Cult Therapy: True Stories of Escape, Recovery, and the Healing of Manipulated Minds

We often wonder of those ensnared by cults, “How could they let this happen?” and then think “Could it happen to me?” In this compelling book, a leading cult authority reveals the surprising answers to both of these questions.

"Written with profound empathy and intellectual clarity, she depicts real survivors and their heartbreaking struggles, and she details the highly creative and skillful ways she supports their recovery. The depth and scope of what Bernstein is able to depict and illuminate is breathtaking. This book is essential reading for cult survivors and for anyone working to help cult survivors, whether professionally or personally.” —Daniel Shaw, LCSW, psychoanalyst, internationally recognized expert on cult dynamics, and author of Traumatic Narcissism: Relational Systems of Subjugation

In Cult Therapy, veteran therapist, educator, and cult intervention expert Rachel Bernstein takes readers inside her practice to reveal the shocking ways people unwittingly surrender their freedom—and then struggle to regain it. Blending more than thirty-five years of professional expertise with dramatic true-life accounts, this book explores ten of Bernstein’s most unforgettable cases with clients during the grueling process of undoing total mind control.

We meet a brother and sister who grew up in and escaped from an extremist FLDS group; a husband and wife whose lives were upended by a couple’s therapy group; a woman in the thrall of a parasitic mystic who emotionally and financially exploited her victims; and other individuals who fell under the sway of coercive cult leaders or groups.

Why do ordinary and bright people follow bizarre rituals and regimens, sign over their bank accounts, and renounce their autonomy? As Bernstein illustrates, cult leaders are master manipulators who understand how our deepest human needs for connection, guidance, and certainty can be used to control us.

Cult Therapy is a fascinating, eye-opening journey into the fringes of human behavior. It offers a deep look at how cultlike forces can infiltrate our daily life, while providing practical strategies to resist their hypnotic, insidious allure.