Are there any studies on "new religious movements" and "large group
awareness training", their impact on individuals lives and their
lasting effects?

Dear Qpet, 

It is good to see you again, especially discussing NRMs again. LGATs
are considered by some to be related to NRMs. Some LGAT (such as the
EST and the Landmark Forum) are actually considered "cults"/sects, or
NRMs. Others, such as Tony Robbins seminars, are not considered NRMs
per-se, but share some common features with NRMs.

Two main scholarly attitudes regarding the issues exist. The first,
promoted by psychologists such as Margaret Singer, and considered
outdated in the psychological community, concentrates on
"brainwashing" and "mind control" as the method in which these groups
influence individuals’ lives and behaviour. A second attitude, in a
more sociological perspective, regards this issue within the broader
societal context, and avoids unfounded discussion on "mind control".

There are many books, articles and academic forums which discuss the
influence of NRMs and LGATs on individuals.

In the psychological and psychiatric field, Irvine Yalom is one of the
most prominent researchers. You could read his:

Finkelstein, P., Wenegrat, B., Yalom, I., “Large group awareness
training,” in Annual Review of Psychology, 33:515-539, 1982.

Margaret Singer, as mentioned before, controversial as she may be, was
a prominent figure in the initial research of such groups:

Margaret Singer and Janja Lalich's, book _Crazy Therapies_ describes -
mostly negatively - the impact of NRMs and LGAGs.

Margaret Singer's book _Cults in Our Midst_ is even more suspicious
towards the impact of LGATs.

Singer's brainwashing controversy is best described here
http://www.cesnur.org/testi/DIMPAC.htm
 
Other articles of interest might be: 
Fisher, J. D., Silver, R. C., Chinsky, J. M., Goff, B., & Klar, Y.
(1990).  Evaluating a large group awareness training:  A longitudinal
study of psychosocial effects.  New York:  Springer-Verlag.

Fisher, J. D., Silver, R. C., Chinsky, J. M., Goff, B., Klar, Y., &
Zagieboylo, C.  (1989).  Psychological effects of participation in a
large group awareness training.  Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 57, 747-755.

Fisher, J D. Psychological effects of participation in a large group
awareness training. J D Fisher et al.
Journal of Consult. & Clinical Psychology, 57, Dec 1989, p 747-55

L. L. Glass, M. A. Kirsch, F. N. Parris, "Psychiatric Disturbances
Associated with Erhard Seminars Training: I. A Report of Cases",
American Journal of Psychiatry 134(3), pp.245-247, 1977.

J. Haaken, R. Adams, "Pathology as Personal Growth: A
Participant-observation Study of Lifespring Training", Psychiatry
46(3), pp.270-280, 1983.

A. C. Higgitt, R. M. Murray, "A Psychotic Episode Following Erhard
Seminars Training", Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 67(6), pp.436-439,
1983.

Klar, Y., Mendola, R., Fisher, J. D., Silver, R. C., Chinsky, J. M., &
Goff, B.  (1990).  Characteristics of participants in a large group
awareness training.  Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
58, 99-108.

Lieberman MA. Effects of large group awareness training on
participants' psychiatric status. Am J Psychiatry. 1987
Apr;144(4):460-4.

M. Leiberman, "Growth Groups in the 1980's: Mental Health
Implications", in Fuhriman Addie and Gary M. Burlingame, (eds.)
Handbook of Group Psychotherapy: An Empirical and Clinical Synthesis
(Wiley-Interscience, 1994.), Chapter 15.


Material of ineterst, not peer reviewed studies: 
Michael D. Langone, 1998 report on "Large Group Awareness Trainings"
from the _Cult Observer_, Vol. 15, No.1, 1998 could be accessed at
http://web1.mtd.com/csj.org/studyindex/studylgat/study_lgate.htm

Bry, Adelaide.,1976. est (Erhard Seminars Training): 60 hours that
transform your life / Adelaide Bry. New York:Harper & Row.

Ankerberg, John and John Weldon. Encyclopedia of New Age Beliefs
(Harvest House Publishers, Inc., 1996).

I hope that helped. Please contact me if you need any clarifications
on the answer. I'd be pleased to clarify my answer before you rate it.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by qpet-ga on 11 Feb 2003 18:48 PST

Hi politicalguru,
I was checking and could not find a request for clarification that I
had posted- must have gotten lost somehow. Anyway, as with all of my
questions , I would like to have a short summary of the
findings/articles. I hope you can do this for me.(I'd be happy to add
to your fee for the extra time)

---

Clarification of Answer by politicalguru-ga on 12 Feb 2003 05:28 PST

Dear Qpet, 
 
As mentioned before, there are two main approaches regarding LGATs.
The first is an approach, which views negatively all LGATs, as
"brainwash". Margaret Singer and her books are representatives of this
approach. Other studies, like Fisher, Liebermann and Glass concentrate
on actual psychiatric disorders, developed after participation in
LGAT.

Other studies are less conclusive. In: 
Babbie, Earl and Donald Stone. "An evaluation of the est Experience by
National Sample of Graduates". Biosci Commun 3: 123-140. 1977.
Discuss their study of est participants. They found, that "Nearly nine
out of ten participants gave a favorable assesment of est. However,
Babbie and Stone point out that est is a very powerful experience and
may be capable of temporarily disorienting people, disrupting their
abilities to observe and evaluate in a detached manner. This leads to
the question as to whether the benefits claimed by graduates represent
a powerful but temporary"high" produced by intense marathon training.
Yet, in a comparison between old and new graduates, Babbie and Stone
found no difference for most of their responses". (Source: Stephanie
Costo , University of Virginia , "est",
http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/est.html).

Similarly, J. Simon, in "Observations on 67 patients who took Erhard
Seminars Training. (American Journal of Psychiatry
1978;135(6):686-91.) "...describes the effects of Erhard Seminars
Training (est) on 67 patients--49 who took est during the course of
psychotherapy with him and 18 who were seen for evaluation,
consultation, or treatment after having taken est. Responsiveness to
est was assessed in terms of individually predefined psychodynamics
and treatment goals. Of the 49 patients who took est during therapy,
30 were judged to show some positive response and 19 were rated
unchanged. The author believes that est often has a strong influence
toward psychotherapeutic movement in patients with good ego strength
who are motivated to change." (Source: "Abstracts of Articles in
Psychological Journals concerning est and The Forum"
http://www.xs4all.nl/~anco/mental/randr/forsyk.htm, which contains
other abstracts).

I hope that assisted your quest. Please contact me if you require any
further assitance.

Here are a few links regarding large group awareness training that may
be useful:

http://www.psyc.leeds.ac.uk/staff/OdellS/research.htm

http://btobsearch.barnesandnoble.com/textbooks/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?btob=Y&isbn=0387973206&TXT=Y&itm=5

http://www.rickross.com/reference/landmark/landmark22.html

http://csj.org/studyindex/studylgat/study_lgate.htm

http://www.xs4all.nl/~anco/mental/randr/psychref.htm

http://www.xs4all.nl/~anco/mental/randr/shane.htm

http://www.xs4all.nl/~anco/mental/randr/forsyk.htm

http://www.landmarkeducation.com/menu.jsp?top=21&mid=80&bottom=116
http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/profiles/listalpha.htm