Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Negotiating the Potholes on the Road to Recovery: Observations for Those Newly Emerging from Cultic Groups - Kent Burtner
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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: In this presentation, we look at the issues common to healing from a cult or high-control group. Most of the challenges that present themselves on the road to recovery are the result of normal responses that you made to a very abnormal situation. As we review these, you will discover that you are not "crazy," haven't lost your sanity, and that most people learn to cope with these issues and thrive. You most likely won't experience all the issues we will discuss; take what you find useful and leave the rest.
A reminder to former members: When you joined your group, you were offered something that seemed valuable: increased self-knowledge, a chance to make the world a better place to live, an opportunity to increase your earning potential, the hope of becoming a better athlete, etc. Often, though not always, the group caught you at a time when you were vulnerable. What is universal is that the group and its leadership used psychological and social manipulation to gain your allegiance and to solidify your membership, to the point that for a time and a season, it was virtually impossible to oppose the group. You had to make difficult adaptations to survive. Those "skills" aren't as helpful outside of the group, and they often make recovery more of a challenge.
What I present here is my take on the insights that have come to me through speaking with many former members of a wide variety of high-control organizations over forty-five years and much reading and research.
Negotiating the Potholes on the Road to Recovery: Observations for Those Newly Emerging from Cultic Groups - Kent Burtner
-
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: In this presentation, we look at the issues common to healing from a cult or high-control group. Most of the challenges that present themselves on the road to recovery are the result of normal responses that you made to a very abnormal situation. As we review these, you will discover that you are not "crazy," haven't lost your sanity, and that most people learn to cope with these issues and thrive. You most likely won't experience all the issues we will discuss; take what you find useful and leave the rest.
A reminder to former members: When you joined your group, you were offered something that seemed valuable: increased self-knowledge, a chance to make the world a better place to live, an opportunity to increase your earning potential, the hope of becoming a better athlete, etc. Often, though not always, the group caught you at a time when you were vulnerable. What is universal is that the group and its leadership used psychological and social manipulation to gain your allegiance and to solidify your membership, to the point that for a time and a season, it was virtually impossible to oppose the group. You had to make difficult adaptations to survive. Those "skills" aren't as helpful outside of the group, and they often make recovery more of a challenge.
What I present here is my take on the insights that have come to me through speaking with many former members of a wide variety of high-control organizations over forty-five years and much reading and research.
