ICSA CONFERENCE 2026 Workshop: Reflecting is creating: Using the expressive arts to share and connect

ICSA CONFERENCE 2026 Workshop: Reflecting is creating: Using the expressive arts to share and connect 

Date: July 1, 2026

Hilton Bayfront, San Diego 

Session summary

A creative workshop focused on reclaiming personal identity and subjectivity through expressive arts, specifically for those whose voices were silenced by coercive control.

Full Abstract

A hallmark of coercive control is the erasure of personal subjectivity and the inability to witness diverse responses to deep questions of identity as they are reflected in one’s own life path. Expressive arts therapy uses multiple art forms including movement, creative writing, drawing, painting and journaling to help people think individually about their life path. Expressive arts engages the brain’s ability to change throughout life, growth that builds individual resilience and identity by creating new neural pathways. Using the symbol of a branch of a tree, which the participants will draw, they will reflect upon areas of their life that need to grow as well as branches or pathways that need to be trimmed. Participants will be asked how the drawing helps them recognize positive growth and consider what stops it. The workshop has three aims: First, to remind participants that everyone is an artist, an identity they can recover through remembering when they were 4 or 5 years old and could draw, paint, skip, run, and sing, and play act imaginative scenes. A second aim of the workshop is to strengthen participants’ subjective sense of self through the use of I statements in personal responses to the exercises. A third aim is to create a circle of shared meaning among the participants through listening to the diverse subjective responses of others. The emphasis on individual subjectivity enriched through expressive arts, and diversity enriched through active listening to others, challenges pressures to conform and disrupts coercive control.

Speakers

Christy-Ann Brown

Doctoral Candidate at Meridian University

Doctoral candidate in psychology specializing in expressive arts. With a demonstrated history of working With clients. Skilled in Event Management, Editing, Public Speaking, Fundraising, and Leadership. Strong professional graduated from University of Washington.

#arttherapy

https://internationalculticstudies.org/icsa-conference-2026/agenda/

WORKSHOP: Former members workshop

ICSA CONFERENCE 2026

Date: July 1, 2026

Hilton Bayfront, San Diego 

Session summary

This peer-led workshop offers former members of cultic and high-control groups a supportive space to connect, share experiences, and learn from one another. Facilitated by individuals with lived experience, the session explores common challenges of life after group involvement, including identity, relationships, recovery, and resilience. Participants will gain insight, practical perspectives, and a sense of community through open discussion and shared understanding.

Full Abstract

This workshop is designed exclusively for former members of cultic and high-control groups, including both first-generation adults who joined such groups and second- or multi-generation adults who were born or raised within them. The workshop provides a confidential, peer-led space where participants can connect with others who share similar experiences, exchange insights, and learn from one another in an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding.

Facilitated by former members with lived experience of cultic involvement, the workshop is not intended as group therapy and does not employ a therapeutic model. Rather, it offers an opportunity for participants to engage in open discussion about the challenges and opportunities of life after a high-control environment. Topics may include identity reconstruction, relationships, family dynamics, recovery, resilience, and navigating the broader world after group involvement.

Through guided conversation and peer support, participants will have the opportunity to share perspectives, build connections, and explore common themes that emerge across diverse cultic experiences. The workshop aims to foster community, reduce isolation, and create a space where former members can learn from the collective wisdom and experiences of others who understand the unique challenges of life beyond a high-control group.

Speakers

Adam Arnold, MA, LMFT, LADC

Licensed Psychotherapist, Trainer, and Consultant | ICSA Board Member

Adam Arnold is a licensed psychotherapist, trainer, and consultant living and working in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has special interest in working with persons who have been wounded by systems of control, including survivors (ages five and up) of religious, spiritual, medical, and therapeutic abuse. Central to his clinical work is gaining consent for psychotherapy from all of his clients—ensuring that they are driving their goals for treatment—regardless of their age. A current Board Member at ICSA, Adam also serves as Vice Chair of the Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy. In his personal time, Adam spends time watching scary movies, singing musical theater, and strengthening his broken spine.

Melea Peloquin, LCSW

Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Trauma Therapist

Melea Peloquin, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in trauma-informed care, identity development, and supporting individuals navigating life transitions and recovery from high-control environments. Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and coming from a sixth-generation family within the faith, Melea brings both lived experience and professional expertise to her work with former members of high-control groups.

Drawing on her personal journey, clinical training, and therapeutic practice, she has developed a deep understanding of the unique challenges and healing processes experienced by former Jehovah’s Witnesses. Melea is passionate about increasing awareness, compassion, and understanding among professionals working with this population while helping individuals reconnect with themselves, their values, and their lives after leaving high-control systems. She considers it a privilege to share insights gained through both personal and professional experience and is honored to contribute to the work of the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA).

https://internationalculticstudies.org/events/former-members-workshop/

https://internationalculticstudies.org/icsa-conference-2026/agenda/

What Now?: A Practical Guide to Life After a Cult

What Now?: A Practical Guide to Life After a Cult is a compassionate, evidence-based book by Chris Shelton. It guides survivors of high-control groups through undoing indoctrination, overcoming trauma triggers, and rebuilding independent identities. Shelton's framework helps transition individuals from surviving to thriving.

