Hi, everybody! :)

I am a licensed psychotherapist who has worked with over 2,000 current and former cult members since 1995.

Starting Wednesday evening, October 1st I will be holding an online cult support group at public-talk.com. (I am in the US Eastern Time zone.) It will meet once a week.

I designed the group for people who left their group, but still face challenges functioning in life. Difficulties might include: career/education, relationships, finances, health, depression, grief, shame, re-establishing spirituality -- pretty much any challenge caused by your time in your cult. (You might be interested in reading a list of post-cult symptoms at [KnappFamilyCounseling.com] .)

Some benefits people report from cult support groups:

* Great chance to share experience in a safe, moderated space -- ask questions and get answers!
* Confidential, safe, and secure
* Support from people who experienced what you did -- and don't think you're crazy!
* Work with a therapist who understands -- I spent 20+ years in my own cult
* A place to share and learn solutions that have worked for others
* Inexpensive access to professional therapeutic help (as little as $10/session)
* For many people, group may be faster, more powerful than individual counseling -- and less scary!
* Downloaded transcripts let you re-read and consider insights at your own leisure
* Learn crucial info on cult recovery

The group is open to anyone who is recovering from cult abuse by any group. The group is limited to 10 members, first-come, first-served -- you might want to make your reservation soon.

To learn more -- or if you have any questions at all -- please private message me.

Look forward to recovering with you! :D

J.

<b><i>About Me:</i></b>
I am a 23+ year former member of Transcendental Meditation in recovery from cults for 13+ years.

I've been a cult activist since 1995 and have worked with over 2,000 current and former members of eastern meditation groups, new age groups, multi-level marketing groups, christian/bible-based groups, and many, many more.

I became a mental health professional in 2005 as a licensed psychotherapist (LMSW). You can read more about my practice at [KnappFamilyCounseling.com].

These days almost 2/3 of my work is with bible-based groups. It just seems to be the need of the times.

John M. Knapp, LMSW
Knapp Family Counseling
Spiritual & Cultic Abuse: Healing. Prevention. Research.

Hi John,

I want to say that I feel some concern about your post here. Mainly because I happened to visit your website not long ago, after someone participating in this forum gave a link to his own site (My So-Called Spiritual Life) and on it he referenced your site. I do wonder if you are friends with "RandomStu", and if so, I feel concerned. Imo he acted in a rather troll-like manner here and repeatedly accused people in the Byron Katie thread of acting like victims. His behavior was the antithesis of therapeutic.

Another thing... are you charging $$ for participation in your support group?

Thanks,
H

Hi, H,

I don't know who "RandomStu" is. If he is the author of "My So-Called Spiritual Life," I've corresponded with him, but don't know much about him. Can you share your concerns? If they are serious, that would be good for me to know because I currently link to his site from one of my blogs.

Naturally, I can't condone name-calling, such as calling people "victims." That's hurtful. And we've been hurt more than enough for many lifetimes!

Did my site raise any concerns for you? It would really be good for me to know. I continuously learn from feedback on my site. That's why I welcome criticism. It just helps me to improve professionally -- and personally!

Yes, I am charging for the support group. But I'm trying to make it affordable for everyone. (A limited number of "seats" are reserved for "pro bono" clients who can't afford to pay anything.)

I am charging on a sliding-scale based on ability to pay, from $10 to $35 a session. If you're interested, or feel you may qualify for a no-charge membership, just PM me to ask any questions you like.

Thanks, H, for raising questions I'm sure others are wondering about!

John M. Knapp, LMSW
Knapp Family Counseling
Spiritual & Cultic Abuse: Healing. Prevention. Research.

Hi again John, and thank you for answering my post.

Yes, "RandomStu" is the author of "My So-Called Spiritual Life". He visited the thread on Byron Katie, which I've been active in, not so long ago. Several of us, including the moderator of this board, quickly found him to be rather disruptive to the thread - and to the healing process. So I was very concerned if you were close friends with him, you might share his views on "victimhood" and other things.

It seems that is not the case.

I did not find anything to concern me at your website. The only problem was, I had gotten there via Stuart's page and that caused an unfortunate negative association. I think it's safe to say that this has been for the most part corrected now. I do feel a twinge inside, though... I guess because my introduction to you was via Stuart and I do not have good feelings about his behavior in this forum. Hopefully over time that twinge will go away. Perhaps I will go back to your website now and attempt to view it with new eyes.

Again, thanks for responding. :-)

H

P.S. This is a link to RandomStu's first post: [[url=http://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?4,9147,58197#msg-58197]RandomStu Post[/url]]. Right off the bat, he's got an agenda to push - e.g., "There's ZERO evidence that psychiatry helps anyone." I beg to differ!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/18/2008 11:00PM by helpme2times.

Thanks, helpme2times,

for the link. I can see why you found "RandomStu's" posts disturbing. Their tone is combative, never pleasant -- especially so on a self-help forum like this. And the use of "victim" language is hurtful.

Mental health jargon, like calling someone a "victim," has become a new class of swear words, unfortunately. Saying someone has "issues," is "bipolar," could use some "help," etc. are extremely loaded in today's culture. We may not feel free to call someone an "asshole" in polite company, but people feel free to say "you need to see a shrink."

It's sad. Because of the lingering taboo in our culture over mental health issues and therapy, language that is meant to help and heal has become a new category of hate speech.

Hi John,

While I appreciate your desire to help former cult members, I do have some concerns about your on-line "support group."

