Thought Reform Consultation
David Clark; Carol Giambalvo; Joseph Kelly; Patrick Ryan; Hana Whitfield; Jerry Whitfield
Conference: Cults and the Millennium
April 28-30, 2000, Seattle, WA
Workshop for Families and Friends
Livia Bardin, M.S.W.; Patrick Ryan
Conference: Cults, Conversion, Science and Harm
May 4-5, 2001, New York City
Thought Reform Consultation
David Clark; Carol Giambalvo; Joseph Kelly; Patrick Ryan; Hana Whitfield; Jerry Whitfield
Conference: Cults, Conversion, Science and Harm
May 4-5, 2001, New York City
Inner Experience and Conversion
Michael Langone, Ph.D.; Joseph Kelly; Patrick Ryan
Conference: Understanding Cults and New Religious Movements -- Perspectives of Researchers, Professionals, Former Members, and Families
June 14-15, 2002, Orlando, FL
Workshop for Family Members
Livia Bardin, M.S.W.; Patrick Ryan
Conference: Understanding Cults and New Religious Movements -- Perspectives of Researchers, Professionals, Former Members, and Families
October 17-18, 2003, Enfield, CT
Exit Counseling Case Study: Psychotherapy Group
Carol Diament; Patrick Ryan; Joseph Kelly
Conference: Understanding Cults and New Religious Movements -- Perspectives of Researchers, Professionals, Former Members, and Families
October 17-18, 2003, Enfield, CT
Advanced Communication for Families
Livia Bardin, M.S.W.; Patrick Ryan. Conference: Understanding Cults and New Religious Movements -- Perspectives of Researchers, Professionals, Former Members, and Families
October 17-18, 2003, Enfield, CT
Workshop for Family Members
Livia Bardin, M.S.W.; Patrick Ryan
Conference: Understanding Cults and New Religious Movements -- Perspectives of Researchers, Professionals, Former Members, and Families
June 13-14, 2003, Orange, CA
Exit Counseling Case Study: Eastern Group
Patrick Ryan; Joseph Kelly
Conference: Understanding Cults and New Religious Movements -- Perspectives of Researchers, Professionals, Former Members, and Families
2003, June 13-14, 2003, Orange, CA
Coping with Triggers
Joseph Kelly
Conference: Understanding Cults and Other Charismatic Groups -- Perspectives of Researchers, Professionals, Former Members, and Families
June 11-12, 2004, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)
Workshop for Family Members
Livia Bardin, M.S.W.; Patrick Ryan
Conference: Understanding Cults and Other Charismatic Groups -- Perspectives of Researchers, Professionals, Former Members, and Families
June 11-12, 2004, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)
Family Members
Livia Bardin, M.S.W.; Patrick Ryan
AFF Conference: Understanding Cults, New Religious Movements, and Other Groups
October 14, 2004, Atlanta, GA
Coping With Triggers
Joseph Kelly
AFF Conference: Understanding Cults, New Religious Movements, and Other Groups
October 14, 2004, Atlanta, GA
Approaches to Exit Counseling: Part I
David Clark, Rick Halpern; Patrick Ryan; Craig Branch
Discussants: Sandy Andron; Carol Giambalvo
AFF Conference: Understanding Cults, New Religious Movements, and Other Groups
October 14, 2004, Atlanta, GA
Approaches to Exit Counseling: Part II
David Clark, Rick Halpern; Patrick Ryan; Craig Branch
Discussants: Sandy Andron; Carol Giambalvo
AFF Conference: Understanding Cults, New Religious Movements, and Other Groups
October 14, 2004, Atlanta, GA
Question and Answer Session for Families
William Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.; Patrick Ryan; David Clark; Joseph Kelly
Conference: Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, and Other Alternative Movements
July 14-16, 2005, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain)
Experienced exit counselors and a psychotherapist who has worked in this field for more than 25 years will field questions from family members concerned about a loved one’s group involvement
Exit Counseling Panel
David Clark; Joseph Kelly; Patrick Ryan
Conference: Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, and Other Alternative Movements
July 14-16, 2005, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Three experienced exit counselors (thought-reform consultants) will discuss their work, to help attendees appreciate the variety of approaches in this field and the kinds of issues that families, group members, and thought-reform consultants encounter. Among the issues to be discussed from the different perspectives of the speakers:
The ethics of an intervention
Assessing a family situation
Determining whether an intervention is appropriate
Family preparation
The phases and dynamics of an intervention
Alternatives to interventions
Issues confronted after an intervention
Ex-Members: Coping with Triggers
Joseph F. Kelly; Patrick Ryan
Conference: Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, and Other Alternative Movements
July 14-16, 2005, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, (Spain)
“Floating” is a word often used in association with “trancing out,” “spacing out,” “being triggered,” or “dissociation.” Ex-cult members describe floating in several ways, including (but not limited to) feeling disconnected, feeling as though you’re watching yourself live your life, having spells during which you experience uncontrollable emotions (usually sadness or anger) that are not appropriate to what is happening at the moment.
