Picking up the pieces
"Lisa got out of a small, suburban, new age, therapy-based group in 2016, which she had joined as a 19-year-old, single mother. This high-demand group went through many phases over the 30 years she was involved. The charismatic, narcissistic leader utilized modalities such as rebirthing, affirmations, hot seat talk therapy, sleep deprivation, as well as verbal, physical, and sexual abuse as a means to control. These techniques combined with intervals of positive reinforcement held her captive in a sealed system where all efforts towards personal success were directed to benefit the leader. Creative endeavors were quashed if it meant confidence and self-esteem were to be gained. In 2015, there were enough cracks that Lisa realized that she could never become the person she joined the group to be if she stayed.
Since Lisa got out, she married the man who helped her find her way back to herself and out of the group. Lisa is passionate about supporting other cult survivors to find their own voices and share their own stories…and for those voices and stories to be heard, acknowledged, and understood. Lisa shares her experiences of being in an abusive high control group for decades, she explains what it was like joining as a single teenage mother and examines the differences between being raised in a cult vs joining one as an adult. Lisa then examines what led to her finally leaving the group and what triggered her passion for supporting cult survivors once she left. She continues the conversation by talking about #igotout the movement she founded to bring survivor's stories to the public."
Posted Jul 8, 2021, 11:02 PM UTC