Cult Recovery
Practitioners, organisations and support resources for cult recovery, coercive control and religious trauma.
Practitioners
hopevalleycounselling.com
One of the world's leading specialists in post-cult recovery. Gillie created the Walking Free Model — a four-phase roadmap to healing from coercive, cultic and spiritual abuse. Her workbook Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse is essential reading for survivors and therapists. A former cult member herself, her work spans more than 30 years of doctoral research and clinical practice.
Gillie Jenkinson's Walking Free Model is one of the most cited frameworks in post-cult counselling and religious trauma recovery worldwide.
alexandrastein.com
Attachment theorist and cult survivor whose work illuminates how high-control groups exploit our deepest need for safety and connection. Her book Terror, Love and Brainwashing is the clearest explanation of what actually happens inside a cult — and why leaving is so hard.
Alexandra Stein's attachment-based framework bridges academic psychology and lived survivor experience — essential for those recovering from psychological manipulation.
freedomofmind.com
Creator of the BITE Model — Behaviour, Information, Thought and Emotional control — the most practical framework for identifying coercive control in any relationship or group. His book Combating Cult Mind Control has helped thousands of survivors and families understand what happened to them.
The BITE Model is widely used in cult recovery counselling and research into undue influence globally.
janjalalich.com
Sociologist and cult survivor whose concept of bounded choice explains how intelligent, thoughtful people become trapped in high-control groups. Her research is rigorous, accessible and deeply humanising.
Janja Lalich's bounded choice theory is foundational in cultic studies — her work helps survivors understand that involvement is not weakness but a response to sophisticated manipulation.
rachelberstein.com
Therapist specialising in cult recovery and creator of the Indoctrination podcast — one of the most compassionate resources available for survivors navigating life after a high-control group.
Rachel Bernstein's clinical expertise and survivor-centred approach make her work essential listening and reading for cult recovery communities.
Organisations
internationalculticstudies.org
The world's leading organisation for research, education and survivor support in the field of cultic influence and coercive control. Since 1979, ICSA has connected survivors, families, mental health professionals and researchers globally through their digital library, ICSA Today magazine, and annual international conference.
ICSA is the foremost international research and education body for cult recovery, psychological manipulation and coercive group dynamics.
au.oliveleaf.network
An Australian organisation providing aid, advocacy and awareness for former members of high-demand religious groups and cults. Their directors presented to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Cults and Fringe Groups in 2025.
The Olive Leaf Network is one of Australia's most active organisations supporting survivors of high-demand religious groups.
thereligioustraumacollective.com
A community and resource hub for survivors of religious trauma — psychological harm caused by harmful religious environments, spiritual abuse, and high-control groups.
Religious trauma is increasingly recognised as a distinct category of psychological harm relevant to survivors of faith-based cults and spiritually abusive communities.
thefamilysurvivaltrust.org
A UK-based registered charity preventing and providing information on coercive control, cultic behaviour and psychological manipulation. Evolved from FAIR — Britain's first anti-cult group — offering support, counselling and legislative advocacy.
The Family Survival Trust is the UK's leading cult survivor support charity and an important reference for international survivors seeking UK-based resources.