I LOVE this podcast. The episodes years ago about narcissism was so helpful in dealing with someone in my life who is narcissistic. But every week I enjoy listening

These interviews have taught me so much of how to spot controlling behaviors of people who claim to be helpful but are really exploitative. These exploitative people may be in a cult or not. Abusive people may be part of a group or one part of a couple. Also, these podcast interviews discuss how to build a life away from the exploitative life. I recommend this podcast to everyone because you will encounter people like this and/or you’ll be close to some who has fallen for the false claims.

As soon as your guest uttered “white evangelicals” I wondered, what about black, Asian, or Latino evangelicals? I guess they must get a pass. Academics can appear so clueless to regular people. Nice music though. God bless your journeys.

This pod is a must-listen whenever a new one hits the queue. Lowkey conversational tone, thoughtful questions and responses.

I love this podcast because the host is so well educated on coercive controlled environments and cults in general. She is also the rare therapist that understands cults and the people who are in them.

Thoughtful host, enlightening conversations, not stuffed with ads.

This has been so healing for me, I’m so grateful to have this wonderful resource to help me in my journey to heal from an experience that is so clouded in isolation and mystery by its very nature.

I’ve learned lots through this podcast and so much compassion for survivors. All the brave folks who speak of their experiences to help others who may also be in the same situation. Also an awareness of what to watching for. The interviews are done with such grace . I so enjoy the end whereafter the interview she brings it all together offering such sage advice in an easy to understand way not as a lecture .

I absolutely love this podcast. The conversations are so genuine, and the information is so relevant. So many people are being coerced and indoctrinated in our society. From controlling relationships to radicalized political ideation, it’s more pervasive than we realize. Those of us who are fighting back need to band together and create a wall of love and acceptance so strong that the negativity and coercion of those who seek to harm cannot penetrate it. This podcast is a section of that wall.

A knowledgeable host with an incredible roster of guests that would appeal to anyone interested in identifying and protecting themselves from coercive control, abuses of power, con artists and predators. I first discovered Rachel on the 2020 documentary “Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult” (a must-see) and have been a fan ever since.

Rachel’s warmth, sincerity and knowledge make her interviews with people so real and relatable. Each guest is able to open up and share their unique wisdom and experiences. I always learn new things and get fresh perspectives. Rachel and her guests model exploring and sharing together rather than indoctrinating listeners. I can’t recommend it highly enough!

I LOOOOVE this show! It’s made me aware of coercive control, helped me see attitudes I was raised with that were unhelpful and given me a tool to educate my children so they can learn what to look out for and about what some of their peers experience. I cannot praise this enough! 10 out of 5 stars!

This podcast has been an important part of understanding the pattern of coercive control I’ve experienced in family dynamics and relationships and has been a supportive part of me to take back my life. Thank you!

Brilliant work, clearly presented! I found this podcast from Dr Steven Hassan and your recent interview on that podcast. I especially appreciate your analysis of coercive control which has lifted the veil and opened my eyes to the insidious nature of coercion and its prevalence in society. You provide information, analysis and, most importantly, concrete steps for resisting cultists and recovering from coercion. Don’t let the turkeys get you down and keep up the good work!

I had to come on and give a five star review after listening to the Ending Coercive Control episode. Everyone needs to listen to it and be educated about how to recognize coercive control in all it’s variations. It is such a sneaky, dangerous, abusive relationship pattern that most people know very little about, but all those same people have likely been a victim or perpetrator of at some point or another. If you only listen to one episode from this podcast, this is the one.

Terrific interviews and helpful information and advice. I never miss an episode.

I’m a practicing psychotherapist and am so grateful for the education, wisdom, empathy, and advocacy Rachel brings to this excellent, and timely, project. Greater understanding of coercive control and cult dynamics is growing, but we have a long way to go in clinical practice as well as our culture at large. This is a rich offering that I highly recommend- not only to survivors, or families torn apart by cults, but to anyone seeking to understand and protect themselves and our world from the perils of group think. Thank you Rachel!

