. The cult epidemic is diagnostic of where and how society is failing its citizens.
• If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. As basic human values are being strained, distorted and lost in our rapidly evolving culture, illusions and promissory notes are too readily believed and bought–without reality validation or credit checks.
• Whatever any member of a cult has done, you and I could be recruited or seduced into doing–under the right or wrong conditions. The majority of ‘normal, average, intelligent’ individuals can be led to engage in immoral, illegal, irrational, aggressive and self destructive actions that are contrary to their values or personality–when manipulated situational conditions exert their power over individual dispositions.
• Cult methods of recruiting, indoctrinating and influencing their members are not exotic forms of mind control, but only more intensely applied mundane tactics of social influence practiced daily by all compliance professionals and societal agents of influence.
The appeal
What is the appeal of cults? Imagine being part of a group in which you will find instant friendship, a caring family, respect for your contributions, an identity, safety, security, simplicity, and an organized daily agenda. You will learn new skills, have a respected position, gain personal insight, improve your personality and intelligence. There is no crime or violence and your healthy lifestyle means there is no illness.
Your leader may promise not only to heal any sickness and foretell the future, but give you the gift of immortality, if you are a true believer. In addition, your group’s ideology represents a unique spiritual/religious agenda (in other cults it is political, social or personal enhancement) that if followed, will enhance the Human Condition somewhere in the world or cosmos.
Who would fall for such appeals? Most of us, if they were made by someone we trusted, in a setting that was familiar, and especially if we had unfulfilled needs.
Much cult recruitment is done by family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, teachers and highly trained professional recruiters. They recruit not on the streets or airports, but in contexts that are ‘home bases’ for the potential recruit; at schools, in the home, coffee houses, on the job, at sports events, lectures, churches, or drop-in dinners and free personal assessment workshops. The Heaven’s Gate group made us aware that recruiting is now also active over the Internet and across the World Wide Web.
In a 1980 study where we (C. Hartley and I) surveyed and interviewed more than 1,000 randomly selected high school students in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, 54 percent reported they had at least one active recruiting attempt by someone they identified with a cult, and 40 percent said they had experienced three to five such contacts. And that was long before electronic cult recruiting could be a new allure for a generation of youngsters growing up as web surfers.
What makes any of us especially vulnerable to cult appeals? Someone is in a transitional phase in life: moved to a new city or country, lost a job, dropped out of school, parents divorced, romantic relationship broken, gave up traditional religion as personally irrelevant. Add to the recipe, all those who find their work tedious and trivial, education abstractly meaningless, social life absent or inconsistent, family remote or dysfunctional, friends too busy to find time for you and trust in government eroded.
Cults promise to fulfill most of those personal individual’s needs and also to compensate for a litany of societal failures: to make their slice of the world safe, healthy, caring, predictable and controllable. They will eliminate the increasing feelings of isolation and alienation being created by mobility, technology, competition, meritocracy, incivility, and dehumanized living and working conditions in our society.
In general, cult leaders offer simple solutions to the increasingly complex world problems we all face daily. They offer the simple path to happiness, to success, to salvation by following their simple rules, simple group regimentation and simple total lifestyle. Ultimately, each new member contributes to the power of the leader by trading his or her freedom for the illusion of security and reflected glory that group membership holds out.
It seems like a ‘win-win’ trade for those whose freedom is without power to make a difference in their lives. This may be especially so for the shy among us. Shyness among adults is now escalating to epidemic proportions, according to recent research by Dr. B. Carducci in Indiana and my research team in California. More than 50 percent of college-aged adults report being chronically shy (lacking social skills, low self-esteem, awkward in many social encounters). As with the rise in cult membership, a public health model is essential for understanding how societal pathology is implicated in contributing to the rise in shyness among adults and children in America.
A society in transition
Our society is in a curious transitional phase; as science and technology make remarkable advances, antiscientific values and beliefs in the paranormal and occult abound, family values are stridently promoted in Congress and pulpits, yet divorce is rising along with spouse and child abuse, fear of nuclear annihilation in superpower wars is replaced by fears of crime in our streets and drugs in our schools, and the economic gap grows exponentially between the rich and powerful and our legions of poor and powerless.
Such change and confusion create intellectual chaos that makes it difficult for many citizens to believe in anything, to trust anyone, to stand for anything substantial.
On such shifting sands of time and resolve, the cult leader stands firm with simple directions for what to think and feel, and how to act. ‘Follow me, I know the path to sanity, security and salvation,’ proclaims Marshall Applewhite, with other cult leaders chanting the same lyric in that celestial chorus. And many will follow.
What makes cults dangerous? It depends in part on the kind of cult since they come in many sizes, purposes and disguises. Some cults are in the business of power and money. They need members to give money, work for free, beg and recruit new members. They won’t go the deathly route of the Heaven’s Gaters; their danger lies in deception, mindless devotion, and failure to deliver on the recruiting promises.
Danger also comes in the form of insisting on contributions of exorbitant amounts of money (tithing, signing over life insurance, social security or property, and fees for personal testing and training).
Add exhausting labor as another danger (spending all one’s waking time begging for money, recruiting new members, or doing menial service for little or no remuneration). Most cult groups demand that members sever ties with former family and friends which creates total dependence on the group for self identity, recognition, social reinforcement. Unquestioning obedience to the leader and following arbitrary rules and regulations eliminates independent, critical thinking, and the exercise of free will. Such cerebral straightjacketing is a terrible danger that can lead in turn to the ultimate twin dangers of committing suicide upon command or destroying the cult’s enemies.
Potential for the worst abuse is found in ‘total situations’ where the group is physically and socially isolated from the outside community. The accompanying total milieu and informational control permits idiosyncratic and paranoid thinking to flourish and be shared without limits. The madness of any leader then becomes normalized as members embrace it, and the folly of one becomes folie à deux, and finally, with three or more adherents, it becomes a constitutionally protected belief system that is an ideology defended to the death.
A remarkable thing about cult mind control is that it’s so ordinary in the tactics and strategies of social influence employed. They are variants of well-known social psychological principles of compliance, conformity, persuasion, dissonance, reactance, framing, emotional manipulation, and others that are used on all of us daily to entice us: to buy, to try, to donate, to vote, to join, to change, to believe, to love, to hate the enemy.
Cult mind control is not different in kind from these everyday varieties, but in its greater intensity, persistence, duration, and scope. One difference is in its greater efforts to block quitting the group, by imposing high exit costs, replete with induced phobias of harm, failure, and personal isolation.
What’s the solution?
Heaven’s Gate mass suicides have made cults front page news. While their number and ritually methodical formula are unusual, cults are not. They exist as part of the frayed edges of our society and have vital messages for us to reflect upon if we want to prevent such tragedies or our children and neighbors from joining such destructive groups that are on the near horizon.
The solution? Simple. All we have to do is to create an alternative, ‘perfect cult.’ We need to work together to find ways to make our society actually deliver on many of those cult promises, to co-opt their appeal, without their deception, distortion and potential for destruction.
No man or woman is an island unto itself, nor a space traveller without an earthly control center. Finding that center, spreading that continent of connections, enriching that core of common humanity should be our first priority as we learn and share a vital lesson from the tragedy of Heaven’s Gate.
Philip G. Zimbardo, PhD, is professor of psychology at Stanford University and President of the American Psychological Association for 2002. He has interviewed and worked closely with survivors of Peoples Temple and their family members, as well as former members of the Unification Church, Scientology, Synanon, Churches of Christ, and other cults.
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Net Firm Will Drop Jews for Jesus Ad
Net Firm Will Drop Jews for Jesus Ad
By Sara Neufeld, Globe Correspondent
08/11/99
In a case pitting free expression against user protest in the new world of on-line advertising, Waltham-based Lycos Inc., a major Internet search engine, will not renew an advertisement placed by Jews for Jesus after a flood of complaints from the Jewish community.
Jews for Jesus paid $1,700 for a banner to appear at the top of computer screens of the first 40,000 people who type in the word ”Jewish” as a search term, said Jews for Jesus spokeswoman Susan Perlman.
The group, which began in the early 1970s, has about 70,000 followers nationwide who, it says, practice Judaism while believing that Jesus is the Messiah. The banner that Lycos has run advertises a book by the group’s director promoting that ideology.
The contract for the advertisement is scheduled to expire within a few days. ”Controversial advertising is bad for business,” said Jeffrey Snider, general counsel for Lycos. He said that the decision not to renew had nothing to do with the content of the ad, but he emphasized that the company does not want Jews to boycott Lycos.
Perlman said yesterday that she had not been informed of Lycos’s decision, and argued that the Internet is by nature a forum to express a variety of views and therefore is inherently controversial.
”They may as well find another planet to operate from if they don’t want controversy,” she said. ”We’re saddened that they have succumbed to pressure.” Jews for Jesus, which typically has spread its message through fliers and leaflets, placed the advertisement through a sales representative in Lycos’s San Francisco office, Snider said. To reach a targeted audience, customers pay Lycos to link their ads with search terms.
Perlman said Jews for Jesus chose to have its name attached to the search term ”Jewish” under the assumption that many Jews would see it.
They were right.
Although the ad started running July 6, executives at Lycos’s national headquarters in Waltham said they were not aware of it until they received several angry e-mail messages from Jews beginning on July 29. The company would not discuss the content of the messages or say how many it received. ”These people are not Jews and are ignorant about Judiasm,” said one message, written by a woman who identified herself as Patricia Heil. ”They have involved you in false advertising.”
The flashing advertisement, about 1 inch high and 3 inches wide, shows the Jews for Jesus logo, with the Star of David replacing the ”o” in the word ”for.”
It reads: ”The end of the world is no time to finally realize Jesus is the Messiah. (It’s all in the book.) Click for free copy!”
When users click on the advertisement, a Web page appears from the Jews for Jesus site, with an order form for the book. The page included a reference to Lycos.
Because of that, Lycos executives pulled the ad on July 30, arguing that it gave the appearance that the company endorsed Jews for Jesus, Snider said. Within days, the reference was removed from the page and the ad reappeared a week later.
Though Lycos is legally obliged to carry out the contract, the company does not have to renew it, Snider said.
Diane Kolb, associate director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Boston office, said her group, which fights anti-Semitism, is a strong proponent of the First Amendment. But, she said, ”Jews can’t be for Jesus.” She said her group urged Lycos to discontinue the ad because she believes the message is misleading – and blasphemous. ”It’s very seductive material for a lot of Jews,” Kolb said. ”If I’m a Jew struggling with my identity living in this Christian society, I could believe in Jesus, then I could have Christmas and I wouldn’t have to be different from everyone else. ”That’s kind of cozy, but it’s offering people an option that isn’t available, and that’s what we have a problem with.”
Last month, talk-show host Joan Rivers, who is Jewish, lashed out at the group on the air after it advertised the book ”Future Hope” during her show. But Steven Hassan, an authority on cults and brainwashing, said that though he does not like the message of Jews for Jesus, he has found no evidence that the group is dangerous.
”They’re essentially Baptists who are putting up money to recruit Jews, saying you can be a Jew and a Christian simultaneously,” said Hassan, who runs the Freedom of Mind Resource Center, in Cambridge.
Still, Perlman insisted that Jews can legitimately believe in Jesus, calling her group ”a small minority of a minority.” She said that Jews should be free to decide for themselves what they want to read and analyze.
”It’s a shame that there are people who want to block our message and prevent people from thinking for themselves,” Perlman said. ”The Web is suppossed to be a marketplace for all kinds of ideas, and people can click on them or pass them by.”
This story ran on page B1 of the Boston Globe on 08/11/99. © Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
Since I was misquoted in this article I sent this letter to the Globe editor on 8/11/99.
Dear Editor,
I wanted to write and correct a serious error in Sara Neufeld’s Boston Globe article (Aug.11th) on Jews for Jesus and Lycos. Sara created the false impression that, as a cult expert, I give Jews for Jesus a “clean bill of health.” I certainly do not. I told her that I did have evidence that Jews for Jesus was a destructive cult and told her about the book, Hawking God by Ellen Kamentsky. I told her that Ellen lived in the Boston area, and encouraged her to speak with her. I told Neufeld that I found Kamentsky’s account highly credible when she described her time in the group as a destructive cult. I also went on to say that I have yet to meet others like Ellen who could confirm that her experiences were representative of being involved with Jews for Jesus, rather than an isolated case – and therefore I was reluctant to categorize them definitively as a destructive cult. I did say that I thought Jews for Jesus was very deceptive, and that they made it sound like it was primarily Jews in the organization, when “they were mostly Baptists”. I also told her, that as a Jew that theologically, it is impossible to be a Jew and Christian simultaneously, citing as just one example the Christian doctrine of original sin – which contradicts the Jewish belief that a baby is born without sin. There are many other fundamental conflicts.
Also, Neufeld mistakenly says the Freedom of Mind Resource Center (www.freedomofmind.com) is in Cambridge. It moved to Somerville approximately two years ago.
Steven Hassan
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Net Firm Will Drop Jews for Jesus Ad
Net Firm Will Drop Jews for Jesus Ad
By Sara Neufeld, Globe Correspondent
08/11/99
In a case pitting free expression against user protest in the new world of on-line advertising, Waltham-based Lycos Inc., a major Internet search engine, will not renew an advertisement placed by Jews for Jesus after a flood of complaints from the Jewish community.
Jews for Jesus paid $1,700 for a banner to appear at the top of computer screens of the first 40,000 people who type in the word ”Jewish” as a search term, said Jews for Jesus spokeswoman Susan Perlman.
The group, which began in the early 1970s, has about 70,000 followers nationwide who, it says, practice Judaism while believing that Jesus is the Messiah. The banner that Lycos has run advertises a book by the group’s director promoting that ideology.
The contract for the advertisement is scheduled to expire within a few days. ”Controversial advertising is bad for business,” said Jeffrey Snider, general counsel for Lycos. He said that the decision not to renew had nothing to do with the content of the ad, but he emphasized that the company does not want Jews to boycott Lycos.
Perlman said yesterday that she had not been informed of Lycos’s decision, and argued that the Internet is by nature a forum to express a variety of views and therefore is inherently controversial.
”They may as well find another planet to operate from if they don’t want controversy,” she said. ”We’re saddened that they have succumbed to pressure.” Jews for Jesus, which typically has spread its message through fliers and leaflets, placed the advertisement through a sales representative in Lycos’s San Francisco office, Snider said. To reach a targeted audience, customers pay Lycos to link their ads with search terms.
Perlman said Jews for Jesus chose to have its name attached to the search term ”Jewish” under the assumption that many Jews would see it.
They were right.
Although the ad started running July 6, executives at Lycos’s national headquarters in Waltham said they were not aware of it until they received several angry e-mail messages from Jews beginning on July 29. The company would not discuss the content of the messages or say how many it received. ”These people are not Jews and are ignorant about Judiasm,” said one message, written by a woman who identified herself as Patricia Heil. ”They have involved you in false advertising.”
The flashing advertisement, about 1 inch high and 3 inches wide, shows the Jews for Jesus logo, with the Star of David replacing the ”o” in the word ”for.”
It reads: ”The end of the world is no time to finally realize Jesus is the Messiah. (It’s all in the book.) Click for free copy!”
When users click on the advertisement, a Web page appears from the Jews for Jesus site, with an order form for the book. The page included a reference to Lycos.
Because of that, Lycos executives pulled the ad on July 30, arguing that it gave the appearance that the company endorsed Jews for Jesus, Snider said. Within days, the reference was removed from the page and the ad reappeared a week later.
Though Lycos is legally obliged to carry out the contract, the company does not have to renew it, Snider said.
Diane Kolb, associate director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Boston office, said her group, which fights anti-Semitism, is a strong proponent of the First Amendment. But, she said, ”Jews can’t be for Jesus.” She said her group urged Lycos to discontinue the ad because she believes the message is misleading – and blasphemous. ”It’s very seductive material for a lot of Jews,” Kolb said. ”If I’m a Jew struggling with my identity living in this Christian society, I could believe in Jesus, then I could have Christmas and I wouldn’t have to be different from everyone else. ”That’s kind of cozy, but it’s offering people an option that isn’t available, and that’s what we have a problem with.”
Last month, talk-show host Joan Rivers, who is Jewish, lashed out at the group on the air after it advertised the book ”Future Hope” during her show. But Steven Hassan, an authority on cults and brainwashing, said that though he does not like the message of Jews for Jesus, he has found no evidence that the group is dangerous.
”They’re essentially Baptists who are putting up money to recruit Jews, saying you can be a Jew and a Christian simultaneously,” said Hassan, who runs the Freedom of Mind Resource Center, in Cambridge.
Still, Perlman insisted that Jews can legitimately believe in Jesus, calling her group ”a small minority of a minority.” She said that Jews should be free to decide for themselves what they want to read and analyze.
”It’s a shame that there are people who want to block our message and prevent people from thinking for themselves,” Perlman said. ”The Web is suppossed to be a marketplace for all kinds of ideas, and people can click on them or pass them by.”
This story ran on page B1 of the Boston Globe on 08/11/99. © Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
Since I was misquoted in this article I sent this letter to the Globe editor on 8/11/99.
Dear Editor,
I wanted to write and correct a serious error in Sara Neufeld’s Boston Globe article (Aug.11th) on Jews for Jesus and Lycos. Sara created the false impression that, as a cult expert, I give Jews for Jesus a “clean bill of health.” I certainly do not. I told her that I did have evidence that Jews for Jesus was a destructive cult and told her about the book, Hawking God by Ellen Kamentsky. I told her that Ellen lived in the Boston area, and encouraged her to speak with her. I told Neufeld that I found Kamentsky’s account highly credible when she described her time in the group as a destructive cult. I also went on to say that I have yet to meet others like Ellen who could confirm that her experiences were representative of being involved with Jews for Jesus, rather than an isolated case – and therefore I was reluctant to categorize them definitively as a destructive cult. I did say that I thought Jews for Jesus was very deceptive, and that they made it sound like it was primarily Jews in the organization, when “they were mostly Baptists”. I also told her, that as a Jew that theologically, it is impossible to be a Jew and Christian simultaneously, citing as just one example the Christian doctrine of original sin – which contradicts the Jewish belief that a baby is born without sin. There are many other fundamental conflicts.
Also, Neufeld mistakenly says the Freedom of Mind Resource Center (www.freedomofmind.com) is in Cambridge. It moved to Somerville approximately two years ago.
Steven Hassan
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Phone: 617 396-4638
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https://freedomofmind.com/Info/articles/netFirm.php
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Spiritual Responsibility: Avoiding Abuses and Pitfalls Along the Path
by Steven Hassan M.Ed, LMHC, NCC
and Lama Surya Das
Copyright © Freedom of Mind Resource Center 1995, 2004
All Rights Reserved
New Preface by Steven Hassan (Copyright © 2002)
Introduction
Questions to Help the Assessment Process
Mind Control - The BITE Model
Three Stages of Gaining Control of the Mind
Dr. Robert Jay Lifton's Thought Reform Model
About Steven Hassan and Lama Surya Das
Preface
This article offers some vital "consumer" guidelines and specific questions that should be asked when considering any involvement with a spiritual group. I asked my friend, lama Surya Das, the first officially ordained western Tibetan buddhist lama to give his perspective, and he graciously wrote an introduction for me from a Buddhist perspective. My intention was always to add perspectives from respected people from all the major world religions into the introduction, and hopefully this will be done in the coming months.
Unfortunately, some people looked at Surya's introduction and jumped to a false conclusion that I had abandoned my Judaism and became a buddhist. This was never the case, although in my spiritual journey I have tried to learn about other traditions. Also, in my role as a professional counselor, it is a necessity for me to understand a good deal about many religious traditions, in order to help my clients see how destructive cult leaders and their groups were deviating from core values, practices and religious traditions.
In a desire to be clear about my own spiritual orientation and with no interest in trying to convert anyone, I am a member of an independent Jewish congregation in Brookline, Massachusetts called Temple Beth Zion (www.tbzbrookline.org). The rabbi is Moshe Waldoks and the orientation is one of Jewish renewal. I have been a member there since 1998 and I can truly say that I have felt I have found my spiritual "home." At the congregation, we pray, meditate, chant, sing, dance, study, share and are very involved with doing service to the community. The focus in on encouraging each member to learn, grow and participate at their own speed. The rabbis are non-dogmatic and encourage questions and demonstrate responsibility and accountability. There is humor. There is joy. There is a sense of a vibrant spiritual community. We are interested in being inclusive and not being exclusive. For example, at the end of each Friday night Shabbat service, we recite a prayer of peace from one of the other world religious traditions before reciting the Jewish prayer for peace.
You might wonder what my orientation might be when I am counseling someone from a destructive religious cult? First and foremost, I always try my best to address my client's interests and needs, not my own. Secondly, my focus is on helping the person to think for themselves to validate each person's right to be an individual, to get in touch with their own thoughts, feelings and freedom of choice.
I disclose my belief in God, and my belief that Judaism, Christianity and Islam (as well as other wisdom traditions) are all based on two fundamental commandments: Love God with all your heart, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. If asked, I tell my clients that I believe we were intended to each be unique individuals, with talents and abilities intended to be used by us to help the greater community. I tell my clients that I believe that God wants us to have free will and to have the freedom to choose to follow God. It is my belief that if God wanted us to be mind-controlled slaves, (S)He would have made us incapable of disobedience.
My counseling approach is custom tailored to each client's background and current needs. However, I cannot be all things to all people. Sometimes, being an expert on cults, mind control as well as a licensed counselor is not enough. So, I usually ask former cult members to assist me as well as other experts. For example, whenever I am called on to counsel an individual from a Christian Bible cult like Kip McKean's International Churches of Christ (ICC) not to be confused with the mainstream Church of Christ or the United Church of Christ, I ask an orthodox Christian (often my minister friend, Rev. Bob Pardon) to assist me in addressing theological and Biblical issues. The focus is on offering a grounded, orthodox theological perspective, not to proselytize. I have grave concerns about any cult counselors who use their own religious orientation to "save" cult members into their one "true" church or religious institution. This goes for Jewish cult ministries too. I think the focus must begin on dealing with the cult mind control issues, enabling the person to think for themselves. For this reason, I will only accept cases in which the families agrees that I am not being hired to "get the person back to their religion", but to do what they want to do. Again, the focus must be for the individual to reevaluate what the he or she has been indoctrinated to believe. To promote and encourage reality-testing. Likewise, after the counseling succeeds in achieving this purpose, the individual is encouraged to continue on (if they want to) their spiritual journey. For more information about my approach please read the Frequently Asked Questions about the Strategic Interaction Approach. On my web site.