Floating is also described as having exaggerated physical sensations, having anxiety or mild panic attacks, or having a fantasy or dream-like vision, almost like a dream that invades your waking state. Most ex-members report that these experiences make them feel as though there is something drastically wrong with them; they feel as though they may be going crazy.
The purpose of this presentation is to take the fear out of these experiences and bring about some understanding that they are not abnormal.
Triggered experiences are common to people who have been through a traumatic experience or prolonged periods of stress.
Life in a cult is stressful and, for some former members, extremely traumatic. In addition, cults induce altered states of consciousness in many ways. Some cults produce trance induced experiences through meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, guided visualization, auditing, and/or decreeing.
Other cults produce dissociative states when they put members through long, confrontational (“struggle”) sessions. Still others overload the senses through rhythmic drumming, music, information overload, or simply through long, emotionally laden sermons or lectures.
Periods of floating are usually brought on by a trigger. Dr. Margaret T. Singer speaks of the importance of being able to define and label these varying experiences. To define the word trigger, she uses the following examples: “It triggered my memory of . . .”; “it reminds me of . . .”; “it made me recall or re-experience memories.”
This session will discuss triggers and how to manage them.
Communicating with Cult Members
Linda Dubrow-Marshall, Ph.D.; Patrick Ryan; Joseph Kelly; David Clark
Conference: Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, and Other Alternative Movements
July 14-16, 2005, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, (Spain)
Personal Change in an Eastern Group
Gina Catena; Discussant: Patrick Ryan
ICSA Annual International Conference
June 22-24, 2006, Denver, CO
Workshop for Family Members
Livia Bardin, M.S.W.; William Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.; Patrick Ryan
ICSA Annual International Conference
June 22-24, 2006, Denver, CO
Topics discussed may include:
The nature of psychological manipulation and abuse
When exit counseling might be appropriate and how to prepare
Why people join and leave high-control, abusive groups
How to assess your situation
How to communicate more effectively with your loved one
Learning new ways of coping
Problem-solving
Ethical issues
Formulating a helping strategy
Coping with Triggers
Joseph Kelly; Patrick Ryan
ICSA Conference
June 29-July1, 2007 Brussels, (Belgium)
How to be Helpful: The Importance of Information
Joseph Kelly; Patrick Ryan; Amanda van Eck Duymaer van Twist
ICSA Conference
June 29-July1, 2007 Brussels, (Belgium)
Four Approaches to Helping Families
Lois Svoboda, M.D., LMFT, Moderator; David Clark; Joseph Szimhart; Joseph Kelly/Patrick Ryan; Steve Hassan, M.Ed., LMHC, NCC
ICSA Conference
June 26-29, 2008, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Each presenter has spent at least 20 years helping families concerned about a loved one involved in a cultic group. Yet they represent four distinct approaches to working with families (Kelly and Ryan work as a team). In this session, each of the four approaches will be briefly described, and then the presenters will answer questions from the audience.
Religious Conflict Resolution for Families
Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.; Patrick Ryan
June 26-29, 2008, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Research suggests that, in the West, hundreds of thousands of individuals join and leave cultic groups each year. Research studies also suggest that at least a sizeable minority of those who join cultic groups are adversely affected. The families of these group members, and probably many other families, tend to become concerned about their loved one‘s group involvement.
Roughly 80 percent of the groups that cause concern are religious. The psychological, political, and occasionally commercial groups that aren‘t overtly religious often influence members‘ lives as though they were religions because they typically bring about a major shift in members‘ views of self, world, and other—i.e., a conversion experience.
During the past 25 years, most professionals who work with these families have emphasized helping them persuade their loved ones to leave cultic groups. Exit counseling, a process aimed at helping families create conditions under which their loved one will reevaluate a group involvement, has been very valuable to thousands of grateful families and group members. (Exit counseling is also often referred to as ―thought reform consultation.)
Nevertheless, only a very small percentage of families are able to proceed to an exit counseling intervention. In many cases, an intervention is not possible or even appropriate because the loved one‘s relationship to a group does not fit the typical pattern of exploitative manipulation associated with the subjects of exit-counseling interventions, even though the family may have valid concerns. In other cases, the loved one may be so attached to the group (e.g., because of family ties within the group, decades of commitment, fear of adjusting to the mainstream world) that his or her departure is unlikely, even with an intervention.
Very little attention has been paid to this large majority of families for whom exit counseling is not feasible or appropriate.
Workshop for Family Members
Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.; Ron Loomis; Patrick Ryan
ICSA Conference
June 26-29, 2008, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
This workshop will help family members concerned about a loved one‘s cult involvement or its aftereffects learn how to assess their situations more effectively and how to evaluate strategic options. Among the topics to be discussed are:
Why people join and leave high-control, abusive groups.
How to assess your situation.
How to communicate more effectively with your loved one.
Identifying and coping with your own problems.
Ethical issues.
