Professional Endorsements from our Peers

With over 20 years of experience, we have collaborated with and trained many professionals in the community. Below a few of our peers offer their personal perspectives. To learn how we can assist you, contact us at (212) 632-4640 or info@cultclinic.org

“As both a former cult member and a mental health professional, I greatly benefited from your workshop for parents of cult members at the June 2002 American Family Foundation conference in Orlando...”

This was the first time I spoke from the perspective of a child of cult-estranged parents. I was asked some very meaningful questions by people in the same position that my parents were in for so many years. I visited my mother directly after the AFF conference and was able to thank her for her love and patience more deeply than I ever had in the 12 years since I left the cult.

The Cult Clinic clinicians steered a very emotional group with caring and professional hands. I learned an excellent networking strategy for organizing and supporting parents with children in the same cult. I was impressed by the strong working relationships the Cult Clinic has with the other professionals attending this workshop and throughout the AFF conference. If the Cult Clinic conducts workshops or trainings for mental health professionals, please let me know. I will definitely travel from Denmark to be there.

Arthur Buchman, MA
American psychologist, private practice
Experience with counseling ex-cult members and families
Copenhagen, Denmark

“The Cult Hotline at the JBFCS is an invaluable resource to people around the nation who have been involved with harmful groups.”

As a mental health professional, I never dreamed that I could get caught up in a cult. I certainly never learned about cult issues in my graduate courses in psychotherapy training. Yet, in the process of obtaining my license, I was conned by a group which uses psychotherapy to recruit new members into what is actually, in my opinion, an authoritarian political cult. During the course of my training time, I was asked to pay money to the leader's causes, work without pay, and participate in harmful dual relationships with my supervisors. When I did not "go with the program" I was systematically punished or humiliated. When I tried to bring up my concerns with other therapists outside of the group, I was often met with incredulity. Such reactions initially led me to believe that I was being paranoid, and to ignore the dynamics that didn't feel right.

Finally, the abuse became so extreme that I began to educate myself about cultic and harmful groups. As part of that I called the Cult Hotline. The counselors I spoke to not only knew something about the group I was involved in, they were extremely effective in getting me started on the road to recovery. They helped to educate me about the common dynamics of cultic groups and put me in touch with others who could help me. They pointed me to literature which helped me make sense of the ways I had been manipulated and used by my organization, and helped normalize the intense feelings of violation I experienced. In the end, they participated in turning what was the most terrifying experience of my life into one that I could grow from personally and professionally. I wish there were more such centers in the US.

Erika Meir, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, private practice
Atlanta, GA

“I am happy to enthusiastically endorse the Cult Clinic of the Jewish Board in New York.”

The clinic is an invaluable resource, which has ably served the unique needs of those affected by abusive groups for many years. I am a former member of such a group, and am now a psychoanalyst in private practice working with former cult members. The professionalism and the clinical skills of the staff of the Cult Clinic have been of great benefit to me in my work, and of great benefit to so many others. The impact of abusive groups on families and former members is a social problem that is under-researched, and inadequately understood. The Cult Clinic has consistently taken the lead in this field by providing information, counseling and group support for those in need. There are few places to turn to for people affected by abuse and exploitation in cults. The Cult Clinic is undoubtedly one of the best of the few.

Daniel Shaw, CSW
Psychoanalyst in private practice
Experience with counseling ex-cult members and families
New York City, NY