Research & AcademicDo you have, or have you ever had, a relationship?At the Autonomous University of Madrid and the University of Granada, we are conducting a study on relationships, well-being, attitudes, and behaviors.
We are looking for people who have or have had a relationship - dating, cohabiting, as a common-law partner, or married - to answer an anonymous, voluntary online questionnaire.
Participation lasts approximately 30 minutes and can contribute to improving the understanding of couple relationships, as well as to the development of better prevention and intervention resources.
This is a joint study conducted by researchers from the Psychology Departments of the Autonomous University of Madrid and the University of Granada. We are studying certain behaviors and attitudes that occur, with varying frequency, among one or both partners in romantic relationships. We hope that the information gathered in this study will help improve support for couples who may be experiencing problems and inform the implementation of educational programs to prevent such situations. To achieve this goal, we are requesting the participation of people who are currently in or have been in a romantic relationship to answer the questions below. By "partner," we mean a person with whom you have been, or are currently, dating, living together, in a civil partnership, or married.
Access to the questionnaire: https://psyuam.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6YvzjDoMzDIUBtI
Contact: investigacion.controlcoercitivo@gmail.com
We greatly appreciate both participation and dissemination among people who may be interested.
New Yorker: Andrew Tate’s Empire of Abuse
How the defining figure of the manosphere built a fortune—and became a political force—by systematically exploiting women.
"Just north of Bucharest is a neat development of red-gabled houses known as American Village. It is an unlikely place to become the center of an international criminal intrigue, but on its western border stands a sprawling compound, patrolled by armed guards, that belongs to the British-American influencer Andrew Tate and his younger brother, Tristan. The Tates moved to Romania a decade ago to build an online-pornography empire, and American Village was where they kept their recruits.
One day in April 2022, Iasmina Pencov was in a villa near the compound, recovering from surgery. A slender, dark-haired former psychology student, she had met Andrew Tate the previous year and agreed to move across Romania to be with him. Tate had told Pencov that he considered her his wife, and when he first asked her to strip on camera, she was appalled. “I’m old-fashioned, and I do believe in God,” she texted him. “My body is intimate and only my husband should be able to touch and see.” But he had worn her down—“identified the objections and destroyed them,” he wrote in private messages describing her recruitment. “She never believed in god. Women never believe in anything.”
Tate presided over an online network called the War Room, in which, for a fee of about eight thousand dollars a year, he promised to “free the modern man from socially induced incarceration.” Members learned how to recruit women into “sexual slavery” in a series of tutorials that Tate called his Ph.D., or “Pimping Hoes Degree.” He had used Pencov as a teaching case, reporting on her subjugation over the secure messaging app Telegram. “I’ve done this with over 100 girls,” he told members. 'I almost sound evil. But I’m not. I’m a shepherd. Leading the sheep.'"
EventsICSA CONFERENCE 2026
Date: July 1-4, 2026
Hilton Bayfront, San Diego
Session summary
This panel explores scalable and survivor-informed training approaches designed to help clinicians recognize and respond to cultic abuse and coercive control, using the Lalich Center’s collaborative certification program as a central case example.
Full Abstract
Clinicians across a wide range of settings are increasingly encountering clients whose lives have been affected by cultic abuse, coercive control, and high-demand groups. Yet most therapists receive little or no formal education on these issues during graduate training or early professional practice. Without a foundational understanding of coercive influence, well-intentioned clinicians may unintentionally reinforce shame, overlook critical aspects of a client’s history, or misinterpret post-cult experiences.
For many providers, the goal is not necessarily to become specialists but to develop sufficient foundational competence to avoid causing harm when these clients present in clinical practice.
This panel examines the role that scalable and accessible training can play in preparing generalist clinicians to work more effectively with survivors of coercive environments. The Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion’s Basic Certification Program will serve as a central case example. Developed collaboratively by therapists, researchers, educators, and survivors, the program was intentionally designed as an asynchronous online Continuing Education course to reach an international audience across diverse clinical settings.
