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I retweeted a @jk_rowling tweet and weighed in as a mental health professional who has written 4 books on cult mind control and how to help those who have been harmed (and their families). I have spent over 4 decades in the field of research and helping those who have
been harmed by undue influence.
My web site is
Cult Expert Steven Hassan's Freedom of Mind Resource Center
Freedom of Mind Resource Center was founded by cult expert Steven Hassan so that cult specialists can help cult victims and survivors leave cults and heal.
freedomofmind.com
and have blogged for human rights, against conversion "therapy" and for gay and trans rights. A couple of years ago I was approached by @LisaMarchiano , a therapist who wanted to know my opinion on
the phenomenon of young people being drawn into a cult-like situation where, all of a sudden, they thought they were the opposite sex. I was very skeptical as I have close friends who are gay and a few friends who are trans, but my philosophy is to be "open-minded" and started reading, watching documentaries, and asked to interview detransitioners to better understand their experience.
I became convinced that in these people's cases, they were indeed socially influenced, much of it online, to believe they must transition. Some told me they were sleep-deprived, some described the praise and support they got for saying they were trans made them feel "loved" but the most surprising and upsetting thing was that some told me they watched Hypno porn. I had no idea what they were talking about and asked for some URLs.
After my deprogramming from the Moon cult in 1976, I became interested in mind control and in 1980 went to my first workshop, an NLP workshop by Richard Bandler, and discovered the power of Ericksonian hypnotic techniques. These are what Tony Robbins learned and marketed without saying it was Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). I did multiple trainings in NLP and even moved to Santa Cruz to apprentice John Grinder- the other co-founder of it. It was powerful and provided a methodology to understand cult mind control. I came to understand NLP was amoral- meaning the system of influence was entirely dependent on the ethics of the practitioner. I distanced myself from it as they marketed it to salespeople and corporate types. I wanted to know about Milton Erickson, the psychiatrist who NLP was based on, but needed a master's degree to receive ethical training in hypnosis from health professionals. I have been attending workshops (and giving them) ever since.
What I watched in Hypno porn IMO was weapons-grade mind control and if a person watches it, especially if they were at a low point in their life, confused, stoned, are friends with a bunch of trans folks, they could be profoundly influenced to, for example, believe they were a woman in a man's body.
Let me be clear! I am for human rights. For gay and trans rights. I am
against conversion "therapy." But what I have come to learn is that young people are not getting good ethical counseling regarding their traumas, their body image issues, their gayness- especially if they are raised in homophobic environments. They are being rushed to taking hormones and some cases surgery and then, sometimes years later, realize they have made a big mistake to transition. For these people, detransitioners have told me they have been harassed, treated as a traitor- exactly what cults do to defectors.
This is not right! So, I wish to add my voice to the mental health experts speaking up to say we need to stop the polarization and conflict and have a more educated nuanced point of view when it comes to human beings. Things are not binary- all or nothing (transition or die was the
ideology) vs. maybe transition, let me research, let me go for expert counseling, let me NOT be isolated from my family and friends by an all or nothing position, and let me do what is right for me. Taking powerful hormones is not benign- there are side effects. Get second and third opinions. Take your time.
Please visit my web site and learn about the Influence Continuum and BITE model and become a better listener. We all need to heal and come together- not be further polarized.