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People often arrive at the question 'Am I in a cult?' quietly and alone.
It usually begins with a feeling — something that does not sit right, something you are trying to make sense of. You do not have to label your community, group, or belief system as a cult to begin exploring it. What matters is how it feels to live inside it, and whether you feel free.
The more helpful questions are:
Is this life still working for you?
Do you feel free to think and feel in your own way?
Are you carrying an inner tension that is hard to explain?
Do you find yourself hiding doubts or ignoring things that do not make sense?
Many people know this feeling as cognitive dissonance in high-control or high-demand groups
the conflict between what you are told and what you actually feel. I have lived this experience myself, and I understand how confusing, exhausting, and isolating it can be when intuition and belief are at odds.
My role is to offer a steady, grounded, confidential space online where we can talk one-on-one without pressure or judgment. No one tells you what to believe here. You can explore what feels true, what feels off, and what parts of you want to be heard. You set the pace and the direction. You do not have to sort through this on your own.
My name is Robert G. Schneider
I am a licensed clinical mental health counselor in Maine and the author of The Guru’s Touch, a semi-autobiographical novel about spiritual seduction, blind faith, and the long path out of a coercive spiritual community.
In my teens and early twenties, I became deeply involved in a high-control spiritual group that later revealed patterns of psychological manipulation and coercive influence. Leaving that world shaped my understanding of trust, belief, and the ways people can lose their sense of self in high-demand environments. That experience continues to inform both my clinical work and my writing.
Today, I support individuals and families who are navigating life after high-control relationships, spiritual abuse, or coercive group dynamics.
My work draws on lived experience, clinical training, and years of study on influence, identity, and the process of disentangling from high-demand religious or spiritual groups.
I provide psychotherapy only to clients who are physically located in Maine, which is the scope of my clinical license. For people outside Maine, I offer non-clinical mentoring and consultation that focus on education, reflection, and support. These conversations are not psychotherapy or mental health treatment.
My approach is steady, respectful, and grounded in the belief that people do not need to be pushed or persuaded. They need space to hear themselves.
My work is not about confrontation or pressure. It is about helping people sort through what happened, understand the impact, and move toward a life that feels like their own.
My Approach
My work is not about convincing anyone to leave a group or adopt a different belief system. People do not respond well to pressure, and it can recreate the same high-control dynamics they are trying to understand or step back from. Instead, my approach is slow, steady, and grounded in curiosity. We explore what you are feeling, what you are noticing, and what parts of your experience still feel confusing or unresolved. You do not need a label for your group or belief system. What matters is the tension you are living with. A central part of this work involves looking at cognitive dissonance in high-control or high-demand groups — the inner conflict that appears when your lived experience no longer matches what you are told. In spiritual communities or coercive environments, this conflict can become so constant that it erodes trust in your own perception. I lived through this myself as a young adult, and I understand how disorienting and destabilizing it can feel. Together, we gently examine these contradictions without judgment. We look at what parts of you still feel loyal, what parts are raising questions, and what emotions surface when those parts collide. My role is not to tell you what is true. It is to help you listen to yourself so you can decide what aligns with your values and what no longer does. This process helps restore confidence in your own perception — something high-control groups, spiritual abuse, or coercive leadership structures often weaken. You set the pace. You decide what we explore. I’m here to support clarity, steadiness, and self-trust as you sort through your inner world.
I support individuals who are
Questioning their involvement in a high-control group
Rebuilding trust in their own perception
Trying to make sense of doubt, tension, or conflicting beliefs
Adjusting after leaving a high-control or spiritually coercive environment
Living with cognitive dissonance that is hard to reconcile
Integrating the past without letting it define their future
I also support family members who are concerned about a loved one who may be involved in a high-control or spiritually abusive group.
Work With Me
If something in your life feels off, even if you cannot name it yet, you do not have to sort through it alone. You can reach out with questions, doubt, or hesitation. All of it is welcome.
I offer a free 15-minute online consultation so you can get a sense of whether this work feels right for you.
Availability & Licensing
I provide psychotherapy only to clients who are physically located in Maine at the time of the session.
For people outside Maine, I offer non-clinical mentoring and consultation focused on education, reflection, and support. These conversations are not psychotherapy or mental health treatment.
Contact Robert G. Schneider, MS, LCPC-C
☎ +1.207.200.1509
