When a member of a high-control authoritarian group is feeling lonely, depressed, or even suicidal, leadership might not directly forbid them from seeking therapy.
But often, the message from leadership will be clear: if you were a better believer, you wouldn’t be feeling like this. From only being allowed to see group-approved counselors, to being told to simply “pray more,” to being informed that all therapists are part of a global conspiracy to destroy humanity, members of destructive cults have many roadblocks thrown up between them and their mental health.
Both controlling groups and abusive spouses alike will attempt to control those under them by cutting away any external support.
In this week’s Substack post, Mental Health Crises Inside Authoritarian Cults, I take a deep dive into the manipulation and closed-loop system preventing many people from seeking the mental health support they need.
If you are not already a paid subscriber, please consider becoming one. In addition to supporting my work, you will receive access to my full catalog of helpful guides, insightful interviews, and years of blog posts on cults and their inner workings - posts like:
My friend and protege, Jim Picariello, will be taking on this week’s Wednesday livestream on Sept. 30th, at 2 pm EDT. He will be talking about how anyone can be susceptible to cult thinking - including “us vs. them” narratives, litmus testing, and cancel culture - no matter what side of the political aisle someone aligns with.
I will be returning for our Friday livestream on October 2nd, also at 2 pm EDT. I will be answering audience questions and discussing the midterms, my concerns and hopes, and what we can do to help restore sanity to our nation.
Last week’s Wednesday livestream was such a great success that Sarah Burris of AlterNet wrote an article, Former cult member details top signs America is being run by a cult leader. I’m so proud of Jim that his livestream made such an impact!
And if you missed last week’s livestreams, you can see them here:
Is Trump Using Cult Leader Tactics?! The BITE Model Explained
Jehovah’s Witness Blood Policy Changed: The Deaths, Trauma & Untold Story - with guest Isaac Carmignani
Matthew Rozsa of AlterNet has written another article citing my work, The GOP keeps caving to Trump, and science has found the surprising reason why, this time explaining why so many Republicans stay loyal to Trump, even - and especially when he is acting in ways that would bring condemnation from them if anyone else did something similar.
In this week’s episode of my Cults, Culture & Coercion podcast, How to Build a Truth Engine: Friedrich Moser on Disinformation and the Mind, I speak with Moser about his compelling work as a documentary filmmaker. The film brings together investigative journalism, computer science, and neuroscience to examine our susceptibility to disinformation and what might help us resist it. The film was executive produced by George Clooney.
Catch the full episode here: Listen on Apple | Spotify | Watch on YouTube
You can also read my accompanying Substack article about our conversation here.
Next week’s episode will feature my friend and colleague, clinical psychologist, attorney, researcher, writer Dr. Dawson Woodrum. We are collaborating together on research exploring coercion and human agency: our ability to think, decide, and act for ourselves.
Remember, check with legitimate state election officials that you are registered and request a mail-in ballot if you wish. Be sure that your neighbors and everyone you know is registered to vote and able to do so! We must defeat MAGA in the coming elections!
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!
My sister who is a fundamentalist Baptist married a like minded sailor, got stationed in Hawaii...became members of a Baptist cult there. Like the early Mormons, it became so restrictive that when they declared they wanted to break away, they were ostracized publically in services as wanting to leave the fold...and slide into hell. Turns our the cult had their mortgage, and refused to release it. My father had to go to Hawaii and litigate the group to get their financial release.