One of the important aspects in the cult and cultism domain is helping the victims and those who are afflicted by the cults to be free from the material and spiritual traps of the spider of cults. Those who are afflicted by this trap and illness aren’t able to analyze good from bad due to losing their previous identity and character. Consequently, a hand from outside of the cult can open the horizon and draw a world beyond the one imagined by the cults. For this reason; today, the issue of consulting and helping the cult victims is of the most important one on the top of cultism studies and pathology. In most countries, there are people-founded centers or the governmental one are serving and helping cult afflicted people.
The services of these specialized centers have possessed multi dimensions including from psychological consultations to saving operations. It must be paid attention that the cult is a mental series of the mental damages. The principles and mechanism of a sectarian thought are suffering from some kinds of mental damages imposed to cult members subsequently. Sometimes, cults are a kind of social answer to a mental need. So, they have several consequences which take them away the mental powers particularly the analysis and decision making powers. So, the process of making aware and helping the cult members are bond with the consulting and psychology knowledge and then focusing on rebuilding theological affairs and faith beliefs destroyed by the cults.
“Steven Hassan”, the prominent specialist of the cults and the helper of those who are afflicted by the cults in America writes: “I was afflicted by one of the groups related to the destructive cult of mind control called unity church called Monism by mistake and was under their powerful methods of mental influence. However, I was lucky to be saved by the ex-members employed by my family using the program of deprogramming.
Since that time, 1976 A.D. till now, I am trying in full time to help others. I have become a professional psychoanalyst and published three books in this regard. I have also founded a method influencing the victim ethically inviting him/her to think for him/herself and decide independently and control the facts.”
Nowadays, there are many centers and clinics in various parts of the world which are busy being active in this field and help people control themselves. Fortunately, this important issue is practical in our country and a center has been established in Gilan province to help cult victim. “The center for psychological consultation and services, Hadaf” is the first clinic for curing cults in the north of the country and is trying to offer psychological services and theological consulting and to free people from deviant courses of the cults and to provide another opportunity for analyzing and finding identity once again for them in order for them to find the border between right and wrong and to refind their captured identities away from impositions and disciple and desire frameworks.
The anti-cult center, Hadaf writes in its aims concerning the aims and motives of the foundation of this cults as an important scourge for the future of the country which are needed to searched again and investigated deeply and extensively. It is essential for the cultural foundations and characters to make it clear scientifically using statistical methods. Cult and cultism will lead to weakening society in each community and group including financial and economic damages, deviating elites and weakening the foundation of family.
The domination of emotional culture and the weakness of rationality and also the breakdown of social values in the society are two important elements in tending towards cults. The first one is being created due to weakness in education and intellectual training and the second one is due to incorrect use off medium, art, sport and offering undesirable attractive patterns in these arenas. The increase in answering power of the religious and cultural administrators to people’s needs is one of the ways to prevent people’s tendencies towards deviant cults.
The anti-cult association is trying to introduce cults and false Gnosticism using seasoned experts and masters in theological and psychological fields and is investigating the damages of deviant thoughts.
Fortunately; in this field, this association is offering free consultation in the first cult healing clinic. This people founded center is trying to achieve its goals better by planning and exploiting other centers’ knowledge. The periodical “Rohsana” has gone to this cult healing center to make addresses familiar with this center, its aims, activities, apprehensions, hopes and achievements.
Roshana is appreciating the people in charge of this clinic in advance and wishes success for them.
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