The Cult Clinic Family Support Group is led by a licensed clinician and meets once monthly on Wednesdays, from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. This group has been ongoing at the Cult Clinic for 20 years and is one of the core services that the Cult Clinic provides.

How to Access Services

If you are interested in joining the group, please call to set up an initial consultation so that we can discuss an individualized plan of how to cope with the crisis and prioritize how to proceed. We encourage new members to attend short-term individual counseling (the number of times to be jointly decided) as the first stage of dealing with a loved one's cult involvement as this provides the opportunity for individual planning and guidance. The Family Support Group in conjunction with individual counseling provides optimal support for families and friends with this problem.

Goals of Family Support

Dealing with having a loved one in a cult group is an ordeal that requires patience as well as guidance. Inevitably, the first thing new members want to know is how they can get the involved person out of the group. In time, they come to understand that dealing with this problem is a slow and complex process that involves several goals at the same time. Our Family Support Group tries to address all these goals.

Among the goals are:

• to learn how mind control works in general.
• to learn details about the specific beliefs and practices of the cult group they are dealing with. The leader and members of the group share information, resources and their experience with new members.
• to learn what Exit-Counseling is about, and at what point in the process speaking to an exit counselor is appropriate.
• to learn how to communicate with the involved person in a non-confrontive manner so as not to lose touch with them.
• to identify, express and explore the range of feelings that members are experiencing in relationship to their painful ordeal.

The group serves various functions at various times for those who attend. At the beginning, new members often feel very grateful to be among people who have had experience with what they are struggling with. They often have many questions and a need to feel that they are not alone. For members who have been dealing with the problem for a longer time, the function is sometimes different.

Examples

One couple that has had no contact with their daughter for a very long time poignantly stated that they have come to the meetings over the years as "a monument to their daughter."

Another member stated "without this group I don't think I would have survived the nightmare when it first unfolded, and now after many years I feel so close to everyone and I still need their support and help."

Another has stated that "learning how to communicate better is something that cannot only help me with my son but outside of the group also."

Group members find support through sharing common concerns. For a more intimate understanding of the impact on families, read one couple's story.