Need Help?

Take heart. You aren't alone.

You can always e-mail us at producer@paradiserecovered.com.

We aren't therapists or psychologists, but we are happy to be friends.

Here are some of our favorite resources. Good people doing good work to help hurting people.

Here's a list of people we love, blogs we read, and films we like:

People We Love

Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center (Albany, OH) is a unique licensed and accredited mental health facility specializing in healing from cults, aberrant Christian groups, and abusive relationships.

Meadowhaven (Lakeville, MA) is an extended care facility for cult survivors, allowing them to gently adjust to life on the outside of high-demand organizations.

Steven Hassan, M.Ed. LMHC, NCC, Cult Expert, Licensed Counselor, and Author of Combatting Cult Mind Control and Releasing The Bonds. With over 30 years of frontline activism exposing destructive cults and providing counseling and training, Steve Hassan is often asked to appear in major media including 60 Minutes, Nightline, Dateline, Larry King Live, and The O’Reilly Factor.

Steve Hassan's talk at NY Ethical Culture Society 10-17-10 from Steven A Hassan on Vimeo.

Janja Lalich, Ph.D, Cult Expert and Professor of Sociology at Chico State University. Currently, Dr. Lalich is doing field research with second generation cult survivors, or adults born and raised as children in cultic groups. The project can be found here.

The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) – Hundreds of articles and resources for those struggling with cultic abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder. Annual conferences for survivors and second generation members. ICSA also operates a bookstore with a number of excellent titles for those struggling with involvement with abusive churches and authoritarian movements.

Safe Passage Foundation is a great not-for-profit foundation dedicated to advocacy for youth raised in restrictive, isolated or high-demand communities. Special attention given to survivors of Children of God or The Family.

reFOCUS is a network of referral and support for former members of closed, high demand groups, relationships or cults. An excellent clearinghouse resource..

Jeff VanVonderan, author of The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse. Great book from a Christian perspective.

Rosanne Henry, M.A., L.P.C., is a counselor specializing in cult recovery in the state of Colorado. Available for phone consultation.

Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D, a social psychologist at Stanford University and famous for The Stanford Prison Experiment, offers a number of books and articles in understanding how good people turn evil. Helpful in understanding the making of a cult leader.

Robert Cialdini has written Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, a must read for anyone interested in how cults work and how everyone is susceptible.

Donna Moncrief, Ph.D, LPC, specializes in play therapy and working with those who have been spiritually abused. She is in Austin, Texas. Her confidential contact number is 512-917-1140.

Not everyone who goes through a spiritually abusive experience deals with PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but many do. PTSD Forum is a place that supports those who have been through trauma; the diagnosis isn't just for veterans and first-responders. It is real, and it is treatable.

Secondary Wounding is something that can happen to PTSD sufferers. It's important to learn about this so that we do not kill our wounded.

Baptist Deception is a site maintained by Steve Sorenson and is "is dedicated to exposing the Mind Control, Manipulation, Deception, Spiritual and Emotional Abuse, Heresy, Legalism ("Phariseeism"), and Authoritarianism behind the Independent Fundamental Baptist Denomination (IFB)."

Emerging From Broken is a powerful blog resource and community for people suffering with dissociative disorders because of abuse and neglect. Darlene is a great mental health advocate, and she is welcoming and gentle.

The Rick A. Ross Institute of New Jersey is not-for-profit clearinghouse and Internet archive of information about cults, destructive cults, controversial groups and movements.

FACTNet (Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network) provides a blog, discussion board, and newsletter discussing cults, mind control techniques, terrorism, religious fundamentalism, and child abuse.

The late Jan Groenveld, an ex-Jehovah's Witness, developed this site providing information and education about cults and isms. The site is still updated and maintained.

REVEAL is an organization by and for former members of the International Churches of Christ and their loved ones.

RightCyberUp offers recovery for those exiting the teachings of Kip McKean and the International Churches of Christ.

Nate Phelps is one of the estranged children of Pastor Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church. His story is one of extreme abuse and suffering, and yet Nate bravely tells his story in an attempt to offer hope and healing. He is one of our heroes.

David Tchappat has written a powerful autobiography about growing up in the Exclusive Brethren in Australia. The book chronicles some rather painful experiences in David's growing up, leaving, and then assimilating into 'worldly' culture. He is another one of our heroes.

Jocelyn Zichtmann is a tireless advocate for survivors of the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist denomination. Her Facebook page can be found here.

The Painful Truth contains comments and articles from survivors of Herbert Armstrong, Garner Ted Armstrong, the Worldwide Church of God, and various splinter groups. The site has archived and houses The Ambassador Report, a journal published from 1976 to 1999 by the late John Trechak that recounts the excesses and abuses of the Armstrong empire.

Exit and Support Network aids those involved with Armstrongism by providing education on mind control and exploitive groups. Includes testimonies and letters from survivors plus many articles on recovery. Written from a Christian perspective.

INFORM is an independent British charity founded with the support of mainstream Churches with the aim of obtaining and making available objective and up-to-date information about new religious movements and cults.

The HOPE Organization is a non-profit group assisting survivors of abuse within polygamous relationships. The organization assists anyone involved in the environment of polygamy including underage brides, women wanting to leave, and young men (the "Lost Boys") who are often cast away like unwanted pets.

All God's Children tells the personal story of the first boarding school for children of Protestant missionaries to be investigated for child abuse at the hands of the parents’ missionary colleagues. This documentary contains graphic descriptions of child abuse and child sexual abuse.

Stuff Fundies Like exposes the peculiarities of the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Movement. We love the humor...you have to laugh while you cry.

Quiverfull: Inside The Christian Patriarchy Movement respectfully reports on the views of the Christian patriarchy movement in America. Kathryn Joyce provides a great deal of insight into this authoritarian movement and the people involved.

Quivering Daughters bravely recounts the experiences of young women who have grown up in the Quiverfull movement. Written from a Christian perspective.

The Stonecutter's Aria is a novel by our good friend, Carol Faenzi. An ex-member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, Carol reconnects with her family by telling the story of her Italian immigrant ancestors. An amazingly loving work of art.

Pigs In The Pulpit recounts one man’s seventeen year stint in the United Pentecostal Church International. Written from a charismatic Christian perspective. Here's a great quote from the book: "If you make the decision to finally leave a less-than-healthy church, don't allow yourself to feel pressured to go to another church.... Don't even put a timetable on it. You're already a member of the most important church and, frankly, the one that matters: the Body of Christ."

The Cult That Snapped details author Karl Kahler's involvement in The Way International.

Focus On The Faulty is a research organization investigating cults while providing Christian apologetics. Written from a conservative Christian perspective.

The Heresy of Mind Control is a book by Stephen Martin, M. Div., one of the founders of Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center. The book combats typical cultic theologies with the actual words of Jesus, seeking gently to encourage those who have been broken by high-demand teachings. Written from a Christian perspective. A must-read.

SpiritualAbuse.org focuses on the issue of abuse in Bible based churches with a secondary emphasis on the United Pentecostal Church. Written from a Christian perspective.

RISE International has created a memorial for deceased individuals born in or raised in cults.

Blogs We Read

Leaving Spiritual Rights Foundation

Trumpet Cult of God

Otagosh