In one of my recent searches for information on cults, I came across a document that caught my attention. The document was a syllabus for a class taught to those in the medical profession- specifically nurses. The title was “The Impact of Cults on Health” – written by Anne Tapper, RN, MA, MSN. She is a therapist/case manager at the Opioid Treatment Program, Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. The material was interesting and several quotes worth noting here. The source document is here The Impact of Cults on Health
The purpose/goal of the continuing education class is stated as familiarizing nurses with healthcare issues related to cults. The material covered would help folks to:
– “Identify six characteristics of a dangerous cult and three ways they affect health
– Name nine symptoms of membership in a cult
– Describe six types of help that may be needed by those recovering from cultic involvement”
Do you realize what this says of the medical profession as a whole? There is obviously enough evidence in the medical community to openly admit and address the needs of ex-cult members from a medical perspective. There is enough concern and foresight to offer nurses and others in the medical profession baseline knowledge of cults and the effects they have on the health of members! From the course outline, “A conservative estimate is that between two million and five million Americans have experienced cult participation1. With this level of involvement, even a low incidence of abuse is likely to mean that thousands of people are affected.”
After my involvement by Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF), why should I be shocked? I spent 16 years either directly or indirectly under the teachings of Jane Whaley. Did I have any adverse effects on my health? I will first address that question and then address the question concerning others in WOFF and/or other groups. Let me share in terms not meant to blame, but to inform. I was under mounting stress during my first months there on through until my departure in July of 2008. During my two tours with Two Mile Properties, I worked long hours as well as kept a part-time job in the evenings. Added to the long hours for work and the resulting stress, I experienced several encounters with WOFF leadership over the years that brought additional stress and emotional turmoil over WOFF practices and doctrines. On December 29, 2004, I experienced a slight heart attack while walking on church property. After seeking advice from a doctor within the church, I took and failed a stress test. My wife then drove me directly to Mission Hospital on January 3, 2005. The next day I underwent a heart catheterization with an implanted stent. My life would forever be marked and changed by these events. This is not the place to fully explore who and what or how I arrived at that condition in my life. Let’s just leave it with stress, wrong eating and minimal sleep, all added to the condition known as heart disease. In my opinion, two of the three factors were directly caused by my membership in WOFF.
We move back to the resource text. The author reviews a definition of the word cult from several aspects. This was a very fair way to address the question of just what is a cult. She admits in her third definition that “often former cult members, their families, and mental health workers who treat them – focus not on the beliefs of any group, but on the specific behaviors they feel violate human rights, causing harm.” She continues with making her case that medical professionals need to be aware and have useful remedies and procedures for dealing with cult members, “From this perspective, a cult is a group that has excessive devotion to a person or cause and that uses unethically manipulative persuasion and control to serve the goals of the leaders, regardless of possible harm to its members and others. 2 Can anyone who has read this blog or experienced control groups in any way rebut this statement? Are there any readers that will comment on the definition of a cult put forth in this course outline?
Anne Tapper reviews characteristics of cults. There was not much new in this material from what has already been covered in the blog. She ends this section with this statement, “Cults affect health though abuse of power over members, by preventing or delaying proper health care to members, and in a few groups, by advocating violence. It was my experience, that the overall stress and “faith” atmosphere of WOFF led to myself and I feel other members, delaying the addressing of symptoms that could indicate serious needs or even disease. For example, during the first quarter of 2008, I noticed a place on my arm that looked like it needed medical attention. Because finances were tight, I put off seeing a dermatologist. Instead, I went to Jane’s daughter and asked her to take a look at it. She worked for a dermatologist in the Tryon, NC office. (still does, as far as I know.) She looked at it and said it did need attention, but “it would be okay.” In my state of mind, I went on into the spring and summer and did not have the arm examined by a doctor. I put a bandage on it when I went in the sun with short sleeves. From March 2008 until my exit in July of 2008, the emotions and stress of those months have been outlined in the series here… http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=1396 . In late November of 2008, I visited a surgeon and had the place from my arm removed in December. By that time, it was skin cancer.
The next two sections of the material will deal with Psychological Abuse and – “The Faith Group That Refuses Standard Healthcare”. The author uses material from several experts in the field of psychology. One of the sources she quotes is Kelton Rhoads, Ph.D. He is “an expert in the psychology of influence, (he) identifies a continuum of influence starting with the least deceptive example, education, and progressing through advertising, propaganda, and indoctrination to thought control.8”. This helped affirm that as no one joins a group knowing it is a destructive group or cult, but they are caught in a “continuum of influence” that eventually disrupts any rational thinking and subverts their ability to make rational, unhindered decisions for their good. I know this road to thought control as I have been on it and have seen many others on that road over the years. It is not exactly clear to me how one gets on the road to thought control and a sure way to get off the road or path to thought control. It is not as simple as just walking away.
