Modeling QAnon as a cult suggests that "deprogramming" techniquesa kind of "un-brainwashing"could be helpful, but when deprogramming was used in its 1970s heyday, it usually began with. "Individuals who are. It is the catalyst for starting this blog; and it is the reason so many people's lives have been harmed as a result of AA. Queen says she gets most her information from a trusted friend who "digs deeper" on the internet than she does. And she tells Queen how those indoctrination tactics worked on her. document.getElementById('cloak12e374cf467cf94c035e499fed3d9ec1').innerHTML = ''; Benscoter senses an opportunity to take one more shot at dispelling the disinformation. Cult deprogramming was once a hotbed of dangerous experimentation. SMITH: It'd be the first of many times that Benscoter would back off and pivot in search of even the tiniest patch of common ground. Phone: (510) 292-0509, Steven Eichel, Ph.D., ABPPNewarkSpecializes in harm done by exploitive, coercive and/or destructive movements and groups.Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; It's why he recently helped launch a hashtag campaign, #IGotOut. "Hi, Michelle," Benscoter begins tentatively. addyd837acf5bd986a89f36638fee3f1630d = addyd837acf5bd986a89f36638fee3f1630d + 'verizon' + '.' + 'net'; She served two internships at Wellspring Retreat Center, Ohio, and has many years' experience working with trauma, including survivors of spiritual and cult abuse, and sexual abuse. And radical, in this sense, doesn't simply mean "somewhat out of the norm." In religious cults, it would mean something along the lines of believing that your leader is the reincarnation of Jesus. Misia Landau TED's editors chose to feature it for you. You can find this movie on Vudu. SMITH: Diane Benscoter has been helping people untangle from extremist ideologies since the '80s after she was extricated from the Unification Church, commonly known as the Moonies. Newly released reports from the Illinois Department of Human Services' watchdog office reveal shocking instances of cruelty, abuse and poor care of patients who have mental illnesses and. BENSCOTER: That is not what I'm about even a little. "I'm not in a cult. "That feeling of 'I did my own research, and I didn't just believe what I read in the newspapers' makes believers more emotionally invested," says Arieh Kovler, who researches online extremism and disinformation. The key, Hassan says, is to empower people and help them make their own decisions; for example, instead of trying to persuade a QAnon adherent to stop believing in the conspiracy theory, redirect them toward legitimate organizations working to stop human trafficking. ", Before long, they've found even more they can agree on: that the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was wrong. NPR's Tovia Smith took a look inside the practice of deprogramming. var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; Steven Hassan is a former Moonie who has also made a career of helping people relearn to "think for themselves." var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; MICHELLE QUEEN: No way. var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; You could also give us a call. addyf4219bca9ede32acb3a79607cd4c413f = addyf4219bca9ede32acb3a79607cd4c413f + 'beaarmstrong' + '.' + 'com'; You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Cult psychology is known for its "all or nothing" approach, in that there are implications if you denounce or leave the cult a system of punishments and rewards kicks in. MSNBC recently hosted a guest who claimed that people who watch FOX News are in a cult and need to be deprogrammed. var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; 1: It can help to know that you are not the first person to leave a controlling group and you won't be the last. var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; The Cult Awareness Network ( CAN) was an anti-cult organization created by deprogrammer Ted Patrick [1] that provided information on groups that it considered to be cults, as well as support and referrals to deprogrammers. Another approach to helping people exit cultic groups is a kind of mirror image of the tactics used to lure them in. "It's almost unfathomable.". The approach has evolved since the days when some deprogrammers came under fire for crossing legal and ethical lines by holding cult members against their will. Kathleen Lee Watch as he reviews cult scenes from films and