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Safety Tips for Ritual Abuse Survivors, by Ellen P. Lacter, Ph.D. Updated
9-8-2007
Note: When providing advice on specific cases, therapists must refrain from
suggesting to survivors, "Sounds like your family members are your abusers", or,
"You should escape them", etc. Such statements are great fodder for lawsuits
against therapists, such as those propagated by the False Memory Syndrome
Foundation. Please understand that this is the basis for the cautious wording on
this website and by many therapists.
Survivors have discovered time and time again that siblings and parents are
often tortured for the specific purpose of creating personalities who are
assigned the job of "spying" on and controlling each other, to keep each other
from defying the abuser group, from acting on their own free will. This function
is usually not within any conscious awareness or control of the "day-time"
personality or personalities.
For victims whose parents are cult-involved (often without their conscious
control, but also sometimes willingly), it is best to get a lot of physical
distance, at least a few hundred miles, preferably a thousand!. This is
especially true for survivors of witchcraft, since the witchcraft groups claim
"territories" (like gangs) and exert more physical control in that areas and
also believe their spiritual control is greater there.
There are few established safe places specifically for ritual abuse survivors
with no financial resources to break away from cult-active family and friends.
C.A.R.E., Inc., has a "Community of Healing for Survivors of Trauma", a
Christian long-term residential community in Baldwin. Michigan. The program
appears to be fairly small and there may or may not be openings at any given
time. They can be reached at http://www.care1.org/ or care1@triton.net .
Psychiatric hospitalization in a knowledgeable facility can be of great benefit.
Some hospitals have substantial understanding of therapy for ritual abuse
trauma, such as Millwood Hospital, in Arlington Texas (817-261-3121) (The
Mungadze Association recently transferred it's hospital program to Millwood
Hospital from Cedars Hospital, where they were previously housed) (accepts Medi-Care
and Medi-Caid),
The
Center for Post Traumatic Disorders @ The Psychiatric Institute of Washington,
DC., ( 202 ) 885-5752 or 1-800-369-2273, and Sheppard Pratt Hospital, Baltimore
Maryland. 1-800-627-0330. In some cases, survivors who deem it unsafe to return
to their original community, choose to re-locate near the hospital and in some
cases, attend out-patient therapy with therapists trained at the hospital.
Many other hospitals are also respectful of survivors. Most hospital stays,
since the advent of managed care, are for acute care and usually keep people for
only a week or, at most, a month. The hospital may help survivors find resources
for follow-up out-patient psychotherapy, and some hospitals have decent
longer-term day treatment or partial hospital programs where survivors can
attend group therapy and other activities for a few hours for up to five days a
week.
In some rare but devastating cases, survivors reporting ritual abuse and mind
control by political-agenda or criminal groups have been mis-diagnosed as
delusional and schizophrenic in psychiatric hospitals, have been committed to
long-term psychiatric hospitalization against their will, have been treated with
improper medications, and have had great difficulty being released.
Some battered women's shelters take in victims of familial ritual abuse, and
know this is a real phenomenon. These shelters tend to view psychological
problems through a trauma model rather than a mental illness model, and are
victim advocates. However, some shelters or some staff may have difficulty
believing in the existence of abuse by political-agenda or groups. Reporting
high-level corruption and highly organized abuse risks the survivor being
labeled as crazy- which runs some risk of forced commitment to mental hospitals,
etc. Some shelters have long-term programs where victims and their children can
stay up to a year while they get settled in the community on their own, etc. To
gain admittance to such a shelter, it is often more effective to try to meet
with someone, vs. just talk on the phone. In a face-to-face meeting, a counselor
might be more likely to believe the story of a survivor, sympathize with him or
her, and qualify him or her for the shelter, perhaps bending the rule. There are
often local clinics who feed people to the shelter, which can be a door-way into
these shelters, since the shelters are usually hidden. So, a local battered
women's service clinic or a rape crisis clinics can be a good place to start.
Social Security Disability Insurance is an important resource for survivors who
cannot function well enough to be able to work. Look in the telephone book under
Disability Attorneys and obtaining legal advice when entering this process.
Survivors should ensure they obtain a thorough evaluation by someone who
carefully documents their mental status, rather than a superficial evaluation by
an uncaring evaluator who deems a disabled survivor as able to work.
If the survivor remains in the area where the abuser group is active, having
safe people around oneself is essential, since this results in some
"accountability" for what one does, where one goes, etc.
