This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 1984, Volume 1, Number 2, pages 156-166. 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.
 

Mental Health Interventions in Cult-Related Cases: Preliminary Investigation of Outcomes

Steve K. D. Eichel, Ph.D.
Linda Dubrow Marshall, Ph.D.
Roberta Cobrin Eisenberg, M.S.W.

Abstract

Data from 19 cult-related mental health consultations were systematically examined using a modified repeated case study design. The sample consisted of, on the average, white, predominantly college-educated individuals in their late 20’s. Males outnumbered females 2 to 1. The groups represented were almost equally divided between pseudotherapy-oriented, Eastern/meditation oriented and miscellaneous categories. Perhaps due to an overrepresentation of mass therapy groups, this sample seemed older and better educated than other samples. Following a variety of interventions, positive outcomes were reported in 10 of 15 (67%) cases in which outcomes were determined. This study’s limitations include selection bias, investigator paradigm effect, lack of comparison groups, and multiple treatments.
 

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