Reflections on offering a therapeutic creative arts intervention with cult survivors : a collective biography

Parsons, AS; Kefalogianni, M; Dubrow-Marshall, LJ; Turner, R; Ingleton, HD; Omylinska-Thurston, J; Thurston, SD; Karkou, V

Abstract

A new, evidence-based, multimodal, and
creative psychological therapy, Arts for the
Blues, was piloted with survivors of cultic
abuse in a workshop within a conference
setting. The five facilitators, who occupied
diverse roles and perspectives within the
workshop and research project, reflected on
their experiences of introducing this novel
intervention to the cult-survivor population.
In this underreported territory of using
structured, arts-based, psychological
therapy with those who have survived cultic
abuse, the authors used a process of
collective biography to compile a firstperson, combined narrative based on those
reflections. This approach allows for a
visceral insight into the dynamics and
obstacles encountered, and the
countertransference responses of the
facilitators. This reflexive process shined a
light into aspects of research and practice
that were not all visible to the individual
researchers previously, with implications for
research ethics, psychological therapy, and
creative arts within the cult-survivor field.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 2, 2020
• Publication Date: Dec 30, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jan 4, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 4, 2021
• Journal: International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation (IJCAM)
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 47-61
• Publisher URL: https://www.ijcam.org/issues#h.p_j4EIO3Clesq6
• Related Public URLs: https://www.ijcam.org/