Healing from High-Control Spiritual Groups: A Path for Survivors of Luciferian and Tantric Abuse

Many people who reach out to me carry wounds that don’t have simple names. They were once part of intense spiritual or philosophical communities—sometimes called Luciferian, Left-Hand Path, or esoteric Tantric groups—where promises of enlightenment, power, and transcendence were offered. Instead, what many received was manipulation, sexual exploitation, shattered boundaries, and a deep sense of betrayal when they finally walked away. If you’re reading this and your stomach just tightened, you’re not alone.

These groups often blend sophisticated philosophy, altered states of consciousness, energy work, and ritual sexuality with classic cult dynamics: love-bombing, isolation from outsiders, secrecy oaths, hierarchy, and the slow erosion of personal consent. When someone leaves, they frequently face complex trauma that feels both spiritual and psychological. Friends and even some therapists may not understand why “just a bad relationship” or “some weird sex stuff” still haunts you years later.

Here is some of what I hear in my office:

• “I was told I was chosen, special, an ‘old soul.’ Now I feel stupid and ashamed.”

• “They used tantric practices to bypass my no. I still freeze when anyone touches me with intention.”

• “Part of me still believes I’m damned or that I betrayed my ‘true path.’”

• “I dissociate during intimacy and don’t know which feelings are mine anymore.”

• “I’m terrified I’ll be pulled back in if I ever relax my guard.”

These are normal responses to abnormal experiences.

What Makes This Trauma Different

High-control spiritual and sexual groups often create what therapists call “betrayal trauma layered with metaphysical injury.” You were harmed by the very people and practices that promised liberation. That double bind can fracture trust in your own intuition, your body, your sexuality, and even in spirituality itself.

Many survivors also carry ritual abuse elements: staged ceremonies designed to overwhelm the nervous system, deliberate alternation between terror and ecstasy, and the use of trance states to implant suggestions. These experiences can leave the brain wired for hyper-vigilance and dissociation long after the group is gone.

A Gentle Path Forward

Healing is absolutely possible. It simply asks for safety, pacing, and a therapist who will not pathologize your spiritual interests or minimize the very real coercion you survived.

In my practice I combine several approaches that survivors repeatedly tell me feel helpful:

1. Ego State Therapy (Parts Work) Most people leave these groups with protective parts that are still on high alert (“If I ever let my guard down, they’ll get me again”) and younger parts that may still feel loyal or terrified. We give every part a voice, update their jobs gently, and help them trust that you—the adult self—are now in charge of your life.

   
   

2. EMDR and Deep Brain Reorienting These methods work directly with the body’s memory networks. Many survivors notice that after processing a single ritual memory, their startle response quiets and sleep improves dramatically.

   
   

3. Trauma-Informed Tantra and Sensate Reclamation (when and if you want it) Some survivors eventually choose to reclaim healthy sexuality and energy practices on their own terms. Others never want to touch those concepts again—and that is equally valid. We follow your lead.

   
   
   
   

To Those Who Have Never Been in a Cult

If you’re a partner, family member, or friend of a survivor, thank you for reading this far. The most healing thing you can offer is steady, non-dramatic presence. You do not need to understand every detail. Simply believing “That was real, that was wrong, and I’m here” is often the first safe relationship a survivor has experienced in years.

You Are Not Broken

The intensity of what you lived through does not mean you are fragile. It means you are resilient enough to have survived something extraordinarily difficult—and still chose to protect your humanity.

There is life after the group. There is intimacy that does not require obedience. There is spirituality—if you want it—that does not demand your sovereignty as payment.