For those navigating recovery, the book explores several core phases of leaving a high-control group:

• Deconstructing Coercive Control: Understanding the loaded language, manipulation, and phobia induction used to bypass independent thinking.
• Managing the Nervous System: Learning how to identify emotional and physical trauma triggers after prolonged periods of high-stress or abuse.
• The REM Model: Shelton introduces the Reason, Emotion, and Morality model as a unique way to understand and process how these traits are exploited within a cultic environment. 
• Rebuilding Identity: Step-by-step guidance on establishing healthy boundaries, relearning critical thinking, and finding your path forward.

Where to Find It

The book is available in trade paperback, e-book, and audiobook formats. You can pick up a copy or read a sample through the following platforms:

• Amazon
• Powell's Books

Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation

Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation, Rachel Bernstein

Healing after manipulation or coercion can feel like stepping into overwhelming territory. You may wonder: Where do I even begin?

That’s why I created Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation. It’s a supportive companion to your healing, filled with gentle prompts, reflections, and guidance to help you begin again, at your own pace and in your own way.

This journal, both in hardcover and paperback, provides a framework to guide your journey, but you are welcome to adapt it, modify it, and make it your own.

https://www.amazon.com/Restart-Restore-Journal-Survivors-Manipulation/dp/B0FR4JFV25/ref=sr_1_1

To walk alongside the journal, I’ve also created The Companion Notebook to Restart and Restore: Continuing the Journey of Discovering and Healing.

Think of it as an open space where you can expand on your reflections, capture your personal insights, and return to exercises that resonate most with you. While the Journal offers structure and direction, the Companion Notebook offers quotes and short stories from others who have walked this path and it offers additional room for expression, making these two powerful partners in your healing journey.

https://www.amazon.com/Restart-Restore-Journal-Survivors-Manipulation/dp/B0FR4JFV25/ref=sr_1_1

Apostasy Conference 2025 | The effect of apostasy on mental health

Apostasy Conference 2025 

The effect of apostasy on mental health

01 October 2025, 09:30 -- 16:30

Leaving religion can come at a high personal cost – not only socially or culturally, but mentally and emotionally. Yet the psychological impact of religious trauma and deconversion remains one of the most overlooked issues in mainstream mental health discourse.

This year’s Faith to Faithless Apostasy Conference will bring together therapists, academics, and lived-experience voices to explore the mental health impacts of religious exit, with a focus on high-commitment religious groups and coercive faith-based environments.

From identity loss to family shunning, internalised fear to isolation, this one-day event will offer deep insight into what it means to leave faith behind — and what support looks like in the aftermath.

Whether you’re a mental health professional, a frontline worker, a researcher, or someone with lived experience of religious trauma, this conference offers space to listen, learn, and connect.

Confirmed Speakers

Dr Darrel Ray (Keynote Speaker)

Recovering from Religion: Reclaiming Identity and Building a Secular Life

Dr Ray is a psychologist, consultant and lifelong student of religion and sexuality. He holds a BA in Sociology/Anthropology and an MA in Religion, and completed his doctorate in counselling psychology at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. In 2009, he founded Recovering from Religion, and in 2012 launched the Secular Therapy Project, which connects thousands of people worldwide to evidence-based, non-religious counselling.

He has spoken at conferences across the world and appeared on major platforms including The Atheist Experience, The Thinking Atheist, ABC News (US and Australia), and more. His research on sex and secularism has been featured in Playboy Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and the Daily Mail.

Dr Ray brings both clinical understanding and warm, lived insight into what helps people recover emotionally, sexually, and socially after religious exit.

Dr Savin Bapir-Tardy

The Cost of Belief: Trauma, Loss and Liberation After Leaving Faith

Leaving a religion, especially one that shapes your identity, relationships, and sense of right and wrong, can be emotionally overwhelming. This talk explores what it’s like to leave high-control religions, or to be shunned for no longer believing or for questioning religious teachings. There will be a strong focus on the experiences of ex-Muslims, whose stories are often underrepresented and misunderstood. Drawing on real-life experiences and insights from psychological therapy, the talk will explore common challenges such as shame, fear, loss of community, family rejection, and the difficult process of rebuilding a sense of self. It will also highlight the unique pressures faced by ex-Muslims, including social isolation and internalised fear, and offer reflections on what healing, hope, and personal freedom can look like after religious exit.

Dr Savin Bapir‑Tardy is a Chartered Counselling Psychologist, Senior Lecturer, and trauma specialist with over 17 years of clinical and research experience. Based in London, she has worked with clients affected by anxiety, depression, betrayal trauma, ‘honour’-based violence, forced marriage, FGM, and religious trauma. Since 2020, she has facilitated monthly support groups for the Council of Ex‑Muslims of Britain.

