Late Twentieth-Century Psychoanalytic Interpretations of Sects and Cults: Weston La Bare, Norman Cohn, & E. P. Thompson

Before the diminished influence of classical psychoanalysis in the late twentieth century, several now-classic studies of sectarian religions contained Freudian psychoanalytic perspectives on religious sects or cults. These studies included Weston La Barre’s analyses of both serpent handlers and the Native American Ghost Dance; Norman Cohn’s panoramic examination of medieval European sectarian apocalyptic movements; and E. P. Thompson’s groundbreaking examination of Methodism within the formation of English working-class consciousness. Regardless of the problems that are endemic to the application of Freudian psychoanalysis to history, the sheer (although sometimes flawed) erudition of these three authors suggests that classical psychoanalysis had an important interpretive role to play in the study of some sectarian and cultic groups.

Coercive Persuasion As a Specific Type of Violence in Criminal Law

The field of cults, and that of destructive or coercive cults in particular, has received little attention from the perspective of criminal law doctrine. Supporters of such groups often claim to be victims of a violation related to freedom of will. In this article, I consider various methodologies and manipulation techniques used by such groups and suggest that comparative law, criminal definitions, and regulatory problems provide the basis for a more comprehensive understanding of criminal phenomenology that includes these concerns: the loss of freedom through coercive persuasion, and thus being the victim of a crime, or through becoming an instrument for the commission of crimes ordered by third parties. Research shows that the conventional definition of crime against freedom of will and physical injury is inadequate. I posit that a new approach to legal doctrine and criminal classification is required to fight against new crime phenomenology. I propose a criminal classification aimed at considering coercive persuasion as a crime, and a definition for the criminalization of certain organizations that engage in willful misconduct or reckless conduct.

Book Review: Leaving Christian Fundamentalism and the Reconstruction of Identity

New York, NY: Routledge, 2017, 264 pages. Australian Josie McSkimming, a former member of a Christian fundamentalist (CF) church for 30 years, provides readers with great insight into why a person might leave CF, the process of leaving, and how each person participates in his/her journey to reconstruct his/her identity. This monograph is a well-written contribution to the Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Biblical Studies series.

Investigating Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation: Recognizing the Legacy of the Cold War

In this manuscript, the authors examine the Cold War roots of the movement to study groups that engage in undue influence. In particular, the authors consider the transitions of some scholars directly from Cold War brainwashing research to the study of these groups and also the activities of researchers who did not directly address groups but established enduring foundations in this field. The authors also consider expert testimony in both the Hearst trial and a government program, the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape training program, which brought together disparate scholars to address these ideas. The authors then examine the influence of developments in social psychology on approaches to Cold War brainwashing and its connection to the later literature about groups that may use undue influence. The paper concludes with a review of strengths and limitations from this literature that remain in the study of these groups.

Reflections on Offering a Therapeutic Creative Arts Intervention With Cult Survivors: A Collective Biography

A new, evidence-based, multimodal, and creative psychological therapy, Arts for the Blues, was piloted with survivors of cultic abuse in a workshop within a conference setting. The five facilitators, who occupied diverse roles and perspectives within the workshop and research project, reflected on their experiences of introducing this novel intervention to the cult-survivor population. In this underreported territory of using structured, arts-based, psychological therapy with those who have survived cultic abuse, the authors used a process of collective biography to compile a firstperson, combined narrative based on those reflections. This approach allows for a visceral insight into the dynamics and obstacles encountered, and the countertransference responses of the facilitators. This reflexive process shined a light into aspects of research and practice that were not all visible to the individual researchers previously, with implications for research ethics, psychological therapy, and creative arts within the cult-survivor field.

Being Mindful About Mindfulness: Exploring the Dark Side

In this paper, I acknowledge the rising popularity of mindfulness and analyze research into its positive, and less-researched negative, outcomes. I examine concerns about the training, quality, and supervision of mindfulness teachers. I address the roots of mindfulness in Buddhism and the consequences of its secularization, reduction, and commercialization. I argue that the mindfulness intervention works well as a standalone modality, predominantly as a means to manage symptoms and with relatively well clients, but that it is contraindicated with those who have experienced significant life or developmental trauma. I discuss the potential for the abuse of mindfulness in terms of its use in military conflict, recruitment of people into cults, and the purpose of influencing people to accept and tolerate oppressive environments. I make a case for combining psychotherapy and psychoeducation with mindfulness to create a safer and more effective therapeutic process that can support clients, including former members, with more complex trauma issues. Being Mindful About Mindfulness: Exploring the Dark Side There is currently great enthusiasm in the United Kingdom for mindfulness, a psychological intervention garnered from Buddhism, and numerous applications are being rolled out by the state and private enterprises. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends mindfulness, and it is the focus of a Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group (MAPPG) and the subject of a major parliamentary report, The Mindfulness Initiative (2015). This alliance reported having been “impressed by the quality and range of evidence for the benefits of mindfulness and believe it has the potential to help many people to better health and flourishing” (MAPPG, 2015, p. 4) and is advocating mindfulness as a cost-effective route to tackling the country’s mental health crisis (MAPPG, 2015).