If you include the normal education requirements to complete a college degree, then it takes 7 to 9 years years to become a specialist. 5. She is a former member of Kashi Ranch. He worked for many years at Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center in Albany, Ohio. Target people wi. In addition to his psychology practice and his involvement with ICSA, Dr. Eichel is active in a range of professional associations. The group, which drew on communist teachings, isolated her from her family and made her feel guilty for her privileged upbringing. The American Psychological Association details how cults keep people in line. He has co-authored several articles and book reviews on cult-related topics for the CSJ/CSR. Cult Experts, Consultants, Specialists, Et Cetera, Buyer Beware: Term 'Cult Expert' Not Protected, International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA), What to Watch for When Selecting a Cult Expert, Understand that cult experts operate from various perspectives, Cult research organizations, discernment ministries, and individuals, Domestic Violence, Human Trafficking, One-on-One Cults. These are some of the things we have encountered that should set off alarm bells of a . There are many books that deal with cults and cult-related issues. Dylesia owns Existence, Consciousness, Bliss Counseling, Psychotherapy & Wellness Center in Nashville, TN and is a Doctorate of Social Work student at Millersville University. Just about everyone draws the line when it comes to the really bad apples. Used incorrectly, such articles may instead confirm what the person has come to expect: lies and persecution. Look for websites that offer a variety of research resources including original material written by recognized, respected experts. blgoldberg.com. In evaluating lay and professional experts, take into consideration demonstrable ability, a proven track record, and their standing among peers. Create Dialogue Mechanisms. Many join cults simply out of a desire to be a part of something. Having gained a good reputation, they come recommended by many other reputable experts in the field. Harder to spot: one cult specialist with a knack of self promotion tends to talk in soundbites generally communicating basic information that did not originate with himself. You must decide whether to entrust this process to a trained and licensed professional or an unlicensed lay expert. "With thought-stopping techniques," their article says, "members are taught to stop doubts from entering their consciousness about the cult, often with a key phrase they repeat." "Repeating a key phrase" is also known as chanting a mantra. ), is Research Coeditor of ICSA Today and is a cofounder of RETIRN (please also see www.retirn.com), a private practice that provides services to individuals and families who have been affected by cultic influence and abusive relationships. She has many years experience working with trauma, including survivors of spiritual and cult abuse, and sexual abuse. This is when adulthood was finally reached after many difficult experiences including exploitation by a trusted college professormore opportunity for empowering growth and change. To become an ACE Functional Training Specialist, you will complete each of the modules listed below, as well as complete the quizzes associated with the material. As a result, a life of a year and a half in the format of "basic work + IT training". She is also a former member who is establishing a Boston area practice designed specifically for ex-cult members: The Gentle Souls Revolution, Healing Arts. 1) Let the people come to you. Regardless of whether a cult deprogrammer is a licensed private investigator or not, they will certainly use all the tools of a detective in order to accomplish their mission. Website: marymoorelcsw.com, Esther Ruth Friedman, MA, LMHC, is an expressive arts therapist and licensed mental health counselor with a Masters Degree from Lesley University. He is a licensed and Board-certified counseling psychologist whose involvement in cultic studies began with a participant-observation study of Unification Church training in their Eastern seminary (in Barrytown, NY) in the spring of 1975. cult specialist | 13.9K people have watched this. She worked in the advertising industry and managed a radio company before earning her degree in psychology at the university of Oslo and becoming a psychologist and eventually seeking therapy to deal with her traumatic experience. He offers psychotherapy to former members of cults and is also employed as a consultant by the help organization for former cult members in Sweden, Hjlpkllan, to train their nationwide network of volunteer workers. Some hygiene routines take longer than others, especially if you need help maintaining your hair, say, or struggle with acne. To further her understanding of her life experiences and develop a career using these invaluable life learnings Linda began her journey towards becoming a Mental Health Clinical Counselor. Learn The Basic Search Engine Marketing Concepts. He is currently involved in a project aimed at high schools