Panelists will discuss the development of the curriculum, challenges encountered during the process, and key lessons learned from implementing a survivor-informed training program for clinicians worldwide.
Building on this experience, the panel will explore broader questions facing the field: What core competencies should all therapists possess regarding cultic abuse and coercive control? What are the most effective and sustainable pathways for ensuring that more clinicians develop these essential skills?
The session invites a grounded discussion on how to responsibly and effectively prepare clinicians to meet this growing area of need.
Speakers
Founder & CEO at Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion | Professor Emerita of Sociology at California State University
Janja Lalich is a Professor Emerita of Sociology at California State University, Chico, and a leading authority on cults, coercion, and undue influence. She is the Founder and CEO of the Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion, and the founder and former director of the Center for Research on Influence and Control. For over three decades, Lalich has advanced public and professional understanding of high-control groups through research, writing, and education.
Natalie Fabert, PhD
Arizona State University | Lalich Center on Cults & Coercion
Dr. Natalie Fabert is a teaching professor at Arizona State University, a practicing licensed psychologist, and a member of the Board of Directors at the Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion. In her private practice, Dr. Fabert specializes in complex trauma, recovery from cultic abuse, and religious/spiritual trauma. At ASU, she brings this specialized expertise into the classroom, teaching courses on social psychology, psychopathology, and cult psychology. Driven by a passion for clinical training and advocacy, Dr. Fabert also directs the continuing education program at the Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion, where she focuses on training the next generation of mental health providers to offer competent, compassionate care to self-identified cult survivors.
Melanie Friedman, LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Melanie Friedman, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in PTSD/CPTSD and recovery from coercive control environments. A survivor of the Troubled Teen Industry, she combines clinical expertise with lived experience to support trauma survivors and advocate for improved awareness, prevention, and mental health treatment for those affected by coercive control systems.
Kristina Berger, PsyD
Berger Psychotherapy
Kristina Berger, PsyD, is a dual-licensed psychotherapist specializing in religious trauma, recovery from high-control groups and cultic systems, and neurodiversity-affirming care. Licensed in California, Utah, and Idaho, she is the founder and director of a group practice in San Luis Obispo serving individuals, couples, and families. Her clinical work integrates psychodynamic, feminist, and depth-oriented perspectives to support clients navigating trauma, identity development, relational healing, and recovery from high-control environments.
Nichole Nelson
Nichole is currently enrolled in the Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Rhode Island College, where her scholarly pursuits focus on coercive control and on working with survivors, including those hesitant to seek mental health support. Nichole supports the Lalich Center through writing and hosting a psychoeducational book club.
The Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) —often referred to by its members as "The Work," "The Priesthood," or "The Group"—is one of the most prominent sects within Mormon fundamentalism.
While outsiders frequently label them "Mormons" due to their shared roots, history, and scriptures, there are critical theological and cultural distinctions between the AUB and the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church).
1. Core Beliefs & The Mainframe Split
The AUB's history is rooted in the broader Latter-day Saint movement, founded by Joseph Smith in 1830. However, the fundamentalist split occurred when the mainstream LDS Church officially abandoned the practice of plural marriage (polygamy) via the Manifestos of 1890 and 1904.
The AUB teaches that the mainstream LDS Church "changed unalterable doctrines" to appease the U.S. government. They believe it is their divine responsibility to keep the original laws alive, particularly:
Plural Marriage: The belief that polygamy is a requirement for the highest tier of celestial salvation.
The 1886 Meeting: A foundational belief that prior LDS President John Taylor received a revelation ensuring the priesthood would always protect and perpetuate plural marriage, separate from the political or corporate organization of the church.
The Priesthood vs. The Church: Unlike many ultra-isolated fundamentalist groups, the AUB actually views the mainstream LDS Church as a legitimate, divine vehicle tasked with spreading the Book of Mormon and doing genealogy work. However, they believe the LDS Church lost the necessary "priesthood keys" to administer the highest ordinances, which they believe rest with the AUB's leadership (currently led by David Watson).