Dr Bapir‑Tardy’s research focuses on the psychological impacts of shunning and coercive control within high-control groups. She has co-authored qualitative studies on religious exit and shunning and co-leads a five-year Roehampton University project aimed at informing policy and legal frameworks around mandated shunning.

Dr Travis McKie-Voerste

Sanctified Harm: The Costs of Religious Assumptions in Therapy

Dr. Travis McKie-Voerste is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Dalton State College in Georgia, USA, where he teaches clinically focused courses in counseling, psychological adjustment, and the psychology of religion. He is also Director of the Secular Therapy Project, an international network connecting clients with evidence-based, non-religious therapists — a platform particularly vital for individuals recovering from religious trauma or navigating life after deconversion.

His research and clinical work focus on how religiosity and counselor belief systems influence therapeutic outcomes. His doctoral dissertation explored the experiences of atheists receiving counselling in the conservative US South, and he now specialises in training culturally competent clinicians to serve secular and ex-religious clients with care and ethical clarity.

Dr Gillie Jenkinson

Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive Religious Abuse: A therapeutic model for recovery and growth

In this talk Dr Jenkinson will explore what helps people recover from such abuse, drawing from her personal experience, clinical work and research.

Dr Jenkinson is an accredited psychotherapist in the UK with nearly 30 years’ experience, specialising in the harm caused by religious groups, coercive control and closed communities. She is an international speaker on the subject, trains mental health professionals and is a published author. Her book ‘Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse: A Workbook for Recovery and Growth’ was published by Routledge in May 2023. She was recently involved in a BBC documentary ‘Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army’ where she was filmed delivering ‘post cult counselling’ to four former members.

Alexander Barnes-Ross

Scientology and Anti-Psychiatry

Alexander Barnes-Ross is an ex-Scientologist, whistleblower and activist who has been the target of harassment since leaving and speaking out against abuse within his former Church. Scientology’s belief is that psychiatry is the root cause of all evil. Members are forbidden from seeking mental health or psychiatric support, and are punished for doing so. Barnes-Ross will speak about his personal experiences and mental health challenges during his time in, and since leaving Scientology. 

Philippa Barnes

Healing after the Jesus Army

Philippa is a former member of the Jesus Army, who grew up living as part of a commune within the Evangelical cultic group that was later disbanded after it was discovered that one in six children had been sexually abused within the church. Philippa set up a support group for former members called the Jesus Fellowship Survivors Association, and featured in the recent BBC documentary 'Inside the cult of the Jesus Army.' 

More speakers to be announced...

What to expect

✔️ Insightful talks from psychologists, researchers, and practitioners

✔️ Panel discussions with therapists working directly with the ex-religious

✔️ Lived experience stories, reflections, and real-world strategies

✔️ Opportunities to connect with others in this vital and growing field

✔️ Professional learning for those in health, social care, and education

Venue & accessibility

📍 Covent Garden, London (fully accessible venue)

🕘 Doors open at 09:15 | Event ends by 16:45

☕ Refreshments and lunch included

🪑 Step-free access via a lift, accessible toilets, quiet space available

Who should attend?

Mental health professionals

Safeguarding leads and social workers

Academics and researchers

Apostates and ex-religious individuals

Charities, frontline workers, and advocates

Anyone curious about recovery after religion

 Register

Apostasy Conference 2025

General ticket £50.00

Solidarity ticket £80.00

Complimentary ticket (Faith to Faithless volunteer) £0.00

Location

Covent Garden Community Centre

42 Earlham Street

Covent Garden

London, WC2H 9LA

United Kingdom

CONTACT US

020 7324 3060   |   info@humanists.uk

Humanists UK, 39 Moreland Street, London EC1V 8BB

CultNEWS101 Articles: 9/10/2025

Amish, Child Abuse, Event, Cult Recovery

CBS: Amish mom charged with murder after throwing 4-year-old son into Ohio lake to prove "worthiness to God," police say

"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

CultMediation.com   

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.

CultNEWS101 Articles: 8/29/2025

Australia, Geelong Revival Centre, Considerations When Leaving a Group, Childhood Trauma

The Age: Fears emerge on Liberal religious right that cult inquiry unfairly targets Pentecostal churches

"A parliamentary inquiry considering how to outlaw coercive cult practices in Victoria has alarmed a part of the Liberal Party's religious right that fears pastors could be criminalised and Pentecostal churches unfairly targeted.

Traditional churches have also been closely watching the work of the state parliament's legal and social issues committee, concerned that religious freedoms could be eroded.

A staff member of state Liberal MP Renee Heath encouraged constitutional conservatives at the Samuel Griffith Society think tank to provide submissions to the inquiry. In an email last month, the employee described the Geelong Revival Centre, where decades of historical abuse has been alleged, as "strict but not coercive".

"This inquiry seems positioned to facilitate a state-sanctioned practice of religion with all else being deemed coercive harmful behaviour," said the email, obtained by The Age.

Heath said she was not previously aware of the email and that the employee, whom The Age has chosen not to name, was expressing his own opinion.

