Cults and mental health (chapter 153)

Definitions for cultic and high demand groups are explicated, and characteristics are delineated, including Lifton's seminal research on thought reform. Literature is reviewed about common mental health issues which have been found to be associated with the experience of having been in a cultic/high demand/abusive group, including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and dissociation, and the specialist treatment approaches which have been efficacious, including psychoeducational interventions to understand the processes of coercive persuasion and undue influence. Characteristics of cults and mental health in other organisations is considered with recommendations for ethical organisational practice and recovery