Hi, everyone, The online support group is a great success. I am also starting a group for people born or raised in a cult ("born-ins," "Kingdom kids," Second Generation Adults, Adult Children of Cult Members). People who were "born-in" have unique needs and generally feel they get more out of working with peers who were also raised in a cult. You may lea
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi, squashbrain, Welcome to the forum! I do my best to answer your questions below. I think it is good that you are cautious. I hope I can answer some of your concerns, at least. QuotesquashbrainHonestly, I am somewhat put off by Mr. Knapp's postings. First of all, he says he's a psychotherapist. I have undergone therapy a couple times in my life for long periods and found it h
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

In my cult counseling practice, I'm often asked about "dissociation." Many people don't know what it is. Or if they experience it. In our groups, we called it "spacing out," "blissing out," "being slain in the spirit," being a "space cadet," or many other names. But what did we mean? And what's the big problem with it? A lot o
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups

To all the great commenters and lurkers, I thought I'd add another free self-support service I offer. At I host a forum. It is specifically aimed at people looking for a therapeutically focused forum with other people who share their issues. It is NOT a replacement for this great forum. It is not too active right now, but there are some good threads to read. It is open to all (for f
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi, H, Hey, no damage done! I think it's good that you are cautious. And you're not alone. I write on a number of forums and blogs. It's not unusual for people to wonder about me at first. Besides, most of us we're taught to distrust doctors and mental health providers by our groups. In my group, TM, we're told that psychiatrists would tell us we were crazy be
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi, helpme2times, You are right. This would probably not be the best environment for you, given your involvement in extensive psychotherapy already. I apologize if my language was off-putting. I'll think about how to revise it for future postings. To give some insight, therapists, like every profession, sometimes get advice from consultants, marketing books, and other reading about how
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quotewendyjduncan 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 member
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

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 &quo
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

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
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

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
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Anticult, You may be right. But I don't see much effort being put into reform. The agenda of attacking the cults doesn't seem to me to be working. I agree many of them are getting worse. The Catholic Church has changed tremendously since the time of the Reformation. And that, for simplicity's sake, was largely started by one man. J.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I'm sorry! I think I made a basic mistake. I am generalizing from my own cultic relationship to TM. Cults exist on a spectrum, from the most benign to the most destructive. For instance, if I were to rate Transcendental Meditation on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd probably give them a "6." Scientology a "7" or "8." But there are many that are much worse.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thanks guys for your kind words -- and discussion. IF these groups adopted these policies, they would, of course, cease to be cults. That's my point. I'd love to be put out business as a cult counselor! Another way to look at the article is as a shopping list of what to look for in legitimate spiritual organizations. Cults may or may not change. But bigger organizations
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Give me a moment. I mean to give this article a positive agenda. But it may take a second to get there. I could complain about my group, Transcendental Meditation. But I'd like to give the new leaders a few tips on how not to be a cult. Perhaps other cults and leaders could incorporate a few of them. This is what I observe. When critics label a group cultic, there's a knee-jerk
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

A belated thank you to forum members who commented on my article on Adult Children of Cult Members. Please feel free to me I look forward to your input helping me understand adult children more fully! John M. Knapp, LMSW
Forum: Recovery from Destructive Cults and Groups