The inquiry was launched in April after the podcast, Secrets We Keep: Pray Harder, and The Age revealed allegations of abuse and coercion at the Geelong Revival Centre. The centre was contacted for this story.

In a sign of just how fraught the task is, the committee took the rare step of circulating a guidance note: "Harmful or abusive practices can happen in any group – religious or not – and our concern is with those actions, not the beliefs behind them."

The inquiry is looking at harmful tactics used by organised fringe groups and will consider whether any amount of coercion should be criminalised.

The committee said recruitment tactics included using social events to build rapport (like potluck dinners or youth groups); isolating recruits from "negative" outsiders; promising secret or higher knowledge; asking recruits to commit in small ways, then escalating; using charismatic leaders; creating insider language and symbols; and targeting vulnerable people.

Heath's employee said some examples misrepresented church activities as "deceptive or sinister" while sports clubs and political parties were ignored.

He claimed, in a "church guidance note" attached to the email, that anonymous submissions "fuelled by media-driven stereotypes and Facebook groups … could be used to justify new laws that potentially criminalise and censor pastors, leaders and churches and expose them to vexatious legal actions.

"Despite high levels of coercion and control displayed in unions, activist groups, political parties and sport, the Victorian government is targeting religion."

Heath said her office had been contacted by constituents concerned about the inquiry and that she had asked her employee to get in touch with key stakeholders."

ICSA: Thinking about leaving a high-control group? This checklist can help you prepare

Leaving a high-control group or environment can be one of the most courageous and difficult decisions a person makes. Whether you're actively preparing or just starting to imagine a life beyond the group, this checklist can help you assess your situation and take the first steps toward independence and safety.

ICSA has a set of questions that are designed to help you reflect on what you might need practically, emotionally, and legally.

Psychology Today: 2 Lasting Ways That Childhood Trauma Rewires the Brain

"Most well-informed people are aware that traumatic childhood experiences are often associated with serious mental health conditions later in life. What few people know, however, is how exactly trauma gives rise to these disorders.

Some attribute it to emotional scarring or psychological wounds that live only in the mind. But according to 2022 research from Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health, these wounds are in no way metaphorical. To the brain, trauma can be as real and physical as a cut or a broken bone."

" ... According to the 2022 study, individuals with bipolar disorder who had experienced adverse childhood experiences showed clear signs of white matter disruption. Specifically, their brain scans revealed lower levels of fractional anisotropy, which is a measure used to assess how coherent and structured these white matter tracts are.

In essence, the aforementioned inflammation can result in lasting damage to an individual's white matter. In most cases, this means the brain's internal communication system will function less efficiently than that of a person without trauma.

When white matter is intact and well-organized, it acts much like well-planned and well-looked-after roads: Information moves quickly and efficiently across the brain. But once white matter connections are lost, tangled, or damaged, those signals slow down or get misrouted—much like cars do on a road with potholes or fading paint.

This is exactly what the brain looks like when it's frequently exposed to trauma in early life: a collection of unkempt, interconnected roads, on which cars struggle significantly to travel. And this kind of "unkemptness" in the brain's highway system has very real, functional consequences.

The study notes that damage to the white matter's structural integrity can lead to miscommunication between some of the brain's most essential regions. In turn, it's considerably more challenging for the emotional centers of the brain to communicate with the areas responsible for logic and regulation. This can lead to dysfunction in:

• Emotional regulation
• Sleep and wake cycles
• Threat detection
• Higher-order thinking (such as planning, impulse control, and decision-making)

As a result, an individual might feel perpetually on edge without ever really knowing why. Even in situations where they have every logical reason to feel safe, they might struggle to calm themselves down. And despite immense exhaustion or tiredness, they might find themselves lying wide awake at night.

Even the smallest, most inconsequential decisions can feel overwhelming, since the mental routes that once effortlessly facilitated those processes can feel as though they're punctuated with delays and detours. Unfortunately, these responses can persist well into adulthood, and well past their years of trauma.

That said, this doesn't mean that the brain is "broken" or that it has "failed." It just means that the brain has adapted to danger and inflammation in the only way it was designed to: by reinforcing defensive pathways to protect itself.

When faced with trauma, the brain makes an executive decision to prioritize survival over flexibility—even if that means day-to-day functioning might be a bit more difficult later on in life. This is a sign of resilience, not failure.

News, Education, Intervention, Recovery

CultMediation.com   

Healing from Emotional, Anger, and Relational Trauma

The Healing from Emotional, Anger, and Relational Trauma educational support group is resuming on Wednesdays on September 10 at 7:30 pm EDT and Mondays, September 15 at 12:30 PM EDT on Zoom. 

 

The focus is on coping more effectively with anger, other emotions, coercive control, traumatic narcissism and gaslighting.  

Grief, forgiveness and releasing ourselves from pain are also part of the ongoing discussion offered by the Queens Long Island Community Services & FamilyKind, facilitated by Dr. Paul Engel DHL, LCSW.  

 

Gather with others to find support and learn to develop strength and strategies for coping while integrating change in your lives. 