My husband and I are both licensed professionals and we facilitate a peer support group that meets monthly in the Dallas metroplex. Although my husband is a licensed therapist and I am a licensed social worker, we advise the people coming to the group that it is not a therapy group and we are not acting in our capacity as professionals. There is no charge for our group. We are both former members of a Bible-based cult in Dallas and see this support group as a way to help others who have had a similar experience.

Most of the people who contact us have recently left their cults and are not familar with the myriad post-cult symptoms. My concern with the on-line group that you are proposing is that with this type of group much of what is communicated is nonverbal. Furthermore, there may be individuals whose psychological needs are too involved for this type of therapy.

Here are some of my questions:
(1) How will you address the nonverbal communication?
(2) How will confidentiality be maintained?
(3) Will there be any screening or evaluation process prior to the individual joining the on-line group?
(4) What is the criteria for acceptance in the group?

I hope I don't sound critical, but I did forward your original message to members of our peer support group and afterwards, realized I should have gotten more information before doing so.

Hi Wendyjduncan,
just wanted to comment on your question about non verbal communication.( I am not trying to answer for John, who I know very well, and have a great deal of respect for as a therapist, so these are just my own thoughts).
It seems that different therapeutic modalities have different advantages and disadvantages. While obviously an on line support group is not going to be great at addressing non verbals, it can also provide a safer therapeutic environment for people who having been badly hurt by guru types, need the protection of solid boundaries to be able to communicate at all.
In any group, including your own support group, confidentiality does rely on the integrity of the participants, and anyone participating in any group dynamic needs to be aware that absolute confidentiality cannot be guaranteed.
Am wondering though, if you have suggestions on how to improve some of these areas, given the restrictions of the online format.
thank you, Yasmin

Wow, those are excellent points, Wendy. I particularly agree with this: "there may be individuals whose psychological needs are too involved for this type of therapy."

I feel that I am one of those people and would not participate in John's group. I work with a whole "treatment team" at a major hospital to deal with my various issues. Some years ago I wanted to attend a support group for cult recovery and was extensively interviewed in person before I could attend the group. (The group happpened to be free, like the group Wendy says she co-leads.) I ended up not attending the group, mainly because it was quite a distance away from me. But maybe at some point down the line, I might try going at least a few times.

Well I just realized that the group will take place in a chat room. I doubt I would feel safe in that type of environment. And what if a person can't type very well?

How does one adequtely screen participants for something like this?

Furthermore... how does one truly know that John is who he says he is?

Also, John is charging a fee for the group. He says: "The group is limited to 10 members, first-come, first-served -- you might want to make your reservation soon. " That sounds like such an advertisement. It feels rather "off" to me.

That's my two cents anyway.

Quote
wendyjduncan
Here are some of my questions:
(1) How will you address the nonverbal communication?
(2) How will confidentiality be maintained?
(3) Will there be any screening or evaluation process prior to the individual joining the on-line group?
(4) What is the criteria for acceptance in the group?

I hope I don't sound critical, but I did forward your original message to members of our peer support group and afterwards, realized I should have gotten more information before doing so.

Hi, Wendy,

No, you don't sound critical. Your questions are valid ones.

Let me start off by saying most of my work is over the phone or the internet. This is NOT ideal. Nonverbal communication is important, of course. But most people in the US -- and around the world for that matter -- do not have access to a cult counselor. There just aren't that many of us. If someone has access to a local counselor or support group with cult experience, I always suggest they check them out first.

That being said, online counseling is a growing field. Just google ecounseling, for instance, to find a number of people who practice it. The ethics of NASW and other professional associations haven't caught up yet -- they are silent on the subject. Naturally, I intend to adhere to those ethics as they evolve.

Webcam and audio are available in the chat room, but not everybody chooses to use them. So there is some nonverbal material available. The practice of teletherapy by psychiatrists and others has become commonplace for rural areas without access to professional help. This is a slight extension of that.

Confidentiality is maintained through security. The chat room is private, accessible only by password. It uses a secure protocol, which essentially encrypts all data. There will be no archive of the sessions; the conversation disappears once every chat member leaves the room. (Although there is a way to download a transcript at the end of the session, for reading and reflection later. Many participants of online therapy really appreciate this feature.) Finally, I will be the only one who knows the identity of participants. I recommend that everyone choose a unique handle that they don't use elsewhere on the Internet to maintain perfect confidentiality. My laptop, on which I keep client data, is always double-locked when it is not in my possession.

Tell me what you think, but it's my opinion this process is actually much more confidential than going to a public clinic where people can see you going in, records are frequently available to clerical and other nonclinical staff, and paper records are subject to break-in. (I know of cases of break-ins in which perpetrators were involved in messy divorces or custody battles.)

Yes, there is screening. I ask for a questionnaire to be completed -- which includes references to avoid infiltration by current cult members and others. I do a thorough phone interview.

The criteria? Well, it's not useful to post my entire screening questionnaire here. But in general, I make sure that person has been out of their cult for some time, is not involved in conflicting therapy (unless I get a release and make sure that their current therapist gives approval), is not suicidal, is not actively psychotic and is stable in their medications, not actively addicted, and understands that this is in no way a replacement for medical or therapeutic care. This is a therapeutic support group, not primary therapy.

Wendy, I would value any further questions, suggestions, or information you choose to share.

Thanks again for the questions!

J.

John M. Knapp, LMSW
Knapp Family Counseling
Spiritual & Cultic Abuse: Healing. Prevention. Research.