Hi Jocie6,

Just read about your sister. Hope you've received the help you, your sister and family need so far.

[b:d56df9e2f5]Louise Samways[/b:d56df9e2f5], a psychologist in Victoria, Australia, wrote a book "[b:d56df9e2f5]Dangerous Persuaders"[/b:d56df9e2f5] and is fully aware of all the techniques these cult use i.e. hypnosis, thought reform and mind control etc. Her contact details I believe are -

[b:d56df9e2f5]183 Wattletree Road, Malvern Victoria 3144

Tele: (03) 9508 1930.[/b:d56df9e2f5]

She is fully aware that most psychologists and psychiatrists are not equipped to deal with victims of cults as they do not understand the [b:d56df9e2f5]subtle techniques [/b:d56df9e2f5]used. I hope she is still practising as she did write her book in the early '90's. At the time she received many threats from cults over the telephone, however she presisted and published the book anyway.

All the best. Let me know how you are doing. Take care.

Wiser Aussie

Hi jocie,

i have just read through your posts regarding your sister Lou.
Having read your comments on the things you are observing, they seem to be classic symptoms of coming out of a cult group.
I myself entered a goup in late 92 and walked out in 2000. Five years later i am still in recovery mode, mainly because i had no one to turn to, and i knew nothing about mind control and post-group effects on people.
Only in the last 6 months have i been education myself by reading books which i ordered from the U.S. on these subjects. They have been extremely helpful. Just educating myself in what i went through has been a tremendous help to me.
I have never sought out therapy help, mainly because like you have mentioned, i haven't found anyone who understands these kind of groups.
I am in Perth, and there is a christian couple here (a very kind elderly couple) who run a library called ccgm, which stands for concerned christian growth ministries. Though they are christians themselves, their library is very large and covers many, many groups and their histories.
If you type in ccgm on an oz google search, their website will come up.
I don't know when you will be back on the boards here, but i have been in contact with Steve Hassan from the U.S. (author of Combatting Cult Mind Control , and a prominent exit-counsellor, -apparently the largest selling book on this area in the U.S.). The last time i contacted him in December, his assistant mentioned to me that Steve would be coming to Australia in late Jan/early Feb. I contacted Steve and he said he would be happy to get in touch with me, if he is still coming to oz. I have been trying to get in touch with him for the last week or so, but i can't seem to receive any replies (perhaps because of holidays etc.), but i'll keep trying to keep updated with his itinerary.
He's probably only going over east though, but if he's definately coming, i'll still go over and catch up with him.
I hope you and your sister have been receiving new help from those making suggestions.
By the way, 3 members of my family are also in what i believe, after much research and correspondence with ex-members in the U.S. is a cult group (this is a long story!).
If there is any thing i can help you with:- sending you articles on recovery etc, pointing you to recovery article sites on the web etc. just send me a pm.

graeme.

Concerned Oz,

Would you be able to send me a PM with contact details for the psychologist on the Central Coast who did his internship with Wellspring in Ohio?

thanks.

I've been trying to find decent people for over a year.

All anyone around me does is look at my past. Last I heard, living in the past is psychotic. However, I'm the one being called psychotic due to what happened in a cult.

I'm being accused of not doing enough, threatening behaviour by my own family. I have no money nowhere to live and somehow they expect me to do the impossible. Do it all, without help.

My daughter is included in this and she has been brainwashed twice now. Soon shes going to think things didnt really happen due to others neurotic denial system.

I'm not supposed to go back to my life, but sit where am I according to them. Its just like the cult, extreme control, and deprivation. Deprivation from the resources I need in order to 'recover'. Yet they demand I get on with whatever.

My family wont tell me what they are afraid of, except me. Which makes no sense. They can yell and scream and threaten me, and then tell me
I'm wrong. I feel like Im back in a cult.

It was bad enough I wanted to die when it all happened. It feels like its happening again.

Is there anywhere my daughter and I can go to get some specialized help, without the resources of money?

I've tried drugs, (legal), they do very little. Except help me sleep, when I cant.