This group is for former cult members and others.  Please contact 516-547-4318 or paul.engel@flushingjcc.net with any questions and to get the link to register and join.

Coping with Post Cult Trauma

Coping with Post Cult Trauma (Margaret Singer)

 https://youtu.be/5kXQ09wPLEo?si=XFYqLXinenSEVAlw

CultNEWS101 Articles: 7/21/2025

Social Contagion,  Elitism, Cult Recovery, Conference Video, Workbook

The Conversation: Misinformation lends itself to social contagion – here's how to recognize and combat it

" ... Research shows that both misinformation and disinformation spread faster and farther than truth online. This means that before people can muster the resources to debunk the false information that has seeped into their social networks, they may have already lost the race. Complex contagion may have taken hold, in a malicious way, and begun spreading falsehood throughout the network at a rapid pace.

People spread false information for various reasons, such as to advance their personal agenda or narrative, which can lead to echo chambers that filter out accurate information contrary to one's own views. Even when people do not intend to spread false information online, doing so tends to happen because of a lack of attention paid to accuracy or lower levels of digital media literacy.

Inoculation against social contagion

So how much can people do about this? One way to combat harmful contagion is to draw on an idea first used in the 1960s called pre-bunking. The idea is to train people to practice skills to spot and resist misinformation and disinformation on a smaller scale before they're exposed to the real thing.

The idea is akin to vaccines that build immunity through exposure to a weakened form of the disease-causing germ. The idea is for someone to be exposed to a limited amount of false information, say through the pre-bunking with Google quiz. They then learn to spot common manipulation tactics used in false information and learn how to resist their influence with evidence-based strategies to counter the falsehoods. This could also be done using a trained facilitator within classrooms, workplaces or other groups, including virtual communities.

Then, the idea is to gradually repeat the process with larger doses of false information and further counterarguments. By role-playing and practicing the counterarguments, this resistance skills training provides a sort of psychological inoculation against misinformation and disinformation, at least temporarily.

Importantly, this approach is intended for someone who has not yet been exposed to false information – hence, pre-bunking rather than debunking. If we want to engage with someone who firmly believes in their stance, particularly when it runs contrary to our own, behavioral scientists recommend leading with empathy and nonjudgmentally exchanging narratives.

Debunking is difficult work, however, and even strong debunking messages can result in the persistence of misinformation. You may not change the other person's mind, but you may be able to engage in a civil discussion and avoid pushing them further away from your position."

Damian Adkisson: Elitism

Cults are often known to use 'Elitism' to create a sense of exclusivity and superiority among their followers. Here are some ways that cults may weaponize Elitism:

1. Creating an "in-group" mentality: Cults often emphasize that their members are part of a select group, often using phrases like "we're the awakened ones" or "we're the chosen few."

2. Demonizing outsiders: Cults may use language that portrays outsiders as inferior, ignorant, or even evil, reinforcing the idea that their group is superior.

3. Emphasizing exclusivity: Phrases like "they don't understand us" or "we move differently" can create a sense of separation and exclusivity, making followers feel like they're part of a special group.

4. Fostering a sense of privilege: Cults may claim that their members have access to exclusive knowledge, spiritual truths, or experiences that others don't have.

5. Encouraging dependency: By creating this sense of superiority, cults can make followers dependent on the group for validation and self-worth.

This elitist mentality can lead to:

1. Us vs. them mentality: Followers may become wary of outsiders and outside influences and may view them as threats or simply inferior.

2. Loss of critical thinking: Followers may become less critical of the group's teachings and more likely to conform.

3. Increased loyalty: Followers may feel a strong sense of loyalty to the group and its leader.

By using elitist language and ideologies, cults can effectively manipulate their followers and maintain control. It's important to be aware of tactics such as these and approach groups that use them with caution.

ICSA International Conference 2024: Recovery and Self-Help: Finding a Way to Recovery and Growth After Abuse in a Cultic Setting, and the Role of a Workbook - Gillie Jenkinson (video)

Recovery and Self-Help: Finding a Way to Recovery and Growth After Abuse in a Cultic Setting, and the Role of a Workbook - Gillie Jenkinson

ICSA International Conference 2024

Barcelona, Spain

ICSA International Conference 2024

Barcelona, Spain

https://youtu.be/t1mLbR4Fb2A?si=UAtZ5plgG2-_DhWD 

Pathways to Freedom

Robert Crompton

Pathways to Freedom offers a helping hand to former Jehovah's Witnesses who can too easily become stuck in the transit zone between the Watchtower and new life. How do you let go of the baggage that weighs you down all along the way? How do you start to make new friends when you've always had it drummed into you that you could trust nobody outside the Witnesses? How do you stop the constantly nagging doubts about whether you did the right thing to break free? Pathways to Freedom is here to help.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pathways-Freedom-Watchtower-New-Life/dp/B08VRN2YWL

CE Course Title: "Working with Cult Survivors: A Basic Certification Course for Mental Health Clinicians"

CE Course Title: "Working with Cult Survivors: A Basic Certification Course for Mental Health Clinicians"

Time: Self-Paced (8 hours)

Location: Online

Instructors: Dr. Janja Lalich and Natalie Fabert, Ph.D.

