Dubrow, Eichel, and Eisenberg cofounded a mental health specialty practice, RETIRN, the Reentry Information and Referral Network (www.retirn.com), in 1983, in order to assist individuals and families who had been adversely affected by destructive cults. RETIRN provides individual and family psychotherapy and consultation, and a monthly support group for former members is offered.
Destructive cults/high demand/extremist groups may be described as groups or movements exhibiting: 1) a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing; 2) unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control designed to advance the goals of the group's leaders, who generally have a markedly improved lifestyle than that of the followers. Coercive persuasion can involve: isolation from former friends and family, use of special methods to heighten suggestibility and subservience, powerful group pressures, information management, suspension of individuality or critical judgment, and promotion of total dependency of the group and fostering of irrational phobias about leaving it (Langone, M., www.affcultinfoserve.com). The leaders are generally charismatic, authoritarian, dominating, narcissistic, grandiose, and paranoid. The dogma of the group is accepted as valid, true, and superior to all others. Followers idealize their leaders and view their authority as being supreme. In psychotherapy cults, the psychotherapists use techniques of coercive persuasion and undue influence, managing their practice exhibiting similar characteristics to other cult leaders, such as a belief that their theories or practice is superior to other therapists (Temerlin, M. & Temerlin, J. (1982).
There were certain common emotions which were observed in working with this population. While in the cult/high demand group, members had been influenced to isolate themselves from anyone outside of the group. After exiting, former members suffered tremendous guilt, especially in situations in which relatives had become ill or died during the period of estrangement. Additional guilt feelings were felt in regard to people whom the exmembers had recruited into the cult. Upon reentry to the society at large, exmembers experienced feelings of alienation as they often had to hide their cult experience from potential employers, romantic partners, etc. in order not be rejected. Feelings of intense shame and embarrassment over having been manipulated were exhibited, as were feelings of anger toward the leaders. Confusion about identity issues, sensitivity to criticism, difficulty making decisions, and dissociation from feelings were commonly observed. Grief was a prominent emotion for the loss of time and opportunities.
The presenters commented on their own emotions and feelings of countertransference while working with this population. They felt tremendous compassion toward family members who had suffered abandonment and loss in losing some or all contact with their loved ones and who had mourned the loss of expressed potential in the cult members abandoning personal educational and employment achievements in order to devote themselves to the cult. Family members who were slow to recognize the seriousness of the problem or who minimized the extent of the cult member's involvement provoked feelings of frustration among the therapists.
The presenters felt high regard and concern for the exmembers. They were moved by their suffering and courageous attempts to make sense of their experiences. They were frustrated by negative responses to their efforts to maintain healthy psychotherapeutic boundaries, such as fees and clinical distance, which were sometimes perceived as being uncaring compared to the heightened pseudointimacy experienced in the group. Working with this population helped the therapists to be more aware of manipulative people and environments and to respect the need for critical thinking even while under duress.
