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This article is an electronic version of an article originally
published in Cultic Studies Journal, 1992, Volume 9, Number 2, pages 137-162.
Please keep in mind that the pagination of this electronic reprint differs from
that of the bound volume. This fact could affect how you enter bibliographic
information in papers that you may write.
Psychotherapy Cults: An Ethical Analysis
Kim Boland
Lewis & Clark College
Portland, Oregon
Gordon Lindbloom, Ph.D.
Lewis & Clark College
Portland, Oregon
Abstract
A disparate literature on groups characterized as psychotherapy cults was
analyzed. The reported practices of these groups were examined as regards
confidentiality and privacy, dual relationships, informed consent, autonomy
and dependency, therapist competence and limitations, financial practices,
professional education, and separation and termination. The contraventions of
standards of ethical conduct reported by observers typically go far beyond
commonly discussed violations of ethical standards. They appear to create a new
gestalt of practice and belief that directly opposes the intended protections of
privacy and autonomy that form the basis of ethical codes in the mental health
professions. Potential benefits of more analyses of this kind are suggested.
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