ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the importance of survivors’ activism and their own creation of coherent narratives as critical both to their recovery and for the benefit of the outside world in understanding and preventing totalism. Prevention efforts must focus on education about the dynamics and mechanisms of totalism and brainwashing. I propose a human rights-based model of healthy community including the importance of developing qualities of a critical openness, flexibility and mutual responsiveness. I map the difference between healthy, open and complex social networks versus closed, stifling and top-heavy social networks as a tool to aid in identifying dangerous groups and relationships.
