Researching Ritual Abuse and Mind Control in Art and Literature: One Art Historian’s Journey - Lynn Brunet PhD

Lynn is an art historian, artist and survivor of Masonic ritual abuse. She first began to remember her abuse in her mid-forties but realised that she had been unknowingly making art about it for most of her career as a professional artist. In 1999, alongside her recovery, she began a PhD into Masonic themes and trauma in contemporary art. It was based on the realisation that artists can make disturbing art, often for a lifetime, without realising where it comes from. She was a lecturer in art history and theory at the time, and during the 1990s in my field there was a lot of interest in the relation between art, memory and trauma. Her talk will trace the series of case studies where she has uncovered traces of ritual abuse in the work of some key artists and writers in contemporary art and from earlier in the 20th century. In 2017 she came across Carl Jung’s Red Book, a magnificent volume containing his disturbing mid-life fantasies along with his own exquisite paintings. She recognised at the first reading that this could be ritual abuse and in 2019 published Answer to Jung: Making Sense of the Red Book. It demonstrated that his fantasies were not entirely original but were based on abusive forms of Masonic rites practiced in Switzerland when he was a child. This talk will be accompanied by a slide show depicting examples of these artists’ work.

Lynn Brunet (PhD) is an Australian art historian, artist and survivor of Masonic ritual abuse. Her research examines the coupling of trauma and ritual in modern and contemporary Western art and literature. In particular, it traces the connection between Masonic and other fraternal initiation rites and complex trauma in the work of so-called ‘tortured’ artists and writers.

The Effects of Social Movements on Survivor Support Systems and Survivor Recovery - Neil Brick

Neil Brick - The Effects of Social Movements on Survivor Support Systems and Survivor Recovery - PowerPoint

Neil Brick will speak about the history of ritualistic abuse and the effects of social movements on survivors. He will present historical information regarding the literature of clinicians and researchers. He will describe the effects of social and historical movements on survivor support systems and survivor recovery.

Neil Brick is a survivor of ritualistic abuse. His work continues to educate the public about child abuse, trauma and ritualistic abuse crimes. His child abuse and ritualistic abuse newsletter S.M.A.R.T. https://ritualabuse.us has been published for over 28 years. http://neilbrick.com

How to Create a Successful Recovery Path for Disassociated Survival Skills and DID - Shelby Rising Eagle

How to create a successful path of recovery for DSS (disassociated survival skills) (DID) of Satanic/Ritual Abuse.  Topics will include: Understanding our boundaries as a victim. Learning what boundaries are for healthy people. Healthy boundaries. How to recognize toxic shame vs. healthy shame. Self-Honesty guidelines. Learning to see life from different viewpoints for similar situations. Understanding memories. Learning to understand and see what happened in the past and how it affects you today. Creating your life as you want it to be. Healthy boundaries, life skills that work in a positive manner for your happiness. Never give up and always believe in yourself.

Shelby Rising Eagle was born in the SF Bay Area raised in the Mormon Church. Mother was a multi-generational Mormon; father was a convert. She reports both parents participated in satanic worship, pedophile sex ring in the church. She has done over 20 years of recovery work. She is the writer of two books – How Would You Know? & How Would You Know My Whole Story? She owns and operates a Martial Arts School and is a Master in her style of martial arts and now testing for her 6th degree black belt. She is a master gardener and loves growing vegetables and flowers. She does workshops with therapists on working with victims with DID and the recovery process. She practices meditation for centering her life and progress towards a better life. She is committed to helping to up lift others in their recovery work. She teaches that everyone that they can recover and claim their life back from extreme abuse.

The Enmeshment of the British False Memory Society and the British Psychological Society. - Dr. Rainer Hermann Kurz

Dr. Rainer Hermann Kurz - The Enmeshment of the British False Memory Society and the British Psychological Society - PowerPoint

This presentation builds on an article ‘The Policy Alignment of the British False Memory Society and the British Psychological Society’ published in 2022 by Dr Ashley Conway and Prof David Pilgrim in the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. It outlines the exemplary response of the British Psychological Society (BPS) in 1995 to the ‘Memory Wars’, subsequent ‘policy capture’ in 2008 through individuals associated with the British False Memory Society (BFMS), and the ongoing battle to restore a credible position on Memory-Based Evidence that moves from a biased ‘false-positive-only view of the uncertainties about testimonies involving historical trauma to equally consider False negatives.

The presentation will feature examples where a Discourse of Disbelief derailed proper procedures in the UK. Furthermore, the practical relevance of the questions raised will be illustrated with the analysis of 27 US cases in Silberg & Dallam (2019) where allegations of child sexual abuse were initially dismissed by family courts but the custody decisions that followed overturned later on. In 67% of the cases the rationale of the judge not protecting at Time 1 was ‘Pathology’ of the protective parent leveraging the ‘Discourse of Disbelief’ propelled by False Memory research claims. Based on their analysis they offer 9 recommendations to improve outcomes for children who have the misfortune to be both abused and entangled in a custody dispute several of which relate to trauma-informed practice. Most central is their call that ‘all evidence admitted in custody and parenting adjudications should be subject to evidentiary admissibility standards and courts must reject pseudoscientific concepts that pathologize parents seeking to protect children’. Brewin, Li, McNeilis, Ntarantana, & Unsworth (2020) warn in a similar vein about the increasing bias towards invalid false memory arguments and assumptions that sway medico-legal decision making.