Overarching CE Goals: This course will help therapists attain the foundational knowledge, awareness, and skills needed to work with self-identified cult survivors.

Learning Objectives:  At the end of this CE course, students will be able to: 

    1.    Describe why specialized knowledge is essential when supporting clients with lived experience in cultic environments.

    2.    Evaluate key socio-historical and contextual factors that shape contemporary discourse and public understanding of cults.

    3.    Describe the defining characteristics of cults, including the four core structural dimensions that distinguish them from other groups.

    4.    Investigate the individual and group-level influences that contribute to cult involvement.

    5.    Explain theories of cult member retention and radicalization, focusing on social psychological mechanisms.

    6.    Identify the biopsychosocial impacts of cultic abuse, and asses the hierarchical needs of cult survivors. 

    7.    Implement evidence-based strategies to build trust, ensure psychological safety, and foster collaborative engagement in therapeutic work with cult survivors.

8.    Develop trauma-informed treatment planning strategies tailored to the complex clinical needs of cult survivors.

Target Audience & Instructional Level: Introductory; Mental Health Care Clinicians 

CE Credits: 8 hours

Cost: $250 for CE-seeking participants

The Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Presented by Janja Lalich, PhD., internationally recognized expert on Cults and Coercion, and Natalie Fabert, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist, with guest appearances from other experts in the field, including: 

Rachel Bernstein, LMFT 

Dr. Jamie Marich 

Daniel Shaw - author, Traumatic Narcissism 

Khristina Berger 

Melanie Friedman

https://lalichcenterce.thinkific.com/courses/lalichcenterCE

HEART (healing from emotional, anger, and relational trauma)

HEART (healing from emotional, anger, and relational trauma) is an educational support group that offers a safe place tpo ​focus on healing with positive strategies to deal more effectively with anger and other emotions, coercive control, traumatic narcissism & gaslighting as part of an ongoing discussion.  The next series continues Monday, July 14 at 12:30 pm and Wednesday, July 16 at 7:30 pm for 4 sessions each. For more information, schedule, and registration, call or text 516-547-4318 or email paul.engel@flushingjcc.net.

Healing from Emotional, Anger, and Relational Trauma educational support group

The Healing from Emotional, Anger, and Relational Trauma educational support group is now available on March Mondays starting on March 10 at 1 PM EST on Zoom.  

Focus is on coping more effectively with anger, other emotions, coercive control, traumatic narcissism and gaslighting.  Grief, forgiveness and releasing ourselves from pain are also part of the ongoing discussion offered by the Queens Long Island Community Services and FamilyKind and facilitated by Dr. Paul Engel DHL, LCSW.  

 

Gather with others to find support and learn to develop strength and strategies for coping while integrating change in your lives. 

This group is for former cult members and others.  Please contact 516-547-4318 or paul.engel@flushingjcc.net with any questions and to get the link to join.

Walking Free from Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse

Walking Free from Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse

This ‘weekend workshop’ is for ex-group members only, and not family or friends. If you have left an abusive group or religion, this weekend is for you! The weekend is non-religious and accepting of all belief systems.

A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY NOT TO BE MISSED!

A WEEKEND WITH GILLIE JENKINSON PhD

Download the flyer (PDF)

Gillie Jenkinson, PhD is a psychotherapist accredited in UK. Gillie has studied cults at Masters and PhD level and asked the question of former members ‘what helped you recover from an abusive cult experience?’. Her book ‘Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse: A Workbook for Recovery and Growth’ published by Routledge in 2023 is based on all her research and years of working with first second and multi-generational former members. Gillie was a member of a cult herself a long time ago. Gillie has worked with former members for more than 25 years and has facilitated many former member recovery groups and is very much looking forward to coming to Brisbane and meeting whoever attends.

Read more about Gillie here: https://www.hopevalleycounselling.com

TOPICS DISCUSSED WILL INCLUDE:

A roadmap to recovery-introducing Gillie’s book ‘Walking Free.”

• Who are you?
• Introjects-beliefs and behaviours that we have swallowed whole without chewing them over (resulting in a cultic instead of authentic identity)
• Healthy boundary setting ‘Assertive Anger’
• The difference between anger and rage
• Healthy Self-Love
• Understanding Post Traumatic Stress
• Grounding

WHEN: Sat 5th Sun 6th October 2024.

WHERE: Corner of Rossiter Parade and Racecourse Road, Hamilton, Brisbane QLD, 4110

REGISTRATION COSTS: Registration $200 ($180 Early bird booking before 16th August)

Registration includes lunch and morning and afternoon tea.

HOW TO REGISTER:

Email: info@cifs.org.au stating your intention to attend the seminar. If you are not currently known to CIFS

Please include your name, phone, and any other relevant information such as the name of the group you were in and how long since you left etc. We may require a short phone call if you are not known to us to verify your identity and to maintain a safe space for all.

