Hi everyone,
I have been talking to Steve Hassan who is the author of 'Combatting Cult Mind Control" about coming to London for a 3 day event in Autumn 2009. Initially the idea was to make it all about Jehovah's Witnesses and support for those having left the religion and leaving their JW issues behind them. We may make this an event for ex-cult members in general, but there will be a big section specifically catering to the issues surrounding the JW organisation, leaving it and life after it. The cost of Steve being there and flying to London; will be shared amongst those attending, so there will be a ticket price for the event, which i will figure out later when I've got an idea of how many will be likely to attend.
Here is a link to Steve's website if you would like to know more about him: http://www.freedomofmind.com/
These are quotes from professional and well respected mental health professionals:
"Steve Hassan is a compelling spokesman on the topic of cult mind control which encompasses issues of human identity and our innate psychological vulnerabilities and dissociation and its relationship to mind control, all of which are of innate interest to mental health professionals. In addition, he educates and challenges us to think about the forces and groups using mind control techniques in our culture, which is disturbing yet highly important to learn about."
-- Mary K. McCarthy, M.D.
Director of Psychiatry Training, Brigham & Women's Hospital,
Professor of Psychology, Stanford University,
Boston, Massachusetts
"...Steven Hassan's approach is one that I value more than that of any other researcher or clinical practitioner..."
-- Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D.
Author of the Stanford Prison Experiment
Professor of Psychology, Stanford University
President of the American Psychological Association 2002,
Author of The Lucifer Effect
Steve has many years experience working with ex-cult members, and he himself is a person who escaped the Moonie cult.
He has worked with many ex-Jehovah's Witnesses and has conducted events like this before specifically for ex-JWs where he has also worked with Randy Watters from http://www.freeminds.org
If you would like to know more about this then feel free to post here, pm me or email me at [email protected]
Please feel free to add your thoughts or concerns about such an event and let me know if you think you would consider attending and whether you think many people will attend.
I intend to post about this on lots of different ex-JW sites. Please feel free to post this yourself on sites I don't know about, and I don't mind who you pass my email details onto.
If you would like to speak to me about this, then pm me for my mobile number.
Anyone from around the world in invited.
Lots of love,
Terri,
xx
If you don't know me, then I am Terri O'Sullivan, I live in Rochester, Kent in England. I'm 29. I left the JWs when I was 21 after being brought up in it from the age of 7 by my mother. I was never disfellowshipped, I just stopped going. I used to be a regular pioneer but got very disillusioned by it all.
I now run a meet up group for Ex-JWs in Maidstone in Kent. Anyone is welcome to attend that at any point. www.meetup.com/395/ We just meet in a pub and talk about our experiences. it's quite good fun, but we talk about serious stuff too. This is not a religous discussion group, nor is it therapy, think of it like jwd but in person. I am not a religious person at all nowadays. I'm currently studying psychology, sociology and philosophy and am hoping to go to Kent university to get a degree in social psychology and eventually work as a chartered psychologist and work with ex-cult members.
xxx