|
How do I
start a support group?
Support
groups offer the opportunity for people to meet and share
information about their experiences with cult involvement.
It is a place where one can speak freely about their
feelings, and know that others, no doubt, have had the same
feelings at some point in time. Support groups provide a
means of relating strategies for recovering from the cult
experience and understanding how you got recruited. Here are
some specific things to do to begin a support
group:
- Choose
a location: homes, meeting rooms, civic centers,
etc.
- Advertise:
post notices at the library, churches, barber shops,
beauty shops and newspapers. Word of mouth is also
beneficial. Sign guestbooks on websites.
- Choose
topics: at your first meeting, have a brain-storming
session to think of possible topics or use this time to
get to know each other and share your story.
- Choose
meeting frequency: at the first meeting you should
decide how often the group will meet. If it is a large
group, you might want to set up a buddy system where
willing participants include their names and phone
numbers on a list to be circulated at the
meetings.
- Plan
your meeting: the content of your meetings is up to
you and your group members. If you subscribe to a ex-cult
newsletter, information in it may be shared. Sometimes
Bible study could be included, or information obtained
from the internet. Handouts could be made available or
you may prefer a simple group discussion. A guest speaker
may be invited. Keep it simple and uplifting and avoid an
all-out gripe session. Everyone has had a negative cult
experience, but it is more important to relay what has
helped rather than dwell on the
negatives.
You are
making a wonderful commitment to yourself and the people you
will soon be helping! The whole point of a support group is
to educate ourselves and others about cults and find
positive ways of learning to deal with this negative
experience. May God bless you.
Contributed
by CEPA Inc
|