SPSI NEW WORKS: Breaking the Bonds of Loyalty by Shierry Weber Nicholsen, Ph.D.
April 21, 2026 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
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Breaking the Bonds of Loyalty: How do people mange to leave destructive groups and ideologies?
Presented by Shierry Weber Nicholsen, Ph.D.
Discussant: Erica Rubin, Psy.D.
It is not easy to leave a group that binds its members tightly with the rewards of belonging and specialness. Such groups often also demand unquestioning loyalty and threaten members with dire consequences for leaving. Nevertheless, many people do leave. What enables them to do so?
In this talk I will tell the stories of four people, in very different circumstances, who left such groups. Then, as in a consult group in which only limited formation about a patient is available, I will ask the audience to share their responses, their questions and their thoughts about these stories. What did it take for these four people to leave?
