Cult Recovery Is Harder Than People Think (Here’s Why)

AI psychosis, Trump-era authoritarianism, Scientology-style deception, and Russian influence operations... are we living through a mass mind control experiment? In this episode of Cults, Culture, & Coercion, Dr. Steven Hassan speaks with therapist and cult recovery expert Rachel Bernstein.

Rachel Bernstein is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in Los Angeles who has worked in cult intervention and recovery for over 35 years. She is the host of the podcast Indoctrination, and viewers may recognize her from the Starz documentary Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult and the Netflix series (Un)Well. Rachel also leads multiple online support groups for cult survivors, former Scientologists, and people harmed by abusive gurus.

In this pertinent conversation, Dr. Hassan and Rachel Bernstein explore how cult tactics are evolving in the digital age and how propaganda, narcissism, and coercive control are now being amplified through social media, AI technology, and political extremism.

They discuss:

- How cult leaders and authoritarian figures manipulate language to disguise oppression

- Why people in cults don’t realize they’re being brainwashed

- The rise of AI psychosis, delusions, and emotionally manipulative chatbots

- How social media curates “guru” influencers through visual manipulation

- Why disinformation is spreading faster than real journalism and expert knowledge

- The growing danger of online predators targeting children through Minecraft and Discord

- The psychological weaponization of shame against cult victims

- Why cutting off family members can trap people deeper in cult involvement

- The painful divide between people recruited into cults vs. those born and raised inside them

- How narcissists and cult leaders thrive on conflict

Rachel also shares insights from her new recovery resources, Restart and Restore: A Journal for Survivors of Manipulation, plus an accompanying workbook designed to help survivors rebuild self-trust, self-compassion, and identity after coercive control.

This is an essential episode for anyone trying to understand cult psychology, propaganda, narcissistic abuse, family estrangement, and how undue influence is evolving in the age of AI and authoritarian politics.

Listen to IndoctriNation Podcast here: @RachelBernsteinLMFT

Pick up Restart and RestoreA Journal for Survivors of Manipulation

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