First Generation Parents and Second Generation Children
Cults use the word of God to manipulate parents to emotionally and physically abandon their own children. They shift the blame and load guilt onto the parents, creating trauma in order to make them identify with the aggressive leader and look to them for support. Children are often beaten with belts and sticks and given into the hands of untrained cult members, as they are taught that the community is responsible for rearing. Emotionally traumatized and carrying their own fears of repercussion if they step out of the line of cult doctrine, the parents have little reserve remaining for compassionate care toward their own children.
Please watch this very valuable talk give by Lorna Goldberg. "One of the most painful aspects of the cult experience is the undermining of the natural bond between parents who are in cults and their children. This presentation will explore the numerous techniques that cult leaders use to diminish the empathic connection between 37 parents and their children.
The presenter also will discuss the powerful feelings that emerge when exiting a cult.
How can those who leave the cult better deal with potentially crushing emotions? Often there is intense guilt on the part of the parents. On the other hand, there is often intense anger on the part of the second-generation adults. These emotions can be so overwhelming that former cult members can become unable to move towards a more satisfactory life.
This presentation will contend that these post-cult feelings not only are the result of facing the reality of the cult experience; but, also, are a legacy of identification with the cult leader’s punitive and uncompassionate attitude, which results in a harsh conscience for cult members. The presenter will provide examples from her clinical work, from the support group that she facilitates with Bill Goldberg, from workshops with first generation parents, and from ICSA workshops with second-generation former cult members."