Shame and the Cultic Dynamic – American Psychoanalytic Association (New York, in person)

Addressing the Shame Workgroup at the 2023 National Meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Further details to be announced.

DISCUSSION GROUP 25:
SHAME DYNAMICS
Chair & Discussant: Peter Shabad, Ph.D.* (Chicago, IL)
Presenter: Daniel Shaw, LCSW* (New York, NY)

This discussion group will discuss the nature of cultic communities and the ways in which shame plays a role in cult recruitment, in maintaining obedience and submission of cult participants, and in the struggles with shame of ex-members as they recover from cult trauma. Drawing from many years of clinical work with former members of cultic groups as well as his personal experience, the author will describe the defining characteristics that destructive cults and their leaders have in common, using the framework of the relational system of the traumatizing narcissist. Clinical recommendations for working with cult trauma survivors will be outlined.