2. Cultural Distinctiveness & Integration
Compared to more insular or restrictive fundamentalist sects like the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS, formerly led by Warren Jeffs), the AUB historically chose a path of greater community integration:
Dress and Appearance: Members generally wear modern clothing rather than the historical prairie-style dress associated with the FLDS.
Community Interaction: Members often attend public schools or higher education institutions, work standard local jobs (frequently in construction or in family-owned businesses), and interact openly with non-members.
Stance on Marriage: The AUB publicly rejects arranged or "child-bride" marriages. Church policy dictates that individuals must be of mature age (at least 18), have the agency to choose their partners, and that a husband must secure the consent of his existing wives before courting another.
3. Pop Culture & Public Footprint
The AUB became globally recognized through the TLC reality television series Sister Wives, which premiered in 2010. The show chronicled the Brown family, who were active members of the AUB during the early seasons of the series before moving away from the formal group geography.
The group maintains its primary headquarters in Bluffdale, Utah, with established communities and enclaves across western North America, including:
Rocky Ridge, Utah
Pinesdale, Montana
Harvest Haven / Eagle Mountain, Utah
Pockets in Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona, and parts of Mexico
4. Current Internal Dynamics & Fracturing
In recent years, the AUB has faced significant internal strain, leading to fractures and disillusionment among younger generations:
Leadership Scandals: The group experienced severe leadership crises and splits following allegations of financial mismanagement and abuse leveled against past leaders, including the late Lynn Thompson.
Modern Attrition: Observers and former members estimate that roughly 50% of the youth raised within the AUB eventually choose to leave the organization as adults. Increased access to information online has facilitated a growing network of ex-members sharing their experiences regarding the pressures of high-demand religious dynamics and the realities of polygamist family structures.
The synthesis on the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) draws on academic, historical, journalistic, and primary biographical sources. Key investigative frameworks and foundational documentation include:
1. Academic & Historical Documentation
The World Religions and Spirituality Project (WRSP): Comprehensive institutional profiles and leadership histories detailing the transition from Rulon and Owen Allred to J. LaMoine Jenson, Lynn A. Thompson, and eventually David Watson.
The B.H. Roberts Foundation & Sunstone Education Foundation: Extensive archives tracking the schisms of Mormon fundamentalism, the historical tracking of the "Council of Friends" established by Lorin C. Woolley, and the specific 1952 split that distinctively separated the AUB line from what became the FLDS (Short Creek/Leroy S. Johnson line).
The 1886 Revelation Manuscripts: Primary historical documentation within the fundamentalist movement regarding John Taylor's claimed revelation, which forms the legalistic and theological bedrock of the AUB’s priesthood claims, independent of corporate LDS Church structures.
2. Primary Memoirs & Insider Perspectives
Biographical Accounts by the Allred Family: Critical historical context regarding the foundational years, internal hardships, and structural daily life inside AUB enclaves is thoroughly documented in memoirs by daughters of the group's founder, such as Dorothy Allred Solomon (Daughter of the Saints: Growing Up in Polygamy and In My Father's House).
Ex-Member Advocacy Data: Contemporary internal attrition rates, high-demand group behavioral patterns, and personal accounts of systemic pressures or leadership shifts are documented on platforms such as Growing Up In Polygamy (featuring testimonies from leadership descendants) and regional support organizations like Holding Out HELP.
3. Public Media & Legal Records
The Associated Press & Local Utah Journalism (e.g., The Salt Lake Tribune, Fox 13 Salt Lake City): Investigative reporting and public statements surrounding internal AUB Priesthood Council audits, leadership successions, and the 2014 financial and physical abuse allegations brought against then-leader Lynn A. Thompson.
TLC Network Broadcast Documentation: Production backgrounds, family statements, and geographic timelines originating from the multi-season run of Sister Wives (chronicling the Brown family's initial affiliation and subsequent operational distancing from the formal Bluffdale organization).
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