About Us
Wellspring is a residential treatment center for those who have been abused in relationship[s, groups, cults, and by professionals such as therapists and clergy. We offer hope and help through a program of counseling, education, and retreat. read more
Get Help Today
We have spoken with thousands of people who have left abusive groups, are wanting to get a loved one out of an abusive situation, or are just discovering that they are themselves in an exploitative relationship or organization. Let us help. read more
Upcoming Events
Brisbane, Australia (Queensland)
Mental Health Professional Workshops for continuing education
Coercive Persuasion: Treating Victims of Abusive Relationships, Destructive Cults, and Coercive Groups
March 17 – 18, 2008 and March 19 – 20, 2008
Hotel Grand Chancellor Brisbane
23 Leichhardt Street (cnr Wickham Terrace)
Ph. 07 3831 4055 Fax: 07 3831 5031
These workshops are being held for mental health professionals. Also, special travel and tour option arrangements are being made for Japanese mental health professionals to attend the workshops through a special tour company that provides educational tours for Japanese professionals (interpretor will be arranged). Please contact Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center for more information, to register for the workshops, as well as information regarding accommodations to attend the workshop.
Moreton Island, Queensland Australia
Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort (75 minute ferry ride from Brisbane)
Recovery from Cults and Cultic Relationships (workshops for former members of cults, coercive groups, and cultic relationships)
March 24 (arrival) – March 29 (departure March 29 or 30), 2008
These workshops are designed for former members of cults and cultic relationships. Psycho-educationally based workshops will be offered in the morning and afternoons for individuals as well as free time to explore the island and to relax on this beautiful island. These workshops are not designed to be a substitute for mental health treatment, however, they may assist the former member in the healing process after leaving these particular destructive groups and relationships. Please contact Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center for more information, to register, and for accommodation information and reservations.
Moreton Island, Queensland Australia
Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort
Workshops and Counselling Treatment Sessions for Former Members of Destructive Cults, Coercive Groups, and Cultic Relationships
March 24 (arrival) – April 4 (April 4 or 5 departure), 2008
For a limited number of clients, counseling sessions will be
offered by Wellspring counselors to assist in the recovery of individuals who
have left cults, coercive groups, or cultic relationships. The set-up up
this treatment program will be very similar to what is offered to our clients
who travel to our treatment facility in Albany, Ohio in the United
States. Counseling sessions will be offered in the morning,
and workshops delivered by Wellspring staff will be offered in the
afternoons. Ample time will be allotted for rest and relaxation at this
extraordinarily beautiful resort area. Please click on this link for more
information on this resort http://www.tangalooma.com
Psychological, emotional or spiritual abuse and cult survivors
Here at Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center we treat people who have been victims of psychological, emotional or spiritual abuse from religious cults, toxic relationships or other manipulative groups. Survivors come to us for help after having removed themselves from some of the following situations:
- Mind control
- Domestic violence
- Religious cults
- Therapist abuse
- Psychological abuse
- Brainwashing cults
- Abusive groups
- Clergy abuse
- Mental abuse
- Spiritual abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Cult abuse
Do we do mind-control and cult deprogramming?
No. We do not get involved in cult deprogramming, nor in reprogramming. We do help people re-integrate into mainstream society and come to terms with who they are and what happened to them. Some of our clients have undergone deprogramming by professional exit counselors, others have made the decision to leave a situation of mental, emotional, and spiritual abuse on their own.
Because we do not do exit counseling, we also do not intervene in situations of domestic violence or alleged psychological abuse. There are other resources for this and we urge you to contact law enforcement and professional exit counselors when necessary to address these problems. Our role is to help those who have left abusive relationship come to grips with the mental or emotional abuse they have suffered and rebuild their self-esteem and self-confidence.
It is key to note that this is a strictly voluntary program. Only after a person has chosen to leave the psychological or spiritual abuse and seek treatment can they come to Wellspring Retreat & Resource Center for help.
Our treatment is not limited just to cult brainwashing and domestic violence. We have treated survivors of sexual abuse by clergy and therapists and victims of manipulation by multi-level marketing scams. Some of our clients have come from abusive 12 –Step programs and drug and alcohol treatment centers. We have also worked with former gang members and victims of torture. Whenever someone feels he or she been deceived, manipulated, exploited, or subjected to brainwashing or emotional or mental abuse, we can offer hope and help.
What is spiritual abuse? What is mental abuse? What is brainwashing?
There is no clear-cut definition of what is spiritual abuse and what is not, what is mental abuse and what is not, what is brainwashing and what is not. These questions have been debated for centuries!Our approach is not to work within rigid definitions, but within the framework of addressing what has caused trauma in a person’s life. Because different recruitment and membership styles of religious and other groups will be more harmful to some than others, it is more important to focus on helping the individual who has experienced the suffering than to make lists of "cults" and point fingers at organizations and churches!
However, having said that, much of our work is centered around the ground-breaking work of Dr. Robert Jay Lifton who identified eight criteria for a thought reform system. When we find these criteria active within a relationship or a group, we can usually say without hesitation that the relationship or group is abusive.
Why specialize in cults and psychological abuse?
We offer a safe haven specifically for cult and abuse survivors to explore their own feelings and their own choices. What makes psychological abuse unique is that victims are made to feel they do not have choices; we restore survivors' ability to choose without being judged.
Another symptom of abuse, is that survivors often become victims again, hopping from one form of abuse to another. Deprogramming often does not end the abuse. It is one of our chief goals to free each of our clients, so that they do not fall into mind control or abusive situations again.
We welcome anyone who has been suffering from mind control, cults, mental or psychological abuse or coercion of any type to contact us and find out whether our treatment can help them readjust to normal life and – most importantly – avoid repeating the cycle of abuse.