Newsletter: “How Can I Talk to My Loved One Who Is In a Cult - and Get Them to Listen?”
Yes, You CAN Get Someone Trapped in Cultic Thinking to Reclaim their Personal Power and Reality-Test
The above question is one of the ones I get asked the most. Well-meaning family and friends see their loved one trapped in a high-control group or a toxic relationship, and also that their loved one is convinced that there’s nothing wrong.
How can you talk to them effectively? Is it even possible?
In this week’s Substack article for paid subscribers, Two Ways To Question A Cult Member, I explore this question and provide concrete strategies to help that loved one start the journey to recovery by asking open-ended, curious questions, by never condemning the group or the leader, and, most importantly, getting them to reclaim their own voice, their own opinions, and their own identity.
Paid subscribers can read the article now; if you are not already a paid subscriber, please consider becoming one. Paid subscribers receive access to helpful guides like this, as well as my full catalog of interviews and articles, such as:
Our regular weekly livestream will take place this week on Wednesday, July 22nd, at 2 pm EDT. We will talk about the Tate brothers’ arrest and the manosphere, Todd Blanche and Epstein cult, and more about Trump pissing off Republican lawmakers and taking steps to undermine the midterm elections. Bring your questions! For those unable to see past livestreams, you can find them here:
Wildfires, Heat Waves, & The Cost of Climate Change Denial w/ Bill McKibben - Friday, July 17th
McConnell’s Health, Trump, and the Fight for Government Transparency - Wednesday, July 15th (we had connectivity issues, so the conversation ended early - we hope to continue it soon).
In this week’s episode of my Cults, Culture & Coercion podcast, God, Law, and the Cult of Power, I speak with Marci Hamilton, Professor of Practice in Political Science and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow in the Program for Research on Religion at the University of Pennsylvania, founder of CHILD USA, a nonprofit academic think tank dedicated to protecting children from abuse and neglect, and a leading national expert on clergy sex abuse and child sex abuse statutes of limitation. She is also the author of God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty. Together, we recently published an article, Forced Labor Is Not Protected by the First Amendment, in the National Law Review, fully explaining our position and why freedom of religion must include freedom from religion.
We speak about her work and what it will take to restore the rule of law in the face of authoritarian religions inserting themselves into our courts and our politics.
Listen on Apple | Spotify | Watch on YouTube
Read my Substack post about the interview here.
Next week’s guest will be Dr. Mary Riggs Cohen, a clinical psychologist with 30 years of experience specializing in autism spectrum disorders. Her new book, co-written with defense attorney Elizabeth Kelley and digital forensics expert Michele Bush, is Cybercrime and the Autism Spectrum: How the Online World Creates Victims and Offenders. We will be discussing how neurodivergent individuals are often targeted by high-control groups and how people on the spectrum can protect themselves from predation.
Finally, my monthly blog post in Psychology Today, The Cult of Jung, is a deep dive into the insular circle Carl Jung built, and its path through self-help today. In it, I explain how Jung originated several prevailing ideas in psychology, organized around his own authority and charisma. I think you’ll find it a compelling read!
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As always, please let us know what you think about these pieces or what you’d like to see us discuss in the future. Thanks so much!