One of stated biases as a counselor is to encourage the individual to understand their own spiritual roots as a necessary part of regaining a solid footing. For example, if a person was raised Catholic and was recruited into the ICC, with their heavy anti-Catholic bias, I think it is very important for the ex-member to speak with Catholic representatives to help neutralize the indoctrination. For many, it will take many weeks or months before they feel ready to investigate anything spiritual. For others, healthy recovery includes actively participating in a spiritual practice and community. For still others, the healthy choice is to not believe and choose humanism or agnosticism. To this end, I can call on my friend, Tom Ferrick, Humanist chaplain at Harvard.
The key is empowering people to think for themselves. I am very interested in receiving suggestions and feedback about this article and this website, in an effort to continue to make it improve, so that we may help as many people as possible.
Steven Hassan January 29, 2002
Introductions by Lama Surya Das and Steven Hassan
Lama Surya Das
As a Westerner who has become a fully ordained Tibetan Buddhist lama, I have devoted over twenty five years of my life in spiritual practice, establishing meditation centers and monasteries, and teaching others how to further their own practice. Helping to bring a rich religious tradition to the West has been exciting, gratifying, and very meaningful for me. However, when a religion makes a transition from one culture to another, there is fertile ground for all sorts of new developments, both positive and negative. Awareness of these issues can become extremely significant.
As a leader, I wish to be aware of my own responsibility in helping people to find themselves and experience that which is wholesome, useful, and beneficial, while sidestepping the rest. Great good has been brought forth by new religious groups in recent decades. Yet, I am disturbed by certain patterns of abuses that routinely occur along the spiritual path, which is why I am writing this article and researching this subject. All groups exhibit certain characteristic problems. If and when they become destructive and damaging, these characteristics are genuine cause for concern.
When I first began teaching Buddhism six years ago, the Dalai Lama himself told me not to be afraid to make mistakes, but to continue to learn from them. He added, "Be creative. Each decision you make ought to be motivated by compassion. Seek to contribute to others, not to convert others." Motivation and intention are determining factors in the result of our actions. Buddha said, "As we think, so we become."
We are all aware of the dangers of placing anyone or anything upon a pedestal and the disillusionment that almost inevitably ensues. Few today are ignorant of the dangers and corrupting influence of dogma, dependence, and the misuse of power. "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely," Lord Acton wrote. Sectarianism, insularity, and aggressive proselytizing can easily turn into fanaticism, authoritarianism, and even fascism. Yet are we as aware of the more subtle, almost addictive joys of believing, of joining, and the too-often attendant sorrows and disappointments? Are we aware of the seductions of surrendering ourselves to something seemingly greater than us, of the security and comfort of belonging, of conforming, of feeling part of things?
The more deeply we experience and realize our own inalienable connectedness and integral place in the universe, the freer and more consciously aware we can be regarding what we do in life, and whom we choose to associate with, for how long, and why. The less conscious we are, the more the unacknowledged and unknown, dark forces in our psyche drive us - often driving us where we might not wish to go.
We have been through an intense era of social change that has given rise to alternatives and new forms of all kinds. The cover article in the Nov. 28th, 1994, Newsweek was entitled "The Search for the Sacred: America's Quest for Spiritual Meaning." The magazine reported: "Fifty-eight percent of Americans polled feel the need to experience spiritual growth." It seems safe to say that most people are seeking something. The emergence of new groups and intentional communities has doubtless accomplished far more good than harm. But how, where, and with whom we explore our spiritual and personal growth remains, as ever, extraordinarily important. Along with the flourishing spiritual marketplace come abusive gurus, exploitative teachers, messiahs, prophets, therapists, and mind-controlling groups. In fact, most of us routinely participate in some form or other of cultic behavior: repressing dissent; devaluing outsiders; depending too much on leaders and authority figures; seeking totalistic solutions to existential problems; feeling superior and even self-righteous; resisting the wish of leave-takers to depart, etc.
We must learn from the past if we do not want to keep repeating our mistakes. For a sane, healthy, and harmonious future to be possible, I think that we must be very honest with ourselves and each other, and engender leadership (not merely followership) in others, bringing out the best in each and all of us.
In my endeavor to learn more about the mostly unexamined dark side of the spiritual marketplace, I have become aware of Steven Hassan, author of the well-known book Combatting Cult Mind Control. Steve was deceptively recruited into a front group of the Moon organization in the early 1970s and spent more than two years in the cult as one of its American leaders. After a serious car accident and numerous days of counseling, he came to realize that the Moon organization was, in reality, very different from what he wanted to believe it was. He made the decision to leave the organization and expose its illegal and unethical activities. He is now a licensed mental health counselor in Boston and has worked for nearly two decades to help educate the public about the dangers of destructive mind control cults. His work also involves helping individuals and their families heal from abusive involvements. He is also no stranger to spirituality and to alternatives to mainstream religion, being someone who values the spirit and regularly practices meditation and prayer.
Some groups may feel threatened by scientific research on cultic behavior and mind control (thought-reform, brainwashing, hypnosis) techniques. They need not feel that way, if they behave ethically and provide choice without undue, coercive influence. Many scholars and researchers in this field, like ourselves, respect religious beliefs and religious systems and can appreciate diversity, endorse basic human rights, and support individuals and groups following their own way.
As a full time member of a religious order, I personally have found Steve's perspective, work, and experience of immense interest, being both fascinating and beneficial. This sort of diagnostic mental health approach to the actions of groups and individuals - rather than focusing on their purported beliefs - seems quite relevant in understanding what is happening in society and in our own minds today regarding various new movements.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to objectively evaluate a belief system from within it. Yet it can often seem unfair to judge belief systems from the point of view of an outside observer. Most human beings uphold blatant irrational beliefs, for better or for worse. Better that we scrutinize ourselves and our own groups regarding our own weaknesses and learn from them rather than have them blow up in our faces later.
Dr. Herbert Guenther, the foremost contemporary Buddhist scholar, uses the term cultic when describing the behavior of certain early followers of the Buddha, who mistakenly worshipped the man rather than the truth of his message and the enlightenment he embodied and taught. The historical Buddha himself forbade his followers from making images of him.
In the sixth century BC, the historical Buddha said:
Rely not on the teacher/person, but on the teaching.
Rely not on the words of the teaching, but on the spirit of the words.
Rely not on theory, but on experience.
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
Do not believe anything because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything because it is written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
Kalama Sutra (ancient Buddhist text)
Lest we misunderstand each other, we must remember that the words we use each have different associations for each of us. Concepts are not reality, but a mere shadow of it - the map is not the territory. I also want to caution you not to become blinded by the truth and power of words either. I am aware of at least one non-Buddhist destructive group which uses this same quote from Buddha and uses it to recruit people into a state of blind obedience and servitude. In order for Buddha's words to have real meaning, they must be applied behaviorally on a daily basis.
I think that if we can enjoy authentic public discourse and free inquiry into the matters that concern us, we must endeavor in our discussions to explore, to know for ourselves, and to communicate how things actually are - if we are to live a sane, righteous, and even a decent life. While seeking truth, let us not overlook the simple virtues of honesty and ethical behavior. Then even stumbling blocks can become stepping stones along the way.
The Buddha exhorts us "to be a lamp unto ourselves, that one's innate purity of heart is the sole refuge." I hope that the following pages will elucidate some of the spiritual issues that are part of an ongoing discussion about freedom, democracy, and human rights today.
Steven Hassan
Whenever the subject of mind control comes up, an almost inevitable discussion ensues about family systems, advertising, salespeople, the military, and the even the Catholic Church. A great confusion currently exists concerning how to make meaningful distinctions. I have heard people say that "everything is mind control." Overgeneralizations like this obscure important distinctions. As a person who has spent almost two decades researching and considering this topic, I offer the following thoughts.
All influence processes can be visualized as falling somewhere along a continuum. In one direction of the continuum, mind control techniques can be regarded as positive and constructive, promoting understanding and choice while respecting an individual's integrity. In the other direction, mind control is regarded as destructive and constricts understanding and choice while undermining personal integrity. Since mind control techniques are not inherently good or evil, they can be used ethically and practically to enhance our lives, expand choices, and to cultivate our creativity and individuality.
These techniques can also be used to destroy individuality, stunt personal growth, and create virtual slaves, as exemplified by Jim Jones, David Koresh, and Adolf Hitler. People can be deceptively manipulated and indoctrinated to distrust their ability to feel, to think, and to make mature decisions. Destructive cults want to control people to enable them to expand their temporal power and raise money. They exist to serve totalistic dictators, not to serve the people. They desire to rule through power, not with the power of love. Charismatic leaders often stray into temptation to exploit their power over others in dangerous ways.
The locus of control for the use of mind control techniques should lie within our selves, not with some external authority figure. True spirituality demands personal awareness and responsibility. The right to believe whatever you want should be upheld. However, behaviors must be scrutinized in order to protect human liberty. Behaviorally, all relationships and involvements can be evaluated by objective criteria such as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (available at any library or through Amnesty International).
The position that religious groups should not be scrutinized is most vigorously promoted by organizations that have notoriously bad histories of abuse. They have spent large amounts of money in public relations campaigns and have even funded publications and conferences to support their positions. They have also expended great effort to do propaganda campaigns to attack former members and critics in an effort to neutralize the dissemination of factual information. I have personally been subjected to incredible harassment, with extraordinary lies manufactured about me that I kidnap and even torture people to renounce their religious beliefs. While I have been subjected to nuisance law suits, systematic attempts to character assassinate me, and efforts to intimidate me to stop my criticisms, I refuse to be silent. I choose to exercise my First Amendment right to speak freely, and I offer proof for what I say. I suppose that I should feel good that destructive cults attack me so blatantly as proof that I am being effective.
On another extreme, I am criticized by some people who dislike the fact that I believe in and publicly defend spiritual practices such as prayer and meditation. Some people angrily tell me that all religion is bad and all religious leaders are dishonest. Those people, it seems, have had some really bad experiences and, in my opinion, have "thrown the baby out with the bath water." It is lamentable that so many people have had such bad experiences. It appears that they are afraid to trust anything that can't be analyzed and proven "scientifically." Their capacity to fully develop, take risks, and grow are seriously diminished. I feel sorry for people who have adopted a rigid posture toward life which will only validate an analytic, linear model for understanding. Without imagination, wonder, and trust in non-analytic, intuitive ways of knowing, people can become cynical, defensive and even paranoid.
I know that fasting, silence, solitude, sleep deprivation, and other techniques have long been used by different religious traditions. I believe they can be very useful and liberating in terms of unfreezing one's own habitual conditioning. They become unethical and destructive when they are used in combination with deception and a diminution of personal choice and integrity.
Due to my own cult experience, I have had to do some very intense personal reflection. I have had to sort out the good experiences from the bad while a member of the Moon cult. In retrospect, I can say without a doubt that a good deal of my personal spiritual experience was valid and had a beneficial impact on my development. As a result, I have had to really examine myself thoroughly and consciously evaluate my beliefs and actions. Fortunately, my core spirituality preceded my Moonie indoctrination, and so when I left that group, I had some basic beliefs to return to as a kind of stable base. For example, I believe that love is stronger than fear and that truth is stronger than lies.
My own spiritual path has shown me the importance of balance and the necessity of being in touch with your thoughts and feelings. I believe that true spiritual growth demands awareness and responsibility and not just blind submission to another human being or to the dogma of some unseen deity. I have come to the conclusion that, for me, spiritual traditions that focus on healing the mind/body relationship and on the inseparable relationship between the sacred and the profane, rather than fostering a split of mind/body brings more satisfying results. What I mean by this is acknowledging and accepting feelings, thoughts, and needs rather than denying them or pretending that they do not exist. For me, what makes sense is wholeness, not fragmentation. Love rather than fear and guilt should be the prime motivator. I choose to believe in a basically friendly universe, rather than a hostile universe. Lacking an objective, absolute reference point for "truth," I prefer to believe in the goodness of life because it feels "right" and because the alternative would be too bleak. Of course, I believe that there are many legitimate paths to developing one's spirituality. I believe that it is up to each person to take responsibility for his or her own life.
Therefore, contrary to the disinformation put out against me by destructive cults, I am very liberal and open minded about new religions. However, just because it is new doesn't make it healthy or bone fide. Likewise, the more extreme the claim is by the leader and the doctrine, the more caution I recommend before becoming involved. For example, just because a person claims to be the most spiritually advanced being on earth in the past 25,000 years doesn't make it so. There are so many psychics, mediums, and channelers today who are making claims of special wisdom and spiritual knowledge. People must learn to be more discerning and to not merely accept passively. I believe if an individual is legitimate, he or she will be honest and forthright in all communications and actions. An atmosphere where questions and skepticism are accepted and even encouraged is a good sign of a healthy group. Also, there will be no heavy pressure for quick and full commitments. A spiritual leader will exemplify those qualities that show love, compassion, and respect. I have been impressed by Western spiritual leaders like lama Surya Das and Jack Kornfield who demonstrate through their actions that their quest for enlightened living and healthy group process is achievable today.
I also strongly recommend that periodically - at least once or twice each year - a "vacation" be taken to step out of your environment and "reality test." Ask yourself: When I started doing "x" what were my goals? What were my expectations? Where did I think I would be in one year? Five years, Ten years? If I knew then (at the beginning of "x") what I know now, would I still do "x"? If not, why not? What would you do differently? If I hadn't done "x," what would I have likely done? Also, if I had a magic wand and I could be doing now what I really would like to do, what would that be?
In the following pages, I have:
--Helped to compile some basic assessment questions that can help people to "reality-test."
--Summarized the four basic components of mind control from my book Combatting Cult Mind Control to help provide a basis for evaluation.
--Summarized the three stages of mind control by Kurt Lewin as described by Edgar Schein in Coercive Persuasion (Norton,1961).
--Summarized Robert Jay Lifton's eight themes of thought reform based on his research of the Communist "re-education" programs of Mao Tse-tung.These were taken from Chapter 22 of his seminal book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism.
I hope that reading and thinking about these perspectives will help to shed light on the behaviors of individuals and organizations. (Additionally, you might want to read a copy of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.)
Unless we all acknowledge our questions now, they will remain like skeletons in our psyches until the day they are dealt with and resolved. They will never go away permanently, even if we do years of chanting, praying, affirmations, and other spiritual practices. We must use wisdom, gentleness, self inquiry, and courage to guide us in upholding our integrity.
Unselfishness, kindness, gentleness, and compassion should be a basic living principle, not just an ideal. When individuals claim to be spiritually more developed, and put themselves in the role of guru, swami, master, prophet, these virtues must be consistently demonstrated. We must not allow our desires to know "Absolute Truth" to blind us from observing obvious discrepancies in our teacher's behaviors. We must become sensitive to the tactic that illegitimate leaders use by turning our questions or comments around and using them blame or shame us into obedience. A legitimate question or concern demands a respectful response, not evasion or coercion.
We must also not look at the past and traditions blindly, but with an appreciation for the present and a clear vision for our future on the spaceship Earth we cohabit.
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Questions to Help the Assessment Process
1. Who is the leader?
What are his/her background and qualifications?
Have you relied solely on trust that all of the information you were given is true or have you done independent investigation?
Do you feel pressure to accept and not question at all?
Is it possible that there are misrepresentations or falsehoods?
Is there external corroboration for extraordinary claims of accomplishment or are they simply his/her say-so?
If "miracles" have been performed, can they be replicated under open observation or even under scientific conditions?
Are there other explanations for the "miracles," such as magic tricks, hypnosis, etc.?
If there is a former leader or member, have you sought him or her out to hear for yourself critical information? If not, are you afraid to trust your ability to discern the truthfulness of what you learn?
If you find yourself saying that you don't care if there are major deceptions, ask yourself if you knew this information before you became involved, would you have even bothered to make a commitment of time and money?
2. Are there exclusive claims made to wisdom, knowledge, love, and truth? If so, the burden of proof is on the leader to demonstrate his or her superiority, not on members to disprove it. A truly "developed" spiritual being exudes love, compassion, and humility. Any person who claims to be "superior" but does not practice what they preach is of questionable character. There is never inconsistency between words and deeds. A person who uses fear and phobia indoctrination to control followers demonstrates insecurity and lack of spiritual maturity.
3. Is total submission and obedience required? Any relationship that demands giving up one's personal integrity and conscience is dangerous and leads to totalitarianism. Be wary of those who advocate "the ends justify the means," especially when it clearly serves their own self-interest. Also, make sure that your desire "to believe" doesn't simply activate the common psychological defense mechanisms: denial, rationalization, justification, and wishful thinking. If a doctrine is true or a person is truly spiritually advanced, they will stand up to the scrutiny of objective evaluation. If they do not prove themselves, they are probably not worthy of your commitment and devotion.
4. Does he/ she have a criminal record, a legacy of allegations against him/her or a history of misconduct? If there are allegations of misconduct against the leader, the responsible follower must seek out the negative information and the sources of that information to evaluate the truth. If a leader claims to be celibate and allegations are made that the leader engaged in inappropriate sex, this is an extreme violation of integrity. It must be investigated vigorously. It is never appropriate for teachers, therapists, or spiritual masters to take advantage of a power differential over followers. This is especially true in the area of sexuality. It is grossly unethical to engage in sexual relations with someone who has placed their trust in as a teacher/advisor/master. Many followers are incredibly vulnerable to this and unable to resist sexual intimacy. Anyone should be able to say "no."
Is he or she a "trust bandit," stealing hearts, souls, minds, bodies, and pocketbooks for his or her own ends?
5. Does the leader demonstrate psychological problems and awareness of their existence?
Does the leader have addictions to power, drugs, alcohol, sex, even television or shopping?
Does the leader have emotional outbursts?
Does the leader physically abuse followers?
Does the leader drive expensive cars and wear expensive clothes while extolling the virtues of renunciation?
Does the leader financially exploit followers by expecting them to live in poverty while he or she indulges in luxury?
Is the group or leader's driveway habitually filled with luxury cars while ordinary people find him or her inaccessible and unreachable?
Does the leader ever encourage deception or use deception as a "technique" to trick followers into so-called correct thinking and understanding?
Codependent behavior by a spiritual teacher should be a warning sign of danger. Codependency includes: obsessively trying to control others; allowing people to hurt and use them; lack of clear boundaries; being reactive, not proactive; tunnel-visioned; obsessive worrying and denial; expectations of perfection and suppression of human needs. (Beattie, Beyond Codependency, Harper/Hazelden, 1989)
6. Are questions and doubts permitted within the organization? A healthy spiritual environment must engage individual followers at their level of experience and should encourage them to feel and think and therefore question their beliefs and exercise good decision-making. In this way, the follower can investigate, discriminate, and test the dogma and the environment they are being asked to accept, between what his or her personal issues are and what might be an unhealthy environment. If intense pressure is used to dissuade people who wish to talk with former members or critics, it is a clear sign of information control. Controlling information is one of the most essential components of mind control.
7. Is the organization open or closed? Are there organizational secrets?
Are there "in" groups and "out" groups? Are there restricted teachings for initiates only?
Are there secret texts and publications "for your eyes only"? Is there real financial accountability? If a group says that you can look at its accounting records, does it actually provide access? The only way to know is to ask to see the records. If you are afraid to ask, what does this say about the atmosphere of the group?
8. What structural checks and balances exist within the organization to prevent abuse of power? Are there divisive sectarian biases, even in the name of interdenominational ecumenicism and universality? Is there an independent "ethics" committee to challenge and change policies of the group? If there are abuses or injustices, what structure exists to correct them? Can anyone legitimately question the actions of the leader without threat of emotional withdraw or fear of expulsion to "hell"? Do the rich and powerful get preferential treatment? Are "indulgences" (spiritual pardons) sold?
Is there a "code of silence" against unethical behavior of leaders?
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Mind Control - The BITE Model
From chapter two of Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves © 2000 by Steven Hassan; published by Freedom of Mind Press, Somerville MA
Destructive mind control can be understood in terms of four basic components, which form the acronym BITE:
I. Behavior Control
II. Information Control
III. Thought Control
IV. Emotional Control
It is important to understand that destructive mind control can be determined when the overall effect of these four components promotes dependency and obedience to some leader or cause. It is not necessary for every single item on the list to be present. Mind controlled cult members can live in their own apartments, have nine-to-five jobs, be married with children, and still be unable to think for themselves and act independently.
I. Behavior Control
1. Regulation of individual's physical reality
a. Where, how and with whom the member lives and associates with
b. What clothes, colors, hairstyles the person wears
c. What food the person eats, drinks, adopts, and rejects
d. How much sleep the person is able to have
e. Financial dependence
f. Little or no time spent on leisure, entertainment, vacations
2. Major time commitment required for indoctrination sessions and group rituals
3. Need to ask permission for major decisions
4. Need to report thoughts, feelings and activities to superiors
5. Rewards and punishments (behavior modification techniques- positive and negative).
6. Individualism discouraged; group think prevails
7. Rigid rules and regulations
8. Need for obedience and dependency
II. Information Control
1. Use of deception
a. Deliberately holding back information
b. Distorting information to make it acceptable
c. Outright lying
2. Access to non-cult sources of information minimized or discouraged
a. Books, articles, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio
b. Critical information
c. Former members
d. Keep members so busy they don't have time to think
3. Compartmentalization of information; Outsider vs. Insider doctrines
a. Information is not freely accessible
b. Information varies at different levels and missions within pyramid
c. Leadership decides who "needs to know" what
4. Spying on other members is encouraged
a. Pairing up with "buddy" system to monitor and control
b. Reporting deviant thoughts, feelings, and actions to leadership
5. Extensive use of cult generated information and propaganda
a. Newsletters, magazines, journals, audio tapes, videotapes, etc.
b. Misquotations, statements taken out of context from non-cult sources
6. Unethical use of confession
a. Information about "sins" used to abolish identity boundaries
b. Past "sins" used to manipulate and control; no forgiveness or absolution
III. Thought Control
1. Need to internalize the group's doctrine as "Truth"
a. Map = Reality
b. Black and White thinking
c. Good vs. evil
d. Us vs. them (inside vs. outside)
2. Adopt "loaded" language (characterized by "thought-terminating clichés"). Words are the tools we use to think with. These "special" words constrict rather than expand understanding. They function to reduce complexities of experience into trite, platitudinous "buzz words".