Doctors think Im mad, and so they deny me the ability to talk about what I need to.

What is the name of the cult group you were involved in?

What is the leader's name?

Where is the group located?

Hi:

I am new to the board and found it by Googling Berkely Psychic Institute. The thread about BPI seemed old, so I am posting here because the situation is similiar. A relative is experiencing problems after becoming involved with Berkeley Psychic Institute. She is convinced that people at the institute can see her thoughts and know she is having negative feelings about what happened to her there. They "know" she is turning to her "outside support networks", which is a no-no apparently, and they will dislike her - Anyway she saw a doctor and he prescribed some pretty heavy drugs. She has been treated for depression, but never has had any psychotic episodes before that we are aware of. I am not on the scene, so I don't know first-hand what she is acting like but I am just wondering if the dr. just heard "other people inside my mind" and reached for the anti-psychotics. Also I want to know more about the BPI's programs/techniques. Some of what I have heard satisfies the criteria on this web site as a cult, but not all. The best spin you could put on it is that they use some psychologically invasive techniques and don't provide much support when someone "cracks". She hasn't mentioned any negative consequences of leaving other than "they won't like me" but she does seem to feel that they are the only ones who can "fix" her. Any insight you can give me is appreciated. Also should I start a new thread or post this in the thread about BPI?
Thank you!

Hi Jocie6,

Just read about your sister. Hope you've received the help you, your sister and family need so far.

[b:e97fa8499e]Louise Samways[/b:e97fa8499e], a psychologist in Victoria, Australia, wrote a book "[b:e97fa8499e]Dangerous Persuaders"[/b:e97fa8499e] and is fully aware of all the techniques these cult use i.e. hypnosis, thought reform and mind control etc. Her contact details I believe are -

[b:e97fa8499e][editor's note--don't post contact information][/b:e97fa8499e]

She is fully aware that most psychologists and psychiatrists are not equipped to deal with victims of cults as they do not understand the [b:e97fa8499e]subtle techniques [/b:e97fa8499e]used. I hope she is still practising as she did write her book in the early '90's. At the time she received many threats from cults over the telephone, however she presisted and published the book anyway.

All the best. Let me know how you are doing. Take care.

Wiser Aussie

hi josie...
i also struggled on alone for many years, terrified of 'being forced' to take a drug which would further (!) make my mind not my own mind...it took me 5 years actually to walk into a mental health clinic and speak to a psychiatrist. i also had, unbeknownst to me, suffered a series of psychotic breaks...i was having difficulty on a daily basis telling what was real and what was not. i believed the cult were controlling everything in my environment....i was put on seroquel, (antipsychotic) celexa (anti-anxiety) and wellbutrin (antideppressant.) i was desperate and took it all gratefully. within 5 weeks, the delusions lost their grip on me forever. i am still somewhat ptsd paranoid :) and confused--but i am now able to reason with myself into a state of greater mental health. i would not have been able to do this without the medication. i was off the seroquel in 6 months and off the celexa in 9 months...it's almost been a year... i cannot compare my experience to your sister's but i do like to share my experience with others who, like i was, are resistant to or afraid of psychiatric medications...i would not have been able to jump out of the intense fear and dis-order in my mind without the help of medication, and i am only sorry i waited as long as i did. whatever you decide, i wish you, your sister, and your whole family, all the best in recovery...

There is a new book out by psychiatrist Dr. David Burns who wrote the book Feeling Good. His new book is called When Panic Attacks.
Its about Anxiety, but it contains the main concepts of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Surprisingly, Dr. Burns puts forward the idea that there is little evidence that various emotional and mental states are caused by a "chemical imbalance" in the brain.
Obviously, it is a very complex area of research and scholarly debate.
But perhaps get the book When Panic Attacks from your library, and read the section on medications.
He has modified his views from earlier books.
Its interesting reading.

Here is a press release for the his website about the new book.
[www.feelinggood.com]

thank you for this information...i, for one, will check it out...thank you.