in Sweden together with a professional magician with the purpose of educating and vaccinating teenagers against manipulation. On their channels, you can find videos of them speaking at seminars and conferences. A published author and classically trained painter, she specializes in work with trauma and creativity, with cult-related trauma of particular interest. Shelly teaches trauma-informed psychotherapy at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy, the Training Institute for Mental Health, and the National Institute for the Psychotherapies. Additionally, Doug offers individual counseling to ex-members. Gillie delivers training for counsellors wishing to work effectively with former cult members. Heather Svoboda, MA LP, is a psychologist licensed and practicing in Minnesota, trained in counseling psychology and marriage and family therapy. She has a private practice in a suburb of Los Angeles and also runs a weekly Former Cult Member Support group in her office. Become a Cult Analyst. First, the most dastardly, insidious mark of a cult is that it ignores or distorts the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Answer (1 of 9): Steal the teaching of another religion, make a few changes, and then claim that you received it through some sort of revelation. a lot of counseling. They often succeed in grabbing a few headlines or scoring a few sound-bites. She is the Mental Health Editor for ICSA Today. Pardon received, with her husband Robert, ICSAs Herbert L. Rosedale Award. Step 3: Complete relevent training/internship. That is the time it takes to learn specific specialist skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education. To one degree or another, all cults deny the deity of Jesus Christ. He and his wife, Lorna, co-lead a support group for former cult members, which has been meeting for over forty years. TV stations love sound-bites, and thats primarily what some experts provide. Rachel has also done many YouTube videos and has been interviewed on other peoples YouTube channels regarding cults, undue influence, and narcissistic abuse. He operates out of offices in Pontypridd, Wales and Buxton, Derbyshire, UK. She also facilitates small educational/interactive workshops for former members, face to face since 2009 and online since 2018. ICSA Annual Conference: Life after spiritual abuse, reflecting on my own experience. Visual: Robert Nickelsberg / Getty Images. Lorna has published numerous articles about her therapeutic work with former cult members in professional journals, most recently: Goldberg, L. (2012). Focus on your hygiene. He is particularly interested in assisting clients in resolving their psychological impediments to receiving authentic love from others, and loving others and God. She is trained in relational/interpersonal psychoanalytic psychotherapy, sensorimotor psychotherapy, family therapy, and internal family systems. AASECT Certified Sex Therapist Phone: 931-450-4392. She was one of the original founders of reFocus and the original Cult Awareness Network, NY/NJ chapter. Her talks have included The Psychobiology of Trauma and Child Maltreatment (2005, Madrid) and Why Cults Are Harmful: A Neurobiological View of Interpersonal Trauma (2012, Montreal). Steven Hassan, PhD is Americas leading cult expert, Recovering from cults and abusive relationships, Recognizing and escaping spiritual manipulation and false spiritual authority within the church, How to break free from bad church experiences, Experiencing healing from painful spiritual abuse, Dynamic research on finding a place of wholeness, Reconnecting with a loving God after a hurtful church, Survival guide for victims of shunning by shunning by religions, quasi-religions, cults and other extreme groups, What every cult victim wants their therapist to know, Help for Victims of Psychological and Spiritual Abuse. For example, it could mean that a client will be using an exfoliating serum twice a day instead of once a day. In 1999, he received the John G. Clark Award for Distinguished Scholarship and Cultic Studies from the International Cultic Studies Association, and he has been involved in research with former cult members since 1993. When you are looking for help for yourself or for someone else you come across various terms and designations. Considering a new exciting career as an Cybersecurity Specialist? And while not all may necessarily agree with each other on various issues, they are known to treat each other with professional courtesy. Cult members often prey on people with few friends or family of their own and offer them the chance to become part of a group that will grant them all the friendship they could ever need. You can visit company websites or job search websites such as Indeed, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor to apply for jobs. MeadowHaven can accommodate individuals or families who require long-term (up to a year) care to recover from trauma and cultic abuse. Most employers seek network specialists with bachelor's degrees in information technology, computer science, computer engineering or a related field. A research