Formulating a helping strategy.
When exit counseling might be appropriate and how to prepare.
A Loved One in a Group? Dealing with Alarm and Assessing the Problem (Parts 1 and 2)
ICSA Conference
William Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.; Discussant(s) Patrick Ryan
July 2-4, 2009, Université de Genève, Genève, (Switzerland)
This session will explore issues that families have to deal with when they become concerned about a loved one involved in a cultic group, including: recognizing and evaluating the sense of alarm; dealing with the anxiety and uncertainty of family members; identifying the kinds of information that are needed to assess the problem;and acquiring and evaluating that information.
Conversion and Worldviews (Parts 1 and 2)
Michael D. Langone, Ph.D.
Discussants: William Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.; Patrick Ryan
July 2-4, 2009, Université de Genève, Genève, (Switzerland)
This session will examine conversion in general and conversion to cultic belief systems specifically.
Conversion will be conceptualized as a shift in worldview that results in a person’s looking at self, world, and relationships in different ways. The challenge for families and friends of people who have experienced cultic conversions is to understand the convert’s new worldview and to communicate with him/her accordingly. Such “cross-cultural communication” is vital to enhancing the relationship with the cult-involved loved one and to finding ways to lessen conflict.
Enhancing Relationships by Communicating Across Worldviews - I and II
Facilitator: William Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.
Discussants: Michael Langone, Ph.D.; Patrick Ryan
July 2-4, 2009, Université de Genève, Genève, (Switzerland)
This session will be discussion oriented. It is designed to help family members concerned about a loved one’s cultic involvement to improve communication with him/her. The discussion presumes familiarity with material discussed in previous sessions: “A Loved One in a Group? Dealing with Alarm and Assessing the Problem” and “Conversion and Worldviews.”
Family Discussion: Alarm, Assessment, Conversion, Worldviews, Relationships, and Action (Part 1 & 2)
Facilitator: William Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.
Discussant: Patrick Ryan
July 2-4, 2009, Université de Genève, Genève, (Switzerland)
This session will be discussion oriented. It will try to help families apply lessons from previous family sessions, explore action options, and consider the consequences of various courses of action.
Workshop for Families and Others: Understanding and Responding to Cultic Involvements Overview, Conversion, Conflict Resolution
Michael Langone, Ph.D.; William Goldberg, M.S.W.; Patrick Ryan
ICSA 2010 Annual International Conference: Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, and Harm
Discussion for Families and Friends of Group Involved Persons: Assessment, Communication, Relationship Building, Strategizing
William Goldberg, M.S.W.; Patrick Ryan
ICSA 2010 Annual International Conference: Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, and Harm
July 1-3, 2010, NY, NY
What Can Families Do?
Linda Dubrow-Marshall; Joseph Kelly; Patrick Ryan
Cultic Groups in Society, “Prevention, Information, Assistance”
September 18-19, 2010, Istituto Madonna del Carmine “Il Carmelo”, Via Doganale 1 Ciampino, Roma, (Italy)
Family members concerned about a loved one‘s cult involvement or its aftereffects need to learn how to assess their situations more effectively and how to evaluate strategic options. This session will explore the problems families face and steps they can take to address these problems.
A Loved One in a Group? Dealing with Alarm and Assessing the Problem
William Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., Psy.A.; Discussant: Patrick Ryan
2011 International Conference, Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, Social Addictions, and Harm
Organized jointly by the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) and Atención e Investigación de Socioadicciones (AIS), with the collaboration of Info-Cult/Info-Secte and the University of Barcelona
July 7-9, 2011, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, (Spain)
Enhancing Relationships by Communicating Across Worldviews
Facilitator: William Goldberg, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., Psy.A.; Discussant: Patrick Ryan
2011 International Conference, Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, Social Addictions, and Harm
Organized jointly by the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) and Atención e Investigación de Socioadicciones (AIS), with the collaboration of Info-Cult/Info-Secte and the University of Barcelona
July 7-9, 2011, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, (Spain)
A Mediation Approach to Exit Counseling
Patrick Ryan; Joseph Kelly
2011 International Conference, Psychological Manipulation, Cultic Groups, Social Addictions, and Harm
Organized jointly by the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) and Atención e Investigación de Socioadicciones (AIS), with the collaboration of Info-Cult/Info-Secte and the University of Barcelona
July 7-9, 2011, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, (Spain)
Workshop for Families and Former Members
Patrick Ryan; Joseph Kelly
January 29, 2012, Philadelphia, PA
Special Event: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Former Members and Families
May 12, 2012, Philadelphia, PA
About ICSA (who are we and why do we feel we can talk about the JW Organization)
Exploring a psychological perspective (experiences in the organization as women, men, lgbt)
Is the JW organization a cult? What’s a cult anyway?
Why do people leave?
Can departures be facilitated?
What problems do people have when they leave?
How can they manage these problems?
Disfellowshipping
A Seminar for Families and Former Members
May 5-6, 2012, Ft. Myers, FL
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