3. Only "good" and "proper" thoughts are encouraged.
4. Thought-stopping techniques (to shut down "reality testing" by stopping "negative" thoughts and allowing only "good" thoughts); rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism.
a. Denial, rationalization, justification, wishful thinking
b. Chanting
c. Meditating
d. Praying
e. Speaking in "tongues"
f. Singing or humming
5. No critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy seen as legitimate
6. No alternative belief systems viewed as legitimate, good, or useful
IV. Emotional Control
1. Manipulate and narrow the range of a person's feelings.
2. Make the person feel like if there are ever any problems it is always their fault, never the leader's or the group's.
3. Excessive use of guilt
a. Identity guilt
1. Who you are (not living up to your potential)
2. Your family
3. Your past
4. Your affiliations
5. Your thoughts, feelings, actions
b. Social guilt
c. Historical guilt
4. Excessive use of fear
a. Fear of thinking independently
b. Fear of the "outside" world
c. Fear of enemies
d. Fear of losing one's "salvation"
e. Fear of leaving the group or being shunned by group
f. Fear of disapproval
5. Extremes of emotional highs and lows.
6. Ritual and often public confession of "sins".
7. Phobia indoctrination : programming of irrational fears of ever leaving the group or even questioning the leader's authority. The person under mind control cannot visualize a positive, fulfilled future without being in the group.
a. No happiness or fulfillment "outside" of the group
b. Terrible consequences will take place if you leave: "hell"; "demon possession"; "incurable diseases"; "accidents"; "suicide"; "insanity"; "10,000 reincarnations"; etc.
c. Shunning of leave takers. Fear of being rejected by friends, peers, and family.
d. Never a legitimate reason to leave. From the group's perspective, people who leave are: "weak"; "undisciplined"; "unspiritual"; "worldly"; "brainwashed by family, counselors"; seduced by money, sex, rock and roll.
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The Three Stages of Gaining Control of the Mind
[Adapted from Kurt Lewin's three-stage model as described in Coercive Persuasion (Norton, 1961) by Edgar Schein]
1. Unfreezing
a. Disorientation / confusion
b. Sensory deprivation and/or sensory overload
c. Physiological manipulation
1. Sleep deprivation
2. Privacy deprivation
3. Change of diet
d. Hypnosis
1. Age regression
2. Visualizations
3. Story-telling and metaphors
4. Linguistic double binds, use of suggestion
5. Meditation, chanting, praying, singing
e. Get person to question self identity
f. Redefine individual's past (implant false memories, forget positive memories of the past)
2. Changing
a. Creation and imposition of new "identity" done step by step
1. Formally within indoctrination sessions
2. Informally by members, tapes, books, etc.
b. Use of Behavior Modification techniques
1. Rewards and punishments
2. Use of thought-stopping techniques
3. Control of environment
c. Mystical manipulation
d. Use of hypnosis and other mind-altering techniques
1. Repetition, monotony, rhythm
2. Excessive chanting, praying, decreeing, visualizations
e. Use of confession and testimonials
3. Refreezing
a. New identity reinforced, old identity surrendered
1.Separate from the past; decrease contact or cut off friends and family
2. Give up meaningful possessions and donate assets
3. Start doing cult activities: recruit, fundraise, move in with members
b. New name, new clothing, new hairstyle, new language, new "family"
c. Pairing up with new role models, buddy system
d. Indoctrination continues: Workshops, retreats, seminars, individual studies, group activities
Remember, cult mind control does not erase the person's old identity, but rather creates a new one to suppress the old identity (John-John and John-cult).
Lifton's Thought Reform Model
Adapted from Robert Jay Lifton's Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism (Norton, 1961: reprinted 1989 by the University of North Carolina Press)
Dr. Lifton's work was the outgrowth of his studies for military intelligence of Mao Tse-Tung's "thought-reform programs" commonly known as "brainwashing." In Chapter 22, Lifton outlines eight criteria for when any environment can be understood as exercising "thought-reform" or mind control. Lifton wrote that any group has some aspects of these points. However, if an environment has all eight of these points and implements them in the extreme, then there is unhealthy thought reform taking place.
1. Milieu Control
Environment control and the control of human communication. Not just communication between people but communication within people's minds to themselves.
2. Mystical Manipulation
Everyone is manipulating everyone, under the belief that it advances the "ultimate purpose." Experiences are engineered to appear to be spontaneous, when, in fact, they are contrived to have a deliberate effect. People misattribute their experiences to spiritual causes when, in fact, they are concocted by human beings.
3. Loading the Language
Controlling words help to control people's thoughts. A totalist group uses totalist language to make reality compressed into black or white-"thought-terminating clichés." Non-members cannot simply understand what believers are talking about. The words constrict rather than expand human understanding.
4. Doctrine Over Person
No matter what a person experiences, it is the belief of the dogma which is important. Group belief supersedes conscience and integrity.
5. The Sacred Science
The group's belief is that their dogma is absolutely scientific and morally true. No alternative viewpoint is allowed. No questions of the dogma are permitted.
6. The Cult of Confession
The environment demands that personal boundaries are destroyed and that every thought, feeling, or action that does not conform with the group's rules be confessed; little or no privacy.
7. The Demand for Purity
The creation of a guilt and shame milieu by holding up standards of perfection that no human being can accomplish. People are punished and learn to punish themselves for not living up to the group's ideals.
8. The Dispensing of Existence
The group decides who has a right to exist and does not. There is no other legitimate alternative to the group. In political regimes, this permits state executions.
Hopefully, this summary will motivate you to read the entire Chapter 22, if not the entire book. It is considered to be one of the most important descriptions of political mind-control programs. It is also important to note, that now there are 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation mind-control groups and the patterns have evolved and become more refined and sophisticated.
This booklet was prepared by Steven Hassan with Lama Surya Das. If you wish to contact us regarding counseling, workshops, or seminars, please do so at:
716 Beacon Street
#590443
Newton, MA 02459
Telephone: (617) 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153
Email: center@freedomofmind.com
The Freedom of Mind Resource Center is at www.freedomofmind.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
About Steven Hassan and Lama Surya Das
Steven Hassan is one of America's leading cult counselors, employing the Strategic Interaction Approach to help people leave destructive groups. He has been involved in educating the public about destructive cults in America for over twenty-seven years (2003). He is a licensed mental health counselor, a nationally certified counselor and holds a Master's degree in counseling psychology from Cambridge College. In 2000, his acclaimed book Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves was published by Freedom of Mind Press. It is also available in Polish, Russian, and Chinese with other language texts being prepared. Steven Hassan appeared on virtually every major news program in America, including "60 Minutes" and "Nightline."
Lama Surya Das is an American meditation teacher, poet, Buddhist scholar, translator, and social activist. He is the author of The Snow Lion's Turquoise Mane: Wisdom Tales From Tibet (Harper San Francisco, 1992) and is editor/translator of Natural Great Perfection by Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche (Snow Lion Publications, 1995). Founder of the Dzogchen Foundation, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he conducts meditation retreats worldwide and organizes the Western Buddhist Meditation Teachers Conference with the Dalai Lama.
© Freedom of Mind Resource Center, Inc. 1999-2004
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Spiritual Responsibility: Avoiding Abuses and Pitfalls Along the Path
by Steven Hassan M.Ed, LMHC, NCC
and Lama Surya Das
Copyright © Freedom of Mind Resource Center 1995, 2004
All Rights Reserved
New Preface by Steven Hassan (Copyright © 2002)
Introduction
Questions to Help the Assessment Process
Mind Control - The BITE Model
Three Stages of Gaining Control of the Mind
Dr. Robert Jay Lifton's Thought Reform Model
About Steven Hassan and Lama Surya Das
Preface
This article offers some vital "consumer" guidelines and specific questions that should be asked when considering any involvement with a spiritual group. I asked my friend, lama Surya Das, the first officially ordained western Tibetan buddhist lama to give his perspective, and he graciously wrote an introduction for me from a Buddhist perspective. My intention was always to add perspectives from respected people from all the major world religions into the introduction, and hopefully this will be done in the coming months.
Unfortunately, some people looked at Surya's introduction and jumped to a false conclusion that I had abandoned my Judaism and became a buddhist. This was never the case, although in my spiritual journey I have tried to learn about other traditions. Also, in my role as a professional counselor, it is a necessity for me to understand a good deal about many religious traditions, in order to help my clients see how destructive cult leaders and their groups were deviating from core values, practices and religious traditions.
In a desire to be clear about my own spiritual orientation and with no interest in trying to convert anyone, I am a member of an independent Jewish congregation in Brookline, Massachusetts called Temple Beth Zion (www.tbzbrookline.org). The rabbi is Moshe Waldoks and the orientation is one of Jewish renewal. I have been a member there since 1998 and I can truly say that I have felt I have found my spiritual "home." At the congregation, we pray, meditate, chant, sing, dance, study, share and are very involved with doing service to the community. The focus in on encouraging each member to learn, grow and participate at their own speed. The rabbis are non-dogmatic and encourage questions and demonstrate responsibility and accountability. There is humor. There is joy. There is a sense of a vibrant spiritual community. We are interested in being inclusive and not being exclusive. For example, at the end of each Friday night Shabbat service, we recite a prayer of peace from one of the other world religious traditions before reciting the Jewish prayer for peace.
You might wonder what my orientation might be when I am counseling someone from a destructive religious cult? First and foremost, I always try my best to address my client's interests and needs, not my own. Secondly, my focus is on helping the person to think for themselves to validate each person's right to be an individual, to get in touch with their own thoughts, feelings and freedom of choice.
I disclose my belief in God, and my belief that Judaism, Christianity and Islam (as well as other wisdom traditions) are all based on two fundamental commandments: Love God with all your heart, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. If asked, I tell my clients that I believe we were intended to each be unique individuals, with talents and abilities intended to be used by us to help the greater community. I tell my clients that I believe that God wants us to have free will and to have the freedom to choose to follow God. It is my belief that if God wanted us to be mind-controlled slaves, (S)He would have made us incapable of disobedience.
My counseling approach is custom tailored to each client's background and current needs. However, I cannot be all things to all people. Sometimes, being an expert on cults, mind control as well as a licensed counselor is not enough. So, I usually ask former cult members to assist me as well as other experts. For example, whenever I am called on to counsel an individual from a Christian Bible cult like Kip McKean's International Churches of Christ (ICC) not to be confused with the mainstream Church of Christ or the United Church of Christ, I ask an orthodox Christian (often my minister friend, Rev. Bob Pardon) to assist me in addressing theological and Biblical issues. The focus is on offering a grounded, orthodox theological perspective, not to proselytize. I have grave concerns about any cult counselors who use their own religious orientation to "save" cult members into their one "true" church or religious institution. This goes for Jewish cult ministries too. I think the focus must begin on dealing with the cult mind control issues, enabling the person to think for themselves. For this reason, I will only accept cases in which the families agrees that I am not being hired to "get the person back to their religion", but to do what they want to do. Again, the focus must be for the individual to reevaluate what the he or she has been indoctrinated to believe. To promote and encourage reality-testing. Likewise, after the counseling succeeds in achieving this purpose, the individual is encouraged to continue on (if they want to) their spiritual journey. For more information about my approach please read the Frequently Asked Questions about the Strategic Interaction Approach. On my web site.
One of stated biases as a counselor is to encourage the individual to understand their own spiritual roots as a necessary part of regaining a solid footing. For example, if a person was raised Catholic and was recruited into the ICC, with their heavy anti-Catholic bias, I think it is very important for the ex-member to speak with Catholic representatives to help neutralize the indoctrination. For many, it will take many weeks or months before they feel ready to investigate anything spiritual. For others, healthy recovery includes actively participating in a spiritual practice and community. For still others, the healthy choice is to not believe and choose humanism or agnosticism. To this end, I can call on my friend, Tom Ferrick, Humanist chaplain at Harvard.
The key is empowering people to think for themselves. I am very interested in receiving suggestions and feedback about this article and this website, in an effort to continue to make it improve, so that we may help as many people as possible.
Steven Hassan January 29, 2002
Introductions by Lama Surya Das and Steven Hassan
Lama Surya Das
As a Westerner who has become a fully ordained Tibetan Buddhist lama, I have devoted over twenty five years of my life in spiritual practice, establishing meditation centers and monasteries, and teaching others how to further their own practice. Helping to bring a rich religious tradition to the West has been exciting, gratifying, and very meaningful for me. However, when a religion makes a transition from one culture to another, there is fertile ground for all sorts of new developments, both positive and negative. Awareness of these issues can become extremely significant.
As a leader, I wish to be aware of my own responsibility in helping people to find themselves and experience that which is wholesome, useful, and beneficial, while sidestepping the rest. Great good has been brought forth by new religious groups in recent decades. Yet, I am disturbed by certain patterns of abuses that routinely occur along the spiritual path, which is why I am writing this article and researching this subject. All groups exhibit certain characteristic problems. If and when they become destructive and damaging, these characteristics are genuine cause for concern.
When I first began teaching Buddhism six years ago, the Dalai Lama himself told me not to be afraid to make mistakes, but to continue to learn from them. He added, "Be creative. Each decision you make ought to be motivated by compassion. Seek to contribute to others, not to convert others." Motivation and intention are determining factors in the result of our actions. Buddha said, "As we think, so we become."
We are all aware of the dangers of placing anyone or anything upon a pedestal and the disillusionment that almost inevitably ensues. Few today are ignorant of the dangers and corrupting influence of dogma, dependence, and the misuse of power. "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely," Lord Acton wrote. Sectarianism, insularity, and aggressive proselytizing can easily turn into fanaticism, authoritarianism, and even fascism. Yet are we as aware of the more subtle, almost addictive joys of believing, of joining, and the too-often attendant sorrows and disappointments? Are we aware of the seductions of surrendering ourselves to something seemingly greater than us, of the security and comfort of belonging, of conforming, of feeling part of things?
The more deeply we experience and realize our own inalienable connectedness and integral place in the universe, the freer and more consciously aware we can be regarding what we do in life, and whom we choose to associate with, for how long, and why. The less conscious we are, the more the unacknowledged and unknown, dark forces in our psyche drive us - often driving us where we might not wish to go.
We have been through an intense era of social change that has given rise to alternatives and new forms of all kinds. The cover article in the Nov. 28th, 1994, Newsweek was entitled "The Search for the Sacred: America's Quest for Spiritual Meaning." The magazine reported: "Fifty-eight percent of Americans polled feel the need to experience spiritual growth." It seems safe to say that most people are seeking something. The emergence of new groups and intentional communities has doubtless accomplished far more good than harm. But how, where, and with whom we explore our spiritual and personal growth remains, as ever, extraordinarily important. Along with the flourishing spiritual marketplace come abusive gurus, exploitative teachers, messiahs, prophets, therapists, and mind-controlling groups. In fact, most of us routinely participate in some form or other of cultic behavior: repressing dissent; devaluing outsiders; depending too much on leaders and authority figures; seeking totalistic solutions to existential problems; feeling superior and even self-righteous; resisting the wish of leave-takers to depart, etc.
We must learn from the past if we do not want to keep repeating our mistakes. For a sane, healthy, and harmonious future to be possible, I think that we must be very honest with ourselves and each other, and engender leadership (not merely followership) in others, bringing out the best in each and all of us.
In my endeavor to learn more about the mostly unexamined dark side of the spiritual marketplace, I have become aware of Steven Hassan, author of the well-known book Combatting Cult Mind Control. Steve was deceptively recruited into a front group of the Moon organization in the early 1970s and spent more than two years in the cult as one of its American leaders. After a serious car accident and numerous days of counseling, he came to realize that the Moon organization was, in reality, very different from what he wanted to believe it was. He made the decision to leave the organization and expose its illegal and unethical activities. He is now a licensed mental health counselor in Boston and has worked for nearly two decades to help educate the public about the dangers of destructive mind control cults. His work also involves helping individuals and their families heal from abusive involvements. He is also no stranger to spirituality and to alternatives to mainstream religion, being someone who values the spirit and regularly practices meditation and prayer.
Some groups may feel threatened by scientific research on cultic behavior and mind control (thought-reform, brainwashing, hypnosis) techniques. They need not feel that way, if they behave ethically and provide choice without undue, coercive influence. Many scholars and researchers in this field, like ourselves, respect religious beliefs and religious systems and can appreciate diversity, endorse basic human rights, and support individuals and groups following their own way.
As a full time member of a religious order, I personally have found Steve's perspective, work, and experience of immense interest, being both fascinating and beneficial. This sort of diagnostic mental health approach to the actions of groups and individuals - rather than focusing on their purported beliefs - seems quite relevant in understanding what is happening in society and in our own minds today regarding various new movements.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to objectively evaluate a belief system from within it. Yet it can often seem unfair to judge belief systems from the point of view of an outside observer. Most human beings uphold blatant irrational beliefs, for better or for worse. Better that we scrutinize ourselves and our own groups regarding our own weaknesses and learn from them rather than have them blow up in our faces later.
Dr. Herbert Guenther, the foremost contemporary Buddhist scholar, uses the term cultic when describing the behavior of certain early followers of the Buddha, who mistakenly worshipped the man rather than the truth of his message and the enlightenment he embodied and taught. The historical Buddha himself forbade his followers from making images of him.
In the sixth century BC, the historical Buddha said:
Rely not on the teacher/person, but on the teaching.
Rely not on the words of the teaching, but on the spirit of the words.
Rely not on theory, but on experience.
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
Do not believe anything because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything because it is written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
Kalama Sutra (ancient Buddhist text)
Lest we misunderstand each other, we must remember that the words we use each have different associations for each of us. Concepts are not reality, but a mere shadow of it - the map is not the territory. I also want to caution you not to become blinded by the truth and power of words either. I am aware of at least one non-Buddhist destructive group which uses this same quote from Buddha and uses it to recruit people into a state of blind obedience and servitude. In order for Buddha's words to have real meaning, they must be applied behaviorally on a daily basis.
I think that if we can enjoy authentic public discourse and free inquiry into the matters that concern us, we must endeavor in our discussions to explore, to know for ourselves, and to communicate how things actually are - if we are to live a sane, righteous, and even a decent life. While seeking truth, let us not overlook the simple virtues of honesty and ethical behavior. Then even stumbling blocks can become stepping stones along the way.
The Buddha exhorts us "to be a lamp unto ourselves, that one's innate purity of heart is the sole refuge." I hope that the following pages will elucidate some of the spiritual issues that are part of an ongoing discussion about freedom, democracy, and human rights today.
Steven Hassan
Whenever the subject of mind control comes up, an almost inevitable discussion ensues about family systems, advertising, salespeople, the military, and the even the Catholic Church. A great confusion currently exists concerning how to make meaningful distinctions. I have heard people say that "everything is mind control." Overgeneralizations like this obscure important distinctions. As a person who has spent almost two decades researching and considering this topic, I offer the following thoughts.
All influence processes can be visualized as falling somewhere along a continuum. In one direction of the continuum, mind control techniques can be regarded as positive and constructive, promoting understanding and choice while respecting an individual's integrity. In the other direction, mind control is regarded as destructive and constricts understanding and choice while undermining personal integrity. Since mind control techniques are not inherently good or evil, they can be used ethically and practically to enhance our lives, expand choices, and to cultivate our creativity and individuality.
These techniques can also be used to destroy individuality, stunt personal growth, and create virtual slaves, as exemplified by Jim Jones, David Koresh, and Adolf Hitler. People can be deceptively manipulated and indoctrinated to distrust their ability to feel, to think, and to make mature decisions. Destructive cults want to control people to enable them to expand their temporal power and raise money. They exist to serve totalistic dictators, not to serve the people. They desire to rule through power, not with the power of love. Charismatic leaders often stray into temptation to exploit their power over others in dangerous ways.
The locus of control for the use of mind control techniques should lie within our selves, not with some external authority figure. True spirituality demands personal awareness and responsibility. The right to believe whatever you want should be upheld. However, behaviors must be scrutinized in order to protect human liberty. Behaviorally, all relationships and involvements can be evaluated by objective criteria such as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (available at any library or through Amnesty International).
The position that religious groups should not be scrutinized is most vigorously promoted by organizations that have notoriously bad histories of abuse. They have spent large amounts of money in public relations campaigns and have even funded publications and conferences to support their positions. They have also expended great effort to do propaganda campaigns to attack former members and critics in an effort to neutralize the dissemination of factual information. I have personally been subjected to incredible harassment, with extraordinary lies manufactured about me that I kidnap and even torture people to renounce their religious beliefs. While I have been subjected to nuisance law suits, systematic attempts to character assassinate me, and efforts to intimidate me to stop my criticisms, I refuse to be silent. I choose to exercise my First Amendment right to speak freely, and I offer proof for what I say. I suppose that I should feel good that destructive cults attack me so blatantly as proof that I am being effective.
On another extreme, I am criticized by some people who dislike the fact that I believe in and publicly defend spiritual practices such as prayer and meditation. Some people angrily tell me that all religion is bad and all religious leaders are dishonest. Those people, it seems, have had some really bad experiences and, in my opinion, have "thrown the baby out with the bath water." It is lamentable that so many people have had such bad experiences. It appears that they are afraid to trust anything that can't be analyzed and proven "scientifically." Their capacity to fully develop, take risks, and grow are seriously diminished. I feel sorry for people who have adopted a rigid posture toward life which will only validate an analytic, linear model for understanding. Without imagination, wonder, and trust in non-analytic, intuitive ways of knowing, people can become cynical, defensive and even paranoid.
I know that fasting, silence, solitude, sleep deprivation, and other techniques have long been used by different religious traditions. I believe they can be very useful and liberating in terms of unfreezing one's own habitual conditioning. They become unethical and destructive when they are used in combination with deception and a diminution of personal choice and integrity.
Due to my own cult experience, I have had to do some very intense personal reflection. I have had to sort out the good experiences from the bad while a member of the Moon cult. In retrospect, I can say without a doubt that a good deal of my personal spiritual experience was valid and had a beneficial impact on my development. As a result, I have had to really examine myself thoroughly and consciously evaluate my beliefs and actions. Fortunately, my core spirituality preceded my Moonie indoctrination, and so when I left that group, I had some basic beliefs to return to as a kind of stable base. For example, I believe that love is stronger than fear and that truth is stronger than lies.
