Cult Therapy

"Cult Therapy is intelligent, insightful, and sensitive and will be a great help for therapists and for others who support cult survivors and those affected by coercively controlling relationships.”—Alexandra Stein, author of Terror, Love, and Brainwashing: Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems

“Rachel Bernstein has spent virtually her entire adult life learning, from those who escape cults, just how traumatizing cults and cult leaders really are. In this volume, Bernstein shares with the public the essence of her decades of experience and wisdom as a psychotherapist working with survivors of cultic abuse. 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

“As a journalist, I interviewed many cult leavers who never received adequate therapy afterward. Without specialized support, their trauma can last a lifetime. To have the experience of Rachel Bernstein in this field, who has helped over a thousand former cult members and their families recover from the devastating effect of coercive control, is a true gift. . . . Cult Therapy brings the depth of clinical experience to an issue that urgently deserves greater understanding worldwide. It’s an invaluable resource that I highly recommend for anyone helping survivors of high-control groups.”—Anke Richter, author of Cult Trip: Inside the World of Coercion & Control and founder/director of Decult