resource for parents and friends of people involved in cults or other high-demand relationships. Listings were not solicited, and cannot be bought. [See: What is a cult? Our certificate course teaches you field-specific knowledge largely unknown by the public about thought control, and gives you the skills of discernment, detachment, and analysis to understand thought-control organizations and their strategies of operation. For about 20 years she has been involved in helping former members of different high demand groups in Sweden as a volunteer in the support group FRI and as a member of the board of the support group SESAM in Sweden. Along with Rosanne Henry, she co-chaired ICSAs Mental Health Committee until her term as President of ICSA from 2008 to 2012. Avoid people who have a track record of blustering, bullying and stalking. 1 Others need professional help and subsequent counseling. But one thing that continually comes up is that most people who become involved with a cult are going . With a broad range of professional experience, she has served at community mental health centers, medical centers, and the Jewish Family & Children Service. She is a regular presenter at conferences and a published author, including a co-authoring a chapter entitled Pathological Spirituality for a medical text book entitled Spirituality and Psychiatry, published by RCPsych Publications in UK 2009. While working and raising two children she earned a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Communication from Ohio University Scripps College of Communication. Linda Hughes has a Masters Degree from The University of Dayton and is a licensed professional clinical counselor in the state of Ohioin the Columbus area. Top: Trump supporters hold a QAnon sign at a rally on Jan 5, 2021. Those applicants who become certified by the AIHCP in Crisis Intervention Counseling may use the initials/credential CIC-CSp., after their names: "Crisis Intervention Counselor-Certified Specialist" Timeline. or nave people. www.carolgiambalvo.com/; Ron Burks, PhD, holds an MDiv and an MA in counseling from Asbury Theological Seminary and a PhD in Counselor Education from Ohio University. These resources address cults primarily from a sociological point of view. Announce that this teaching is the only hope for saving the world. In addition, though the term has several precise definitionsthe word cult is ambiguous. She has a BA in Religion from Barnard College, studied at Union Theological Seminary, and received her MSW at Yeshiva University. Who are their professional contacts and affiliations? An Alienated Culture Grooms Women for Cults. Rachel recently started a weekly Podcast called IndoctriNATION in order to interview people who have been in situations where their rights and power were taken away and they had come to hold onto destructive beliefs that would shape their lives. Ms. Wehles article, Plunge into the Abyss: Psychodynamic Group on Creativity and Trauma, is the lead article in the Winter 2016 issue of the journal Group. Remember that it is one thing to be considered an expert by reporters and personalities, and another to be accepted as such by professionals and lay peers. Step 3: Apply for an Entry-Level IT Support Specialist Job. The term cult comes from the Latin word cultus, which means to worship a deity, but in the last few centuries its colloquial definition has transformed.In a 1981 edition of the Harvard Mental Health Letter, psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton defined three characteristics of a . Most videos simply show the person in question speaking to an imaginary audience that is not on camera. As mentioned earlier, when researching cults it is necessary to understandthedifferences between theological and sociological definitionsof the term cult.. Heather is herself a former member of a small personality cult in the 1980s. This can take the form of other, related work experience, or it can take the form of a structured internship or other formal hands-on learning. Vanessa N. Weber, MSW, LCSW has worked with victims of cults and their families, since 1980. The term 'cult' comes from the Latin cultus, meaning 'worship. Her passion for social justice and advocacy is exemplified in her counseling practice and current research, both of which focus on effective counseling interventions for marginalized populations, such as cult survivors, domestic violence survivors, and LGBT populations. It is not therapy or counseling. Weekdays - 1-1-1.5 hours and one weekend day - 3-5 hours. 3. Influence of a Charismatic Antisocial Cult Leader: Psychotherapy With an Ex-Cultist Prosecuted for Criminal Behavior. Encourage dialogue and exchanges between other groups. Contact her by email at robertaeisenberg@comcast.net or by phone at (610) 622-3109. In 2011, the World Mission Society Church of God in New Jersey filed a lawsuit in Virginia in response to accusations that the group was a religious cult that destroys families, ruins marriages, and takes all of the members time and money. 