My own spiritual path has shown me the importance of balance and the necessity of being in touch with your thoughts and feelings. I believe that true spiritual growth demands awareness and responsibility and not just blind submission to another human being or to the dogma of some unseen deity. I have come to the conclusion that, for me, spiritual traditions that focus on healing the mind/body relationship and on the inseparable relationship between the sacred and the profane, rather than fostering a split of mind/body brings more satisfying results. What I mean by this is acknowledging and accepting feelings, thoughts, and needs rather than denying them or pretending that they do not exist. For me, what makes sense is wholeness, not fragmentation. Love rather than fear and guilt should be the prime motivator. I choose to believe in a basically friendly universe, rather than a hostile universe. Lacking an objective, absolute reference point for "truth," I prefer to believe in the goodness of life because it feels "right" and because the alternative would be too bleak. Of course, I believe that there are many legitimate paths to developing one's spirituality. I believe that it is up to each person to take responsibility for his or her own life.
Therefore, contrary to the disinformation put out against me by destructive cults, I am very liberal and open minded about new religions. However, just because it is new doesn't make it healthy or bone fide. Likewise, the more extreme the claim is by the leader and the doctrine, the more caution I recommend before becoming involved. For example, just because a person claims to be the most spiritually advanced being on earth in the past 25,000 years doesn't make it so. There are so many psychics, mediums, and channelers today who are making claims of special wisdom and spiritual knowledge. People must learn to be more discerning and to not merely accept passively. I believe if an individual is legitimate, he or she will be honest and forthright in all communications and actions. An atmosphere where questions and skepticism are accepted and even encouraged is a good sign of a healthy group. Also, there will be no heavy pressure for quick and full commitments. A spiritual leader will exemplify those qualities that show love, compassion, and respect. I have been impressed by Western spiritual leaders like lama Surya Das and Jack Kornfield who demonstrate through their actions that their quest for enlightened living and healthy group process is achievable today.
I also strongly recommend that periodically - at least once or twice each year - a "vacation" be taken to step out of your environment and "reality test." Ask yourself: When I started doing "x" what were my goals? What were my expectations? Where did I think I would be in one year? Five years, Ten years? If I knew then (at the beginning of "x") what I know now, would I still do "x"? If not, why not? What would you do differently? If I hadn't done "x," what would I have likely done? Also, if I had a magic wand and I could be doing now what I really would like to do, what would that be?
In the following pages, I have:
--Helped to compile some basic assessment questions that can help people to "reality-test."
--Summarized the four basic components of mind control from my book Combatting Cult Mind Control to help provide a basis for evaluation.
--Summarized the three stages of mind control by Kurt Lewin as described by Edgar Schein in Coercive Persuasion (Norton,1961).
--Summarized Robert Jay Lifton's eight themes of thought reform based on his research of the Communist "re-education" programs of Mao Tse-tung.These were taken from Chapter 22 of his seminal book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism.
I hope that reading and thinking about these perspectives will help to shed light on the behaviors of individuals and organizations. (Additionally, you might want to read a copy of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.)
Unless we all acknowledge our questions now, they will remain like skeletons in our psyches until the day they are dealt with and resolved. They will never go away permanently, even if we do years of chanting, praying, affirmations, and other spiritual practices. We must use wisdom, gentleness, self inquiry, and courage to guide us in upholding our integrity.
Unselfishness, kindness, gentleness, and compassion should be a basic living principle, not just an ideal. When individuals claim to be spiritually more developed, and put themselves in the role of guru, swami, master, prophet, these virtues must be consistently demonstrated. We must not allow our desires to know "Absolute Truth" to blind us from observing obvious discrepancies in our teacher's behaviors. We must become sensitive to the tactic that illegitimate leaders use by turning our questions or comments around and using them blame or shame us into obedience. A legitimate question or concern demands a respectful response, not evasion or coercion.
We must also not look at the past and traditions blindly, but with an appreciation for the present and a clear vision for our future on the spaceship Earth we cohabit.
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Questions to Help the Assessment Process
1. Who is the leader?
What are his/her background and qualifications?
Have you relied solely on trust that all of the information you were given is true or have you done independent investigation?
Do you feel pressure to accept and not question at all?
Is it possible that there are misrepresentations or falsehoods?
Is there external corroboration for extraordinary claims of accomplishment or are they simply his/her say-so?
If "miracles" have been performed, can they be replicated under open observation or even under scientific conditions?
Are there other explanations for the "miracles," such as magic tricks, hypnosis, etc.?
If there is a former leader or member, have you sought him or her out to hear for yourself critical information? If not, are you afraid to trust your ability to discern the truthfulness of what you learn?
If you find yourself saying that you don't care if there are major deceptions, ask yourself if you knew this information before you became involved, would you have even bothered to make a commitment of time and money?
2. Are there exclusive claims made to wisdom, knowledge, love, and truth? If so, the burden of proof is on the leader to demonstrate his or her superiority, not on members to disprove it. A truly "developed" spiritual being exudes love, compassion, and humility. Any person who claims to be "superior" but does not practice what they preach is of questionable character. There is never inconsistency between words and deeds. A person who uses fear and phobia indoctrination to control followers demonstrates insecurity and lack of spiritual maturity.
3. Is total submission and obedience required? Any relationship that demands giving up one's personal integrity and conscience is dangerous and leads to totalitarianism. Be wary of those who advocate "the ends justify the means," especially when it clearly serves their own self-interest. Also, make sure that your desire "to believe" doesn't simply activate the common psychological defense mechanisms: denial, rationalization, justification, and wishful thinking. If a doctrine is true or a person is truly spiritually advanced, they will stand up to the scrutiny of objective evaluation. If they do not prove themselves, they are probably not worthy of your commitment and devotion.
4. Does he/ she have a criminal record, a legacy of allegations against him/her or a history of misconduct? If there are allegations of misconduct against the leader, the responsible follower must seek out the negative information and the sources of that information to evaluate the truth. If a leader claims to be celibate and allegations are made that the leader engaged in inappropriate sex, this is an extreme violation of integrity. It must be investigated vigorously. It is never appropriate for teachers, therapists, or spiritual masters to take advantage of a power differential over followers. This is especially true in the area of sexuality. It is grossly unethical to engage in sexual relations with someone who has placed their trust in as a teacher/advisor/master. Many followers are incredibly vulnerable to this and unable to resist sexual intimacy. Anyone should be able to say "no."
Is he or she a "trust bandit," stealing hearts, souls, minds, bodies, and pocketbooks for his or her own ends?
5. Does the leader demonstrate psychological problems and awareness of their existence?
Does the leader have addictions to power, drugs, alcohol, sex, even television or shopping?
Does the leader have emotional outbursts?
Does the leader physically abuse followers?
Does the leader drive expensive cars and wear expensive clothes while extolling the virtues of renunciation?
Does the leader financially exploit followers by expecting them to live in poverty while he or she indulges in luxury?
Is the group or leader's driveway habitually filled with luxury cars while ordinary people find him or her inaccessible and unreachable?
Does the leader ever encourage deception or use deception as a "technique" to trick followers into so-called correct thinking and understanding?
Codependent behavior by a spiritual teacher should be a warning sign of danger. Codependency includes: obsessively trying to control others; allowing people to hurt and use them; lack of clear boundaries; being reactive, not proactive; tunnel-visioned; obsessive worrying and denial; expectations of perfection and suppression of human needs. (Beattie, Beyond Codependency, Harper/Hazelden, 1989)
6. Are questions and doubts permitted within the organization? A healthy spiritual environment must engage individual followers at their level of experience and should encourage them to feel and think and therefore question their beliefs and exercise good decision-making. In this way, the follower can investigate, discriminate, and test the dogma and the environment they are being asked to accept, between what his or her personal issues are and what might be an unhealthy environment. If intense pressure is used to dissuade people who wish to talk with former members or critics, it is a clear sign of information control. Controlling information is one of the most essential components of mind control.
7. Is the organization open or closed? Are there organizational secrets?
Are there "in" groups and "out" groups? Are there restricted teachings for initiates only?
Are there secret texts and publications "for your eyes only"? Is there real financial accountability? If a group says that you can look at its accounting records, does it actually provide access? The only way to know is to ask to see the records. If you are afraid to ask, what does this say about the atmosphere of the group?
8. What structural checks and balances exist within the organization to prevent abuse of power? Are there divisive sectarian biases, even in the name of interdenominational ecumenicism and universality? Is there an independent "ethics" committee to challenge and change policies of the group? If there are abuses or injustices, what structure exists to correct them? Can anyone legitimately question the actions of the leader without threat of emotional withdraw or fear of expulsion to "hell"? Do the rich and powerful get preferential treatment? Are "indulgences" (spiritual pardons) sold?
Is there a "code of silence" against unethical behavior of leaders?
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Mind Control - The BITE Model
From chapter two of Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves © 2000 by Steven Hassan; published by Freedom of Mind Press, Somerville MA
Destructive mind control can be understood in terms of four basic components, which form the acronym BITE:
I. Behavior Control
II. Information Control
III. Thought Control
IV. Emotional Control
It is important to understand that destructive mind control can be determined when the overall effect of these four components promotes dependency and obedience to some leader or cause. It is not necessary for every single item on the list to be present. Mind controlled cult members can live in their own apartments, have nine-to-five jobs, be married with children, and still be unable to think for themselves and act independently.
I. Behavior Control
1. Regulation of individual's physical reality
a. Where, how and with whom the member lives and associates with
b. What clothes, colors, hairstyles the person wears
c. What food the person eats, drinks, adopts, and rejects
d. How much sleep the person is able to have
e. Financial dependence
f. Little or no time spent on leisure, entertainment, vacations
2. Major time commitment required for indoctrination sessions and group rituals
3. Need to ask permission for major decisions
4. Need to report thoughts, feelings and activities to superiors
5. Rewards and punishments (behavior modification techniques- positive and negative).
6. Individualism discouraged; group think prevails
7. Rigid rules and regulations
8. Need for obedience and dependency
II. Information Control
1. Use of deception
a. Deliberately holding back information
b. Distorting information to make it acceptable
c. Outright lying
2. Access to non-cult sources of information minimized or discouraged
a. Books, articles, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio
b. Critical information
c. Former members
d. Keep members so busy they don't have time to think
3. Compartmentalization of information; Outsider vs. Insider doctrines
a. Information is not freely accessible
b. Information varies at different levels and missions within pyramid
c. Leadership decides who "needs to know" what
4. Spying on other members is encouraged
a. Pairing up with "buddy" system to monitor and control
b. Reporting deviant thoughts, feelings, and actions to leadership
5. Extensive use of cult generated information and propaganda
a. Newsletters, magazines, journals, audio tapes, videotapes, etc.
b. Misquotations, statements taken out of context from non-cult sources
6. Unethical use of confession
a. Information about "sins" used to abolish identity boundaries
b. Past "sins" used to manipulate and control; no forgiveness or absolution
III. Thought Control
1. Need to internalize the group's doctrine as "Truth"
a. Map = Reality
b. Black and White thinking
c. Good vs. evil
d. Us vs. them (inside vs. outside)
2. Adopt "loaded" language (characterized by "thought-terminating clichés"). Words are the tools we use to think with. These "special" words constrict rather than expand understanding. They function to reduce complexities of experience into trite, platitudinous "buzz words".
3. Only "good" and "proper" thoughts are encouraged.
4. Thought-stopping techniques (to shut down "reality testing" by stopping "negative" thoughts and allowing only "good" thoughts); rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism.
a. Denial, rationalization, justification, wishful thinking
b. Chanting
c. Meditating
d. Praying
e. Speaking in "tongues"
f. Singing or humming
5. No critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy seen as legitimate
6. No alternative belief systems viewed as legitimate, good, or useful
IV. Emotional Control
1. Manipulate and narrow the range of a person's feelings.
2. Make the person feel like if there are ever any problems it is always their fault, never the leader's or the group's.
3. Excessive use of guilt
a. Identity guilt
1. Who you are (not living up to your potential)
2. Your family
3. Your past
4. Your affiliations
5. Your thoughts, feelings, actions
b. Social guilt
c. Historical guilt
4. Excessive use of fear
a. Fear of thinking independently
b. Fear of the "outside" world
c. Fear of enemies
d. Fear of losing one's "salvation"
e. Fear of leaving the group or being shunned by group
f. Fear of disapproval
5. Extremes of emotional highs and lows.
6. Ritual and often public confession of "sins".
7. Phobia indoctrination : programming of irrational fears of ever leaving the group or even questioning the leader's authority. The person under mind control cannot visualize a positive, fulfilled future without being in the group.
a. No happiness or fulfillment "outside" of the group
b. Terrible consequences will take place if you leave: "hell"; "demon possession"; "incurable diseases"; "accidents"; "suicide"; "insanity"; "10,000 reincarnations"; etc.
c. Shunning of leave takers. Fear of being rejected by friends, peers, and family.
d. Never a legitimate reason to leave. From the group's perspective, people who leave are: "weak"; "undisciplined"; "unspiritual"; "worldly"; "brainwashed by family, counselors"; seduced by money, sex, rock and roll.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Three Stages of Gaining Control of the Mind
[Adapted from Kurt Lewin's three-stage model as described in Coercive Persuasion (Norton, 1961) by Edgar Schein]
1. Unfreezing
a. Disorientation / confusion
b. Sensory deprivation and/or sensory overload
c. Physiological manipulation
1. Sleep deprivation
2. Privacy deprivation
3. Change of diet
d. Hypnosis
1. Age regression
2. Visualizations
3. Story-telling and metaphors
4. Linguistic double binds, use of suggestion
5. Meditation, chanting, praying, singing
e. Get person to question self identity
f. Redefine individual's past (implant false memories, forget positive memories of the past)
2. Changing
a. Creation and imposition of new "identity" done step by step
1. Formally within indoctrination sessions
2. Informally by members, tapes, books, etc.
b. Use of Behavior Modification techniques
1. Rewards and punishments
2. Use of thought-stopping techniques
3. Control of environment
c. Mystical manipulation
d. Use of hypnosis and other mind-altering techniques
1. Repetition, monotony, rhythm
2. Excessive chanting, praying, decreeing, visualizations
e. Use of confession and testimonials
3. Refreezing
a. New identity reinforced, old identity surrendered
1.Separate from the past; decrease contact or cut off friends and family
2. Give up meaningful possessions and donate assets
3. Start doing cult activities: recruit, fundraise, move in with members
b. New name, new clothing, new hairstyle, new language, new "family"
c. Pairing up with new role models, buddy system
d. Indoctrination continues: Workshops, retreats, seminars, individual studies, group activities
Remember, cult mind control does not erase the person's old identity, but rather creates a new one to suppress the old identity (John-John and John-cult).
Lifton's Thought Reform Model
Adapted from Robert Jay Lifton's Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism (Norton, 1961: reprinted 1989 by the University of North Carolina Press)
Dr. Lifton's work was the outgrowth of his studies for military intelligence of Mao Tse-Tung's "thought-reform programs" commonly known as "brainwashing." In Chapter 22, Lifton outlines eight criteria for when any environment can be understood as exercising "thought-reform" or mind control. Lifton wrote that any group has some aspects of these points. However, if an environment has all eight of these points and implements them in the extreme, then there is unhealthy thought reform taking place.
1. Milieu Control
Environment control and the control of human communication. Not just communication between people but communication within people's minds to themselves.
2. Mystical Manipulation
Everyone is manipulating everyone, under the belief that it advances the "ultimate purpose." Experiences are engineered to appear to be spontaneous, when, in fact, they are contrived to have a deliberate effect. People misattribute their experiences to spiritual causes when, in fact, they are concocted by human beings.
3. Loading the Language
Controlling words help to control people's thoughts. A totalist group uses totalist language to make reality compressed into black or white-"thought-terminating clichés." Non-members cannot simply understand what believers are talking about. The words constrict rather than expand human understanding.
4. Doctrine Over Person
No matter what a person experiences, it is the belief of the dogma which is important. Group belief supersedes conscience and integrity.
5. The Sacred Science
The group's belief is that their dogma is absolutely scientific and morally true. No alternative viewpoint is allowed. No questions of the dogma are permitted.
6. The Cult of Confession
The environment demands that personal boundaries are destroyed and that every thought, feeling, or action that does not conform with the group's rules be confessed; little or no privacy.
7. The Demand for Purity
The creation of a guilt and shame milieu by holding up standards of perfection that no human being can accomplish. People are punished and learn to punish themselves for not living up to the group's ideals.
8. The Dispensing of Existence
The group decides who has a right to exist and does not. There is no other legitimate alternative to the group. In political regimes, this permits state executions.
Hopefully, this summary will motivate you to read the entire Chapter 22, if not the entire book. It is considered to be one of the most important descriptions of political mind-control programs. It is also important to note, that now there are 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation mind-control groups and the patterns have evolved and become more refined and sophisticated.
This booklet was prepared by Steven Hassan with Lama Surya Das. If you wish to contact us regarding counseling, workshops, or seminars, please do so at:
716 Beacon Street
#590443
Newton, MA 02459
Telephone: (617) 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153
Email: center@freedomofmind.com
The Freedom of Mind Resource Center is at www.freedomofmind.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
About Steven Hassan and Lama Surya Das
Steven Hassan is one of America's leading cult counselors, employing the Strategic Interaction Approach to help people leave destructive groups. He has been involved in educating the public about destructive cults in America for over twenty-seven years (2003). He is a licensed mental health counselor, a nationally certified counselor and holds a Master's degree in counseling psychology from Cambridge College. In 2000, his acclaimed book Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves was published by Freedom of Mind Press. It is also available in Polish, Russian, and Chinese with other language texts being prepared. Steven Hassan appeared on virtually every major news program in America, including "60 Minutes" and "Nightline."
Lama Surya Das is an American meditation teacher, poet, Buddhist scholar, translator, and social activist. He is the author of The Snow Lion's Turquoise Mane: Wisdom Tales From Tibet (Harper San Francisco, 1992) and is editor/translator of Natural Great Perfection by Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche (Snow Lion Publications, 1995). Founder of the Dzogchen Foundation, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he conducts meditation retreats worldwide and organizes the Western Buddhist Meditation Teachers Conference with the Dalai Lama.
© Freedom of Mind Resource Center, Inc. 1999-2004
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Help With a Controlling Relationship
Help Recovering From a Difficult Relationship
If you would like assistance recovering from a difficult or controlling relationship, we have the experience to help. We’d welcome your call 617-396-4638.
Support and Experienced Understanding
The effects of living under a controlling person or in a relationship where you didn’t feel that you could think or act for yourself are long-lasting. Getting away from the relationship is important, but just the first step.
Those still recovering from a difficult relationship often experience a variety of psychological and relationship problems—anxiety disorders, panic attacks, sleep disorders, lack of trust, paranoia and feelings of alienation. Getting the support you need can help you move beyond these.
Many therapists don’t understand or minimize the “mind games” “played” by controlling individuals. Clients are mistakenly directed by their therapists to look at childhood issues to explain their concerns, ignoring the fact that many clients were deceptively seduced by their “partners” and had phobias drilled into them.
Our work is tailored to meet your needs. Steve and the Freedom of Mind coaches have extensive personal and professional experience with the issues you face and will take your concerns seriously.
We encourage you to call and speak with us about what you’re going through and your concerns and questions.
Initial Consultation
Most people start with an initial consultation with a Freedom of Mind associate, which includes a complete review of your situation and an explanation of how we suggest you proceed. At each step you will be encouraged to make your own decisions and will be respected for the process you need to go through.
To learn more or schedule an initial consultation, you can call our office 617-396-4638.
You may use Visa or MasterCard or if you prefer, you may mail a check or money order before the appointment. Please call 617-396-4638 with any questions or concerns.
You will get even more benefit from a consultation if we have a chance to preview basic information about your situation beforehand. Please use our Contact form as a guide to what is important for us to know. The form asks for cult or group name. Please substitute spouse or partner's name and historical information instead.
Please be assured that your information will be kept completely confidential. We know how important it is to follow the highest ethical standards of privacy.
It’s fine if you prefer to not fill out the form. We will, of course, be glad to do a consult anyway. You are also welcome to arrange for a longer consultation if you choose. Just call 617-396-4638 to let us know what you prefer.
Ex-Member Case Evaluation Form
Frequently Asked Questions
HOME
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Phone: 617 396-4638
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HOME
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SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
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Help With Estranged Family Member
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Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
About Us
Mission Statement
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Articles
BITE Model of Unethical Influence
Blogs
Books
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Friends of FOM Resoruce Center
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Human Trafficking
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MEDIA
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Send Us An Email
Join Our Contact List
Submit Information On A Group
Facebook (Cult Expert)
Facebook (FOM)
Youtube
Vimeo
Help With a Controlling Relationship
Help Recovering From a Difficult Relationship
If you would like assistance recovering from a difficult or controlling relationship, we have the experience to help. We’d welcome your call 617-396-4638.
Support and Experienced Understanding
The effects of living under a controlling person or in a relationship where you didn’t feel that you could think or act for yourself are long-lasting. Getting away from the relationship is important, but just the first step.
Those still recovering from a difficult relationship often experience a variety of psychological and relationship problems—anxiety disorders, panic attacks, sleep disorders, lack of trust, paranoia and feelings of alienation. Getting the support you need can help you move beyond these.
Many therapists don’t understand or minimize the “mind games” “played” by controlling individuals. Clients are mistakenly directed by their therapists to look at childhood issues to explain their concerns, ignoring the fact that many clients were deceptively seduced by their “partners” and had phobias drilled into them.
Our work is tailored to meet your needs. Steve and the Freedom of Mind coaches have extensive personal and professional experience with the issues you face and will take your concerns seriously.
We encourage you to call and speak with us about what you’re going through and your concerns and questions.
Initial Consultation
Most people start with an initial consultation with a Freedom of Mind associate, which includes a complete review of your situation and an explanation of how we suggest you proceed. At each step you will be encouraged to make your own decisions and will be respected for the process you need to go through.
To learn more or schedule an initial consultation, you can call our office 617-396-4638.
You may use Visa or MasterCard or if you prefer, you may mail a check or money order before the appointment. Please call 617-396-4638 with any questions or concerns.