Bank transfer via our website: www.cifs.org.au

0r Westpac:

BSB 032069

A/C No. 215882.

Use your first name and ‘workshop’ as reference identifier.

Please Note: Due to the nature of the group process we regret that we cannot have people attend for one day only and dependent children cannot attend. We will email further details closer to the event time.

https://www.cifs.org.au/walking-free-from-coercive-cultic-and-spiritual-abuse/

ICSA Conference 2024: In-Person (Barcelona, Spain) and live-streamed via Whova

ICSA Conference 2024: In-Person (Barcelona, Spain) and live-streamed via Whova

July 4-6, 2024 with pre-conference workshops on July 3, 2024

Facultad de Geografía e Historia. Universitat de Barcelona
Montalegre, 6
08001 Barcelona

More Information

Thursday, July 4, 2024 / Jueves, 4 de julio de 2024

A Human Right to the Freedom of Mind, Matt Bywater

"Three-Minute Mental Makeover (3MMM): Practitioners and Clients Writing Together

A Validated Evidence-Based Therapeutic Tool", Gina Catena

"From Brainwashing to Psychological Domination: Mystery Became Science / Del Lavado de Cerebro a la Dominación Psicológica: El Misterio Se Hizo Ciencia, 

Paul R. Martin Memorial Lecture / Conferencia en memoria de Paul R. Martin (En Español)", Álvaro Rodrí­guez-Carballeira 

Online: Sacrificial Seductions: Female Bodies as Exploited Sacrifices, Ozan Can Yilmaz

Who Was Roxy?, Cathrine Moestue

The Role That a Lawyer Plays and the Proof He Provides in the Eyes of the Victim and Under French Jurisdictions, Maleine Picotin-Gueye

Advice for Parents, Caregivers, and Teenagers: Warning Signs of Toxic Groups, Robin Boyle

The Cultic Manipulations of America's Troubled Teen Industry, Phil Elberg

Cult Trip: Coming Too Close, Anke Richter

Empowering Self-help Consumers to Avoid Predatory (and Culty) Self-improvement Resources, Jean Brown

Panel: Control Coercitivo en Relaciones Terapéuticas, de Pareja y Grupales: Una Mirada Multidimensional de los Fenómenos de Abuso y Violencia, Carmen Almendros; Alba Abanades; Francisco González-Espejito

Online: Wellness Beyond Boundaries: Navigating Alternative Healthcare Spaces in Times of Crisis, Kim Peirano

Online: Healthy and Safe Support Groups for Former Cult Members, Rachel Bernstein

Exorcism, Deliverance and the Cultivation of Fear in Christian Cultic Groups, Stephen Parsons

Updating Catholic Movements and Orders Accused of Being Cult-like, J. Paul Lennon

Spiritual Abuse Issues Among Girls and Women Living in a Closed Patriarchal Community, Madeline Lamboley

Coercive Control: It's All About the Impacts, Andrea Silverstone

Alternative Religious and Spiritual Movements in Contemporary Romania: Between Theoretical Approaches and Practical Implications, Radu Petre Muresan

Panel: Barriers Faced for Born-in-Cult Survivors and the Need for Specifically Designed Programs and Support Services, Maria Esguerra; Jemima Farris; Whisper James

Panel: Grupos Abusivos Psicológicos desde una Perspectiva Clínica, Consecuencias, Características Clínicas y Abordaje, Juanjo Santamaría; Vega González-Bueso; Eduardo Valenciano; Oscar Wu; Anna Santo

Online: Trauma-Informed Online Cult Recovery Coaching, Ron Burks

"You'll See It - - When You Believe It": The Importance of Belief in Cult Recruitment, Russell Bradshaw

Investigating the Psychological Health and Wellbeing of Former Members of Cultic Groups: A Quantitative Study, Jill Aebi-Mytton

Spiritual Healing Within the Helping Professions: Discussion of the Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual Model in Practice, Lindsay Bennett; Pious Malliar-Bellian

Reclaiming Life: Navigating the Therapeutic Journey of Ultra-Orthodox Transition, Lea Lavy

Friday, July 5, 2024 / Viernes, 5 de julio de 2024

A Different Body of Evidence, Jamie Fearn

The Epistemic Costs of the "Evidence-Based" Ideology in Psychology and Social Sciences, Arthur Mary

Panel: Exposing the Cult Template: 3 Different Cults, the Same Playbook, 

Esther Friedman; Carrie Buddington; Gerette Buglion

Panel: Conocimiento y Percepción del Fenómeno Sectario en Psicólogos, Periodistas y Profesores de Religión en España, Àlex Caramé; Julián Cádiz; Carlos de Arteaga; Luis Santamaría; José Luis Vázquez

Online Panel: Mental Health Workshop, Linda Dubrow-Marshall; Jennifer French Tomasic; Ashley McLean; Andrew Morrison; Kate Amber

Spanish Panel: Ayudar a Rescatar y Liberar los/as Niños/as del Fenómeno Sectario,

