Deprogramming

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Although frequently successful in getting an individuals out of the cult or cultic relationship, this type of involuntary intervation can produce problems. Kidnapping and detention have been found to be traumatizing in their own right. Ex-members who have been deprogrammed report being highly ambivilent about the experience. Though grateful to their parents or spouse for getting them out of a cult, they sometimes also feel deep anger over the manner of the intervention. Posttraumatic symptoms such as nightmares, intrusive thoughts, and flashbacks of the deprogramming may also slow down their recovery from the cult experience.

We acknowledge the deep pain of families who feel there are no other alternatives to freeing their loved one from an abusive, restrictive cult or relationship, but we are opposed to deprogramming as a means of getting someone out of a cult. It may seem to be the only course of action, but there is danger of the family being misinformed and panicking. Many times, with patience, a way can be discovered and developed that will lead to a less traumatic exiting from the group.

As legal risks have increased and parents and most deprogrammers have become concerned over the ethical issues, new noncoercive means of helping cultists have developed. Deprogramming has been replaced by a more respectful approach, which is educational in nature, more professional in delivery, more effective in outcome and, because it is voluntary, generally nontraumatizing. This process, known as exit counseling, is described in Carol Giambalvo’s book, Exit Counseling : A Family Intervention, important reading for anyone interested in learning more about this type of voluntary intervention. Professionals who help cult members make informed decisions about their group affiliations are known as ”exit counselors,” or ”cult information specialists.”

”Exit counselors are usually former cult members themselves,” writes Carol Giambalvo. ”They have firsthand experience with mind control. They have knowledge of cult mind-sets, they dynamics of cult membership, and the history of the particular cult in question and its leader(s). They also have the ability to bypass closed thinking brought about by mind control in order to reaccess the cultis’s critical thinking abilities. These are vital areas of expertise.”
[...]

One advantage of an exit counseling is that participants receive a short course on cults and thought reforms along with the opportunity to learn howe their particular group or leader deviates from accepted moral practices or belief structures. They learn the origin of the group’s belief system, which may have been misinterpreted or kept hidden from them. This educational process provides them with an understanding of the true nature of their cult involvement. Armed with information and resources, and often backed up by an educated and supportive family environment, former cult members are more prepared to face the recovery process.

- Captive Hearts, Captive Minds : Freedom and Recovery from Cults and Abusive Relationships by Madeleine Landau Tobias, Janja Lalich (Contributor), Michael Langone. Hunter House Inc. Publishers, Alameda, California, 1994. Page 59-61

Deprogramming and Exit Counseling This article explains the difference between the two approaches. By Randall Watters
From Deprogramming to Exit Counseling to Thought Reform Consultation by Carol Giambalvo

Books

Captive Hearts, Captive Minds : Freedom and Recovery from Cults and Abusive RelationshipsOff-site Link by Madeleine Landau Tobias, Janja Lalich (Contributor), Michael Langone.
Exit Counseling : A Family Intervention by Carol Giambalvo
Releasing the Bonds : Empowering People to Think for Themselves by Steven Hassan

News and News Archive

News items that mention ‘deprogramming’
Database of archived news items (Includes items added between Oct. 25, 1999 and Jan. 31, 2002.)

See Also

Ex-cult support resources
Exit Counseling
Thought Reform Consultants

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