Episode #45 The Psychology of Destructive Cults: What therapists need to be aware of and how we can help
Episode Details
Episode #45 The Psychology of Destructive Cults: What therapists need to be aware of and how we can help

In this episode, we are going to be talking about cults. Cults have made headlines around the world for many years and continue to fascinate us in documentaries and popular podcasts. Most recently you will likely recall the organization known as NXIVM a cult organization that gained attention for its Hollywood famous members. Allison Mack from the show Smallville—was a member of NXIVM led by Keith Ranieri which allured members by asserting themselves as a professional development program and then subsequently blackmailed and branded its members and used them as sex slaves. The stories behind these cults’ origins of leaders and their demise are fascinating and so disturbing. We as therapists need to know some of the red flags behind these cults so that we can better serve our clients if we find that they are being manipulated into an organization that potentially can turn abusive. We will also dive into how to help those who are in cults find their way out and how to support family members whose loves ones are trapped in. To help us on this topic I have the author of the book CULTS Inside OUT Rick Alan Ross.
Learning Objectives
- Understand how cults use psychological manipulative techniques
- Name 3 red flags that indicate an individual is part of a family cult
- Define cult behaviors including thought reform and coercive persuasion
- Explain how an individual’s own beliefs and thoughts are manipulated by a cult
- Define what constitutes a destructive cult
- Name how power and control are used in destructive cults
Additional Resources
- Cults Inside Out by Rick Alan Rosshttps://www.cultsinsideout.com/
- Cult Educationhttps://www.culteducation.com/culteducation.html/content-library
- Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalismhttps://www.culteducation.com/brainwashing/26424-thought-reform-and-the-psychology-of-totalism.html/
- Influence by Robert Cialdinihttps://www.influenceatwork.com/
- Cults in Our Midst: The Continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menace by Margaret Thaler Singerhttps://www.amazon.com/Cults-Our-Midst-Continuing-Against/dp/0787967416/
References
- Collins, G. (2020). The psychology of the cult experience. PSYCHOLOGY, 19R58
- Galanter, M. (1996). Cults and charismatic group psychology.
- Henson, H. K. (2002). Sex, Drugs, and Cults. An evolutionary psychology perspective on why and how cult memes get a drug-like hold on people, and what might be done to mitigate the effects. The Human Nature Review, 2, 343-355.
- Kriegman, D. H. (1981). A PSYCHO-SOCIAL STUDY OF RELIGIOUS CULTS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SELF PSYCHOLOGY.
- Vitz, P. C. (1994). Psychology as religion: The cult of self-worship. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
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