Amish, Child Abuse, Event, Cult Recovery
"An Amish woman who told authorities she was testing her faith when she threw her 4-year-old son into an Ohio lake was charged Wednesday with two counts of aggravated murder in the boy's death.
Authorities said Ruth R. Miller, 40, of Millersburg, Ohio, told investigators she believed she was acting at the direction of God when she allegedly killed her son Vincen at Atwood Lake early Saturday.
The lead investigator with the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office, Capt. Adam Fisher, said Wednesday that Ruth Miller repeatedly said in interviews with police that she threw the boy off the dock and into the water to give him to God.
"It did not appear that the gravity of the situation had sunk in," Fisher said.
The woman's husband, Marcus J. Miller, 45, had apparently drowned while attempting to swim to an offshore sandbank hours earlier in another test of faith, Sheriff Orvis Campbell told reporters at a news conference Monday. Their other children, a 15-year-old girl and twin 18-year-old boys, were also directed to perform water-based trials of their belief but survived, Campbell said.
New Philadelphia Municipal Court online records indicate Ruth Miller was also charged with domestic violence and child endangerment regarding the older children."
Seminar: Understanding Traumatic Narcissism Theory and Its Clinical Utility with Daniel Shaw, LCSW
Monday, September 22, 2025, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Central Time on Zoom
Daniel Shaw developed the theory of traumatic narcissism from his experience with cult leaders and followers. After working with patients who described relationships similar to cult dynamics, Shaw profiled the traumatizing narcissist and how they use undue influence to subjugate and exploit others.
Shaw will explore the traumatizing narcissist's "delusion of omnipotence" and outline eight controlling behaviors they use to construct systems of subjugation. Anticipating his third book on the topic, Shaw's presentation will clarify for clinicians how to identify traumatizing narcissists and address challenges when working with their subjugated victims.
As more patients report abuse not only in families or in intimate relationships, but by unregulated figures—coaches, wellness gurus, psychics, healers, and facilitators of psychedelic journeys—the need for clinicians and patients to understand who the traumatizing narcissist is, what they do, and why they do it has never been greater.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
After attending this session, participants should be able to:
1. Identify the most prominent behaviors of the traumatizing narcissist.
2. Assess and effectively address shame pathology in cult survivors
3. Utilize psychoeducation about the traumatizing narcissist's coercive projections of shame and powerlessness to facilitate the restoration of stable self-esteem in survivors of subjugation trauma.
This seminar is free and open to the public. 1.5 CMEs/CEUs are available for this seminar.
International Cultic Studies Association: Weaponizing therapy: Can healing become coercive?
What happens when therapy shifts from support to control? This piece explores how the desire to 'fix' someone can potentially become coercive.
"The weaponization of therapy can negatively impact relationships and can ultimately sour our view of therapy. A healing relationship between you as the client and your therapist is one of democracy, of ensuring no harm is done to you. Ensuring such a relationship may involve the therapist challenging thoughts and behaviors that appear not to be serving you. The experience ought not involve the therapist challenging your emotions.
As a potential client, useful questions to ask the therapist before you begin therapy, and throughout your therapeutic journey after you have begun, include the following:
"Do I want therapy?"
"For what am I seeking therapy?"
"For whom am I seeking therapy?"
"Does anyone, including the therapist, appear to be coercing me into therapy?"
Healing is possible
It is indeed possible for people to heal, thereby shifting their behaviors. Giving ourselves compassion, dwelling in safe environments, and cultivating nurturing relationships can increase our chances for behavior change.
Be wary of forceful modalities (including invasive advice, exacted confessions, and instigated catharses) that may initially display pleasing results, yet that in reality are shocking us into short-lived modifications. Based in fear, forceful modalities are often not based in evidence, and can, at times, be psychologically traumatizing."
News, Education, Intervention, Recovery
Intervention101.com to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.
CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.
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