Self-help Cults

Self-help Cults

This article relates to The True Happiness Company

Self-improvement is having a big moment. Life coaching is a multi-billion-dollar industry with more than 100,000 coaches practicing around the globe, self-help books are all over the bestseller lists, and "therapy talk" terms like "gaslighting" and "boundaries" are now firmly a part of the modern vernacular. This environment has proven to be fertile ground for "self-help cults" like the one depicted in Veena Dinavahi's memoir The True Happiness Company. These cults explicitly market themselves as communities focused on self-improvement and healing, but they exert increasing amounts of control over their followers' lives.

NXIVM
Perhaps the most famous self-help cult in recent years is NXIVM, profiled in the HBO documentary series The Vow. Followers were brought into that cult through "Executive Success Courses," which purported to help people overcome their limiting beliefs to find personal and professional success. As far back as 2003, UCLA psychiatry professor John Hochman concluded that these seminars used manipulative techniques. For instance, participants were told not to tell friends and family what happened during these classes, which "serve[d] to distance the participant from his ongoing relationships." He also pointed to the cult-like way this group utilized language. Keith Raniere, the group's founder, was to be referred to as "Vanguard," and students were required to thank Vanguard at the end of every session. Hochman was also not impressed by the actual content of these courses, noting that the group "presents gross oversimplications of psychological theory … The group's leader may have coined some maxims with a ring of truth, but again, this is not science."

But those taking Executive Success Courses were only the outermost ring of the group. NXIVM was eventually exposed as a "sex cult" that physically and sexually abused its most devout followers.

The True Happiness Company
The cult depicted in The True Happiness Company (a real group given an anonymized name for the book) similarly has an inner and outer circle. Those on the fringes, who read the leader's books or occasionally participate in conference calls, are not subjected to the same level of control as are those at its core, like Veena. Much like NXIVM, this group's leader used coercive methods to control his followers. The author writes that he used techniques including "forced silence, prolonged eye contact, extreme language to present each choice as a false binary, [and] mixed put-downs (criticism coupled with a compliment to condition me to rely on his approval)" in order to "cultivate undue influence over me as my 'therapist' and confidant."

Syanon
Self-help cults are not entirely a contemporary phenomenon. The group Syanon dates back to the 1950s. It began as a drug rehabilitation program with a group therapy–centered model. However, its therapy sessions rapidly morphed into what came to be known as "The Game"—a verbal attack session where participants were encouraged to shout at and insult one another. For more information about Syanon, check out this Beyond the Book article.

Avoiding Self-help Cults
If so many people have been taken in by these sorts of cults, how can you avoid becoming involved with one? The Cult Education Institute gives a comprehensive list of what distinguishes a safe group from an unhealthy one. A safe group, it says, will encourage communication with family and existing friends. It will encourage critical thinking and autonomy. An unhealthy group will lean solely on its leader for problem solving "without meaningful reflective thought."

It's also important to look at the qualifications of the group's leader or facilitator. The leader of the True Happiness Company, for example, offered therapy-like services without any psychological training or certifications. Even in the realm of life coaching, which does not require a graduate degree, there are certification bodies, and people should be wary of those who are entirely self-taught.

A simple Google search of the group can also be helpful. A former member profiled in The True Happiness Company who was in the early stages of involvement with the group ended up leaving because she found forum posts calling it a cult. Veena stayed much longer because she was dissuaded from listening to outside voices.

And when in doubt, trust your gut. If something feels "off" about the group, it probably is.

Filed under Society and Politics

This article relates to The True Happiness Company. It first ran in the May 21, 2025 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.