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An ambit where this
form of pervasive relationship is widely applied, but in more devious
way, is the radical or sectary ideology. The conviction that a "psychological
outline " features the members of radical groups is wrong, several factors
act simultaneously at the recruitment. There are groups highly specialized
in the recruitment techniques and mix psychoanalysis, religion, science
and esoteric practices to create acquiescence in individuals. Often
they circumvent defences by masking as training schools or specialist
courses for operators and managers. Those groups, today very trendy
are linked to the variegated world of the New Age.
The long report that
the Public Security Department of the Home Office sent to the Constitutional
Affairs Committee of the Chamber points especially this kind of groups,
defined as 'psycho-sects' or 'self-religious', that are active in our
country and practice high harmful and aggressive recruitment methods.
As far as those groups support that they act in order to warrant the
personal and psychological welfare of individuals, the sole thing they
get with unquestionable success is recollecting huge amounts of money
for their bosses. Against this kind of organizations, the report highlights,
the crime action risks not having enough means: there's not the crime
of "aggression to the psychical freedom" and it is not in force anymore
the crime of moral subjugation.
The maintenance inside
the group is ensured by a set of techniques. Many of these groups employ
also the mass hypnosis that favours an ecstatic kind attention and finally
obedience. Means of hypnosis are the prey or the repetition of ritualistic
phases or mantra. The words employed in these cantilenas must not be
meaningful to be effective. Psychology has indeed proved that words
without meaning are remembered much easier than those with sense.
Another technique, functional
to the mental control and effective for the maintenance of individual
in the role of victim is the manipulation of guilt: any gap in the way
of living the cult is attributed to some leak in devotees. When a member
starts putting in doubt that his needs find really a solution, his protests
against the leaders provoke only accusation according to which he is
the responsible for his own troubles (as it happens for the mobbing
victim at job).
The process of turning
someone in guilty is a vicious circle: the remarkable number of suicides
among the practitioners of a cult, suggest that the only solution to
this dilemma is the self- destruction.
Psychological
abuse effects
In 1999 at our Centre's
offices (Ce.S.A.P.) 763 users applied for denouncing situations of psychological
abuse: 16,4% (equal to 125 individuals) within the home ambit, 18,4%
(140) at job, while nearly 57% (436) submitted at our attention a mental
control problem due to one's own adhesion to a personal cult or a relative's
adhesion. Approaches usually are by telematics ways (605 e-mail of applications
per year) or by phone (65 calls) or by direct contact with our operators
(93 visits). The average age of petitioners is nearly 43 years, the
most it concerns women (55,5%), married (76% circa). Usually they denounce
experiences of endured abuses, vexations, and lesions to their own rights,
both direct and indirect. It concerns painful, menacing events, pointing
out the seriousness of problems, and that let understand widest dimensions.
230 out the arrived
petitions were took in charge by our professionals for:
- Psychotherapy (25%)
- Medical/pharmacological
therapy (5%) - Divorce causes (56,5%)
- Educational intervention
for minors (10,5%)
The feeling of personal
violation is beyond description. If the petitioners had an experience
inside a destructive cult, they are angry, disappointed and most times
they do not want to hear about spiritual themes. In less cases the anger
for they were deceived is such that victims more than apply for a help
want to get the most information it's possible about the cult they belonged
to in order to take revenge (specially if they left a dear person inside
the cult), or they want to make denunciation immediately.
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