television including 'The . Her areas of expertise are trauma, loss, cult and high demand group and relationship education and recovery, including those born and raised; and motherless daughters, women who have lost their mothers through death, illness, narcissism, separation, or estrangement in childhood, adolescence or adulthood. SHAPIRO: Disinformation is not new. It's just trying to disrupt the meeting and disrupt county business. P.O. Itll take time for people to change their views, Hassan said, but by engaging with them and continuing to be respectful, it can help them pull away from conspiracies. Community education and consultation are offered. "It may seem like you're being tricky or crafty, but really what you're doing is respecting the fact that this is not going to be an easy process for [people] to get out with their dignity.". Experts see it as a public health emergency, threatening democracy, straining family relationships and now also straining an industry of folks trying to help. Then, Benscoter wades in, carefully making the case that anyone can be duped, making sure never to take aim at Queen. var addyf8cac7ff1581dc987ce8d90a07bec040 = 'sguziec' + '@'; Acknowledging that joining a cult requires an element of voluntary self-surrender also obliges us to consider whether the very relinquishment of control isn't a significant part of the appeal . "They believe it much stronger.". Y'know the news ain't gonna give you the whole thing.". Pat Ryan, another former cult member-turned-deprogrammer or exit counselor, says when a family hires him to meet with a loved one, his first step is to do a kind of intervention on the family. She's upfront that her aim is to get Queen to consider the possibility that she's caught in a web of disinformation, while at the same time, she insists she's not trying to change her by turning her into a Democrat, for example. SHAPIRO: County Supervisor Leonard Moty worries that reasonable people won't feel safe coming to meetings, let alone running for public office. Queen is among an alarming number of Americans responding to a recent Ipsos poll, who mistook several false conspiracy theories for truth. Email:This email address is being protected from spambots. That's what drew in 32-year-old Jay Gilley, a pizza delivery guy from Alabama who spent three years caught up in QAnon. addy1d5d405a44b140051bf1a553979856bb = addy1d5d405a44b140051bf1a553979856bb + 'faxtone' + '.' + 'com'; Phone: (303) 797-0629 Web site: http://cultrecover.com/, Vanessa N Weber, MSW, LCSWNew Milford Counseling5Bennitt StreetNew Milford, CT 06776 Phone: (860) 717 4400 Web site: www.newmilfordcounseling.com, Erika Van Meir, LMFT Atlanta Email:This email address is being protected from spambots. "Looking back at it now, it's terrifying," he says. But an Ipsos poll taken after the attack on January 6 found that only 27% of Republicans believe that Joe Biden legitimately won the presidential election. GILLEY: Looking back at it now, it's terrifying. var addy_textd837acf5bd986a89f36638fee3f1630d = 'andreamoore4' + '@' + 'verizon' + '.' + 'net';document.getElementById('cloakd837acf5bd986a89f36638fee3f1630d').innerHTML += ''+addy_textd837acf5bd986a89f36638fee3f1630d+'<\/a>'; Colleen Russell, LMFT, CGP 1036 Sir Francis Drake Blvd Kentfield, CA 94904 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. For that reason in some cases cult leader's pictures were burned or there were highly confrontational interactions between deprogrammers and cultist. The Atlantic Monthly, Sept. 26, 2016 How Well-Meaning, Intelligent People End Up in a Cult. Anyone can be drawn in, she says, as cultic groups all tend to fill some psychological void. document.getElementById('cloakd477c46acce837837ff43023e001dfd2').innerHTML = ''; Families Against Cult Teachings and Abuses Education & Awareness | Victim Support | Cult Group Investigation For further consultation and assistance, we recommend contactingJanette Allen at www.CultConsultant.org. MSNBC's host of The 11th Hour Stephanie Ruhle was not happy that Fox News reacted to President Biden's State of the Union by calling him a liar and to help her in her quest against this narrative, she welcomed professional Fox News watcher Juliet Jeske to claim Fox viewers are in a "cult" who need "deprogramming". It goes deep. Stay strong in your decision to leave the cult. addy5fb41fcd031f23f99e1fe74c1f0c8e03 = addy5fb41fcd031f23f99e1fe74c1f0c8e03 + 'gmail' + '.' + 