Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Exploring the Fine Line of 'Culty' in the Online Self-Help Industry - Jennifer French, Jean Brown, Callie Sorensen
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Disclaimer: This session was delivered for the 2023 ICSA Conference. The speaker of this session does not speak on behalf of ICSA as an organization.
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Abstract: During the COVID pandemic, our lives were significantly impacted, leading to increased isolation, more time spent at home, and a greater reliance on computers and the internet. These changes brought about various challenges, causing many individuals to confront previously undiscovered aspects of themselves that required new insights and solutions. Seeking support, learning, and personal growth, people turned to the online self-help industry, where they not only found ways to heal but also discovered a sense of community. In this panel discussion, we aim to explore the online self-help industry during COVID from different perspectives. Jean Brown, co-founder of SEEK Safely, an organization dedicated to educating the public about the $11 billion per year self-help industry, sheds light on the reality of harmful groups that advertise themselves online as self-help. Jennifer French, an expert in cult and religious recovery work, speaks about the tactics of coercive control and how even well-intentioned self-help teachers can unknowingly employ manipulative and influential strategies. Callie Sorensen, a trauma-informed narcissistic abuse and cult recovery coach, as well as the founder of Red Flag Education, speaks to the big and little red flags that we can all be aware of both externally and internally, as we approach the world of self-help online.
Exploring the Fine Line of 'Culty' in the Online Self-Help Industry - Jennifer French, Jean Brown, Callie Sorensen
-
Disclaimer: This session was delivered for the 2023 ICSA Conference. The speaker of this session does not speak on behalf of ICSA as an organization.
-
Abstract: During the COVID pandemic, our lives were significantly impacted, leading to increased isolation, more time spent at home, and a greater reliance on computers and the internet. These changes brought about various challenges, causing many individuals to confront previously undiscovered aspects of themselves that required new insights and solutions. Seeking support, learning, and personal growth, people turned to the online self-help industry, where they not only found ways to heal but also discovered a sense of community. In this panel discussion, we aim to explore the online self-help industry during COVID from different perspectives. Jean Brown, co-founder of SEEK Safely, an organization dedicated to educating the public about the $11 billion per year self-help industry, sheds light on the reality of harmful groups that advertise themselves online as self-help. Jennifer French, an expert in cult and religious recovery work, speaks about the tactics of coercive control and how even well-intentioned self-help teachers can unknowingly employ manipulative and influential strategies. Callie Sorensen, a trauma-informed narcissistic abuse and cult recovery coach, as well as the founder of Red Flag Education, speaks to the big and little red flags that we can all be aware of both externally and internally, as we approach the world of self-help online.
