Combatting Cult Mind Control, by Steven Hassan, Rochester, Vt.,
Park Street Press, 1988, 226 pp., $16.95.
Steven Hassan is a nationally certified counselor and licensed
mental health counselor, (not a counseling psychologist as erroneously
published in 1990) with now 27 years (no longer 12 years) of experience
working with former members of various cults, especially the Unification
Church. (This correction made in 2004 at the request of Scientology
officials*). He has written a readable overview of the methods used
by such organizations to recruit and indoctrinate new members. He
also describes techniques that can help individuals break away from
cultic influences. His book is based on personal experiences, first
as a recruit, then as a member and recruiter for the Unification
Church, then as a breakaway or renegade from it, and finally as
a 'exit-counselor" for other refugees from cults. In the last
capacity Hassan has helped hundreds of people to leave cults. He
has also reviewed the literature on the techniques of mind control,
coercive persuasion, thought reform, and the like. The result is
this book, which provides a useful collection of information and
sound practical advice about cult-related issues in contemporary
life in the United States.
In the first two chapters Hassan introduces us to himself, a former
member of the Unification Church who is now a practitioner of exit
counseling. He defines exit counseling as an intervention less extreme
than deprogramming and describes a typical undertaking of this type.
Destructive cults are typified, with particular reference to the
Unification Church, and the techniques they use to attract and maintain
membership are described. In recounting his experiences in the Unification
Church and after his departure from it, Hassan spells out the process
whereby he learned about mind control and his gradual return to
normal life. These experiences led to his decision to become a professional
helper of other cult victims.
On the basis of his personal experience, plus information derived
from thousands of clients and other veterans of the cult wars, Hassan
describes four major types of cults (religious, political, psychotherapy-educational,
and commercial), the methods used by each to recruit and control
members, and certain universal themes of cult activity. In explaining
the mechanism of social control used by these groups, he summarizes
some basic principles of social psychology, behavior modification
techniques, and the now famous experiments in group dynamics by
Asch and Milgram. Hassan also refers to t he writings of Hunter,
Lifton, and Schein in distinguishing mind control, which he considers
to involve hypnotic processes combined with group dynamics, from
brainwashing, which he defines as employing real or threatened physical
abuse.
The elements of mind control are seen as similar to the three components
of behavior modification outlined in Festinger's cognitive dissonance
theory (control of behavior, control of thoughts, and control of
emotions). To these, Hassan adds a fourth element regularly used
by destructive cults: co ntrol of information. Case reports of several
individuals whose experiences in different cults characterize the
variety and similarities of the cult experience are given. Although
my own terminological preferences and theoretical formulation with
respect to cults are different from Hassan's, our understanding
of the power and potential harmfulness of the forces involved are
not dissimilar.
In the remainder of the book, Hassan offers advice based on principles
of consumer education to help individuals distinguish between benign
organizations and destructive cults. He advises people who have
been approached by a recruiter to ask many searching questions about
the group's leadership, m embership, and doctrine. To help friends
or relatives rescue a loved one from a cult, he provides a guide
to exit counseling and the keys to successful interventions illustrated
by case histories. Whether people leave cults because of such interventions
or because they have been expelled or have left voluntarily, Hassan
believes they need help in recovering from the cult's control. Some
require only information and support; other should obtain therapy.
Many find it necessary to seek protection from legal, interpersonal,
and sometimes even violent harassment by the rejected cults.
In the appendix, Hassan provides a list of resource organizations
capable of helping to meet these needs. He calls for the appropriation
of federal funds for research on destructive cults and treatment
of their victims. Finally, with a view toward prevention, he advocates
extensive public educati on on the dangers of cults, and he calls
for school courses on the psychological principles of mind control
and the protective technique of critical thinking.
One is impressed by Hassan's candor in describing his experiences
both within the Unification Church and after his departure from
it, especially his work as an exit counselor. Beyond its value as
an illuminating personal account, this book is an informative and
practical guide to cult-related issu es. It is recommended both
to lay persons who wish to become better informed on this topic
and to professionals in health-related fields, clergy, attorneys,
judges, and others whose responsibilities bring them into contact
with cults, their members, and the families whose lives are affected.
LOUIS JOLYON WEST, M.D.
Los Angeles, Calif.
--------------------
*After I read the published review, I spoke to Dr. West and told
him that I was not a counseling psychologist. “To me, you
are!” was his reply. At the time of this review, I was not
yet licensed as a counselor. Nevertheless, I have been in the unique
position of training and supervising psychiatrists and psychologists
around the world in cult related issues. Dr. West was a former military
intelligence expert and was Director of UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric
Institute. He was an outspoken critic of destructive mind control
cults and in particular Scientology. Despite Scientology harassment,
he continue to speak the truth about them until he passed away in
1999. May He Rest in Peace. For more on Dr. West, go to http://cultinfobooks.com/pub_affnb/obit/obit_west_jolly.htm,
In Memoriam,
and In Response
to The People v. Patty Hearst.
Freedomofmind.com fully supports religious
freedom and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The fact that a person’s name or group appears on our website
does not necessarily mean they are a destructive mind control cult.
They appear because we have received inquiries and have established
a file on the group.
The Freedom of Mind Resource Center Inc. was established by cult expert Steve Hassan.
