Changing Our Thinking About Coercive Control
The idea of what it means to be a “cult member” has been misunderstood for decades. We might have a variety of biases and judgments about what it means to join a cult. These views can be profoundly unhelpful for all of us for two reasons: 1) they do not prepare us for the fact that anyone can become a victim of a predatory group or individual, and therefore we are less likely to prevent the victimization of ourselves or loved ones, and 2) they do not honor the survivors of this type of abuse, which prevents healing and perpetuates re-victimization.
It is through new media stories that a new way of seeing cults is revealed. For example, Sara Levine has recently written about the experiences of the Larry Ray survivors on Katie Couric Media:
