Gillie is a psychotherapist and the director of Hope Valley Counselling, which for the past 16 years has provided post-cult counseling to those recovering from extreme, “high-demand” organizations.
On the next episode of Generation Cult — coming Tuesday, Feb. 11 — we’ll talk with Gillie about the mental health services she provides to patients as well as the training she offers for other therapists who want to work with people coming out of cults. She’ll also discuss her doctoral research and thoughts about what she calls “the cult pseudo identity,” which can happen when people integrate aspects of an authoritarian group into their own personalities.
“We have to be the person they want us to be and not the person we’d naturally be,” Gillie said. “And even those who stand up for themselves and get labelled “rebellious” … all of that builds a sense of identity that actually isn’t what that person would be without the cult.”
One of Gillie’s recovery methods includes helping patients discover their authentic identities.
Below is a two-minute clip from the upcoming episode in which Gillie discusses an exercise she does with patients:
Join us for a chat about Gillie’s practice, research and her own experience in a cult when Generation Cult returns for a new episode on Tuesday!
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