You will get even more benefit from a consultation if we have a chance to preview basic information about your situation beforehand. Please use our Contact form as a guide to what is important for us to know. The form asks for cult or group name. Please substitute spouse or partner's name and historical information instead.
Please be assured that your information will be kept completely confidential. We know how important it is to follow the highest ethical standards of privacy.
It’s fine if you prefer to not fill out the form. We will, of course, be glad to do a consult anyway. You are also welcome to arrange for a longer consultation if you choose. Just call 617-396-4638 to let us know what you prefer.
Ex-Member Case Evaluation Form
Frequently Asked Questions
HOME
SERVICES
INFORMATION
MEDIA
CONTACT
ADDRESS
716 Beacon Street
#590443
Newton, MA 02459
Phone: 617 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153 FOLLOW US
Vimeo
YouTube
COPYRIGHT © 2014 FREEDOM OF MIND RESOURCE CENTER INC.
https://freedomofmind.com/Services/help4.php
HOME
About Us
Mission Statement
SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
Help With Estranged Family Member
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Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
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BITE Model of Unethical Influence
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Steven Alan Hassan's BITE Model of Cult Mind Control
Many people think of mind control as an ambiguous, mystical process that cannot be defined in concrete terms. In reality, mind control refers to a specific set of methods and techniques, such as hypnosis or thought- stopping, that influence how a person thinks, feels, and acts. Like many bodies of knowledge, it is not inherently good or evil. If mind control techniques are used to empower an individual to have more choice, and authority for his life remains within himself, the effects can be beneficial. For example, benevolent mind control can be used to help people quit smoking without affecting any other behavior. Mind control becomes destructive when the locus of control is external and it is used to undermine a person’s ability to think and act independently.
As employed by the most destructive cults, mind control seeks nothing less than to disrupt an individual’s authentic identity and reconstruct it in the image of the cult leader. I developed the BITE model to help people determine whether or not a group is practicing destructive mind control. The BITE model helps people understand how cults suppress individual member's uniqueness and creativity. BITE stands for the cult's control of an individual's Behavior, Intellect, Thoughts, and Emotions.
It is important to understand that destructive mind control can be determined when the overall effect of these four components promotes dependency and obedience to some leader or cause. It is not necessary for every single item on the list to be present. Mindcontrolled cult members can live in their own apartments, have nine-to-five jobs, be married with children, and still be unable to think for themselves and act independently.
Destructive mind control is not just used by cults. Learn about the Human Trafficking BITE Model and the Terrorism BITE Model
The BITE Model
I. Behavior Control
II. Information Control
III. Thought Control
IV. Emotional Control
Behavior Control
1. Regulate individual’s physical reality
2. Dictate where, how, and with whom the member lives and associates or isolates
3. When, how and with whom the member has sex
4. Control types of clothing and hairstyles
5. Regulate diet - food and drink, hunger and/or fasting
6. Manipulation and deprivation of sleep
7. Financial exploitation, manipulation or dependence
8. Restrict leisure, entertainment, vacation time
9. Major time spent with group indoctrination and rituals and/or self indoctrination including the Internet
10. Permission required for major decisions
11. Thoughts, feelings, and activities (of self and others) reported to superiors
12. Rewards and punishments used to modify behaviors, both positive and negative
13. Discourage individualism, encourage group-think
14. Impose rigid rules and regulations
15. Instill dependency and obedience
Information Control
1. Deception:
a. Deliberately withhold information
b. Distort information to make it more acceptable
c. Systematically lie to the cult member
2. Minimize or discourage access to non-cult sources of information, including:
a. Internet, TV, radio, books, articles, newspapers, magazines, other media
b.Critical information
c. Former members
d. Keep members busy so they don’t have time to think and investigate
e. Control through cell phone with texting, calls, internet tracking
3. Compartmentalize information into Outsider vs. Insider doctrines
a. Ensure that information is not freely accessible
b.Control information at different levels and missions within group
c. Allow only leadership to decide who needs to know what and when
4. Encourage spying on other members
a. Impose a buddy system to monitor and control member
b.Report deviant thoughts, feelings and actions to leadership
c. Ensure that individual behavior is monitored by group
5. Extensive use of cult-generated information and propaganda, including:
a. Newsletters, magazines, journals, audiotapes, videotapes, YouTube, movies and other media
b.Misquoting statements or using them out of context from non-cult sources
6. Unethical use of confession
a. Information about sins used to disrupt and/or dissolve identity boundaries
b. Withholding forgiveness or absolution
c. Manipulation of memory, possible false memories
Thought Control
1. Require members to internalize the group’s doctrine as truth
a. Adopting the group's ‘map of reality’ as reality
b. Instill black and white thinking
c. Decide between good vs. evil
d. Organize people into us vs. them (insiders vs. outsiders)
2.Change person’s name and identity
3. Use of loaded language and clichés which constrict knowledge, stop critical thoughts and reduce complexities into platitudinous buzz words
4. Encourage only ‘good and proper’ thoughts
5. Hypnotic techniques are used to alter mental states, undermine critical thinking and even to age regress the member
6. Memories are manipulated and false memories are created
7. Teaching thought-stopping techniques which shut down reality testing by stopping negative thoughts and allowing only positive thoughts, including:
a. Denial, rationalization, justification, wishful thinking
b. Chanting
c. Meditating
d. Praying
e. Speaking in tongues
f. Singing or humming
8. Rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism
9. Forbid critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy allowed
10. Labeling alternative belief systems as illegitimate, evil, or not useful
Emotional Control
1. Manipulate and narrow the range of feelings – some emotions and/or needs are deemed as evil, wrong or selfish
2. Teach emotion-stopping techniques to block feelings of homesickness, anger, doubt
3. Make the person feel that problems are always their own fault, never the leader’s or the group’s fault
4. Promote feelings of guilt or unworthiness, such as
a. Identity guilt
b. You are not living up to your potential
c. Your family is deficient
d. Your past is suspect
e. Your affiliations are unwise
f. Your thoughts, feelings, actions are irrelevant or selfish
g. Social guilt
h. Historical guilt
5. Instill fear, such as fear of:
a. Thinking independently
b. The outside world
c. Enemies
d. Losing one’s salvation
e. Leaving or being shunned by the group
f. Other’s disapproval
6. Extremes of emotional highs and lows – love bombing and praise one moment and then declaring you are horrible sinner
7. Ritualistic and sometimes public confession of sins
8. Phobia indoctrination: inculcating irrational fears about leaving the group or questioning the leader’s authority
a. No happiness or fulfillment possible outside of the group
b. Terrible consequences if you leave: hell, demon possession, incurable diseases, accidents, suicide, insanity, 10,000 reincarnations, etc.
c. Shunning of those who leave; fear of being rejected by friends, peers, and family
d. Never a legitimate reason to leave; those who leave are weak, undisciplined, unspiritual, worldly, brainwashed by family or counselor, or seduced by money, sex, or rock and roll
e. Threats of harm to ex-member and family
HOME
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#590443
Newton, MA 02459
Phone: 617 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153 FOLLOW US
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https://freedomofmind.com/Info/BITE/bitemodel.php
HOME
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SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
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Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
About Us
Mission Statement
Privacy Policy
Articles
BITE Model of Unethical Influence
Blogs
Books
FAQ
Friends of FOM Resoruce Center
Groups
Group Database
Submit Info About A Group
Human Trafficking
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Facebook (Cult Expert)
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Steven Alan Hassan's BITE Model of Cult Mind Control
Many people think of mind control as an ambiguous, mystical process that cannot be defined in concrete terms. In reality, mind control refers to a specific set of methods and techniques, such as hypnosis or thought- stopping, that influence how a person thinks, feels, and acts. Like many bodies of knowledge, it is not inherently good or evil. If mind control techniques are used to empower an individual to have more choice, and authority for his life remains within himself, the effects can be beneficial. For example, benevolent mind control can be used to help people quit smoking without affecting any other behavior. Mind control becomes destructive when the locus of control is external and it is used to undermine a person’s ability to think and act independently.
As employed by the most destructive cults, mind control seeks nothing less than to disrupt an individual’s authentic identity and reconstruct it in the image of the cult leader. I developed the BITE model to help people determine whether or not a group is practicing destructive mind control. The BITE model helps people understand how cults suppress individual member's uniqueness and creativity. BITE stands for the cult's control of an individual's Behavior, Intellect, Thoughts, and Emotions.
It is important to understand that destructive mind control can be determined when the overall effect of these four components promotes dependency and obedience to some leader or cause. It is not necessary for every single item on the list to be present. Mindcontrolled cult members can live in their own apartments, have nine-to-five jobs, be married with children, and still be unable to think for themselves and act independently.
Destructive mind control is not just used by cults. Learn about the Human Trafficking BITE Model and the Terrorism BITE Model
The BITE Model
I. Behavior Control
II. Information Control
III. Thought Control
IV. Emotional Control
Behavior Control
1. Regulate individual’s physical reality
2. Dictate where, how, and with whom the member lives and associates or isolates
3. When, how and with whom the member has sex
4. Control types of clothing and hairstyles
5. Regulate diet - food and drink, hunger and/or fasting
6. Manipulation and deprivation of sleep
7. Financial exploitation, manipulation or dependence
8. Restrict leisure, entertainment, vacation time
9. Major time spent with group indoctrination and rituals and/or self indoctrination including the Internet
10. Permission required for major decisions
11. Thoughts, feelings, and activities (of self and others) reported to superiors
12. Rewards and punishments used to modify behaviors, both positive and negative
13. Discourage individualism, encourage group-think
14. Impose rigid rules and regulations
15. Instill dependency and obedience
Information Control
1. Deception:
a. Deliberately withhold information
b. Distort information to make it more acceptable
c. Systematically lie to the cult member
2. Minimize or discourage access to non-cult sources of information, including:
a. Internet, TV, radio, books, articles, newspapers, magazines, other media
b.Critical information
c. Former members
d. Keep members busy so they don’t have time to think and investigate
e. Control through cell phone with texting, calls, internet tracking
3. Compartmentalize information into Outsider vs. Insider doctrines
a. Ensure that information is not freely accessible
b.Control information at different levels and missions within group
c. Allow only leadership to decide who needs to know what and when
4. Encourage spying on other members
a. Impose a buddy system to monitor and control member
b.Report deviant thoughts, feelings and actions to leadership
c. Ensure that individual behavior is monitored by group
5. Extensive use of cult-generated information and propaganda, including:
a. Newsletters, magazines, journals, audiotapes, videotapes, YouTube, movies and other media
b.Misquoting statements or using them out of context from non-cult sources
6. Unethical use of confession
a. Information about sins used to disrupt and/or dissolve identity boundaries
b. Withholding forgiveness or absolution
c. Manipulation of memory, possible false memories
Thought Control
1. Require members to internalize the group’s doctrine as truth
a. Adopting the group's ‘map of reality’ as reality
b. Instill black and white thinking
c. Decide between good vs. evil
d. Organize people into us vs. them (insiders vs. outsiders)
2.Change person’s name and identity
3. Use of loaded language and clichés which constrict knowledge, stop critical thoughts and reduce complexities into platitudinous buzz words
4. Encourage only ‘good and proper’ thoughts
5. Hypnotic techniques are used to alter mental states, undermine critical thinking and even to age regress the member
6. Memories are manipulated and false memories are created
7. Teaching thought-stopping techniques which shut down reality testing by stopping negative thoughts and allowing only positive thoughts, including:
a. Denial, rationalization, justification, wishful thinking
b. Chanting
c. Meditating
d. Praying
e. Speaking in tongues
f. Singing or humming
8. Rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism
9. Forbid critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy allowed
10. Labeling alternative belief systems as illegitimate, evil, or not useful
Emotional Control
1. Manipulate and narrow the range of feelings – some emotions and/or needs are deemed as evil, wrong or selfish
2. Teach emotion-stopping techniques to block feelings of homesickness, anger, doubt
3. Make the person feel that problems are always their own fault, never the leader’s or the group’s fault
4. Promote feelings of guilt or unworthiness, such as
a. Identity guilt
b. You are not living up to your potential
c. Your family is deficient
d. Your past is suspect
e. Your affiliations are unwise
f. Your thoughts, feelings, actions are irrelevant or selfish
g. Social guilt
h. Historical guilt
5. Instill fear, such as fear of:
a. Thinking independently
b. The outside world
c. Enemies
d. Losing one’s salvation
e. Leaving or being shunned by the group
f. Other’s disapproval
6. Extremes of emotional highs and lows – love bombing and praise one moment and then declaring you are horrible sinner
7. Ritualistic and sometimes public confession of sins
8. Phobia indoctrination: inculcating irrational fears about leaving the group or questioning the leader’s authority
a. No happiness or fulfillment possible outside of the group
b. Terrible consequences if you leave: hell, demon possession, incurable diseases, accidents, suicide, insanity, 10,000 reincarnations, etc.
c. Shunning of those who leave; fear of being rejected by friends, peers, and family
d. Never a legitimate reason to leave; those who leave are weak, undisciplined, unspiritual, worldly, brainwashed by family or counselor, or seduced by money, sex, or rock and roll
e. Threats of harm to ex-member and family
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
See and hear Steven Hassan talk about the Strategic Interaction Approach in this video.
(From Chapter 3 of Steven Hassan’s Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves. FOM Press, 2000, Copyrighted, all rights reserved. Permission to use or reprint must be granted in writing.)
1. What is the goal?
The goal of the SIA is to help the loved one recover his full faculties; to restore the creative, interdependent adult who fully understands what has happened to him; who has digested and integrated the experience and is better and stronger from the experience.
2. Who is in control?
You are! In all ethical counseling, the locus of control remains within the client. Strategic Interaction models a non-authoritarian, flexible, and open process. When you engage a therapist, he is there to help as the expert on family systems. He is not there to assume control and make all the decisions. Likewise, a cult expert may provide information and advice, but will not give orders. Family and friends are empowered to understand the issues clearly. In this way, Strategic Interaction can be considered self-help. Each person contributes as best he can, creating a synergy that ensures the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts.
3. Who is the client?
In the SIA, each person has issues that should be addressed. One focus is on the growth and development of healthy relationships within the family. The safe and nurturing environment created by the SIA offers many opportunities to heal old wounds. As an integral part of the family system, the cult member is automatically included in the process.
4. When is the best time to act?
The best time to act is now. Get active and get professional advice. It is always a good idea to prepare, and your case might require immediate intervention. Of course, counseling a cult member is particularly effective when a cult member is questioning his involvement, is disillusioned, or burned out — or simply wants to leave. Mini-interactions are designed to help the cult member question his situation, reality-test, and accept help from family and friends. The SIA is an ongoing process that makes each telephone call, letter, and visit more effective. Every time we interact with the cult member, questions are asked and answered, and information is gathered and delivered. Strategies are formulated, and opportunities to develop rapport and trust unfold. Positive experiences accumulate.
There might be a need for a formal three-day intervention. It is planned when we believe it will be successful. The time is right when we know that we have established trust and rapport with the cult member and we have information that indicates the conditions are right. Many times, mini-interactions may even make a formal intervention unnecessary.
5. Will our loved one be treated as an individual?
The Strategic Interaction is a customized approach that encourages everyone to develop positive, constructive patterns of communication. Family members, relatives and friends learn techniques to remove blocks and phobias. The goal is to restore the creative, flexible, interdependent adult. We want the cult member to understand what happened to him by helping him fully digest and integrate the cult experience. As the Strategic Interaction moves into the recovery phase, we want everyone to be stronger from the experience.
6. Does this approach integrate our loved one’s personality?
In my first book that I wrote in 1988, Combatting Cult Mind Control, I described only a “dual identity” model: the cult identity and the pre-cult identity. The Strategic Interaction Approach liberates and then integrates the parts of the pre-cult identity that were co-opted by the cult identity. In addition, we draw out the individual’s “authentic,” or higher, self and enlist its help to make new associations with the cult self. For example, we recognize that idealism is an integral part of our loved one’s authentic identity. By pointing out discrepancies between cult doctrine and hypocritical cult policies, the idealistic component of the cult identity can be encouraged to begin the questioning process. Eventually, the cult member becomes disillusioned with the group and feels motivated to walk out or ask for help.
The Strategic Interaction Approach provides in-depth counseling that promotes healing. By honoring the authentic self, the pre-cult self, and the core of the cult self, we help your loved one to integrate valuable parts of his identity into a healthy post-cult self.
7. Does the method include flexible strategies?
By taking an oppositional, “I’m right, you’re wrong” approach, deprogrammers and exit-counselors often unwittingly create a win-lose mentality. Strategic Interaction encourages adaptability and creativity by widening one’s experiential base, which results in a win-win environment. For instance, if family members have never meditated and their loved one is in a meditation cult, then I encourage them to experience meditation.
8. Is the method concerned with our loved one’s spiritual life?
With both deprogramming and exit-counseling, content reigns supreme. This approach can have hidden dangers. The ideological or spiritual perspective of the deprogrammer or exit-counselor could be anything from atheist, to agnostic, to orthodox Christian or Jew. I urge you to scrutinize the beliefs and affiliations of people who offer to rescue your loved one from a destructive cult. Many of these people will seek to impose their own ideological perspective. The ethical approach is to avoid imposing any ideological or theological viewpoint on a mind control subject.
The SIA allows for a spiritual orientation, but does not promote a rigid ideological viewpoint. I personally am Jewish and belong to Temple Beth Zion led by Rabbi Moshe Waldoks, co-author with William Novak, of The Big Book of Jewish Humor (Harper Collins, 1981 which promotes an inclusive approach to spirituality. The Temple’s web site is www.templebethzion.org. My starting point with a client is always the individual’s and family’s spiritual “roots”, if any. If the person is Catholic, I encourage them to rediscover their roots at the appropriate time. Likewise, if they are Protestant, Buddhist, or anything else, I would do the same. At the beginning of every Strategic Interaction, I have family members and friends fill out Background Information Forms. Often, I find that the cult member had a strong spiritual orientation before they were recruited into a religious cult. I encourage family and friends to support their loved one’s full recovery — spiritual as well as psychological.
9. How will we learn the content issues?
The family members, relatives, and friends must understand the seriousness, scope and depth of the cult experience. I want them to become familiar enough with the material to be capable of articulating information about mind control, their loved one’s group, and other cults. This may seem like a daunting task, but the step-by-step, goal-oriented approach we take will make the work more manageable. After they have been adequately prepared, family members and friends can begin to attend cult lectures and read cult literature. These activities demonstrate that they are “open-minded,” and help to encourage rapport and trust.
Before any discussions about the belief system, indoctrination, or the leader, we deal with the cult member’s phobias about leaving the group. Otherwise, your loved one will be under a great deal of unnecessary emotional stress.
10. How does the SIA handle recovery issues?
Deprogramming is over as soon as the person is out of the group. People are often left without trained people to follow-up. Consequently, family and friends are typically not prepared to know how to act as a support system. After an exit-counseling, former members may try to provide some support.
Cults use fear and guilt to program their members to believe that their lives are worthless outside of the group. It is hard to imagine the pain these buried psychic land mines cause when the person manages to leave. Cult experiences and indoctrination have to be worked through during an essential soul-searching recovery period, which usually takes months and sometimes years.
If the person participated in distasteful behavior — if they recruited people, were raped, became a prostitute, or stole money — it is helpful that they get ongoing counseling. Otherwise, they will spend the rest of their lives traumatized by what happened to them, or feeling guilty for what they did while a member of the group.
During the recovery period, your loved one needs to learn how to use recovery techniques in order to visualize and work with his cult identity to reclaim personal history, power, and integrity. He must acknowledge that he was doing the best he could at the time with the information that was available to him.
The SIA provides a long-term recovery process for both the cult member and members of the family. Everyone is traumatized by the cult involvement, even those who are not directly involved. Feelings get hurt. Belief systems are assaulted or shifted. People lose sleep. They get depressed. Anger, frustration, and resentment are repressed. Each person who has been involved in the traumatic experience of having a loved one in a destructive cult needs support on psychological and emotional levels.
The heightened sense of urgency that arises when a loved one joins a destructive cult provides the catalyst for truly remarkable growth, change and development. Family members, relatives, siblings and friends are willing to work hard on their own issues for the sake of their loved one. They are willing to make commitments that seem impossible under less trying circumstances. Their rewards are the many positive changes that take place as a result of working together to bring back a family member or friend lost to a cult.
Even in those circumstances where an individual does not immediately decide to leave the cult, there is basis for hope. Many key issues will have been communicated, especially those dealing with phobias, information control, and the broader issues of cult mind control. The gentleness of the repeated mini-interactions will help the relationship to become more honest, caring and compassionate setting the foundation for future interactions.
11. How effective is the Strategic Interaction Approach?
The Strategic Interaction Approach has an excellent record of helping people leave destructive groups. Each case is different and presents new challenges. Every set of family resources is unique. The Strategic Interaction Approach draws its strength from love, commitment, and flexibility. It provides encouragement, momentum, and practical knowledge.
Even when your loved one participates for only three days and decides to return to the group (which rarely happens), the seeds have already been planted. In such cases, the cult member usually walks out at a later date. When a cult member wants to leave the group, he should know that his family and friends will open their arms with love and support.
Since SIA is therapy, and therefore cannot be compared with making cookies or some other kind of rote operation, it is impossible to use meaningful statistics, since every situation is unique. Be wary of non-licensed, untrained individuals who quote high success rates. Consumer beware!
12. What is the therapist’s role?
A Strategic Interaction Therapist, by definition, is a cult expert and mental health professional. Over the years, I have shared my approach with several individuals, taking them with me on cases and training them in SIA. I hope to encourage more people to learn my approach and plan to offer more training seminars and subsequent supervision. Former cult members with counseling training make ideal candidates for SIA training. During the SIA, the role of a therapist is to facilitate communication between the cult member and the Team by encouraging growth within each person. Although it is possible to empower a cult member to leave without the help of a formally trained counselor, I recommend that you contact a professional counselor to discuss your situation and plan an approach.
(From Chapter 3 of Steven Hassan’s Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves. FOM Press, 2000, Copyrighted, all rights reserved. Permission to use or reprint must be granted in writing. Edited in February, 2002 by Steve Hassan.)
