Cult and Ritual Abuse: Narratives, Evidence, and Healing Approaches

(Hardback, 3rd edition)

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This personal yet scholarly journey into the confusing and clandestine world of ritual abuse survivors sheds light on their catastrophic experiences and their efforts to heal afterward. Revised, updated, and expanded, this third edition of a classic study is one of the most authoritative and evenhanded volumes to tackle its hotly debated subject matter. Incorporating the authors' firsthand observations, the book provides historical, anthropological, and psychological context for contemporary reports of both ritual abuse and ritual crime. In addition to sharing patient vignettes and a history of cult and ritual abuse in society, the authors explore fascinating topics related to these practices, among them what triggers personality shifts for victims even many years after the abuse has stopped. Importantly, the book shows how ritual abuse affects society as a whole, influencing civil and criminal law, politics, legislation, social movements, social welfare, and psychological theory. It provides unique insights into the scientific study, forensic investigation, and implementation of social services for survivors of cult and ritual abuse, discusses new research and treatment strategies, and establishes the foundation for a psychological diagnosis to be called Cult and Ritual Trauma Disorder.

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This text was originally published in 1995, and revised in 2000. The third edition incorporates fresh material and expanded coverage of the psychological components of ritual trauma and dissociation of identity, as well as explanations for the clinical narratives and clinical presentation of ritual abuse survivors. The authors advocate for increased awareness, acknowledgment, understanding, and treatment competence on the part of clinicians and others. * ProtoView *

Author Bio

James Randall Noblitt, PhD, is professor of clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in Los Angeles, CA. Pamela Perskin Noblitt is a non-attorney representative advocating on behalf of Social Security Disability claimants.