ABSTRACT
When therapy was used as the recruitment channel, the individual started in individual therapy and then was rapidly moved to, first a single-sex “grouplet,” and then a larger, mixed-gender therapy group—usually within only one or two months. If totalist groups are to attract recruits and set up the conditions for a later rearrangement of the recruit’s close relationships they must first get the person within their sphere of influence. There is a three-fold process in setting the stage for the creation of a disorganized attachment bond to the group: the initial contact and gaining access to the recruit, positioning the group as a new perceived safe haven, and beginning to detach the recruit from prior attachments. A totalist group that is recruiting will follow up an initial contact in a concerted and orchestrated way whereas a non-totalist group is likely to leave much of the follow-up to the individual, or will have a very limited goal in developing the relationship.