'com'; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; Deprogramming refers to an intervention process that reverses alleged brainwashing. The question is whether the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol can begin to steer some of the Trump faithful toward the kind of cult deprogramming they so . "I think now is the time to start building bridges, you know. var addy7986d920f3745ab243b59af6f71579f5 = 'cyndersm' + '@'; var addy_text36636b8776af4b03ad7a9a07dfcdf3b6 = 'Rosanne' + '@' + 'CultRecover' + '.' + 'com';document.getElementById('cloak36636b8776af4b03ad7a9a07dfcdf3b6').innerHTML += ''+addy_text36636b8776af4b03ad7a9a07dfcdf3b6+'<\/a>'; Like (40K) Share. Thats how many Americans believe that the death toll from coronavirus has been overinflated, according to a July 21 Axios/Ipsos poll. document.getElementById('cloak3001007811159a16eabbf160ee2e3f2d').innerHTML = ''; You didn't want to be drawn back to that confusion. When a family hires him to meet with a loved one, Ryan says his first step is to do a kind of intervention on the family. var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; Cult deprogrammers inundated with requests to help people lost in Trump election, QAnon conspiracy theories Social media has become rife with disinformation and rabbit holes leading to. var addy_textfefae804527880e22aa3cd22f2d08a08 = 'crussellmft' + '@' + 'earthlink' + '.' + 'net';document.getElementById('cloakfefae804527880e22aa3cd22f2d08a08').innerHTML += ''+addy_textfefae804527880e22aa3cd22f2d08a08+'<\/a>'; Thats toxic and going to drive the person deeper [into the conspiracy] by persecuting them.. var addy_textde94da22e197db1d535fa5dc06c0facf = 'john' + '@' + 'goldhammer' + '.' + 'com';document.getElementById('cloakde94da22e197db1d535fa5dc06c0facf').innerHTML += ''+addy_textde94da22e197db1d535fa5dc06c0facf+'<\/a>'; Phone: (303) 444-0992, Rosanne Henry, L.P.C. Cultic groups all tend to fill some psychological need or void, such as a desire for meaning, purpose, or community. It was rigged. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Our country needs leadership that will bring us together more than ever, he said in a statement. addy7b57602c4cc4d305ebe32094a0517282 = addy7b57602c4cc4d305ebe32094a0517282 + 'aspiremhnv' + '.' + 'com'; "Well," she says at one point, "one thing that I think is so sad right now is that the country is so divided, people are almost like spitting at each other. 383 (1983)Google Scholar; Note, Tort Liability for Cult Deprogramming, 43 Ohio St. L.J. "They didn't tell you all the others. var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; It started when he questioned the Black Lives Matter movement and got criticized online. var addy_textd477c46acce837837ff43023e001dfd2 = 'crussell' + '@' + 'colleenrussellmft' + '.' + 'com';document.getElementById('cloakd477c46acce837837ff43023e001dfd2').innerHTML += ''+addy_textd477c46acce837837ff43023e001dfd2+'<\/a>'; var addyb2de03711ae6bd99ac1a0f1add652edf = 'rbbernstein' + '@'; document.getElementById('cloak1d5d405a44b140051bf1a553979856bb').innerHTML = ''; "I'm not a fan of some of the Democrats," says Queen. hide caption. We are seeking creative works that reveal the world of the cult survivor. "Just having someone tell you you're right, and don't listen to people, it just leads you down that path so fast," he recalls. SMITH: Other experts liken the threat of disinformation to secondhand smoke. Whats wrong, Hassan says, is telling the believer that theyre brainwashed, or stupid or weak. var addyc86dd6e18b3f6b7519f1d77b8ebc194c = 'ingozen' + '@'; addy8034107a87f3497c1eaf99e1fec2acf0 = addy8034107a87f3497c1eaf99e1fec2acf0 + 'dallascult' + '.' + 'com'; SMITH: By the end, they agree to keep talking - just what Benscoter was hoping for. var addy5fb41fcd031f23f99e1fe74c1f0c8e03 = 'freemindsuk' + '@'; var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: It's a fraud. var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; And people almost are, like, spitting at each other. The notion of "deradicalizing" and "deprogramming" Trump supporters has been fiercely promoted by those on the left in recent days following the November presidential elections and the storming of the U.S. Capitol last month. In a classic deprogramming scenario, a cult member is physically abducted and held at a secret location or forcibly detained while visiting home. var addy_textffec56a2dcd6b68be693d9a3ad7e4687 = 'gerard' + '@' + 'gerardwebster' + '.' + 