Healing From Cult Torture: An Interview with Cheryl Rainfield

Drew & Garden System have an in depth discussion about surviving and healing from cult torture and abuse with Cheryl Rainfield, a survivor living with poly-fragmented dissociative identities. who used creative writing as a tool for healing and to shed light on the truth on cults and human trafficking.

Award-winning author Cheryl Rainfield is a nonbinary lesbian who writes novels for teens, drawing on their own trauma and healing experience to write. They’re the author of six books including SCARS, STAINED, HUNTED, and VISIONS; SCARS has their own arm on the cover. Cheryl is a cult torture survivor with resulting polyfragmented Dissociative Identity, and talks about these issues on social media and through articles on their website. Cheryl Rainfield has been said to write with “great empathy and compassion” and to write stories that “can, perhaps, save a life.”

CherylRainfield.com . TikTok . Facebook . Instagram . YouTube

Cheryl also published an article about how cults utilize aspects of EMDR in their torture and modifications for therapists to help overcome these barriers. Check it out here:  https://www.cherylrainfield.com/cult-uses-aspects-of-emdr-in-cult-torture/.

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Remember, this podcast is not a substitute for therapy. The purpose of this podcast is to educate and provide information on dissociative identity disorder. We share our personal stories, interview guests who also live with DID, and we interview mental health professionals to share their clinical knowledge.

And most importantly: remember that every system is different. What works for one may not work for another—and that’s okay. Your journey is valid, your healing is real, and we’re so glad you’re hanging out with A Couple of Multiples.

Articles cited in Seasons 4 & 5:

Brand, B. L., Sar, V., Stavropoulos, P., Krüger, C., Korzekwa, M., Martínez-Taboas, A., & Middleton, W. (2016). Separating Fact from Fiction: An Empirical Examination of Six Myths About Dissociative Identity Disorder. Harvard review of psychiatry, 24(4), 257–270. https://doi.org/10.1097/HRP.0000000000000100