Child Trafficking through Family Court Proceedings: A UK Case Study - Dr. Rainer Hermann Kurz

Dr. Rainer Hermann Kurz - Child Trafficking through Family Court Proceedings: A UK Case Study - PowerPoint

This presentation builds on a decade-long investigation into two index incidents that led to the transfer of parental responsibility for a toddler boy from a mother to a Local Authority, and eventually adoption by the foster carer in suspicious circumstances marred by procedural irregularities.  Index Incident 1, dismissed as untrue by a Family Court Judge, concerned the mother’s claim that she gave birth to a baby at age 14 that succeeded from incestuous rape by her father and ‘disappeared’. Index Incident 2, that was also dismissed in the same judicial process, concerned a daytime sexual assault on the toddler boy in broad daylight.  The presentation draws on a 60-minute audio recording describing the two index incidents and information submitted to a document review by complex trauma specialist in the process of preparing an appeal application. The content of the presentation is potentially triggering but provides rare insights into the workings of an Organized Ritual Crime Abuse Network (ORCAN) in the midst of society.

Rainer Kurz is a Chartered Psychologist based in London. Since 1990 Rainer has worked in Research & Development roles for leading test publishers. His PhD dissertation was on enhancing the validity and utility of ability testing. Rainer developed 50+ psychometric tests and authored more than 100 publications. He is a Consultant Editor for Test Reviews at the Psychometric Testing Centre (PTC) of the BPS. Rainer has been investigating complex trauma assessment problems since 2012. He presented 30+ posters on trauma, dissociation and healing at international peer-reviewed conferences that are available here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rainer_Kurz2

Some Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines and Standards Relevant to the Psychological Care of Extreme Abuse Survivors - Dr. Randall Noblitt

Dr. Randall Noblitt - Some Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines and Standards Relevant to the Psychological Care of Extreme Abuse Survivors - PowerPoint

Dr. Randall Noblitt - Some Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines and Standards Relevant to the Psychological Care of Extreme Abuse Survivors - Text Document

We will review the APA’s (2021) Professional Practice Guidelines for Evidence-Based Psychological Practice in Health Care, and discuss its relevance to the care of extreme abuse survivors. We will also critically examine Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Adults (APA, 2017) and the ISSTD (2011) Guidelines for Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder in Adults, Third Revision. Included will be discussion of the roles of common factors and empirically supported treatments in implementing guidelines and standards.

Creating Calm - Patricia Quinn

Pat Quinn - Creating Calm - PowerPoint

Art making is a form of expression available to all, though many have felt discouraged to continue to enjoy it. It’s sensory and motor aspects engage the reward system of the brain (Kaimal et al 2017). Using art materials can help modulate the survival-oriented mid-brain with the higher cortex which we use to plan, and contextualize experience (Lusebrink 2004; Lusebrink & Hinz 2019). We can use various art materials to bring ourselves into the present and to help focus us on what we want. Using a future-oriented directive to attain a feeling of stability and peace, along with a brief lead in describing stabilizing elements of nature, participants will learn a way to use art for restoring the nervous system.

Patricia Quinn is an artist and art therapist who worked in the fields of psychiatry and addiction for 30-plus years. She’s taught graduate and undergraduate students in art therapy since 1994, and has recently published “Art Therapy in the Treatment of Addiction and Trauma” (Jessica Kingsley Publ., 2021). She has served for the past ten years on the committees and boards of several large mental health agencies that provide addiction, mental health, and developmental disabilities services. She strives to promote awareness of the effects of ritual abuse and complex trauma.

Systematic and Organic Psychological Mechanisms that Perpetuate the Cycle of Extreme Abuse - Ellen P. Lacter, Ph.D.

Dr. Ellen Lacter - Systematic and Organic Psychological Mechanisms that Perpetuate the Cycle of Extreme Abuse - PDF may be triggering

This presentation will examine the psychological mechanisms that perpetuate the cycle of extreme child abuse, including ritualistic abuse, torture, production of sadistic child abuse materials, and sex-trafficking of young children to multiple perpetrators. We will explore many of the ways that the cycle of extreme abuse can be perpetuated: 1) within victims, as in ongoing abuse, abuse re-victimization, psychological suffering, self-injury, suicidality, harmful relationships, re-enactments of psychological, physical, and sexual abuse, etc., and sometimes, 2) by victims, in abuse against others, including abuse of one’s children (intergenerational transmission).

Two mechanisms by which extreme abuse is perpetuated will be presented: 1) externally-applied, calculated, manipulation of victims’ dissociated self-states to control victims long-term to serve abuser agendas, i.e., programming, and, 2) naturally-occurring internal responses that yield long-term psychological symptoms, suffering, and, in some case, harm to others. Finally, we will discuss broad approaches to treatment to break the cycle of extreme abuse.

Ellen P. Lacter, Ph.D., is a California licensed Clinical Psychologist and Registered Play Therapist and Supervisor. She is Academic Coordinator of the Play Therapy Certificate program at University of California - San Diego, Division of Extended Studies. She worked in community mental health settings from 1975 to 1984, and in private practice thereafter. In the mid-1990s, she acquired expertise in the treatment of dissociative disorders and extreme abuse, particularly victims of ritualistic abuse, torture, child sex-trafficking, and production of sadistic child abuse materials. She is an activist on behalf of survivors of extreme abuse, based in her website: https://www.endritualabuse.org .

None of the material on this page, on linked pages or at the conference is meant as therapy, or to take the place of therapy.

Survivorship is one of the oldest and most respected organizations supporting survivors of extreme child abuse, including sadistic sexual abuse, ritualistic abuse, mind control, and torture. Survivorship provides resources, healing, and community for survivors; training and education for professionals who may serve survivors; and support for survivors' partners. The organization functions as a support for survivors who may be isolated emotionally or geographically. Through community outreach and training, Survivorship also raises awareness about these difficult issues. The purpose of the conference is to help survivors of ritual abuse. The conference is for survivors and their helpers.