Margarita Barranco; Míchel Gilbert; José Miguel Cuevas; Manuel Perez

A Literature Review Exploration of Jehovah's Witnesses College Students Experience with Secular Higher Education, Michael Miller

Waking Up: What the Narratives of Former Jehovah's Witnesses Bethelites Reveal About Their Experience of Realizing They Were in a Cult, Andre Jackson

Route Planning for Defectors, Robert Crompton

The Grief of Leaving, Liz Sallows

Panel:  How Cults Shape Aspects of Post-Cult Identity, Character, and Conscience, Gillie Jenkinson

Persuasión Coercitiva y Delito de Trata de Personas Carlos Bardavío Antón

Entender, Evaluar y Tratar el Abuso Espiritual en Psicoterapia, Celine Castillo

Online Panel: Surviving Patriarchally Infused Coercive Control, Thought Reform, and Totalistic  Identity in Relationships and Groups, Linda Dubrow-Marshall; Rod Dubrow-Marshall; Kate Amber; Jennifer French Tomasic

Training and Education of Healthcare Professionals on How to Support a Client After Religious Disaffiliation, Maria Bjorkmark

Auto-Ethnographic Research in Counselling Ex-Cult Members, Henk Stoker

Developing a Grassroots Resistance, Education, and Support Movement, Christopher Lee

Increasing Awareness of Complex Trauma Prevalence in Therapeutic Practice. Lindsay Bennett

Panel: The Drastic Change That Took Place in Public Attitude Towards Issues Concerning "Cults" and "Religion" in Japan After the Assassination of Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takashi Yamaguchi; Kotaro Tanaka; Jun Tabata; Kyoko Nagano

Panel: Is New Zealand a Little Bit Culty? The rise of awareness, action and advocacy on the path to justice, Liz Gregory; Anke Richter

Activismo y Defensa de las Víctimas del Sectarismo, Juantxo Dominguez

Maltrato a Menores en Contexto Sectario: El Caso Guillot Adriana Pacheco

Online Panel: What Do Survivors Need?: Providing Practitioner Care with an Emphasis on Facilitating Support Groups, Katherine Spearing; Rachel Bernstein

ICSA Open Discussion with ICSA Executive Director and President Jacqueline Johnson, Debby Schriver

Decoding Cult Manipulation: Empowering Recovery in the Digital Era, Shawnna Jantz

Recovery and Self-Help: Finding a Way to Recovery and Growth After Abuse in a Cultic Setting, and the Role of a Workbook, Gillie Jenkinson

A Beacon and a Blueprint for Cult Support Organisations, Liz Gregory 

The Healing Power of Listening: Survivors’ Stories and the Dark History of Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini Yoga and Sikh Dharma Community, Els Coenen; GuruNischan

Las Relaciones Respetuosas, Auténticas y Libres (Presentación de libro) , Jose Fernández

Developing a Grassroots Resistance, Education, and Support Movement, Christopher Lee

Getting Out of a Cult: Therapeutic Wandering and Specific Needs, Elena Vlad

Organizing Support Groups Relating to Cultic Phenomena, Sam Downs

Combating Cult Mind Control Throughout the World in 2024, Steve Hassan

Saturday, July 6, 2024 / Sábado, 6 de julio de 2024

A Cult in the Home: Coercive Control of Children, Christine Cocchiola

Online: Overview of Research on Cults and Coercion, Rod Dubrow-Marshall

Revelation and/or Contamination? To What Extent Should Social Scientists Get Their Hands Dirty?, Eileen Barker

Spanish Panel: Schools at Danger with Sectarianism, Luis Santamaria; Michel Gilbert; Manel Sanyudo; Ricardo Gamaza, et al.

Cult Media Messaging: Sharing Your Story While Taking Care of Yourself, Dhyana Levey

Building Bridges: How to Talk to Conspiracy Believers, Ulrike Schiesser

Online Panel: The Dopamine Hypothesis: How It Provides Insights into the Positive and Negative Effects of LGATs, John Hunter; Joe Kelly; Patrick Ryan; Doni Whitsett

Panel: As Time Goes On. . . Sixteen Years Later -- What's Different and Where Are We Now?, Debby Schriver; Ange Ondrisek; Marcus Griffin; Lexi Broderick; Shaina Broderick

Panel: Shunning Is a Crime: An Initiative to Challenge Mandated Shunning, Susan Hall; Savin Bapir-Tardy; Windy Grendele; Patrick Haeck

Online Panel: Stay-at-Home Daughters: The Unique Challenges of Women Raised in the Christian Patriarchy Movement, Cait West; Katherine Spearing

Panel: The Hidden Gems of Healthy Influence: A Workshop on How to Use Research on Social Influence and Dr. Cialdini's Principles to Build Self-Trust in the Cult Recovery Process, Gerette Buglion; Cathrine Moestue 

Cult: A New Definition,  Arthur Buchman

"CLOSING - ICSA Awards; Dianne Casoni Award; ICSA 2025 Conference Announcement 

CIERRE - Premios de ICSA; Premio Dianne Casoni; Anuncio de la Conferencia ICSA 2025"

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