'com';document.getElementById('cloakffec56a2dcd6b68be693d9a3ad7e4687').innerHTML += ''+addy_textffec56a2dcd6b68be693d9a3ad7e4687+'<\/a>'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; SMITH: The Ipsos poll shows a close correlation between those who believe in conspiracies and those who get most of their news from conservative news sources, social media or apps like Parler and Telegram that have become disinformation superspreaders. var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; BENSCOTER: I started believing that all information from regular news sources is just wrong, and they became, like, the enemy. document.getElementById('cloakd837acf5bd986a89f36638fee3f1630d').innerHTML = ''; As part of a special series on disinformation, we are going to spend the next few minutes talking about why it's spreading, and we'll go inside the practice of deprogramming people who believe it. Sadly, there is no magic hotline or manual to deprogram your QAnon-addicted loved one. SMITH: In other cases, the draw is what Benscoter calls easy answers to life's hard questions. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; And that's just not what this country should be, I don't think. Indeed, anyone can be psychologically manipulated, Benscoter says. "I think it's really important to try to help people inoculate, to try to create herd immunity to psychological manipulation," Benscoter says, "and to hit that tipping point in society where more people understand how these tactics work, and those who try to use them will be less successful because those using them are easily spotted now. Australia has said it would consider a plan to "de-programme" militants held in jail despite criticism by a rights group that it amounted to brainwashing. Ross is the preeminent cult deprogrammer in the United States and the head of the Cult Education Institute, a nonprofit library with archived information about cults. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. With Gabe Kaplan, Marcia Strassman, John Sylvester White, Robert Hegyes. document.getElementById('cloak7a81c507740ba1e5a4b8252e1b215489').innerHTML = ''; A security team guards the person for several days, 24 hours a day, while the deprogrammer, former cult members, and family members present information. Phone: 317.536.5482, Deirdre Hart Wilson, CSW Las Vegas/Henderson A survivor of a destructive group who specializes in recovery from cults, trauma, and abuse.Email:This email address is being protected from spambots. For example, Hassan will ask a person to recount how they first started buying into the ideology or group, hoping they, themselves, may start to recognize ways in which they were manipulated or led astray. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: This is a scamdemic (ph). Accuracy and availability may vary. document.getElementById('cloakb2de03711ae6bd99ac1a0f1add652edf').innerHTML = ''; Psychiatrist: since 1980, short term consultation to former members, families and attorneysPhone: (310) 277-4199. SMITH: And then Benscoter carefully starts making the case that anyone can be duped, offering up herself as Exhibit A and explaining how she, as a Moonie, thought she was following the Messiah. More commonly referred to as "exit counselors" or "de-radicalizers," they help people caught up in cultic ideologies to reconnect with reality. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Practice making your own decisions, and work on rediscovering your personality. Email:This email address is being protected from spambots. The term deprogramming has been used since the 1970s to refer to a range of behaviors, all of which are aimed at convincing members of so-called new religious movements (NRMs) to leave such groups and return to more mainstream social and religious lifestyles. Michelle Queen, for one, is adamant that no one can change her mind. Cult Deprogrammer Rick Alan Ross on NXIVM, QAnon, and What Makes Us Vulnerable | by Alex Kantrowitz | OneZero 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. document.getElementById('cloakf020b5c9b482943f070d4f6e57a6e054').innerHTML = ''; Specializing in working with ex and exiting members of religious, secular or treatment groups using a trauma-informed perspectivePhone: (619) 807-9159, John Hochman, MD Los Angeles Email:This email address is being protected from spambots. Senses an opportunity to take one more shot at dispelling the disinformation smith... 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