IndoctriNation

In this episode, Rachel welcomes back Chris Shelton, a former Scientologist and author of the new book, What Now? They dive deep into Chris's experiences, discussing the complexities of recovery from high-control groups and the importance of understanding one's own moral framework. Chris shares insights from his extensive studies in coercive control and introduces his REM model, which explores the layers of consciousness, morality,...

This is just a preview of our Patreon-exclusive Bonus Episode. You can hear the full episode by becoming a member at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.patreon.com/indoctrination 

In this exclusive Patreon bonus episode, Rachel shares her reflections on the importance of agency and consent in our interactions with others. Drawing from a seemingly casual conversation with a yoga instructor at a music festival, Rachel explores the deeper implicat...

In this episode, Rachel Bernstein welcomes back Andrew Jasko, a religious trauma and cult specialist, for a thought-provoking discussion on the potential pitfalls of the Law of Attraction, also known as manifestation. Andrew delves into the historical roots of this philosophy, tracing its connections to the New Thought Church movement, and examines how its teachings can lead to psychological harm and victim-blaming.

As they explore ...

In this episode, Rachel welcomes back Elise Heerde, a mental health practitioner and co-director of the Religious Trauma Collective in Australia. Together, they delve into the complexities of religious trauma, cult recovery, and the ethical considerations surrounding exit counseling. Elise shares her journey and insights gained from her work with survivors, emphasizing the importance of agency and choice during the recovery process...

This is just a preview of our Patreon-exclusive Bonus Episode. You can hear the full episode by becoming a member at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.patreon.com/indoctrination

In this Patreon bonus episode, Rachel Bernstein discusses how difficult it can be to be the lone dissenting voice when others admire a narcissistic partner or cult leader. She describes serving on a jury involving an unhoused African American man accused ...

In this episode, Rachel Bernstein speaks with Melissa Duge Spiers, who talks about growing up inside the Seventh-day Adventist Church — and the hidden cost of its end-times, high-control culture. Her book, ‘Holy Disobedience: Sex, Sin, and Secrets in the Biggest Church No One Knows,’ traces Adventism's roots back to the 1840s Millerite movement and the visions of prophet Ellen White, whose exper...

In this episode of IndoctriNation, Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSEd, welcomes back Andrew Jasko, psychotherapist and comparative religion scholar, for a deep and honest conversation about growing up inside evangelical and Pentecostal Christianity — and the long road to recovery from religious trauma.

Andrew grew up as a minister's son, immersed in a world of intense devotion, purity culture, missionary ambitions...

This is just a preview of our Patreon exclusive Bonus Episode. You can hear the full episode by becoming a member at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.patreon.com/indoctrination 

In this Patreon bonus episode, Rachel Bernstein reflects on cult survivor and former supermodel Hoyt Richards and provides background on the high-control group at the center of HBO's 'Bring Me The Beauties: A Model Cult.'

The group was led by Frederick von Mierers, a s...

Carol Merchasin returns, and this time, Rachel and Carol go deep on what it actually looks like when survivors of coercive control, spiritual abuse, and high-control groups consider taking legal action.

Carol shares how her career shifted from corporate employment investigations to building a litigation practice focused on religious misconduct and cultic settings, and what landmark cases reveal about how the law i...

In this episode, Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, MSEd, sits down with Jared Stacy, PhD, who is a theologian and ethicist. He is the author of "Reality in Ruins: How Conspiracy Theory Became an Evangelical Crisis." They sit down for a deeply personal and clinically resonant conversation about radicalization, religious trauma, coercive belonging, and the courage it takes to say "I don't know."

Jared grew up ins...

This is just a preview of our Patreon exclusive Bonus Episode. You can hear the full episode by becoming a member at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.patreon.com/indoctrination

In this Patreon bonus episode, host Rachel Bernstein, LMFT, examines how victim blaming functions across abusive relationships, sexual violence, cults, and high-control religious environments — and why it remains one of the most pervasive obstacles ...

In this episode, Daniella Mestyanek Young returns to IndoctriNation to discuss how cults exploit group dynamics. Born three generations into the Children of God, then a U.S. Army intelligence officer, Daniella has spent her career studying coercive control from the inside out. In her new book The Culting of America, she lays out a 10-part model of cult tactics — the same playbook used in religious cults, hi...

In this episode, Rachel Bernstein sits down with Lindsey Sanders to talk about her memoir, The Sacred Song of a Heretic, and what it means to reclaim "sacredness" outside of a high-control religion.

Lindsey was raised in a multigenerational Mormon family, where she was taught to value obedience, certainty, traditional gender roles, a limited range of acceptable emotions, and avoidance of outside sourc...

This is just a preview of our Patreon exclusive Bonus Episode. You can hear the full episode by becoming a member at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.patreon.com/indoctrination 

In this Patreon bonus episode, host Rachel Bernstein unpacks the idea of "cults of two" — one-on-one relationships that can carry the same coercive control, manipulation, and reality-distortion found in larger high-control groups.

How does a single person create ...

In this episode, host Rachel Bernstein welcomes back author Tia Levings to discuss her new book, 'I Belong to Me: A Survivor’s Guide to Recovery and Hope After Religious Trauma.'

Tia opens up about surviving church-sanctioned domestic abuse and the long, deliberately paced process of rebuilding selfhood after leaving Christian patriarchy. She and Rachel explore how reclaiming body awareness, personal boundaries, and the simple...

In this episode, Rachel Bernstein interviews Ru Marshall about the hidden world surrounding the guru Carlos Castaneda. Marshall shares insights from their research into Castaneda’s history, manipulation tactics, spiritual abuse, and the disturbing aftermath surrounding his inner circle after his death.

The conversation explores charismatic narcissism, cult control, and how high-control spiritual leaders expl...

This is just a preview of our Patreon exclusive Bonus Episode. You can hear the full episode by becoming a member at:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.patreon.com/indoctrination

In this Patreon bonus episode, Rachel Bernstein explores how survivors of narcissistic families, manipulative relationships, and cultic systems can rebuild their identity after years of control, conformity, and emotional conditioning. Many survivors leave...

In this episode, Rachel Bernstein welcomes investigative journalist Alice Hines to discuss neurolinguistic programming (NLP), its origins, and the fine line between empowerment and manipulation. Known for her reporting on Twin Flames Universe and co-hosting Mind Games, Alice explores how NLP techniques have influenced therapy, sales culture, pickup artists, and groups like NXIVM.

Rachel and Alice examine rapid rap...

In part 2, Rachel Bernstein continues her conversation with Donna Lamb, a survivor of the Aesthetic Realism group. Recruited at 20 in New York City, Donna spent 32 years in the group before leaving in her fifties.

She explains how founder Eli Siegel and his successor maintained control through “contempt,” enforced self-criticism, surveillance, and manipulation, including “Respect meetings.” Donna also shares ...