Walking Free From The Trauma Of Coercive Cultic And Spiritual Abuse

This is an interactive self-help workbook and psychological road map to enable survivors of coercive, cultic and spiritual abuse to find healing, recovery and growth. This book provides a comprehensive guide to recovery, based on a tested model of post-cult counselling, and years of research and clinical experience. It is designed to help survivors of diverse abusive settings, including religious and spiritual, political, gangs, business, therapy and wellness and one-on-one relationships. The reader follows a beautifully illustrated journey through four Phases of recovery and growth, one Milestone at a time, to make sense of what has happened to them, learn how to walk free from psychological control and find resources for healing. The author includes stories from her own experience, detailing her path towards recovery and how she learned to come to terms with and overcome what happened to her. Written in accessible language, this workbook serves as both a self-help book for survivors and former members, and a guide for therapists working with them.

The use of creative writing as a route to personal or professional development is a powerful therapeutic tool, yet often the most difficult part is knowing how and where to begin. The experiences of others, and the strategies and approaches they have used in their own writing, can provide tried-and-tested models for practice, and 'ways in' that facilitators might wish to recommend to others. Writing Routes is an essential roadmap for anybody setting out on the journey of self-discovery through words. This diverse collection of short pieces introduce and demonstrate many different ways of getting into and thinking about creative writing for personal or professional development. Seventy contributors from a variety of different backgrounds and circumstances explain how they came to write a particular piece and why, how they found ways of transforming their experience into writing, and how it was beneficial to them. Their writing ranges widely, from journal entries and stream of consciousness to autobiography, poetry, fiction and drama, and the pieces are organised by theme and genre for ease of navigation, designed to be 'dipped into' as and when they are needed. This rich and varied collection will provide writing practitioners, counsellors and other related professionals with ideas and techniques to share with their clients, and is a useful resource that individuals who write for their own personal and professional development will return to again and again.

In a breakthrough book first published in 1991, the authors address the dynamics in churches that can ensnare people in legalism, guilt, and begrudging service, keeping them from the grace and joy of God's kingdom.Written for both those who feel abused and those who may be causing it, The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse shows how people get hooked into abusive systems, the impact of controlling leadership on a congregation, and how the abused believer can find rest and recovery.

Currently there are at least four major, identifiable perspectives on how people best understand and recover from religious abuse. Both secular and faith-based (Christian) adherents can be variously identified in each of these approaches. This book examines these viewpoints and evaluates their various strengths and limitations. It concludes that each perspective is helpful to the extent possible, given the limitations of its respective philosophic or theological assumptions. This book summarizes each viewpoint and suggests a larger contextual perspective, helpful to better understand involvement in and recovery from religiously abusive environments. The conclusion is an integration of the various conceptual frameworks, and a different model (SECURE) is described that includes essential principles and practical strategies necessary for recovery from religious abuse. Suggestions are made for future research and study both for academics with interest in the cultic studies and counseling fields, and for various people negatively affected by religious abuse and in need of recovery.

Can a community you call church cause pain? What if you could not give language to what you experienced? Can you even describe what you are going through? Some will say that it's just a "little church hurt" and you should not take it personally. The truth is you might be a victim of spiritual abuse and not know it. This book takes you on a journey of Sandra's experience in a cult disguised as a modern-day church. The uncensored accounts of abuse on the pages of this book unmask the manipulative tactics used by individuals who call themselves church leaders. The valuable insight on spiritual abuse through her experience is a guide to freedom. The trauma may seem debilitating but on the other side of that pain healing is possible. This book is packed with examples of emotional, psychological, and even physical abuse. Sandra's journey from victim to survivor to overcomer will bring you clarity that encourages you to take back your freedom through the healing power of Jesus Christ.

Whether you were sexually assaulted recently or many years ago, you do not need to allow the experience to influence your life. You can recover-- and have your life back again.

This book targets the problem of abusive churches, which exist because of the potential for sin in all of us. The author takes a sobering look at potential problems and reveals the answers to those seeking to escape the abuse of power and authority in the Church.

Drawing upon the clinical expertise of professionals and the personal experiences of those formerly involved in high-intensity mind-control groups, this book is a comprehensive guide to the cult experience. Michael Langone and his colleagues provide practical guidelines for helping former cult members manage the problems they encounter when leaving cults.