A reckoning in the Troubled Teen Industry: Survivor voices, legal accountability, and institutional harm
This panel examines the growing movement toward accountability within the Troubled Teen Industry through the perspectives of survivors, advocates, and legal professionals. Panelists explore the long-term impacts of institutional abuse, the similarities between troubled teen programs and cultic systems, and the challenges of pursuing justice through legal and therapeutic pathways.
The Red String Project: Identity, belief, myth & meaning
Liz Gale discusses her Red String Project, a multimedia art installation that visually explores inherited belief systems, myths, and secrets through a large-scale collage and string connections.
Sanctified submission: When male headship becomes coercive control in Evangelical marriage
This presentation examines whether complementarian theology can contribute to environments that enable coercive control within evangelical marriages. Drawing on dissertation research and content analysis of influential evangelical organizations, Bethany Jantzi explores how teachings on male authority and female submission may normalize unequal power dynamics and obscure recognition of abuse. Attendees will gain insight into the intersection of theology, gender, and coercive control, as well as the implications for prevention, education, and support.
Cults and confidence: An examination of cult recruitment rhetoric targeting women and its presence in mainstream confidence culture discourse
This presentation uncovers how cults use rhetoric appealing to women’s desire for empowerment and self-improvement, often with manipulative results.
Interpreting power: Sacred texts and coercive control: Evidence from Jewish sectarian contexts
This presentation examines how religious authority, scriptural interpretation, and communal norms can be used to sustain coercive control within insular Jewish sectarian communities. Drawing on survivor testimony, legal records, and existing research, Lea Lavy explores the ways obedience, gender roles, and social sanctions can reinforce systems of control while creating barriers to disclosure and intervention. Attendees will gain insight into the intersection of religion, power, and abuse, as well as the challenges of developing effective responses within closed religious environments.
Planned obsolescence in personal growth: Coercion, capitalism and cult dynamics in Large Group Awareness Trainings (LGATs)
This presentation examines Large Group Awareness Trainings (LGATs) through the lens of coercive control and consumer culture. Dave Booda explores how some personal development programs create cycles of dependency by promising transformation while encouraging continued participation, drawing parallels between planned obsolescence in products and recurring self-improvement models. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the history, methods, and risks associated with LGATs, as well as their relationship to cultic dynamics and high-demand groups.
When coercive control becomes a crime: Forensic, clinical, and survivor-centered insights from Finland
This presentation explores coercive control through forensic psychology, psychotherapy, and peer support. Drawing on clinical practice, legal casework, and survivor advocacy, it examines the challenges of recognizing psychological abuse within legal systems and highlights the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration in supporting recovery and advancing legal responses.
Justice delayed or justice served? The High Court Appeal of the Unification Church Dissolution Order and the challenges of dissolution process
This study examines how terminology and membership status influence college students’ attitudes toward individuals involved in high-control or coercive religious groups, finding that linguistic framing and perceived stigma can impact reintegration and help-seeking behaviors.
How to provide legal support to victims of coercive control who suffer harm in their interpersonal relationships and with institutions
This discussion focuses on identifying and addressing coercive control, particularly in a legal context, to help lawyers support their clients who are victims of such control.
How leaderless cults demonstrate coercive control: The pseudo-law sovereign citizen movement
This pre-recorded presentation examines the “sovereign citizen” movement as a destructive, leaderless cult that uses pseudo-legal tactics and scripts to challenge law enforcement and judicial processes, causing harm and financial burdens.