To Schedule an appointment, please click here
Order the Book Online
HOME
SERVICES
INFORMATION
MEDIA
CONTACT
ADDRESS
716 Beacon Street
#590443
Newton, MA 02459
Phone: 617 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153 FOLLOW US
Vimeo
YouTube
COPYRIGHT © 2014 FREEDOM OF MIND RESOURCE CENTER INC.
https://freedomofmind.com/Info/faq.php
HOME
About Us
Mission Statement
SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
Help With Estranged Family Member
Help With A Controlling Relationship
Our Team
Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
About Us
Mission Statement
Privacy Policy
Articles
BITE Model of Unethical Influence
Blogs
Books
FAQ
Friends of FOM Resoruce Center
Groups
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Submit Info About A Group
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Send Us An Email
Join Our Contact List
Submit Information On A Group
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
See and hear Steven Hassan talk about the Strategic Interaction Approach in this video.
(From Chapter 3 of Steven Hassan’s Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves. FOM Press, 2000, Copyrighted, all rights reserved. Permission to use or reprint must be granted in writing.)
1. What is the goal?
The goal of the SIA is to help the loved one recover his full faculties; to restore the creative, interdependent adult who fully understands what has happened to him; who has digested and integrated the experience and is better and stronger from the experience.
2. Who is in control?
You are! In all ethical counseling, the locus of control remains within the client. Strategic Interaction models a non-authoritarian, flexible, and open process. When you engage a therapist, he is there to help as the expert on family systems. He is not there to assume control and make all the decisions. Likewise, a cult expert may provide information and advice, but will not give orders. Family and friends are empowered to understand the issues clearly. In this way, Strategic Interaction can be considered self-help. Each person contributes as best he can, creating a synergy that ensures the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts.
3. Who is the client?
In the SIA, each person has issues that should be addressed. One focus is on the growth and development of healthy relationships within the family. The safe and nurturing environment created by the SIA offers many opportunities to heal old wounds. As an integral part of the family system, the cult member is automatically included in the process.
4. When is the best time to act?
The best time to act is now. Get active and get professional advice. It is always a good idea to prepare, and your case might require immediate intervention. Of course, counseling a cult member is particularly effective when a cult member is questioning his involvement, is disillusioned, or burned out — or simply wants to leave. Mini-interactions are designed to help the cult member question his situation, reality-test, and accept help from family and friends. The SIA is an ongoing process that makes each telephone call, letter, and visit more effective. Every time we interact with the cult member, questions are asked and answered, and information is gathered and delivered. Strategies are formulated, and opportunities to develop rapport and trust unfold. Positive experiences accumulate.
There might be a need for a formal three-day intervention. It is planned when we believe it will be successful. The time is right when we know that we have established trust and rapport with the cult member and we have information that indicates the conditions are right. Many times, mini-interactions may even make a formal intervention unnecessary.
5. Will our loved one be treated as an individual?
The Strategic Interaction is a customized approach that encourages everyone to develop positive, constructive patterns of communication. Family members, relatives and friends learn techniques to remove blocks and phobias. The goal is to restore the creative, flexible, interdependent adult. We want the cult member to understand what happened to him by helping him fully digest and integrate the cult experience. As the Strategic Interaction moves into the recovery phase, we want everyone to be stronger from the experience.
6. Does this approach integrate our loved one’s personality?
In my first book that I wrote in 1988, Combatting Cult Mind Control, I described only a “dual identity” model: the cult identity and the pre-cult identity. The Strategic Interaction Approach liberates and then integrates the parts of the pre-cult identity that were co-opted by the cult identity. In addition, we draw out the individual’s “authentic,” or higher, self and enlist its help to make new associations with the cult self. For example, we recognize that idealism is an integral part of our loved one’s authentic identity. By pointing out discrepancies between cult doctrine and hypocritical cult policies, the idealistic component of the cult identity can be encouraged to begin the questioning process. Eventually, the cult member becomes disillusioned with the group and feels motivated to walk out or ask for help.
The Strategic Interaction Approach provides in-depth counseling that promotes healing. By honoring the authentic self, the pre-cult self, and the core of the cult self, we help your loved one to integrate valuable parts of his identity into a healthy post-cult self.
7. Does the method include flexible strategies?
By taking an oppositional, “I’m right, you’re wrong” approach, deprogrammers and exit-counselors often unwittingly create a win-lose mentality. Strategic Interaction encourages adaptability and creativity by widening one’s experiential base, which results in a win-win environment. For instance, if family members have never meditated and their loved one is in a meditation cult, then I encourage them to experience meditation.
8. Is the method concerned with our loved one’s spiritual life?
With both deprogramming and exit-counseling, content reigns supreme. This approach can have hidden dangers. The ideological or spiritual perspective of the deprogrammer or exit-counselor could be anything from atheist, to agnostic, to orthodox Christian or Jew. I urge you to scrutinize the beliefs and affiliations of people who offer to rescue your loved one from a destructive cult. Many of these people will seek to impose their own ideological perspective. The ethical approach is to avoid imposing any ideological or theological viewpoint on a mind control subject.
The SIA allows for a spiritual orientation, but does not promote a rigid ideological viewpoint. I personally am Jewish and belong to Temple Beth Zion led by Rabbi Moshe Waldoks, co-author with William Novak, of The Big Book of Jewish Humor (Harper Collins, 1981 which promotes an inclusive approach to spirituality. The Temple’s web site is www.templebethzion.org. My starting point with a client is always the individual’s and family’s spiritual “roots”, if any. If the person is Catholic, I encourage them to rediscover their roots at the appropriate time. Likewise, if they are Protestant, Buddhist, or anything else, I would do the same. At the beginning of every Strategic Interaction, I have family members and friends fill out Background Information Forms. Often, I find that the cult member had a strong spiritual orientation before they were recruited into a religious cult. I encourage family and friends to support their loved one’s full recovery — spiritual as well as psychological.
9. How will we learn the content issues?
The family members, relatives, and friends must understand the seriousness, scope and depth of the cult experience. I want them to become familiar enough with the material to be capable of articulating information about mind control, their loved one’s group, and other cults. This may seem like a daunting task, but the step-by-step, goal-oriented approach we take will make the work more manageable. After they have been adequately prepared, family members and friends can begin to attend cult lectures and read cult literature. These activities demonstrate that they are “open-minded,” and help to encourage rapport and trust.
Before any discussions about the belief system, indoctrination, or the leader, we deal with the cult member’s phobias about leaving the group. Otherwise, your loved one will be under a great deal of unnecessary emotional stress.
10. How does the SIA handle recovery issues?
Deprogramming is over as soon as the person is out of the group. People are often left without trained people to follow-up. Consequently, family and friends are typically not prepared to know how to act as a support system. After an exit-counseling, former members may try to provide some support.
Cults use fear and guilt to program their members to believe that their lives are worthless outside of the group. It is hard to imagine the pain these buried psychic land mines cause when the person manages to leave. Cult experiences and indoctrination have to be worked through during an essential soul-searching recovery period, which usually takes months and sometimes years.
If the person participated in distasteful behavior — if they recruited people, were raped, became a prostitute, or stole money — it is helpful that they get ongoing counseling. Otherwise, they will spend the rest of their lives traumatized by what happened to them, or feeling guilty for what they did while a member of the group.
During the recovery period, your loved one needs to learn how to use recovery techniques in order to visualize and work with his cult identity to reclaim personal history, power, and integrity. He must acknowledge that he was doing the best he could at the time with the information that was available to him.
The SIA provides a long-term recovery process for both the cult member and members of the family. Everyone is traumatized by the cult involvement, even those who are not directly involved. Feelings get hurt. Belief systems are assaulted or shifted. People lose sleep. They get depressed. Anger, frustration, and resentment are repressed. Each person who has been involved in the traumatic experience of having a loved one in a destructive cult needs support on psychological and emotional levels.
The heightened sense of urgency that arises when a loved one joins a destructive cult provides the catalyst for truly remarkable growth, change and development. Family members, relatives, siblings and friends are willing to work hard on their own issues for the sake of their loved one. They are willing to make commitments that seem impossible under less trying circumstances. Their rewards are the many positive changes that take place as a result of working together to bring back a family member or friend lost to a cult.
Even in those circumstances where an individual does not immediately decide to leave the cult, there is basis for hope. Many key issues will have been communicated, especially those dealing with phobias, information control, and the broader issues of cult mind control. The gentleness of the repeated mini-interactions will help the relationship to become more honest, caring and compassionate setting the foundation for future interactions.
11. How effective is the Strategic Interaction Approach?
The Strategic Interaction Approach has an excellent record of helping people leave destructive groups. Each case is different and presents new challenges. Every set of family resources is unique. The Strategic Interaction Approach draws its strength from love, commitment, and flexibility. It provides encouragement, momentum, and practical knowledge.
Even when your loved one participates for only three days and decides to return to the group (which rarely happens), the seeds have already been planted. In such cases, the cult member usually walks out at a later date. When a cult member wants to leave the group, he should know that his family and friends will open their arms with love and support.
Since SIA is therapy, and therefore cannot be compared with making cookies or some other kind of rote operation, it is impossible to use meaningful statistics, since every situation is unique. Be wary of non-licensed, untrained individuals who quote high success rates. Consumer beware!
12. What is the therapist’s role?
A Strategic Interaction Therapist, by definition, is a cult expert and mental health professional. Over the years, I have shared my approach with several individuals, taking them with me on cases and training them in SIA. I hope to encourage more people to learn my approach and plan to offer more training seminars and subsequent supervision. Former cult members with counseling training make ideal candidates for SIA training. During the SIA, the role of a therapist is to facilitate communication between the cult member and the Team by encouraging growth within each person. Although it is possible to empower a cult member to leave without the help of a formally trained counselor, I recommend that you contact a professional counselor to discuss your situation and plan an approach.
(From Chapter 3 of Steven Hassan’s Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves. FOM Press, 2000, Copyrighted, all rights reserved. Permission to use or reprint must be granted in writing. Edited in February, 2002 by Steve Hassan.)
To Schedule an appointment, please click here
Order the Book Online
HOME
SERVICES
INFORMATION
MEDIA
CONTACT
ADDRESS
716 Beacon Street
#590443
Newton, MA 02459
Phone: 617 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153 FOLLOW US
Vimeo
YouTube
COPYRIGHT © 2014 FREEDOM OF MIND RESOURCE CENTER INC.
https://freedomofmind.com/Info/faq.php
HOME
About Us
Mission Statement
SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
Help With Estranged Family Member
Help With A Controlling Relationship
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Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
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BITE Model of Unethical Influence
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Steven A. Hassan
Steven Alan Hassan is one of the foremost authorities on undue influence (mind control) and destructive, authoritarian people and cults. He understands the subject from the unique perspective as both a former cult member and as a clinical professional who has been working full time in the field since 1976. Hassan holds a Masters degree in counseling psychology from Cambridge College.
As a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) and Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Hassan is the author of several books that have received extensive praise from international mental health professionals, educators, law enforcement, former cult members, families of former members, clergy and other professionals. Combating Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults (1988, 1990, 2015), Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves (2000) and Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults & Beliefs, (2012, 2013).
Hassan is the founder and Director of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center Inc., a counseling and publishing organization dedicated to helping people become psychologically empowered, upholding human rights, promoting consumer awareness and exposing abuses of undue influence. He is also the Co-Developer of Ending the Game, a non-coercive curriculum designed to educate and empower sex trafficking victims to leave pimps and traffickers.
He has pioneered a breakthrough method called the Strategic Interactive Approach (SIA) to help loved ones rescue cult mind control victims. Unlike stressful and sensationalized "deprogramming", this non-coercive method is an effective and legal alternative for families to help cult members. SIA teaches family and friends how to strategically influence the individual involved in the cult. Using this unique technique, Hassan has helped thousands of people victimized by destructive cult-related mind control groups.
During his many years of work, Hassan has been asked to provide numerous training workshops and seminars for mental health professionals, educators and law enforcement officers worldwide, as well as for families of cult members. Steve was a featured speaker at the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2009 National Amber Alert Symposium, where he explained why victims like Elizabeth Smart and Jaycee Lee Dugard denied their real identity to police and others due to psychological coercion. In 2013, Hassan was invited by Carissa Phelps’ (Runaway Girl) to assist in training over 600 Law Enforcement professionals at the Joint Regional Intelligence Center (JRIC.org) on psychological coercion used by pimps and traffickers. In 2014, My Life, My Choice sponsored Hassan’s 4-hour workshop on understanding traffickers mind control methods and how to help survivors. Hassan has written and spoken out about the importance of viewing ISIS and other terrorist groups as destructive cults.
With almost 40 years of cult awareness activism, Hassan’s insightful perspective and expert commentary have made him the definitive source for hundreds of national and international media outlets including: 60 Minutes, CNN, Fox News, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Newsweek, ABC NightLine, NPR, Oprah Winfrey Show, The O’Reilly Factor, USA Today and Washington Post. Please visit endingthegame.com and his web site, www.freedomofmind.com for more detailed and in-depth information.
Testimonials:
“Steven Hassan’s approach is one I value more than that of any other researcher or clinical practitioner”
–Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Stanford University, Former President of the American Psychological Association
"Mind control is alive and well and in many varied forms across America. Steven Hassan understands like no one else the human need to belong, how it is exploited, and how to retrieve those who have fallen prey to the false allure of a perfect parent."
- Douglas Rushkoff
"Steven Hassan is a liberator. He frees peoples minds from the enslavement of cults and he does it with clarity, honesty and deep understanding of the human spirit. Freedom of Mind is a very important book."
- Rabbi David Wolpe, Sinai Temple, Los Angeles, author of "Why Faith Matters"
“You saved my son’s life. We will be forever grateful!” - A Father
“Reading Combatting Cult Mind Control helped me finally walk away after 27 years. Thank you so much for your courage!” – Ex-member Scientology
"Steven Hassan’s writings and life work fill a critical need in our health and our lives. Health care professionals have long ignored the essential role that social psychology and influence play in our efforts to be healing. Beyond the skills of therapeutic persuasion in our own clinical effectiveness, too many sources of undue influence pervade our culture to ignore its significance in health and illness. Our work must include investing in the resiliency of those for whom we care by teaching them to test their realities, to value their intuitions, to know their own minds. This is Hassan’s mission. He succeeds largely because of his intelligence, passion and dedication. Those are contagious characteristics and just cause for due influence."
- Laurence I. Sugarman, M.D. F.A.A.P., A.B.M.H., Director and Research Professor, Center for Applied Psychophysiology and Self-regulation, Institute of Health Sciences and Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology; Past-President, American Board of Medical Hypnosis. Co-author, Therapeutic Hypnosis with Children and Adolescents, Second Edition.
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Steven A. Hassan
Steven Alan Hassan is one of the foremost authorities on undue influence (mind control) and destructive, authoritarian people and cults. He understands the subject from the unique perspective as both a former cult member and as a clinical professional who has been working full time in the field since 1976. Hassan holds a Masters degree in counseling psychology from Cambridge College.
As a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) and Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Hassan is the author of several books that have received extensive praise from international mental health professionals, educators, law enforcement, former cult members, families of former members, clergy and other professionals. Combating Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults (1988, 1990, 2015), Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves (2000) and Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults & Beliefs, (2012, 2013).
Hassan is the founder and Director of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center Inc., a counseling and publishing organization dedicated to helping people become psychologically empowered, upholding human rights, promoting consumer awareness and exposing abuses of undue influence. He is also the Co-Developer of Ending the Game, a non-coercive curriculum designed to educate and empower sex trafficking victims to leave pimps and traffickers.
He has pioneered a breakthrough method called the Strategic Interactive Approach (SIA) to help loved ones rescue cult mind control victims. Unlike stressful and sensationalized "deprogramming", this non-coercive method is an effective and legal alternative for families to help cult members. SIA teaches family and friends how to strategically influence the individual involved in the cult. Using this unique technique, Hassan has helped thousands of people victimized by destructive cult-related mind control groups.
During his many years of work, Hassan has been asked to provide numerous training workshops and seminars for mental health professionals, educators and law enforcement officers worldwide, as well as for families of cult members. Steve was a featured speaker at the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2009 National Amber Alert Symposium, where he explained why victims like Elizabeth Smart and Jaycee Lee Dugard denied their real identity to police and others due to psychological coercion. In 2013, Hassan was invited by Carissa Phelps’ (Runaway Girl) to assist in training over 600 Law Enforcement professionals at the Joint Regional Intelligence Center (JRIC.org) on psychological coercion used by pimps and traffickers. In 2014, My Life, My Choice sponsored Hassan’s 4-hour workshop on understanding traffickers mind control methods and how to help survivors. Hassan has written and spoken out about the importance of viewing ISIS and other terrorist groups as destructive cults.
With almost 40 years of cult awareness activism, Hassan’s insightful perspective and expert commentary have made him the definitive source for hundreds of national and international media outlets including: 60 Minutes, CNN, Fox News, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Newsweek, ABC NightLine, NPR, Oprah Winfrey Show, The O’Reilly Factor, USA Today and Washington Post. Please visit endingthegame.com and his web site, www.freedomofmind.com for more detailed and in-depth information.
Testimonials:
“Steven Hassan’s approach is one I value more than that of any other researcher or clinical practitioner”
–Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Stanford University, Former President of the American Psychological Association
"Mind control is alive and well and in many varied forms across America. Steven Hassan understands like no one else the human need to belong, how it is exploited, and how to retrieve those who have fallen prey to the false allure of a perfect parent."
- Douglas Rushkoff
"Steven Hassan is a liberator. He frees peoples minds from the enslavement of cults and he does it with clarity, honesty and deep understanding of the human spirit. Freedom of Mind is a very important book."
- Rabbi David Wolpe, Sinai Temple, Los Angeles, author of "Why Faith Matters"
“You saved my son’s life. We will be forever grateful!” - A Father
“Reading Combatting Cult Mind Control helped me finally walk away after 27 years. Thank you so much for your courage!” – Ex-member Scientology
"Steven Hassan’s writings and life work fill a critical need in our health and our lives. Health care professionals have long ignored the essential role that social psychology and influence play in our efforts to be healing. Beyond the skills of therapeutic persuasion in our own clinical effectiveness, too many sources of undue influence pervade our culture to ignore its significance in health and illness. Our work must include investing in the resiliency of those for whom we care by teaching them to test their realities, to value their intuitions, to know their own minds. This is Hassan’s mission. He succeeds largely because of his intelligence, passion and dedication. Those are contagious characteristics and just cause for due influence."
- Laurence I. Sugarman, M.D. F.A.A.P., A.B.M.H., Director and Research Professor, Center for Applied Psychophysiology and Self-regulation, Institute of Health Sciences and Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology; Past-President, American Board of Medical Hypnosis. Co-author, Therapeutic Hypnosis with Children and Adolescents, Second Edition.
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617-396-4638
Again and again, our clients praise their families for sticking by them through the struggle to regain their freedom. They tell us that they probably wouldn’t have been able to leave their situation, without the support of their families. It is important to stay strong and involved.
We Offer Specific Consulting and Coaching Services for Individual Situations including, but not limited to:
•If you want information about assisting a member of a controlling group or cult, you’ll find that information under controlling groups.
•We also have extensive experience helping families reconnect with estranged or alienated loved ones. The estranged family member pages will give you additional information on how we can help.
•The ex-member section will give you information about getting help to deal with the aftereffects of a controlling group experience.
•We also have seen how helpful it can be to get experienced support when you're recovering from a difficult or controlling relationship. We encourage you to explore difficult relationships pages.
Steven A. Hassan
Steven A. Hassan, M.Ed., LMHC, NCC has been involved in educating the public about mind control, controlling groups and destructive cults since 1976. He holds a Masters degree in counseling psychology from Cambridge College, is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC).
Steve has written three books that have received extensive praise from former cult members, families of former members, clergy, cult experts, and psychologists. Combatting Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults(2000), and in July 2012, he published the paperback and ebook,Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults & Beliefs, Second Edition 2013.
Steve Hassan speaks to national and international audiences and concerned groups about how they can be most effective in the struggle against cults and other dangerous groups. He has specific ideas for educators, mental health professionals, politicians, law enforcement personnel, parents and community groups. If you would like to arrange for Steve to speak to your group, please contact us. [Read more]
Rachel Bernstein
Rachel Bernstein is an educator and therapist. She is a credentialed teacher in regular and special education, has a Masters Degree in Education, and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
Starting in 1990, Rachel Bernstein began providing therapy for those hurt by cults, and hurt by those who are abusively manipulative and dominant. She came onto the scene unexpectedly, as one of her relatives became ensnared in a cult, and she felt the shock waves that coursed through the entire family system. Seeing how little cult information was out there at the time, how people didn’t understand what cults were and how they operated, and that therapists were not equipped with the information they needed in order to help those hurt by cults and cultic systems, she felt compelled to be a resource to others. Her late father, Maynard Bernstein, took this issue on as human rights issue, and became a leader in cult education and prevention. [Read more]
Custom Research Reports
The Freedom of Mind Resource Center can help you research groups and publish reports on a fee-for-service basis. We have extensive files, contacts and other resources that are not online. Valuable information and referrals can often be produced within hours.
Full written reports can be completed within two to three weeks.
Support for Mental Health Professionals
“Steve Hassan is a compelling spokesman on the topic of cult mind control, which encompasses issues of human identity, our innate psychological vulnerabilities and dissociation, and its relationship to mind control. All of which are of innate interest to mental health professionals..." [Read more]
HOME
SERVICES
INFORMATION
MEDIA
CONTACT
ADDRESS
716 Beacon Street
#590443
Newton, MA 02459
Phone: 617 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153 FOLLOW US
Vimeo
YouTube
COPYRIGHT © 2014 FREEDOM OF MIND RESOURCE CENTER INC.
https://freedomofmind.com/Services/
HOME
About Us
Mission Statement
SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
Help With Estranged Family Member
Help With A Controlling Relationship
Our Team
Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
About Us
Mission Statement
Privacy Policy
Articles
BITE Model of Unethical Influence
Blogs
Books
FAQ
Friends of FOM Resoruce Center
Groups
Group Database
Submit Info About A Group
Human Trafficking
Recent News
Terrorism
MEDIA
Steve Hassan Press Kit Resources
Video Archives
CONTACT
Send Us An Email
Join Our Contact List
Submit Information On A Group
Facebook (Cult Expert)
Facebook (FOM)
Youtube
Vimeo
Consulting and Coaching Services
617-396-4638
Again and again, our clients praise their families for sticking by them through the struggle to regain their freedom. They tell us that they probably wouldn’t have been able to leave their situation, without the support of their families. It is important to stay strong and involved.
