Cults and mental health: clinical conclusions

The field of cults and their relation to psychological and psychiatric disorder is reft with rhetoric and opinion. There has been a particular dearth of documentation and substantiated data supporting psychiatric opinion. As a result of considerable research, clinical work, and an extensive literature review, certain conclusions or strongly suggested positions are enunciated. An attempt is made to substantiate each of the ten assertions based on existing data, in the hope that they will clarify the muddy existing data, area, make clinical positions and interventions more soundly based, and inspire debate and heuristic efforts.