This article is the first of two related projects. It examines the characteristics of high control groups (HCGs) and sex trafficking (ST), with emphasis on definitions, alignment with Lifton’s criteria of thought reform, typical identity progression of members, and trauma bonds. The manuscript then compares HCGs and ST and examines similarities related to Lifton’s criteria, identity progression, trauma bonds, and...[ read more ]
Recent research has revealed that there are many psychological parallels between cultic high demand group involvement and the lived experience of sex trafficking in recruitment, retention, sexual and emotional harm, and exploitive manipulation (Hassan & Shah, 2019; Thomas, Miller, Phelps, Hassan, 2014; Lundstrom, 2016). Untold millions of lives have been arguably hijacked around the world by the undue influence of...[ read more ]
The cycle of violence is a model developed to explain the complexity and co-existence of abuse with loving behaviors. It helps those who have never experienced domestic violence understand that breaking the cycle of violence is much more complicated than just “getting out” or leaving. There are three phases in the cycle of violence: (1) Tension-Building Phase, (2) Acute or...[ read more ]
The abuser feels more powerful when he puts down his victim. Withholding: Withholding is primarily manifested as a withholding of information and a failure to share thoughts and feelings. A person who withholds information refuses to engage with his or her partner in a healthy relationship. He or she does not share feelings or thoughts. When he or she does...[ read more ]
“Why is it that I can see myself in the mirror, I can see myself smile, I can hear myself say hello to others, yet no one responds? Do they truly not see me? Do they really not hear me? I just looked them in the eyes! It is as if I don’t exist.” These are the thoughts and words...[ read more ]
Written by Michael Salter, PhD International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation (ISST-D) June 22, 2018 I was a teenager when ritual abuse was first reported in Australia. A series of newspaper articles in the mid-1990s claimed that women were entering psychotherapy only to ‘recover’...[ read more ]
We all experience stress and anxiety is everyday life. Anxiety is defined as feeling worry, nervousness, or unease, usually about an unknown future outcome. Low levels of anxiety do not cause alarm and do not interfere with the quality of one’s life. Sometimes anxiety can improve your production capabilities. We all know at least one person who needs that extra...[ read more ]
In this season of isolation, furloughs, unemployment and out-of-stock grocery shelves during the COVID-19 crisis, it is easy and understandable to feel alone, increased anxiety and fear. One must choose between going for fresh groceries or staying home and making due with what is in the freezer; to wear gloves or not to wear gloves; to wear a mask and...[ read more ]
Physical Abuse: Pulling your hair, punching, slapping, kicking, biting or choking you Forbidding you from eating or sleeping Hurting you with weapons Preventing you from calling the police or seeking medical attention Harming your children Abandoning you in unfamiliar places Driving recklessly or dangerously when you are in the car with them Forcing you to use drugs or alcohol (especially...[ read more ]
Please join a unique and unprecedented conference will be held at the Larimer County Events Center in Loveland, Colorado, on February 8, 2020, informing the community and professionals on what characteristics connect such groups. Experts will answer questions such as: How are people deceived into voluntarily joining such undesirable groups? What neuro-chemical dynamics occurs in the brain to trick itself...[ read more ]