We Offer Specific Consulting and Coaching Services for Individual Situations including, but not limited to:
•If you want information about assisting a member of a controlling group or cult, you’ll find that information under controlling groups.
•We also have extensive experience helping families reconnect with estranged or alienated loved ones. The estranged family member pages will give you additional information on how we can help.
•The ex-member section will give you information about getting help to deal with the aftereffects of a controlling group experience.
•We also have seen how helpful it can be to get experienced support when you're recovering from a difficult or controlling relationship. We encourage you to explore difficult relationships pages.
Steven A. Hassan
Steven A. Hassan, M.Ed., LMHC, NCC has been involved in educating the public about mind control, controlling groups and destructive cults since 1976. He holds a Masters degree in counseling psychology from Cambridge College, is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC).
Steve has written three books that have received extensive praise from former cult members, families of former members, clergy, cult experts, and psychologists. Combatting Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best Selling Guide to Protection, Rescue, and Recovery from Destructive Cults(2000), and in July 2012, he published the paperback and ebook,Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults & Beliefs, Second Edition 2013.
Steve Hassan speaks to national and international audiences and concerned groups about how they can be most effective in the struggle against cults and other dangerous groups. He has specific ideas for educators, mental health professionals, politicians, law enforcement personnel, parents and community groups. If you would like to arrange for Steve to speak to your group, please contact us. [Read more]
Rachel Bernstein
Rachel Bernstein is an educator and therapist. She is a credentialed teacher in regular and special education, has a Masters Degree in Education, and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
Starting in 1990, Rachel Bernstein began providing therapy for those hurt by cults, and hurt by those who are abusively manipulative and dominant. She came onto the scene unexpectedly, as one of her relatives became ensnared in a cult, and she felt the shock waves that coursed through the entire family system. Seeing how little cult information was out there at the time, how people didn’t understand what cults were and how they operated, and that therapists were not equipped with the information they needed in order to help those hurt by cults and cultic systems, she felt compelled to be a resource to others. Her late father, Maynard Bernstein, took this issue on as human rights issue, and became a leader in cult education and prevention. [Read more]
Custom Research Reports
The Freedom of Mind Resource Center can help you research groups and publish reports on a fee-for-service basis. We have extensive files, contacts and other resources that are not online. Valuable information and referrals can often be produced within hours.
Full written reports can be completed within two to three weeks.
Support for Mental Health Professionals
“Steve Hassan is a compelling spokesman on the topic of cult mind control, which encompasses issues of human identity, our innate psychological vulnerabilities and dissociation, and its relationship to mind control. All of which are of innate interest to mental health professionals..." [Read more]
HOME
SERVICES
INFORMATION
MEDIA
CONTACT
ADDRESS
716 Beacon Street
#590443
Newton, MA 02459
Phone: 617 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153 FOLLOW US
Vimeo
YouTube
COPYRIGHT © 2014 FREEDOM OF MIND RESOURCE CENTER INC.
https://freedomofmind.com/Services/
HOME
About Us
Mission Statement
SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
Help With Estranged Family Member
Help With A Controlling Relationship
Our Team
Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
About Us
Mission Statement
Privacy Policy
Articles
BITE Model of Unethical Influence
Blogs
Books
FAQ
Friends of FOM Resoruce Center
Groups
Group Database
Submit Info About A Group
Human Trafficking
Recent News
Terrorism
MEDIA
Steve Hassan Press Kit Resources
Video Archives
CONTACT
Send Us An Email
Join Our Contact List
Submit Information On A Group
Facebook (Cult Expert)
Facebook (FOM)
Youtube
Vimeo
News
Spotting Teens Who Are Into Cults
Prompted by the Pamela Vitale murder, and its rumored cult connection, CBS dedicated a news segment to the signs parents can spot when their child joins a cult.
Co-anchor Rene Syler spoke with cult expert Steve Hassan on The Early Show.
[...] there’s no evidence that there’s a specific cult or any undue influence of some other person on him.
[...] I don’t believe that the Goth look is, in any way, a destructive cult.
[...] But I can definitely tell you families need to be alert, (get) preventive education, letting young people know, especially, that there’s no instant friends. Become a researcher. Understand that destructive cults are out there. They don’t tell you what they believe and what they want from you.
Video: Steve Hassan on The Early Show
Gerry Armstrong’s extreme restriction of Freedom of Speech continues
[1] On Wednesday, Oct. 19 2005, the California Court of Appeal’s granted the Scientology organization’s petition to reinflict the punishment of jail sentences and fines against Gerry Armstrong, Hubbard’s former official biography researcher, that Marin County Judge Lynn Duryee had discharged in April 2004.
Scientology’s appeals court success in its religious war against Armstrong begins with his punishment of twenty-eight days in jail and $4600 in fines, but the potential exists for Scientology to keep him jailed forever. What is Armstrong’s crime? Nothing more than discussing the Scientology religion. Not lying, not libeling Scientology, but telling the truth about this religion and organization as he believes the truth to be.
For every mention Armstrong makes of his sincere beliefs about the Scientology religion, or even about his own religion and his own church (the Church of Wogs (CoW) Scientology wants him jailed, fined and forced to pay the organization $50,000 in damages. Unimaginable but true, and extensively documented on his Scientology v. Armstrong legal archive.
Armstrong’s position is that it is no more lawful for the U.S. Courts to jail and financially crush him for discussing his beliefs about Scientology than it would be lawful to jail and ruin a person for discussing his beliefs about God and Jesus in the Christian religion [2].
[1]: This entry contains portions of Suppresive Person’s press release on the matter. The Suppresive Person site is named after the Scientology definition of a suppresive: “A SUPPRESSIVE PERSON or GROUP is one that actively seeks to suppress or damage Scientology or a Scientologist by suppressive acts.
[2]: In a number of countries, Scientology is not considered a religion at all, but a commercial and totalitarian cult with a goal of world domination.
Cult expert Steve Hassan on Montel
Monday, October 24, Steve Hassan appeared on the Montel Williams Show titled Sex Abuse and Mind Control: Raised in a Cult.
The show featured survivors of a controversial religious cult who risked their lives to tell their story publicly for the first time.
Caryn, a young woman who was born and raised in “The Family” and suffered years of abuse, claims that this organization formerly known as the Children of God (now renamed to The Family International) has doctrines that allow their adult members to literally “beat the devil” out of misbehaving children.
Don, another former member, also shares in Caryn’s recollections. He says they beat and molested his sister and then published her battered image in the cult’s magazine to display an example of what acceptable punishment is.
Steve talked with the guests and offered them free counseling after the show.
Judge denies Amway arbitration
Sep. 21, 2005 – U.S. District Judge Richard Dorr refused arbitration in a suit filed two years ago.
Amway had argued that the disputes arose under rules of conduct for Amway product distributors that were subject to arbitration.
Judge Richard Dorr made short with argument, calling those rules of conduct agreements “unconscionable” because they were offered on a “take it or leave it” basis and because Amway hand-picked the arbitrators and trained them.
As if that wasn’t enough he also pointed out that the agreements weren’t signed by the parties, did not form valid contracts or weren’t applicable to the suit.
The suit, which describes Amway as a pyramid-type scheme, charges that a few Amway “kingpins” — those who bought into Amway early on — control thousands of down-line distributors and make most of their money by selling them motivational materials, known at Amway as the “tool and function” business.
The suit says that Amway helped the few big players monopolize and restrain trade in the motivational arena, using it to subsidize the rest of its business.
The denial of arbitration is a big deal. Former Emerald distributor Eric Scheibeler, author of Merchants of Deception, describes it as “the legal equivalent of the Titanic hitting the iceberg”.
The full legal ruling is available from Freedom of Mind‘s Amway Quixtar resources.
See also:
Amway/Alticor Court Case Newstracker
BITE analysis of Amway/Quixtar by cult expert Steve Hassan
Open letter by Fawn Holm, FLDS escapee
The Fawn twins, who left the abusiveFundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints cult to escape polygamy, haven’t left the news after cult expert Steve Hassan was called in for his counseling expertise and did follow up pro bono counseling with them and the family who took them in, since their taping of the Dr. Phil Show.
Their strength shows through in Fawn Holm’s open letter, sent to the editor of the Arizona Republic.
To all ex-Creekers:
Those who judge me for being on TV, for standing up and doing something about the crimes and abuses at the “Creek,” who say I am “hurting my family” or “ratting on the Creek” – I have something to say to you.
I, at least, am not sitting around pretending it never happened.
I am not trying to run away from the pain by working myself to death or partying with drugs and alcohol.
You can only run for so long.
People say I hurt my parents. What did they do to me? I asked them nicely if I could leave. Do you think they said, “OK, let us find you a safe place to go?” No! My parents got a restraining order on my brothers who had left, and had me placed under house arrest.
Since I left, I am no longer welcome in their house. Why? Because I will bring “evil spirits” with me, and they would have to “rededicate” their house.
Our families talk about having to stand before God and atone for our sins. How do you think our loving God is going to react to parents who say, “We could not let our kids into our house because they might bring in evil spirits”?
Our families tell us that they “hurt for us” and wish we would come home. But they only say that until they realize how strong and free we have become. They then say there is no hope for us.
I think my parents’ should be proud of me! I stood up and fought for the freedom I believe in. I stood up, and I am not sitting until this job is done.
I am the youngest of my mom’s 18 kids. I was born three months early and nearly died. My mom said the reason I lived was because I had a big mission.
Standing up is my mission.
To all of you who wonder if you should go back to the Creek, because you are going to “burn in the fire of the last days if you don’t,” let me get this straight: You are afraid that our God, a loving, caring God, is going to make you choose between happiness, love, success and heaven? I don’t think so.
Our families, the ones who won’t let us visit them, say living at the Creek is the only way to have happiness, love, success and heaven. I have witnessed love at the Creek. For example:
· A wife leaves a husband whom she “loves” to go and suddenly “love” another man, because the “prophet” told her to.
· Little kids (or big ones) “love” their father, then turn around and say he’s a bad man because the “prophet” said so.
· Families turn their backs on “apostate” children because “prophet” Warren Jeffs told them to. Ten minutes earlier they were begging those same children to return because they “love” them.
I understand that you miss your family and friends at the Creek. But if you go back, the people at the Creek will make you choose them only. You will not be allowed to speak to those “inside.” You do not have to make that choice out here. That is love and happiness to me.
I’m fed up with ex-Creekers judging me for speaking out. We need to stand up together and take a position. You are in or you are out – there is no middle.
Stop running and stand up. Let’s stop this abuse together.
Recently the Fawn twins returned to Boston for some follow-up counseling with Steve Hassan.
Oprah Magazine quotes Steve Hassan
The Last 10 Pounds is a feature article in the August issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.
The Last 10 Pound wonders if those pounds really should stand between you and happiness. Is it worth the misery? Is it worth the self-loathing?
A team of experts provides a long over-due reality check.
Feeling that our culture indoctrinates women to believe they need to be thin to be beautiful, O, The Oprah Magazine spoke with cult expert Steve Hassan. He showed the women the Asch conformity study and talked with them about positive ethical ways to control their thoughts, feelings and behavior.
The web site quotes Steve Hassan under the heading “Good advice: mind set”:
If you’re losing weight to please a partner or follow some ideal, you will rebel. You must be your own authority figure to succeed.
Dr.Zimbardo’s Discovering Psychology video course online
The entire Psychology 101 Course done by Dr. Zimbardo is online and free for viewing.
Cult expert Steve Hassan was interviewed for the 20th segment, “Constructing Social Reality“1.
Despite pressure from Scientologists to pull the five minutes on cults that Steve Hassan was speaking on (including Scientology, the Moonies, the krishnas), Annenberg and Zimbardo said no to their pressure.
Highlighting major new developments in the field, this updated edition of Discovering Psychology offers high school and college students, and teachers of psychology at all levels, an overview of historic and current theories of human behavior. Stanford University professor and author Philip Zimbardo narrates as leading researchers, practitioners, and theorists probe the mysteries of the mind and body. Based on extensive investigation and authoritative scholarship, this introductory course in psychology features demonstrations, classic experiments and simulations, current research, documentary footage, and computer animation. This series is also valuable for teachers seeking to review the subject matter.
: 20. Constructing Social Reality
Many factors contribute to our interpretation of reality. This program demonstrates how understanding the psychological processes that govern our behavior may help us to become more empathetic and independent members of society. With Steven Hassan, M.Ed., of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center and Dr. Robert Cialdini of Arizona State University. Updated.
William Kamm court case
William Kamm, a.k.a. “Little Pebble”, leader of the Australian Catholic cul tOrder of St. Charbel, has recently been convicted of four counts of aggravated indecent assault and one of aggravated sexual intercourse. The five charges involve a then 15 year old girl.
William Kamm claims to receive revelations from Jesus and the Virgin Mary. At times these revelations included doomsday prophecies, which so far have failed to come true.
One of these end-of-the-world prophecies included the advice that William Kamm should choose 12 queens and 72 princesses who would become his mystical wives to spawn an immaculate race after the world ended.
According to William Kamm, at that time, the sexual abuse victim was one of these queens and pricesses.
A good but not always up to date resource page on the court case is Australia’s Greatest Cult, The Order of Saint Charbel: Kamm in Court.
Additional news can be found via this pre-defined Google News search, and on Religion News Blog.
Archived items
Other cult news sources
Religion News Blog:
Factnet.org’s cult news
HOME
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#590443
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Phone: 617 396-4638
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https://freedomofmind.com/Media/News/
HOME
About Us
Mission Statement
SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
Help With Estranged Family Member
Help With A Controlling Relationship
Our Team
Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
About Us
Mission Statement
Privacy Policy
Articles
BITE Model of Unethical Influence
Blogs
Books
FAQ
Friends of FOM Resoruce Center
Groups
Group Database
Submit Info About A Group
Human Trafficking
Recent News
Terrorism
MEDIA
Steve Hassan Press Kit Resources
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Send Us An Email
Join Our Contact List
Submit Information On A Group
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Facebook (FOM)
Youtube
Vimeo
News
Spotting Teens Who Are Into Cults
Prompted by the Pamela Vitale murder, and its rumored cult connection, CBS dedicated a news segment to the signs parents can spot when their child joins a cult.
Co-anchor Rene Syler spoke with cult expert Steve Hassan on The Early Show.
[...] there’s no evidence that there’s a specific cult or any undue influence of some other person on him.
[...] I don’t believe that the Goth look is, in any way, a destructive cult.
[...] But I can definitely tell you families need to be alert, (get) preventive education, letting young people know, especially, that there’s no instant friends. Become a researcher. Understand that destructive cults are out there. They don’t tell you what they believe and what they want from you.
Video: Steve Hassan on The Early Show
Gerry Armstrong’s extreme restriction of Freedom of Speech continues
[1] On Wednesday, Oct. 19 2005, the California Court of Appeal’s granted the Scientology organization’s petition to reinflict the punishment of jail sentences and fines against Gerry Armstrong, Hubbard’s former official biography researcher, that Marin County Judge Lynn Duryee had discharged in April 2004.
Scientology’s appeals court success in its religious war against Armstrong begins with his punishment of twenty-eight days in jail and $4600 in fines, but the potential exists for Scientology to keep him jailed forever. What is Armstrong’s crime? Nothing more than discussing the Scientology religion. Not lying, not libeling Scientology, but telling the truth about this religion and organization as he believes the truth to be.
For every mention Armstrong makes of his sincere beliefs about the Scientology religion, or even about his own religion and his own church (the Church of Wogs (CoW) Scientology wants him jailed, fined and forced to pay the organization $50,000 in damages. Unimaginable but true, and extensively documented on his Scientology v. Armstrong legal archive.
Armstrong’s position is that it is no more lawful for the U.S. Courts to jail and financially crush him for discussing his beliefs about Scientology than it would be lawful to jail and ruin a person for discussing his beliefs about God and Jesus in the Christian religion [2].
[1]: This entry contains portions of Suppresive Person’s press release on the matter. The Suppresive Person site is named after the Scientology definition of a suppresive: “A SUPPRESSIVE PERSON or GROUP is one that actively seeks to suppress or damage Scientology or a Scientologist by suppressive acts.
[2]: In a number of countries, Scientology is not considered a religion at all, but a commercial and totalitarian cult with a goal of world domination.
Cult expert Steve Hassan on Montel
Monday, October 24, Steve Hassan appeared on the Montel Williams Show titled Sex Abuse and Mind Control: Raised in a Cult.
The show featured survivors of a controversial religious cult who risked their lives to tell their story publicly for the first time.
Caryn, a young woman who was born and raised in “The Family” and suffered years of abuse, claims that this organization formerly known as the Children of God (now renamed to The Family International) has doctrines that allow their adult members to literally “beat the devil” out of misbehaving children.
Don, another former member, also shares in Caryn’s recollections. He says they beat and molested his sister and then published her battered image in the cult’s magazine to display an example of what acceptable punishment is.
Steve talked with the guests and offered them free counseling after the show.
Judge denies Amway arbitration
Sep. 21, 2005 – U.S. District Judge Richard Dorr refused arbitration in a suit filed two years ago.
Amway had argued that the disputes arose under rules of conduct for Amway product distributors that were subject to arbitration.
Judge Richard Dorr made short with argument, calling those rules of conduct agreements “unconscionable” because they were offered on a “take it or leave it” basis and because Amway hand-picked the arbitrators and trained them.
As if that wasn’t enough he also pointed out that the agreements weren’t signed by the parties, did not form valid contracts or weren’t applicable to the suit.
The suit, which describes Amway as a pyramid-type scheme, charges that a few Amway “kingpins” — those who bought into Amway early on — control thousands of down-line distributors and make most of their money by selling them motivational materials, known at Amway as the “tool and function” business.
The suit says that Amway helped the few big players monopolize and restrain trade in the motivational arena, using it to subsidize the rest of its business.
The denial of arbitration is a big deal. Former Emerald distributor Eric Scheibeler, author of Merchants of Deception, describes it as “the legal equivalent of the Titanic hitting the iceberg”.
The full legal ruling is available from Freedom of Mind‘s Amway Quixtar resources.
See also:
Amway/Alticor Court Case Newstracker
BITE analysis of Amway/Quixtar by cult expert Steve Hassan
Open letter by Fawn Holm, FLDS escapee
The Fawn twins, who left the abusiveFundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints cult to escape polygamy, haven’t left the news after cult expert Steve Hassan was called in for his counseling expertise and did follow up pro bono counseling with them and the family who took them in, since their taping of the Dr. Phil Show.
Their strength shows through in Fawn Holm’s open letter, sent to the editor of the Arizona Republic.
To all ex-Creekers:
Those who judge me for being on TV, for standing up and doing something about the crimes and abuses at the “Creek,” who say I am “hurting my family” or “ratting on the Creek” – I have something to say to you.
I, at least, am not sitting around pretending it never happened.
I am not trying to run away from the pain by working myself to death or partying with drugs and alcohol.
You can only run for so long.
People say I hurt my parents. What did they do to me? I asked them nicely if I could leave. Do you think they said, “OK, let us find you a safe place to go?” No! My parents got a restraining order on my brothers who had left, and had me placed under house arrest.
Since I left, I am no longer welcome in their house. Why? Because I will bring “evil spirits” with me, and they would have to “rededicate” their house.
Our families talk about having to stand before God and atone for our sins. How do you think our loving God is going to react to parents who say, “We could not let our kids into our house because they might bring in evil spirits”?
Our families tell us that they “hurt for us” and wish we would come home. But they only say that until they realize how strong and free we have become. They then say there is no hope for us.
I think my parents’ should be proud of me! I stood up and fought for the freedom I believe in. I stood up, and I am not sitting until this job is done.
I am the youngest of my mom’s 18 kids. I was born three months early and nearly died. My mom said the reason I lived was because I had a big mission.
Standing up is my mission.
To all of you who wonder if you should go back to the Creek, because you are going to “burn in the fire of the last days if you don’t,” let me get this straight: You are afraid that our God, a loving, caring God, is going to make you choose between happiness, love, success and heaven? I don’t think so.
Our families, the ones who won’t let us visit them, say living at the Creek is the only way to have happiness, love, success and heaven. I have witnessed love at the Creek. For example:
· A wife leaves a husband whom she “loves” to go and suddenly “love” another man, because the “prophet” told her to.
· Little kids (or big ones) “love” their father, then turn around and say he’s a bad man because the “prophet” said so.
· Families turn their backs on “apostate” children because “prophet” Warren Jeffs told them to. Ten minutes earlier they were begging those same children to return because they “love” them.
I understand that you miss your family and friends at the Creek. But if you go back, the people at the Creek will make you choose them only. You will not be allowed to speak to those “inside.” You do not have to make that choice out here. That is love and happiness to me.
I’m fed up with ex-Creekers judging me for speaking out. We need to stand up together and take a position. You are in or you are out – there is no middle.
Stop running and stand up. Let’s stop this abuse together.
Recently the Fawn twins returned to Boston for some follow-up counseling with Steve Hassan.
Oprah Magazine quotes Steve Hassan
The Last 10 Pounds is a feature article in the August issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.
The Last 10 Pound wonders if those pounds really should stand between you and happiness. Is it worth the misery? Is it worth the self-loathing?
A team of experts provides a long over-due reality check.
Feeling that our culture indoctrinates women to believe they need to be thin to be beautiful, O, The Oprah Magazine spoke with cult expert Steve Hassan. He showed the women the Asch conformity study and talked with them about positive ethical ways to control their thoughts, feelings and behavior.
The web site quotes Steve Hassan under the heading “Good advice: mind set”:
If you’re losing weight to please a partner or follow some ideal, you will rebel. You must be your own authority figure to succeed.
Dr.Zimbardo’s Discovering Psychology video course online
The entire Psychology 101 Course done by Dr. Zimbardo is online and free for viewing.
Cult expert Steve Hassan was interviewed for the 20th segment, “Constructing Social Reality“1.
Despite pressure from Scientologists to pull the five minutes on cults that Steve Hassan was speaking on (including Scientology, the Moonies, the krishnas), Annenberg and Zimbardo said no to their pressure.
Highlighting major new developments in the field, this updated edition of Discovering Psychology offers high school and college students, and teachers of psychology at all levels, an overview of historic and current theories of human behavior. Stanford University professor and author Philip Zimbardo narrates as leading researchers, practitioners, and theorists probe the mysteries of the mind and body. Based on extensive investigation and authoritative scholarship, this introductory course in psychology features demonstrations, classic experiments and simulations, current research, documentary footage, and computer animation. This series is also valuable for teachers seeking to review the subject matter.
: 20. Constructing Social Reality
Many factors contribute to our interpretation of reality. This program demonstrates how understanding the psychological processes that govern our behavior may help us to become more empathetic and independent members of society. With Steven Hassan, M.Ed., of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center and Dr. Robert Cialdini of Arizona State University. Updated.
William Kamm court case
William Kamm, a.k.a. “Little Pebble”, leader of the Australian Catholic cul tOrder of St. Charbel, has recently been convicted of four counts of aggravated indecent assault and one of aggravated sexual intercourse. The five charges involve a then 15 year old girl.
William Kamm claims to receive revelations from Jesus and the Virgin Mary. At times these revelations included doomsday prophecies, which so far have failed to come true.
One of these end-of-the-world prophecies included the advice that William Kamm should choose 12 queens and 72 princesses who would become his mystical wives to spawn an immaculate race after the world ended.
According to William Kamm, at that time, the sexual abuse victim was one of these queens and pricesses.
A good but not always up to date resource page on the court case is Australia’s Greatest Cult, The Order of Saint Charbel: Kamm in Court.
Additional news can be found via this pre-defined Google News search, and on Religion News Blog.
Archived items
Other cult news sources
Religion News Blog:
Factnet.org’s cult news
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Services - Rachel Bernstein
Rachel Bernstein is an educator and therapist. She is a credentialed teacher in regular and special education, has a Masters Degree in Education, and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
Starting in 1990, Rachel Bernstein began providing therapy for those hurt by cults, and hurt by those who are abusively manipulative and dominant. She came onto the scene unexpectedly, as one of her relatives became ensnared in a cult, and she felt the shock waves that coursed through the entire family system. Seeing how little cult information was out there at the time, how people didn’t understand what cults were and how they operated, and that therapists were not equipped with the information they needed in order to help those hurt by cults and cultic systems, she felt compelled to be a resource to others. Her late father, Maynard Bernstein, took this issue on as human rights issue, and became a leader in cult education and prevention.
Rachel’s work with former cult members and their families, and those who were stuck in one-on-one cultic and controlling connections, began in Los Angeles at the former Commission on Cults, at the Cult Resource Center started in her father’s memory, and as a clinician at the former Cult Clinic where she provided counseling and ran a former cult-member support group.
When Rachel moved to New York in 1994, she worked at the Cult Hotline and Clinic in Manhattan, offered a support group for the family and friends of those in cults, and developed a Speakers Bureau for those who had been affected by cults who wanted to take their message out to the community.
Upon returning to Los Angeles in 2001, Rachel set up a private practice where she works with general clients as a Marriage, Family and Child Therapist. She also works with cult-affected clients and families, and provides a support group for former cult members.
Rachel has made many TV appearances - on Larry King, on The National Geographic Channel, on CNN, MSNBC and FOX, to name a few - has been interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and the Jerusalem Report, and has had articles published in on-line websites and LA Parent Magazine that teach about parenting and about how to preserve and heal relationships. She has also worked with directors and writers who created cult-related shows, movies and projects.
Rachel is very knowledgeable about human nature and individual psychology as well as group psychology, systems, and the nature of relationships, both healthy and unhealthy. She is someone who puts people at ease. She comes to this work with a desire to help, to provide information, practical guidance and counseling, and with a great respect for the difficulties people face when trying to regain their own freedom, or the freedom of their loved one.
What Others Are Saying:
"Dear Ms. Bernstein: As a therapist working with former members of the Branch Davidians, you know only too well of the tragic abuse suffered by Koresh's victims. Helping others to recover from such traumatic experiences is admirable and I wish you all the best with your career." Ronald K. Noble, Under Secretary, Department of the Treasury, Washington D.C.
"Thank you for helping my family understand what I went through and what I needed from them. I wasn't ready to celebrate being out of the cult yet like they were, because I was feeling so bad from saying goodbye to my friends there, and you helped my family get that this was normal and OK." D.D.
"I was scared you were going to tell me I should have known better, or I should have picked up on the signs that this was a bad group, and instead I was pleasantly surprised! Talking with you was the first time I didn't feel judged in a long, long time." T.W.
"Hey! You missed your calling. Shoulda worked for the U.N. You met with all of us and managed not to take sides. We all made our points, and felt pretty safe being really honest. Can't wait for the next session. Feeling hopeful." PeterSantin
"Your voice is calming and your words are strengthening and reassuring. I've learned a lot, have clarity, and feel so much better. As a clergy person, it was hard for me to admit I had gotten caught up in something spiritually fraudulent, but you helped me not feel shame. So grateful to you and grateful to be free. Thank you, thank you." Rev. K.P.
"I'm sure you get this a lot, but I went to see other therapists to talk about my cult time and they didn't get it. It was cool to sit down with you and know you didn't have to be taught about what a cult is, or convinced that thought reform actually exists. We could start with my stuff instead - kind of like hitting the ground running." R. F.
"For the first time, I was talking to a person 'in charge" who wasn't telling me what to do, and instead you were helping me know the options, giving me the tools (as you say), and helping me make my own decisions. I know that's not monumental for people outside of cults, but for people like me, it's huge, it's really respectful, and empowering. Thank you." Cindy Canchesa
"I wish I had talked to you years ago. I really believe you could have helped me prevent years of hurt and emotional abuse." Tarryn Myles
"We couldn't have done it without you. We felt totally supported and like we were in good hands from the start." M.N. and B.N.
"Rachel, you're an amazing navigator. You're also a very smart and compassionate person..a wonderful combination! Thanks for the good start, I'm sure it's not the end, unfortunately, but I couldn't feel happier right now..and it's all because of you!" anonymous
"Thank you for all the smart and wise support you have given me this year. I can't tell you how much you have helped me." L.N.
HOME
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#590443
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COPYRIGHT © 2014 FREEDOM OF MIND RESOURCE CENTER INC.
https://freedomofmind.com/Services/Rachel.php
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Services - Rachel Bernstein
Rachel Bernstein is an educator and therapist. She is a credentialed teacher in regular and special education, has a Masters Degree in Education, and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
Starting in 1990, Rachel Bernstein began providing therapy for those hurt by cults, and hurt by those who are abusively manipulative and dominant. She came onto the scene unexpectedly, as one of her relatives became ensnared in a cult, and she felt the shock waves that coursed through the entire family system. Seeing how little cult information was out there at the time, how people didn’t understand what cults were and how they operated, and that therapists were not equipped with the information they needed in order to help those hurt by cults and cultic systems, she felt compelled to be a resource to others. Her late father, Maynard Bernstein, took this issue on as human rights issue, and became a leader in cult education and prevention.
Rachel’s work with former cult members and their families, and those who were stuck in one-on-one cultic and controlling connections, began in Los Angeles at the former Commission on Cults, at the Cult Resource Center started in her father’s memory, and as a clinician at the former Cult Clinic where she provided counseling and ran a former cult-member support group.
When Rachel moved to New York in 1994, she worked at the Cult Hotline and Clinic in Manhattan, offered a support group for the family and friends of those in cults, and developed a Speakers Bureau for those who had been affected by cults who wanted to take their message out to the community.
Upon returning to Los Angeles in 2001, Rachel set up a private practice where she works with general clients as a Marriage, Family and Child Therapist. She also works with cult-affected clients and families, and provides a support group for former cult members.
Rachel has made many TV appearances - on Larry King, on The National Geographic Channel, on CNN, MSNBC and FOX, to name a few - has been interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and the Jerusalem Report, and has had articles published in on-line websites and LA Parent Magazine that teach about parenting and about how to preserve and heal relationships. She has also worked with directors and writers who created cult-related shows, movies and projects.
Rachel is very knowledgeable about human nature and individual psychology as well as group psychology, systems, and the nature of relationships, both healthy and unhealthy. She is someone who puts people at ease. She comes to this work with a desire to help, to provide information, practical guidance and counseling, and with a great respect for the difficulties people face when trying to regain their own freedom, or the freedom of their loved one.
What Others Are Saying:
"Dear Ms. Bernstein: As a therapist working with former members of the Branch Davidians, you know only too well of the tragic abuse suffered by Koresh's victims. Helping others to recover from such traumatic experiences is admirable and I wish you all the best with your career." Ronald K. Noble, Under Secretary, Department of the Treasury, Washington D.C.
"Thank you for helping my family understand what I went through and what I needed from them. I wasn't ready to celebrate being out of the cult yet like they were, because I was feeling so bad from saying goodbye to my friends there, and you helped my family get that this was normal and OK." D.D.
"I was scared you were going to tell me I should have known better, or I should have picked up on the signs that this was a bad group, and instead I was pleasantly surprised! Talking with you was the first time I didn't feel judged in a long, long time." T.W.
"Hey! You missed your calling. Shoulda worked for the U.N. You met with all of us and managed not to take sides. We all made our points, and felt pretty safe being really honest. Can't wait for the next session. Feeling hopeful." PeterSantin
"Your voice is calming and your words are strengthening and reassuring. I've learned a lot, have clarity, and feel so much better. As a clergy person, it was hard for me to admit I had gotten caught up in something spiritually fraudulent, but you helped me not feel shame. So grateful to you and grateful to be free. Thank you, thank you." Rev. K.P.
"I'm sure you get this a lot, but I went to see other therapists to talk about my cult time and they didn't get it. It was cool to sit down with you and know you didn't have to be taught about what a cult is, or convinced that thought reform actually exists. We could start with my stuff instead - kind of like hitting the ground running." R. F.
"For the first time, I was talking to a person 'in charge" who wasn't telling me what to do, and instead you were helping me know the options, giving me the tools (as you say), and helping me make my own decisions. I know that's not monumental for people outside of cults, but for people like me, it's huge, it's really respectful, and empowering. Thank you." Cindy Canchesa
"I wish I had talked to you years ago. I really believe you could have helped me prevent years of hurt and emotional abuse." Tarryn Myles
"We couldn't have done it without you. We felt totally supported and like we were in good hands from the start." M.N. and B.N.
"Rachel, you're an amazing navigator. You're also a very smart and compassionate person..a wonderful combination! Thanks for the good start, I'm sure it's not the end, unfortunately, but I couldn't feel happier right now..and it's all because of you!" anonymous
"Thank you for all the smart and wise support you have given me this year. I can't tell you how much you have helped me." L.N.
HOME
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#590443
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Phone: 617 396-4638
Fax: (617) 628-8153 FOLLOW US
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COPYRIGHT © 2014 FREEDOM OF MIND RESOURCE CENTER INC.
https://freedomofmind.com/Services/Rachel.php
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SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
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Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
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Terrorism
Destructive Cults that Use Terrorism as a Tool
Simply, it is a pyramid structured, authoritarian group which uses deceptive recruitment (no informed consent) and uses BITE (Behavior Control, Information Control, Thought Control, Emotional Control) to break a person's identity down and to rebuild a new cult identity, which is dependentand obedient. This cult identity thinks, feel, acts the way he or she is programmed to do: typically as a clone of the cult leader.
ISIS is a political cult, which uses religion as a tool to create legitimacy, but like other cults, the ideology is twisted perversion of the message of love, truth compassion and doing goodness. They promote a simplistic, black and white, us versus them, good versus evil paradigm. Be with us: you are good. You are with Allah. Otherwise,die.
***
Many people think of mind control as an ambiguous, mystical process that cannot be defined in concrete terms. In reality, mind control, or undue influence, refers to a specific set of methods and techniques, such as hypnosis or thought- stopping that affect how a person thinks, feels, and acts.
Like many bodies of knowledge, it is not inherently good or evil. If mind control techniques are used to empower an individual to have more choice, and authority for his life remains within himself, the effects can be beneficial. For example, benevolent mind control can be used to help people quit smoking without affecting any other behavior. Mind control becomes destructive when the locus of control is external and it is used to undermine a person’s ability to think and act independently.
As employed by the most terrorist organizations, mind control seeks nothing less than to disrupt an individual’s authentic identity and reconstruct it in the image of the leader.
The Terrorism BITE Model aims to help people determine whether or not a group or person is practicing destructive mind control as well as help people understand how these terrorist organizations suppress individual member's uniqueness and creativity. For detailed video explanation of the BITE model, Click Here.
It is important to understand that destructive mind control can be determined when the overall effect of the BITE Model's four components promotes dependency and obedience to some leader or cause. It is not necessary for every single item on the list to be present. Mind controlled terrorist victims can live in their own apartments, have nine-to-five jobs, be married with children, and still be unable to think for themselves and act independently.
Destructive Mind Control is not just used by terrorist organizations. Learn about the Human Trafficking BITE Model and the Original BITE Model.
Freedom Of Mind Videos on Terrorism
CNN INTERVIEW with Steve Hassan on ISIS as Cult Wednesday Sept. 17th 2014.
FoxtvNews25 Boston September 5th 2014 on ISIS Recruiting Americans to Become Terrorists.
Undue Influence Press Conference : Tackling Terrorism and Extremist Groups by Psychological Methods - Not Military Intervention.
Cult Expert, Steven Hassan Interview with CNN's Erin Burnett: Officials: Suspect Claims They Were Self-Radicalized April 23 2013.
Steve Hassan on WGBH Greater Boston with Emily Rooney 4/23/13
Steven Hassan comments on Wall Street Journal Live -04/24/2013.
Robert Örell, ex Neo-Nazi, (White Power) Member - July 2013.
Ex-MeK Masoud Banisadr Interview About His Experience in Terrorist Cult - July 2012.
Ex-MeK Masoud Banisar Talks About Treating Terrorist Groups as Cults - July 2012
Terrorism, Cults and Mind Control Interview by Misia Landau - October 2001
Harvard 1997 - WACO - What Went Wrong?
Aum Shinrikyo - 60 Minutes Piece With Steve Hassan
For More Videos, Please Visit
The Freedom Of Mind Video Archive
Related Articles on Terrorism
ISIS Is a Cult That Uses Terrorism: A Fresh New Strategy by Steven Hassan for Huffington Post 10/22/2014
‘Daesh’: John Kerry starts calling the Islamic State a name they hate. The Washington Post Article 12/5/14
What ISIS Really Wants.- Article from The Atlantic (03/2015)
Anti-radicalization Program Launched in Canada
Tackling terrorism and extremist groups by psychological methods - not military intervention.
Protect Americans from Terrorism- Looking Beyond Boston Marathon Bombings - 09/5/2013 - by Steve Hassan
Interview with Masoud Banisadr on MeK - 02/20/2013 - by Steve Hassan
Sovereign Citizens A Growing Domestic Threat to Law Enforcement -By the FBI’s Counterterrorism Analysis Section (September 2011)
Can Utilizing Knowledge of Cults Help Us with Terrorist Groups? by Steve Hassan 06/11/2010
“FREEMEN, SOVEREIGN CITIZENS, AND THE THREAT TO PUBLIC ORDER IN BRITISH HERITAGE COUNTRIES” Stephen A. Kent 2003 Paper for FECRIS.org
Al Qaeda - Statement from Steve Hassan on the Tragic Events of Sept. 11, 2001
Al Qaeda - Cult Mind Control Techniques May Have Fueled Terrorists Statement from Steve Hassan- Sept. 17, 2001
Al Qaeda - Warning: Cults are Recruiting the Vulnerable September 20, 2001
Al Qaeda - Steve Hassan Defines Approach to Working With Jailed Terrorists October 2, 2001
Al Qaeda - John Walker: American Indoctrinated with Cult Mind Control Techniques by Taliban December 3, 2001
What was John Walker's state of mind -- a sincere convert to radical Islam, or a Marin County teenager "brainwashed" by an Afghan cult?- December 5, 2001
Al Qaeda - Letter from Steve Hassan to President George W. Bush on the ‘American Taliban’ - December 6, 2001
Saving the 'American Taliban' By Steven Hassan. Boston Globe December 19th 2001 OP- ED
HOME
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COPYRIGHT © 2014 FREEDOM OF MIND RESOURCE CENTER INC.
https://freedomofmind.com/Info/terrorism.php
HOME
About Us
Mission Statement
SERVICES
Help for Ex-Member of Group
Help for Someone in Group
Help With Estranged Family Member
Help With A Controlling Relationship
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Steve Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Director
Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSED
INFORMATION
About Us
Mission Statement
Privacy Policy
Articles
BITE Model of Unethical Influence
Blogs
Books
FAQ
Friends of FOM Resoruce Center
Groups
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Submit Info About A Group
Human Trafficking
Recent News
Terrorism
MEDIA
Steve Hassan Press Kit Resources
Video Archives
CONTACT
Send Us An Email
Join Our Contact List
Submit Information On A Group
Facebook (Cult Expert)
Facebook (FOM)
Youtube
Vimeo
Terrorism
Destructive Cults that Use Terrorism as a Tool
Simply, it is a pyramid structured, authoritarian group which uses deceptive recruitment (no informed consent) and uses BITE (Behavior Control, Information Control, Thought Control, Emotional Control) to break a person's identity down and to rebuild a new cult identity, which is dependentand obedient. This cult identity thinks, feel, acts the way he or she is programmed to do: typically as a clone of the cult leader.
ISIS is a political cult, which uses religion as a tool to create legitimacy, but like other cults, the ideology is twisted perversion of the message of love, truth compassion and doing goodness. They promote a simplistic, black and white, us versus them, good versus evil paradigm. Be with us: you are good. You are with Allah. Otherwise,die.
***
Many people think of mind control as an ambiguous, mystical process that cannot be defined in concrete terms. In reality, mind control, or undue influence, refers to a specific set of methods and techniques, such as hypnosis or thought- stopping that affect how a person thinks, feels, and acts.
Like many bodies of knowledge, it is not inherently good or evil. If mind control techniques are used to empower an individual to have more choice, and authority for his life remains within himself, the effects can be beneficial. For example, benevolent mind control can be used to help people quit smoking without affecting any other behavior. Mind control becomes destructive when the locus of control is external and it is used to undermine a person’s ability to think and act independently.
As employed by the most terrorist organizations, mind control seeks nothing less than to disrupt an individual’s authentic identity and reconstruct it in the image of the leader.
The Terrorism BITE Model aims to help people determine whether or not a group or person is practicing destructive mind control as well as help people understand how these terrorist organizations suppress individual member's uniqueness and creativity. For detailed video explanation of the BITE model, Click Here.
It is important to understand that destructive mind control can be determined when the overall effect of the BITE Model's four components promotes dependency and obedience to some leader or cause. It is not necessary for every single item on the list to be present. Mind controlled terrorist victims can live in their own apartments, have nine-to-five jobs, be married with children, and still be unable to think for themselves and act independently.
Destructive Mind Control is not just used by terrorist organizations. Learn about the Human Trafficking BITE Model and the Original BITE Model.
Freedom Of Mind Videos on Terrorism
CNN INTERVIEW with Steve Hassan on ISIS as Cult Wednesday Sept. 17th 2014.
FoxtvNews25 Boston September 5th 2014 on ISIS Recruiting Americans to Become Terrorists.
Undue Influence Press Conference : Tackling Terrorism and Extremist Groups by Psychological Methods - Not Military Intervention.
Cult Expert, Steven Hassan Interview with CNN's Erin Burnett: Officials: Suspect Claims They Were Self-Radicalized April 23 2013.
Steve Hassan on WGBH Greater Boston with Emily Rooney 4/23/13
Steven Hassan comments on Wall Street Journal Live -04/24/2013.
Robert Örell, ex Neo-Nazi, (White Power) Member - July 2013.
Ex-MeK Masoud Banisadr Interview About His Experience in Terrorist Cult - July 2012.
Ex-MeK Masoud Banisar Talks About Treating Terrorist Groups as Cults - July 2012
Terrorism, Cults and Mind Control Interview by Misia Landau - October 2001
Harvard 1997 - WACO - What Went Wrong?
Aum Shinrikyo - 60 Minutes Piece With Steve Hassan
For More Videos, Please Visit
The Freedom Of Mind Video Archive
Related Articles on Terrorism
ISIS Is a Cult That Uses Terrorism: A Fresh New Strategy by Steven Hassan for Huffington Post 10/22/2014
‘Daesh’: John Kerry starts calling the Islamic State a name they hate. The Washington Post Article 12/5/14
What ISIS Really Wants.- Article from The Atlantic (03/2015)
Anti-radicalization Program Launched in Canada
Tackling terrorism and extremist groups by psychological methods - not military intervention.
Protect Americans from Terrorism- Looking Beyond Boston Marathon Bombings - 09/5/2013 - by Steve Hassan
Interview with Masoud Banisadr on MeK - 02/20/2013 - by Steve Hassan
Sovereign Citizens A Growing Domestic Threat to Law Enforcement -By the FBI’s Counterterrorism Analysis Section (September 2011)
Can Utilizing Knowledge of Cults Help Us with Terrorist Groups? by Steve Hassan 06/11/2010
“FREEMEN, SOVEREIGN CITIZENS, AND THE THREAT TO PUBLIC ORDER IN BRITISH HERITAGE COUNTRIES” Stephen A. Kent 2003 Paper for FECRIS.org
Al Qaeda - Statement from Steve Hassan on the Tragic Events of Sept. 11, 2001
Al Qaeda - Cult Mind Control Techniques May Have Fueled Terrorists Statement from Steve Hassan- Sept. 17, 2001
Al Qaeda - Warning: Cults are Recruiting the Vulnerable September 20, 2001
Al Qaeda - Steve Hassan Defines Approach to Working With Jailed Terrorists October 2, 2001
Al Qaeda - John Walker: American Indoctrinated with Cult Mind Control Techniques by Taliban December 3, 2001
What was John Walker's state of mind -- a sincere convert to radical Islam, or a Marin County teenager "brainwashed" by an Afghan cult?- December 5, 2001
Al Qaeda - Letter from Steve Hassan to President George W. Bush on the ‘American Taliban’ - December 6, 2001
Saving the 'American Taliban' By Steven Hassan. Boston Globe December 19th 2001 OP- ED
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