Walking Free Model
The Walking Free Model has been developed over many years of counselling and research to meet the specific needs of survivors of coercive, cultic and spiritual abuse. The model is at the heart of Walking Free Counselling, Training for Therapists and Professionals and Gillie’s book ‘Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic, and Spiritual Abuse: A Workbook for Recovery and Growth’.
Below, you can explore the background to the development of the model, its unique elements, the Phases of Recovery and Growth and the Walking Free Road Map.
The Development of Post-Cult Counselling/The Walking Free Model
The Walking Free Model has been researched and developed by Gillie over her 30 years as a therapist. Her approach integrates years of clinical experience; Gestalt psychotherapy; pastoral counselling; her Doctoral and Masters’ research; other practitioners’ research; as well as her version of the thought-reform model originally developed by Dr Robert Jay Lifton and applied by Dr Paul Martin at Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center (now closed).
The Model takes into account the different therapeutic and practical needs required for “first generation adults" (FGAs), those who joined or were recruited into a cult; and "second or multi generation adults" (SGAs), those who were born and/or raised in a cultic setting.
What is unique about The Walking Free Model?
Many former members have reported that traditional counselling approaches have not helped them to address the effects of being in a cultic or coercive relationship. Gillie's PhD research supports other research and clinical findings that understanding how coercive, cultic and spiritually abusive groups and relationships control and harm people is just as important for recovery as the therapeutic relationship itself.
The Walking Free Model combines these in a relational psycho-educational approach. This includes:
Understanding thought reform
Identifying the introjected cultic pseudo-identity (who they had to become to be a member) and restoring their authentic identity or ‘real me’
Chewing over introjects (beliefs and behaviours taken in), so that unhealthy aspects can be discarded, and healthy ones retained
Unmasking the cult leader and beginning to see them as a human being and not a god
Understanding and recovering from traumatic stress
Establishing healthy boundaries
The Four Phases of Recovery and Growth
A key aspect of the Walking Free Model is that recovery and growth from coercive, cultic and spiritual abuse typically happens in four Phases each of which create a focus for the recovery journey (although there can be some overlap between phases on an individual’s recovery journey). This emerged from Gillie's Doctoral research. In the Walking Free Road Map (see below) these Phases are depicted as four Regions, summarised as follows (with explanations from Gillie's book 'Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse: A Workbook for Recovery and Growth', page 9):
REGION 1
Leave physically so you can begin to recover psychologically
To really recover and grow, we need to physically leave the confines of the coercive, cultic and/or spiritually abusive setting. Often, this is the Phase where we begin to ‘wake up’ to the control and abuse. We need to step out into the fresh air, light and space outside. It is usually difficult to leave psychologically before we have left physically.
REGION 2
Wake up and leave psychologically by understanding what happened to you
Here, we continue to leave psychologically. We do this by understanding the dynamics of the coercive, cultic and/or spiritually abusive setting, and what happened to us there. This helps us unlayer our pseudo-identity and begin to get in touch with our authentic identity (our ‘real me’). This Region takes up the largest part of the Roadmap.
REGION 3
Heal emotionally
This is where we access our authentic feelings (our feelings that belong to our authentic identity and not the pseudo-identity) and talk about emotional healing for the effects of the painful abuse and post-traumatic stress we may be suffering. We also address pre-membership vulnerabilities, and how and why we joined (for those who did). In this Region, it can be especially helpful to access therapy to process our feelings and emotional pain alongside the Workbook.
REGION 4
Recognise what you have learned and move on
Here, we identify and recognise when we are recovered - or recovered enough to move on in our life. We might also realise we have grown through, and in spite of, the experience of being in that setting and leaving it. This is sometimes referred to as post-traumatic growth.
The Roadmap
“If you are in the process of leaving, or have left, a coercive, cultic and/or spiritually abusive group or relationship, you may be wondering how to move forward in your life. As a result of your membership, you may feel confused, distressed, lost and that you are carrying a lot of heavy baggage. You want to feel better and recover from your difficult experiences but don’t know which way to go to process and empty out your baggage.
“The Roadmap illustrates a journey that you can take, passing through four Regions and by 15 Milestones. Each Milestone is an opportunity to explore an aspect of your experience, unpack some of your baggage and move on, feeling a little lighter.
“… It is really important to take care of yourself while on this journey. That is why the road stays close to the edge of Oasis Lake, which is there to give relief and a ‘Safe Enough Space’ to retreat to whenever you need to. You can take a break and rest by, or on, the lake at any point of the journey.” (Walking Free from the Trauma of Coercive, Cultic and Spiritual Abuse: A Workbook for Recovery and Growth, p.4).