Ideally, a survivor has trusted friends who know of the abuse who can help by
staying with you the survivor on days and nights when the survivor may have been
programmed to return to the cult. These trusted friends should know the
survivor's schedule, work and free time. By knowing the schedule, these friends
can call the survivor to check that she/he is where he/she is scheduled to be,
and can recognize if the survivor starts to "lose time",
If a survivor knows no one yet who she/he can trust to disclose the history of
the abuse, a survivor can benefit from living in a house with other people, like
graduate students found in a local newspaper or ad board at a university, etc.
This would make it harder to "sneak" out in the middle of the night to abuser
groups, make middle-of-the-night phone calls to abusers, etc.
When survivors will be alone, they should lock telephones outside of the home,
as in a car trunk, or give these items to someone else, to make it more
difficult to make "report-in" phone calls. Car keys can also be hidden outside.
Personalities programmed to report in would need to, go outside, find the car
keys and unlock the car trunk. In that extended time, the host personality may
be able to regain executive control. A motion detector can also be installed
near the front door and set to go off at night. The alarm might wake the host if
a programmed personality tried to leave in the middle of the night.
Objects used for self-harm or suicide attempts should also be locked in a car
trunk to make it more difficult for these controlled personalities to submit to
programmed commands for self-harm.
When survivors are concerned that they are supposed to attend events on
particular dates, they should make themselves accountable to someone else during
and after the event.
Complete safety is achieved only when all abuser-submissive and programmed
personalities have been freed from these controls. Personalities being
re-accessed must be found by the host and helped to change their responses,
e.g., to not respond to program access cues, to hang up on abusers, to not
report in, to not submit to the terrorization tactics of their abusers, to not
fall prey to their deceitful promises, etc. Ultimately, the basis for these
controls must be resolved. This generally involves re-associating how cues and
commands were installed, consciously "re-teaching" oneself to not respond, and
reclaiming one's own free will.
Survivors should never go places alone and should never drive isolated routes.
They should remain in crowds, and shop in the daytime. Abductions or being
driven off of a road, though rare, usually occur when there are no witnesses.
Survivors who believe they are at risk for physical assault and abduction should
wear a camera around their necks, for all to see, at all times, walking or
driving. Secrecy is the modus operandi of organized abuser groups, and exposure
is their greatest fear. A camera is a powerful deterrent.
Going back to college or graduate school can also be an option. Some states
provide decent grants for people going to school. Some people remain in school
primarily because they need the grants to financially stay above water. There
may be universities in another part of the state. A college setting is often
healing in itself, lots of support, counseling on campus, etc.
Remember- although few therapists specialize in treating ritual trauma, many,
many therapists have had one case along the way, genuinely care, and have solid
therapeutic skills and a humane philosophy, things that go a long way in
themselves.
There are decent homeless shelter programs in many cities, where people can stay
while they get jobs and places to live.
If the survivor is not concerned that he or she is at risk of hurting an elderly
or disabled person, becoming a "companion" is an option. Elderly and disabled
people often need help with bathing, making sure they take their medications
properly, getting to MD appointments, cooking, shopping, to ensure that they
don't fall, etc., but not to the level of needing nursing care. And many are
well-enough to allow the survivor to leave for a few hours (therapy) and may let
the survivor and his or her pets live in their home. Pay seems to range from 500
to about 1000 a week for full-time, sleep-in care. But most people work 5 days a
week as primary caregiver, or fill in for the primary caregiver on weekends.
They advertise in the newspaper, etc.
Do not avoid these options just to avoid cult-active people who may be there.
Cult-active people are everywhere. But, most places also have lots of good
people and sources of support. Isolation is more dangerous than pursuing healthy
attachments.
Do whatever is humanly possible to get long-term therapy by a receptive
therapist and to overcome any mind control programming. If a person is still
programmed, it is really hard to break free, because the abusers do not have to
find the survivor, the survivor betrays herself/himself to the abusers on a
daily or weekly basis, as in making "800" phone calls to the abuser group every
night at a specified time.
Survivors may need to give their money for therapy or program removal to a
trusted friend to hold, so cult-obedient alters do not use it for other things,
lose it, give it to members of the abuser group, or other forms of
self-sabotage.