866-538-9048 (fax) Others have (almost) no official presentations to post. Some cult experts are licensed mental health counselors, while others have no formal training in counseling.Helping someone leave a cult and deal with the aftermath requires a lot of counseling. 4. She has a Certificate of Proficiency in the Treatment of Alcohol and Other Psychoactive Substance Use Disorders issued by the American Psychological Association. Lay experts exist in every field from plumbers and carpenters to auto repair and medical care. His other publications include a chapter on a connection between cults and addiction in the medical reference, Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook, published by Williams and Wilkins. Implement training to colleagues. Never listen to your conscience. If there is no consistency, the transition period may stretch for 3-4 years. Keep a polite distance so you are not made into an "enemy" of their group, which can be potentially dangerous in tight knit communities or remote towns. . (781) 951-4433; gsr6418@hushmail.com. Such groups may be manipulative cults, cult-like social movements, abusive churches, or even destructive personal relationships. She co-authored a book with personal stories, and a book about Influence for students Sect disease (edited by Hkan Jrv). No need for us to reinvent the wheel: See How to find a qualified therapist. Her areas of expertise are trauma, loss, cult and high demand group and relationship education and recovery, including those born and raised; and motherless daughters, women who have lost their mothers through death, illness, narcissism, separation, or estrangement in childhood, adolescence or adulthood. Understand the true meaning of SEO. And as mentioned, understand the difference between theological and sociological definitions of the term cult)Questions to research: Observe the general behavior and attitude of the organization, ministry or individual you have under consideration. Image source. She has planned and been responsible for a full day workshop for former cult members in Omaha, Nebraska., as well as a one day symposium for medical, law enforcement, clergy, mental health professionals, and the public on Cults and Gangs in Omaha in 2007. Some cult experts are licensed mental health counselors, while others have no formal training in counseling. Helping someone leave a cult - and deal with the aftermath - requires. Search When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type. Here are the steps for how to become a network specialist: 1. Ms. Eisenberg has completed training in both child psychoanalytic psychotherapy and Gestalt therapy. In 2010 ICSA awarded her the Margaret L. Singer Award for advancing the understanding of coercive persuasion and undue influence. With the support of a Department of Labor grant, Shelly works with an interdisciplinary team designing and implementing curricula that mitigates psychological trauma reactions for EMTs, paramedics, and their patients. He is also co-editor of ICSAs Cult Recovery: A Clinicians Guide to Working With Former Members and Their Families, which is due to be published in 2017. He focuses on how problematic unconscious God images are influenced by psychological and developmental factors, especially trauma. For her Masters thesis/project Linda educated several mental health agencies in her area about cults and provided them with a DVD of her presentation Cults: Gaining Perspective. Linda chose her career as an LPCC to offer her a wide range of practice in mental health including recovery from group exploitation. Remember, this is an unregulated industry, and not everyone who calls him- or herself an expert is qualified to help you. Dr. Whitsett also has a specialty in Sexuality and was awarded a Fulbright Specialist Scholarship in 2016 to study, teach, and do research on this topic in China. A number of experts and their organizations claim to be . They may use pompous-sounding company names, apparently intended to disguise the fact that their educational institute is essentially a one-person affair. He pursued these postgraduate studies, which were directed by PhD, Guillem Feixas, at the University of Barcelona. I do not ask for a fee for initial calls, which may involve a discussion about counselling and training, signposting or just provide a listening ear. Watch short videos about #cultspecialist on TikTok. Ashlen recently completed her MSc in the Psychology of Coercive Control and conducted research on the relationship between reproductive coercion, psychologically abusive environments, and the extent of group identity in a sample of those who have left cultic groups. Or other high-demand relationships blustering, bullying and stalking become a Network specialist:.., UK L. Singer Award for advancing the understanding of coercive persuasion and undue...., LinkedIn, and their families, since 1980 and conferences feel guilty for her privileged.... Apply for an Entry-Level it Support specialist job their educational institute is essentially a one-person affair entrust process!, which drew on communist teachings, isolated her from her family and made her feel for. 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