ABSTRACT
Two major theories on contemporary cultism have emerged in psychological and psychiatric literature. The first looks on the cults as dangerous, often pseudo-religious, organizations that create mental and emotional problems for those who join them. The second proposes the theory that the new religious movements offer young adults alternate therapies which help them in the many crises of life, especially those linked with adolescence. This chapter outlines these two theories, and explores several more fundamental issues in the study and understanding of cultism and in the application of therapy. Several psychological abnormalities could have been the result of deprogramming which, no matter how mild and gentle it might be, is always a traumatic experience. Singer concludes that it might take between eight and eighteen months for ex-cult members to return to their previous psychological and mental condition and to their former belief systems and life-styles.
