The Prison You Can’t See
How coercive control traps people, from abusive relationships to high-control religious groups? Most people picture abuse as something visible: a bruise, a broken door, a police report. But some of the most damaging forms of abuse leave no marks at all. Researchers call it coercive control: a pattern of psychological violence, intimidation, and isolation through which one person gradually takes over another person’s life, daily routine, and even thoughts. A crime against liberty The idea took shape in the women’s shelter movement of the 1970s. Advocates noticed that the usual focus on physical assault missed something. For many survivors, the
What do Spanish psychologists know about cults?
This text summarizes a study led by Miguel Perlado between 2016 and 2017 within the framework of the Working Group on Cultic Drifts of the Official College of Psychology of Catalonia (COPC). The study was conducted across all professional psychology colleges in Spain to assess licensed psychologists’ technical knowledge of the cult phenomenon.
Cultic Relationships as a Form of Psychological Maltreatment and Subjugation
This text is a summary of the presentation delivered by Miguel Perlado at the International Cultic Studies Association Annual Conference (Trieste, Italy, July 4–6, 2013), featuring a comparative analysis between intimate partner abuse and cultic abuse from a clinical and psychopathological perspective.
Myths and False Ideas About “Cults”
Material taken from a presentation delivered by Miguel Perlado, founder and president of the AIIAP, at the 4º Encuentro Nacional sobre Sectas (Valencia, 2018), examining the common myths surrounding cults and cultic attachment.
Therapeutic Challenges in Supporting Former Members of Sects and Cults
Paper published in book: Therapeutische Herausforderungen in der Begleitung ehemaliger Sekten-/Kultmitglieder. (pp.417-432). Publisher: Dittmar, V., Mücke, T.
An Account of Psychotherapeutic Work with Ex-Cult/Cult Members using the Three-Step-Model
The category, “Religious or Spiritual Problem” can be found in the DSM-IV: V62.89 (Z71.8) under “Additional Conditions that May Be a Focus of Clinical Attention” with the following short description: “This category can be used when the focus of clinical attention is a religious or spiritual problem. Examples include distressing experiences that involve loss or questioning of faith, problems associated with conversion to a new faith, or questioning of spiritual values that may not necessarily be related to an organized church or religious institution”. Normally the “loss or the questioning of faith” correlate with the withdrawal from a religious community,
Children of Cults
This specialist article is intended for colleagues who, as part of their professional work in the field of psychosocial care, come into contact with so-called ‘cult children’ as part of their professional work in the field of psychosocial care. It is intended to help them better understand those affected, perhaps identify them at an earlier stage and provide targeted support. Right from the start – before the so-called ‘cult child’ has finally found their own words to describe life and the dynamics within the cult that once shaped them. ‘The tolerance enshrined in Article 4 of the German Basic Law