The author quotes from the work of Brad Sangarin, Ph.D. as he “identifies nine symptoms family and friends might see in someone under the influence of a cult:
1. Personality Changes 2. Dramatic shifts of values or beliefs
3. Changes in diet or sleep patterns 4. Refusal to attend important family events
5. Inability to make decisions without consulting a cult leader or guru
6. Sudden use of a new ideology to explain everything 7. Black-and-white, simplistic reasoning
8. A new vocabulary 9. Insistence that you do what he or she is doing9
As I read the list, I began to compare my experience in WOFF with list of what I knew about myself during that time. So far, I see at least eight of these symptoms in my own life during the time in WOFF. The ninth one could have been in my life and I did not recognize it. In my opinion, not all of these symptoms will necessarily show at one time and/or one may be more obvious or stronger during a period of time than others. Probably the most obvious one is the new vocabulary as we have mentioned in previous posts. Tapper quotes another source saying, “One explanation of these symptoms is the development of a pseudo-identity, a new persona the individual adopts to fit into the cult environment.” We have posted about this at WOFF in this post found here…”WOFF Members Get New Identify Part 1- http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=2402
The lesson material continues mentioning that Paul Martin of Wellspring said, “..a third of post-cult counseling clients report physical or sexual abuse during cult-involvement.11 “ The longer I am out of WOFF and the more I research and study, the less I am surprised at this statement.
Next, the author addresses how a cult group’s beliefs could affect the choices for medical help. The section is full of statistics from studies outlining different circumstances around the care given or kept from children for medical needs. The laws on this matter vary from state to state and each caregiver was encouraged to know their state laws about exemptions for “faith healing”.
This next paragraph was explaining the cautions around presenting options for treatment to those in a group that may practice “faith healing”. “Evaluate patient and family actions within the context of their religious community. Is there pressure being applied by other members? If so, what are the consequences to the patient and family? The patient may or may not choose to share information with fellow church members, but the staff must maintain strict confidentiality at all times.19 (emphasis added) Let me just say here that many of the medical providers for WOFF members were/are members of the church. It was a common occurrence for me to have GS (leader in WOFF) come to me and say Dr. P (a WOFF member) told me about your appointment. GS would then begin a discussion about my diagnosis. This was very common in WOFF, as far as I know. Medical information was shared with Jane Whaley and other church leadership without written permission to share such information. Many times, this was a direct result of the care providers being WOFF members. Can anyone say “HIPAA”? We have also posted about Jane’s career as a medical debt collector – here: http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=235
In a previous post, I outline some of my struggles with the WOFF doctrine and seeing Christians sick. This struggle has been only compounded as I have found myself with certain ailments and illnesses. The title of the post is “Do Christians Suffer Illnesses?” here- http://religiouscultsinfo.com/?p=3336 . In this post, I also discuss mental illnesses in Christians. My struggle for understanding only continues, as in WOFF, mental illnesses were not openly discussed, and that cast a shadow on their existence. Besides, weren’t people with mental illness just under “demonic attack”? That was the line of belief in WOFF, such simplistic answers for such complicated issues. Can someone at WOFF get proper medical and psychological care for an illness that is believed to be from “devils”?
Back to the resource material, Tapper gives information on how to help cult members make good choices when it comes to health care. It is not an easy subject to give cut and dry steps to follow. One main caution was to act on known facts and not rumors. Take a look at the whole situation and not just the immediate physical need. In her closing, she states, “Respect for a patient’s beliefs can be controversial when a cult is involved.34 When healthcare conflicts with beliefs, you may find yourself unable to reconcile the demands of the situation. The American Nurse Association Code of Ethics27 directs us to consider a person’s lifestyle, value system, and religious beliefs as we promote and restore health, prevent illness, alleviate suffering, and give supportive care to the dying. We support self-determination, as we also realize that sometimes public health needs may outweigh individual rights. As we resolve conflicting interests, we must try to ensure patient safety, guard the patients’ best interests, and preserve our professional integrity as nurses.”
Let me close with a reference to a blog we have provided before. Prudence Welch’s mother stayed in the cult called Strong City and died of cancer, after being told she was healed. Read the account here… http://www.travesser.info/ . No, everyone does not have heart attacks or suffer major disease while in WOFF or other cult groups. The outward signs of health issues are not the only concerns for cult members, there are psychological concerns as well. One of the points of this post was to show the concerns recognized by the medical community over members of cults, their health and the choices made to seek medical care. The resource material outlined areas of physical, mental and sexual abuse in cults. I shared my experiences that agreed with author in many areas and revealed other concerns in the area of privacy and health care for WOFF members. In the near future, we will post from one of the references for this resource. We did not discuss the discipline within WOFF or other cults and how that affects members, that subject is for another post. If you have an experience or comment to share, please, do so.
Thank you, for taking time to visit and read this blog. Please, consume the information on this site responsibly. The author is not a licensed mental health professional and encourages those that need professional help to seek it. The intent of the material is to inform and be a resource. Be sure to tell every member that you know at WOFF about this blog. There are readers at WOFF. Comments are invited from all readers, including present or former members. Polls are not scientific and no private information is gathered.
Look on the right side of any post for the option to subscribe by email for notifications or RSS feeds notifying of new postings. It is a great feature. Also, find more posts by selecting “Categories”.
(Please, take time to read the Terms of Use for this personal blog. As mentioned, the information about WOFF is from my memories and recollections as perfect as that may be or not be. ) Scripture references are Amplified Version unless otherwise noted. (Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ) This is post number 272.