One of my professors told me about this article from the American Psychological Association:


[www.apa.org]

While I would not place entities such as Berkeley Psychic Institute etc. in the "Reverend Jim Jones" category, I think it's an interesting article.

It also mentions Steve Hassan- his name sounds familiar to me.

Ana

Good article. What I find interesting is that the people who post on another website devoted to those who have lived with verbal and emotional abuse find that therapists, if they are not specifically trained in this, also have a hard time treating clients. In fact, many of the posters have stated that the therapy was as damaging as the abuse.

Most of these abusers are narcissists, some sociopathic, and often cult leaders are of the same ilk.

The confusion that comes after getting away from an abusive andor cultic situation also keeps people from seeking help. They really do not trust anyone with their mind, and if they do, they cannot even articular what happened.

Yet, I've seen other therapists (one who does articles on how dual relationships aren't that bad) state that "victims" often claim they are confused when they are confronted with their "false accusations", i.e. they were really in love with the cult leaderdoctor who rejected them, or they were arrested for carrying out crimes as directed by the cult.

If the APA doesn't have the tools to help, how can therapists like this one be so sure the confusion is false?