One of Us: Cults and Mental Health

When we hear or see the word “cult,” we often think of the most sensational examples throughout history – Heaven’s Gate, Jonestown, Manson Family and many others. If you’ve ever wondered about the mental health forces behind cults – what leads someone to join a cult, who’s most vulnerable and how to help someone escape a cult, you’re in luck. We sat down with Steve Fisher, LPC, director of clinical services at WellPower, for some professional insight into the mental health implications of cults.

What is a cult?

The word “cult” can be applied to a broad spectrum of groups and movements, from innocuous fitness clubs and cultural affinity groups to nefarious and even dangerous organizations.

“It exists on a continuum,” said Fisher. “There can be some pretty sinister versions of cults, and then there’s the more popular culture-oriented group – such as around certain pop music figures – that might be described more as having a ‘cult following.’”

At their most basic, the high-control entities we most commonly refer to as cults have several characteristics in common, including:

A charismatic, authoritarian leader placed at the center of the group that is presented as being beyond question.
High control over relationships, time, money and information, including discouraging outside media or friendships.
Abuse of members, whether financial, physical or sexual and often includes shaming, fear or threats used to ensure compliance.
Isolation from family and longtime supports.
Paranoia of the outside world and extensive “us vs. them” thinking, where outsiders are portrayed as dangerous, evil or unenlightened.
No tolerance for questions, and punishment for doubt including being labeled disloyal, weak or unworthy for asking questions.
Pressure to recruit or prove commitment through increasingly costly demands.
Lack of exit opportunities and ways of leaving the group

These tactics can exist in many settings: spiritual communities, self-improvement movements, political groups, multi-level marketing organizations, therapy-like programs or communities centered around a charismatic figure.

How Do People Get Involved with Cults?

While there are many reasons an individual might find themselves in the grip of a cult, Fisher describes one core, common factor: the need to belong.

“It’s rooted in a foundational aspect of who we are – we need to have a sense of inclusion and belonging,” Fisher explained. “Similar to conspiracies, we’re wired as humans to have meaningful membership in some kind of group that aligns with our values, and in some cases our ideologies. Sometimes those groups end up shaping our belief systems too.”

Someone might be looking for a way to connect with a group, perhaps based on a common need, activity or value system. For example, if someone is feeling isolated and meets someone from a tight-knit social group, they might start attending gatherings. Or they might discover a YouTube video or online chat forum that speaks to underlying thoughts they might be having about the world.

What differentiates even healthy social groups from cults is what happens next: through any number of psychological tactics, the newly initiated member is sucked further into the insular organization. These often include:

Us-versus-them language to curate a sense of alienation and suspicion of people outside the group.
“Confirmation bias,” which builds on the insulated information ecosystem of the cult to present only ideas and evidence that supports the group’s core principles.
Loaded terms, like “patriot,” to label people as being either with the group or against it in order to shut down dissent.
Thought-terminating cliches: short phrases or terminology that are easy to memorize and repeat, which also shut down any debate or incongruence. “’Those people are out to get you, I have all the answers,’” said Fisher, offering common examples. “Anytime a member appears skeptical the leaders and other members use cliches to silence dissent. If you say it over and over again people believe it’s true.”
Now, we have powerful internet algorithms to contend with, which serve up more and more extreme content that reinforces fringe beliefs, drawing from confirmation bias.

“Language doesn’t just describe reality, it creates reality,” said Fisher. Cult leaders are adept at leveraging specific vocabularies to create and reinforce very narrow world views among their followers.

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Are People with a Mental Health Diagnosis More Susceptible to Cults?

People with a mental illness or other diagnosis are typically no more likely to become part of a cult than the general population. Those who have unmet needs such as for community, belonging or emotional reassurance tend to be vulnerable to cults – but these are not considered mental illnesses, per se.

Fisher points to the foundational reason people join cults in the first place to explain: “Everyone is vulnerable because we all have a need to belong, to get answers to life’s hard questions. We all go through periods of time where a more nuanced answer is hard, and a simple answer is appealing.”

Fisher added that, similar to mental health and violence, people living with a diagnosis are actually often targeted by cult leaders. “Some of the more sinister cults have definitely preyed on people who are more emotional vulnerable, for example the Synanon group in the mid-20^th century, which started as a substance use treatment group but devolved into a violent cult.

(Fisher points out that the way we now treat substance use is completely the opposite of Synanon. As opposed to using a confrontational, dictatorial approach, “we now use motivational interviewing to try to understand where people are in their readiness to change – we focus on putting power in the hands of the person seeking treatment,” he explained.)

Mental Health Impacts of Cults

According to Fisher, people who become involved with cults experience high rates of trauma and shame, often resulting from psychological, physical or sexual abuse. Emotional abuse is a particularly common means of control. Combined with a separation from other support systems, these experiences can lead to depression, anxiety and increasing paranoia as a mirror of the leader’s mindset. “They cut you off from your family, so you lose those supportive relationships with family and friends,” said Fisher.

High-control environments like cults often create chronic stress. When someone’s identity, relationships and sense of safety depend on obedience, the nervous system can remain in a constant state of hypervigilance. Over time, this can contribute to symptoms that resemble trauma responses.

How to Help Someone Leave a Cult

First and foremost, if someone is in immediate danger, experiencing threats, stalking, violence, or being prevented from leaving, treat it as a safety issue and seek appropriate emergency help.

When approaching someone you know who may need support leaving a cult, it’s critical to operate from a place of compassion, and avoid being judgmental. “Help someone begin to realize that the group isn’t what they need, whether online or in person,” said Fisher. “Encourage them to think skeptically, to question some of the ideology, but doing that in a way that’s rooted in compassion.”

One of the key parts of exiting a cult is rebuilding a sense of psychological safety. “People in cults have been in a psychologically unsafe environment for a while, and have learned how to survive in that environment,” Fisher explained. People supporting loved ones who are leaving cults can help the person start to build their own sense of safety outside the cult – “how do you now create a life for yourself without someone telling you have to live.”

Patience is also key throughout the process. Cults leverage powerful psychological tools to recruit and maintain members. People who try to leave need to overcome these processes, which can take time.

For example, the sunk cost fallacy, which Fisher explains as investing so much into something that it’s hard to let it go. “Even when someone has doubts, they feel like they’ve invested so much that they don’t want to give it up. This reinforces the lack of an exit.”

People leaving high-control groups often fear being judged: “How could I have fallen for that?” The truth is that manipulation works by exploiting universal human needs like hope, meaning, love, certainty and community. Responding with compassion and practical support helps people rebuild their instincts, sense of voice and belief system.

How to Get Help

If you or someone you care about is struggling after involvement in a high-control group, you are not alone. Help is available, and recovery is possible.

If you are in danger or at risk of harm, call 911. For confidential, 24/7/365 support from a trained human, call or text 988, the national mental health lifeline. In Colorado, you can also visit a walk-in center for immediate, in-person help in a crisis. Denver’s walk-in center (operated by WellPower) is at 4353 E. Colfax Ave. Find another Colorado location closest to you here.

WellPower is also here for ongoing support from compassionate professionals. Click here to learn about accessing services at WellPower or give us a call at (303) 504-7900. We gladly welcome Medicaid members, and we accept a range of Medicare and commercial insurance plans.

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