Role of psychiatry in the phenomenon of cults

Religious cults and particularly their attraction for young people are receiving increased attention. There is currently considerable controversy about the role of governmental bodies in understanding and regulating cults and their effect on members. Regardless of their effect on the members of the cult or movement, particularly new members who are often adolescents, membership in a cult produces severe familial tensions. The cult members often develop opinions and modes of behaviour so diametrically different from their families of origin that psychiatrists are often consulted with the view to understand, treat and correct what is seen as behavioural aberration by the families. The phenomenon of religious cults does not seem to be of a passing nature and it is therefore imperative that psychiatrists have a comprehensive and clear a knowledge of the concepts and activities of cults, their seeming effects on young people and their families, and some of the reactions they have caused in society.