This podcast is so incredibly important. Understand how people and systems can influence how you think in ways that are HARMFUL to you. Once you really understand how these methods start subtly and build, you see even the smallest ways in so many places. Especially the small subtle in marketing, sales and branding in our consumerism and influencer culture. Once you start seeing the tiny subtle ways, you start to have empathy for people who have been pulled deeper into cults and been manipulated. Understanding they are NOT GULLIBLE or STUPID they are want to be a better person or even just feel belonging to a group.

I have enjoyed your podcast but I have to say that I have been disappointed in how you tend to paint in a broad brush, especially in the March 15 episode. You used the term “ narcissistic mother “ several times. I often hear that label from individuals, more often than not from 25-40 year olds who claim victimization. Before she was a mother she was a child, a young woman and maybe things happened to her that were out of her control. We should encourage compassion and understanding amongst families, not blame and labels. I encourage you to be aware of your choice of words and language around people who don’t have a voice of their own. Thank you

Really great podcast overall. I love the topics and the hosts skill at navigating complex and sensitive subjects. I feel some irritation with the EG ep about the troubled teen industry. To be clear- it’s super problematic and does require more regulation. I worked for a program for 3 years, 15 years ago- I have no current affiliation with the industry. The only similarity I heard between the one I worked for and Elizabeth’s was the escorts used to get kids out to the program. Even as a 22 year old I knew this was problematic at best, abusive at worst. But there are ethical therapeutic wilderness programs and boarding schools out there, and the host and the guest consistently lumped them all in together which negates the power and efficacy of the programs that are run well. This is not me discrediting your experience or coming for you to defend the industry, just a request for more attunement to the spectrum that exists in the field, as well the fact that working with teens who are spiraling out and disconnected from empathy and consequences is really hard to find the perfect balance of treatment that utilizes boundaries but also keeps the staff safe.

I have greatly appreciated Rachel’s valuable show. I have a family member who was involved in a cult. Indoctrination helped me understand how my family member’s behavior impacted - and continues to impact - the rest of our family. Rachel’s guests explain how they got involved in cults and how the cult treated them once they were inside. Thank you, Rachel.

This podcast has helped me get my brain back. Mine is a family story but no less powerful to have taken over my thinking. These control mechanisms are in place all around us. Thanks to Rachel and her guests for the help many of us desperately need.

The content is so intriguing and it really helps me understand human nature and how to avoid high control groups!

Thank you. I learn something new about cults or hear an amazing insightful way of looking at something in a new way each time I listen.

Love this podcast and all its fascinating guests!

Dr. Bernstein is loving kindness personified. Love the attention she brings to the phenomenon of cults and coercively controlling relationships. Excellent guests and resources accompany each session.

I love to learn from this podcast about all sorts of control groups and what they all have in common. Hearing directly from individuals who have survived them in a positive and proactive voice is so healing and fascinating. It’s wonderful to find stories like these given with a instructive and uplifting vibe without trivializing the raw and very real danger of these groups. Bravo!

Wonderful content! Look into Nerium (now Neora) if you want another MLM Cult!

I listen to a variety of podcasts. Some are hosted by people who are so enthusiastic about their topics that they talk over each other and sometimes themselves. I find myself returning to Indoctrination because of the calm, reasoned approach of the host and the variety of guests. Bravo!

Everything about this podcast is outstanding. The host is intelligent and insightful. The topics and content are always interesting.

My favorite aunt, my cousins, and my cousins kids are American Sikhs. I grew up with this cult as a very positive force. I believe that my aunt joining the Sikh’s in 1969, is why she is still alive. Her children and grandchildren grew up in Amritsar. She got the best of the Siri Singh Saab. But I believe everything Sat Pavan Kaur has said. This has been very intense for everyone who was in this religion but not part of the abuse. It’s hard to reconcile all of the aspects of Yogi Bhajan. I myself, and my mom, got certified as 3HO level 1 kundalini yoga instructors. And we both thrived in that, and helped others too. I imagine that it’s easier to hold this dichotomy for me, than for my aunt and cousins. But I want to express that there really is this grey zone out there. American Sikhs, and their loved ones, who understand that trauma, and manipulation happened, but really benefited by the teachings. And shared the beauty of those teachings. It is so complicated.

I really enjoy this podcast, thank you!