Survivors of crimes by powerful groups should increase the security of their
bank accounts to reduce the risk of criminal bank withdrawals and identity
theft. It is often advisable to cancel all ATM cards and to ask the bank manager
to place a memo on the account stating that no withdrawals are permitted except
via checks that are written by the account holder, and that no cash withdrawals
are permitted except through visual recognition of the account holder at the
branches used by the account holder. Friends and supporters (therapists, clergy)
of survivors may want to consider similar measures.
Survivors who believe they may be killed or "suicided" should make a clear and
convincing video-taped statement of their fear of being murdered and their
desire to live rather than to suicide. This may increase an enemy's or enemy
group's fear of being identified upon committing a murder or a murder staged to
appear as a suicide, accident, or willful disappearance. This should reduce
one's risk of being murdered. Here are some guidelines for making a Safety
Video-tape:
Video-tape Protocol for People who Fear Being Murdered, Directly or Staged to
Appear as a Suicide, Accident, or Willful Disappearance
Steps:
1. Fill out your responses to the following questions.
2. Have someone ask you these questions while video-taping you.
3. Refer to this form to remind you of all of your key points.
4. Express genuine emotion to get your point across and to make the press more
likely to air the video-tape if you are killed.
5. Distribute copies of the video-tape widely.
6. Have holders of the tape secure the safety of the tape.
7. Make it publicly known (e.g., speaking engagements, publications, e-mails,
conversations on telephones you believe to be tapped) that the video-tape is
widely distributed and will be released to the press, concerned parties, and law
enforcement, if you die of unnatural or suspicious causes.
Questions:
1. What individuals or groups do you believe want you dead?
2. Why would these parties want you dead?
3. Can anyone support or corroborate that these parties are your enemies?
4. What methods do you believe these parties use to murder people?
5. Do you believe there have been any previous attempts on your life? If so,
describe the suspected assailants and methods used.
6. Are you suicidal?
7. Why do you want to live?
8. Under what circumstances would you ever suicide?
9. Do you abuse life-threatening substances?
10. Do you have lethal weapons or substances in your home?
11. Do you drive safely? What is your record of traffic accidents and
violations?
12. Do you have any desire to flee your current home and support persons?
This process can also be done without use of a videotape. I recommend a 2-step
process.
1. Prepare a statement that includes all of the details of the crimes;
a) real identifiers: name, birth date, Social Security Number, etc.
b) crime history; places, time, names of perpetrators
Provide this statement in person or via snail mail to a select few trusted
individuals to place in a secure location.
2. Send a statement via e-mail to a larger number of people:
a) Statement of concern for survivor's safety (Questions 1 through 5 above).
b) Statement about the survivor's not being a danger to self, or wishing to flee
(if true) (Questions 6 through 12 above).
c) a statement that a number of people (do not name them) have the specific
crime facts- names, places, dates, etc., and that this information will be made
public and reported to law enforcement if anything happens to the survivor.
Use a pseudonym in this e-mailed statement. Do not name the perpetrators.
This 2-step process may increase the safety of the survivor because the main
fear of these criminals is that of public exposure.
The following internet articles provide further important information on staying
safe:
"Maximizing Personal Safety" Author: Jeannie Riseman
http://www.survivorship.org/articles/safety.html
"Maintaining External Safety" Author: Olyssa
Published on: July 14, 2001
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/ritual_abuse/74737
"Safety and Reaccessing Tips - as shared by ritual abuse survivors", by Jeanne
Adams
Mr. Light & Associates, Inc.
http://www.mrlight.org/selfhelp/index.php
"Finding A Safe House" Author: Svali
Published on: February 17, 2001
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/6554/60632
"Dealing with Threats" Author: Svali
Published: May 8, 2002
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/ritual_abuse/91745
Preventing
Re-accessing of the Survivor. Chapter Twelve in
the book: "The Illuminati: How the Cult Programs People", by Svali
Published 2000
http://www.geocities.com/lord_visionary/chapter_12.htm
Kathleen Sullivan, author of "Unshackled: A Survivor's Story of Mind Control, suggests the following:
I believe that one of the best ways to increase one's safety is to raise a huge stink, to go public. Shine the spotlight on yourself and
your abuse, even if it's just through survivor newsletters and email correspondence. Ask others to please raise an even huger stink if any
harm comes to you. Provide copies of your history, evidence, documents, etc., to everyone who may have any influence. Hold back on
some of the details and entrust these only to a few individuals, and tell no one the names of these people. If you relocate, throw your
abusers off-course by telling a fake story to everyone about where you are going.