Close-up of Sam Sellers smiling woman with dark red hair, wearing black glasses, earrings, a nose ring, and a beige blazer with a pearl button.

Cult Recovery

Therapy for people who have left, or are thinking about leaving, a cult or high-control group.

That includes religious groups, wellness communities, political groups, multi-level marketing and anything else that controlled how you thought, felt and lived.

When a group decides what’s true, who you can trust and what happens if you leave, walking out means rebuilding a lot from scratch.

I’ve walked away from a high-control faith community myself, and I know how much it can cost.

Reach Out Here

You don’t have to prove it was a cult before you book. A lot of people spend years arguing with themselves about whether it was “bad enough” to count.

What matters is what happened to you and how it’s affecting you now. We can work out the language later, or never, if it doesn’t help.

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Who comes to see me

You were born in.

You never had a choice. It was just your whole world, and leaving can feel like leaving everything you knew.

You were recruited and then left.

Maybe as a teenager or an adult, and now you’re trying to work out how it happened and how to move on.

You’re still in, or deciding.

You don’t have to be out to start therapy. Questioning is a fine place to start.

Someone you love is still in.

Watching a partner, parent, child or friend stay inside a group is its own kind of grief.

Sound Familiar?

  • You still hear the group’s voice when you make a decision

  • You were taught the outside world was dangerous, and part of you still believes it

  • You catch yourself using the group’s words and phrases without meaning to

  • You feel guilty for leaving, even though you know you had to

  • Family or friends cut contact when you left

  • You’re starting again with no work history, savings or friends outside the group

  • You feel years behind everyone else, like you missed a whole chunk of normal life

  • You find it hard to trust your own judgement, or anyone else’s

What recovery can involve

Recovery rarely goes in a straight line. These are the areas we often work on, in whatever order makes sense for you.

Working out who you are.

What you like, value and believe when nobody is telling you what to think.

Grief and loss.

For the community, the certainty and sometimes the family you lost when you left.

Trauma.

Fear, shame, betrayal and always being on high alert.

Questioning what you were taught.

Noticing the beliefs the group installed, like “leaving means I’m evil”, and deciding which ones you want to keep.

Your body and emotions.

Getting back in touch with feelings and instincts you were told not to trust.

Relationships.

Repairing what you can with family, building new friendships and finding people who feel safe.

I use trauma-focused approaches including Brainspotting, nervous system-informed therapy and parts work. You don’t need to know what any of those are. I’ll explain as we go, and you can always ask why we’re doing something.

Living room with a brown leather sofa, patterned pillow, large green houseplants, and framed art on the wall.

How It Works

Get in touch.

Send me a message through the contact form, and I’ll reply with my current availability.

Your first session.

We get to know each other. You don’t have to share details about the group until you’re ready, or at all.

Regular sessions.

Same day and time, fortnightly. Routine helps your nervous system settle, especially after years of unpredictability.

The Details

  • Session length. 50 minutes.

  • Fee. $170 + GST per 50-minute session. GST only applies to clients in Australia. *Fee increase from January 1st 2027

  • How often. Same day and time, fortnightly.

  • Where. In person in Goulburn, or online anywhere in Australia and New Zealand.

  • Medicare. I don’t accept Mental Health Care Plans.

Questions people often ask

Got another question? Check out the full FAQs.

  • That’s completely fine, and really common. We’ll focus on what happened and how it affected you, not on the label.

  • No. You decide what you share and when. Plenty of people start with how they’re feeling now and get to the history later.

  • What you share with me is confidential, within the usual legal limits, which I’ll explain in our first session. Online sessions can also help if you’re worried about being seen.

  • Yes. We can work on how to stay connected without losing yourself, and how to look after yourself while you wait.

I’m not a crisis service. If you’re in immediate danger, call 000 in Australia or 111 in New Zealand. For support at any time, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia or text or call 1737 in New Zealand.

Reach Out

No pressure. Just a chat.

Spots are limited at the moment. Get in touch and I’ll let you know what’s available.