Rachel’s approach to her guests and their experiences is incredibly kind and clearly informed by decades of professional experience. I appreciate how she gives her guests space to tell their stories on their own terms. It’s like listening to aspects of a therapy session, but without hearing anything that violates the guest’s privacy or boundaries. Rachel and her guests are speaking truth to power, and I know Rachel pays a price for that in the form of retaliation from high-control groups whose tactics have been exposed on this show. Even though I have never been in a cult, this show reminds me to trust my own instincts and to push back in situations in which powerful people are telling me something that doesn’t seem right. Though this podcast is not meant to entertain, it is incredibly compelling, and a must listen for anyone who really wants to understand what it’s like to be in and survive a high-control group.

I really appreciate Rachel’s compassion and deep listening and reflection, and her guests’ courage, clarity and generosity in sharing their knowledge and their experience. Deeply thoughtful, sensitive approach to this difficult and serious topic.

Excellent show - engrossing stories listened to with compassion and understanding - always a follow up to better comprehend the systems of control in the story and how to avoid falling into the traps of the controllers. Thank you Rachel fir your work.

You are courageous truth-tellers. This is often a lonely journey. You are not alone. Thank you!

Rachel is so full of information. And I love that there are soooooo many eps!

Re: Deer Tribe episode: “Not everyone has a right to hear your story” as Brene Brown says. We should not silence survivors, but if one is licensed therapist, as host is, discernment is expected. Guest sounded dissociated & emotionally numb as she recounted her story in graphic detail. When a survivor is still processing, often they require psychoeducation around boundaries & self disclosure, as it appears this guest did. Appearing in a podcast can be another form of survivor exploitation if not handled ethically.

I would love to have the episodes listed followed by guest name (part 1/2) Going back to listen and I get confused when listening to a part 2 when I didn’t realize there was a part one. The long titles often hide the guest and if they are back for another episode. I’m enjoying the content!

The information and interviews with experts are terrific. But the episodes are far too long. I would listen to more if they were half the size. Thanks.

Not only interesting topics and guests, but the host asks insightful questions and great summaries. Important topics for these weird times we live in now.

Super well done. I think it would be a really good idea to do more crossover shows with true crime podcasts—I listen to a lot of them and one thing I hear over and over again is at the root of some unbelievable and unexpected crime, is a coercive person pulling everyone else’s strings. I think this is an important podcast and maybe more people would think twice if they heard the stories of how good and normal people end up committing unbelievable crimes because of stories they believed that other people told them were true.

What an important conversation with Dr Willoughby Britton…both part 1 & part 2. I’ll come back to say more but for now, I am so grateful! This conversation has given me much food for thought as I heal from my own experience in a cult and as I relearn how and what to trust. Thank you, thank you, thank you! This has been so grounding for me.

Episode with Catherine Oxenburg regarding nexium and her daughter India. The last few minutes you said: why don’t you want me to be happy? Questions asked by cult members. I’ve heard this repeatedly from my daughter. Marriage #5 into hobby lobby cult culture. We haven’t spoken in 2 years. I have hope. I will never give up. She’s 42 and my granddaughter is from her second marriage age 17. I will always love them. I heard your words and just started crying. So close to home. I am not alone. Thank you ❤️

Had high hopes for the recent episode with Dr. Britton, as an academic, psychologist, and Brown alum myself. Unfortunately, both she and the host demonstrate a startling lack of awareness around the sensitivity of suicide via their unabashed use of the archaic “to commit.” Furthermore, Britton’s grammatical errors of speech also sadly undermine her credibility, despite her stance as a forerunner in the field.

Fascinating topic with great guests but the host does not know how to take a step back and let the guests share what they know. Wayyy to much preamble and yada yada

Love the interview with Willoughby Britton and the evolution of her research (and the reviewer responses). Feel like I would have never learned about negative side effects of meditation without this episode. So interesting and deep. Fan of Jack Kornfield also!!

I heard about you from listening to Conspirituality. I have loved your interviews and deep dives into high demand cults and relationships. Its brought up a lot to think about. Thank you for the work you do.

I really enjoy the podcast and learning more about the psychology behind belonging to a cult. I’m on season 3 and the sound quality is still terrible, hopefully that improves. Season 3 episode 3 pt 1 I cannot even hear the host, which makes me sad because I really appreciate what she usually says.

I am super into cult podcasts lately and this one is such a great find.