A Little Bit Culty Is Landmark a Cult? Anne Peterson Returns (Part 2)
Jan 29, 2026
Anne Peterson, former Landmark Forum staffer and author of Is This a Cult?, reveals leaving a large group awareness training and building survivor support. She describes burnout, shame hangovers, and the loss of a community. She explains how leaders manufacture compliance, how jargon conceals harm, and why recovery centers on consent, mistrust repair, and safer models for personal growth.
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Peak Experiences Can Mask Dopamine Highs
- Peak experiences in LGATs create dopamine-driven highs that participants mistake for real transformation.
- Anne Peterson explains those highs can produce short-lived change and long-term harm when attributed to the training.
Absolute Responsibility Erases Accountability
- Leaders often present ideas like "100% responsibility" as absolute, which erases others' accountability.
- That framing creates victim-blaming and masks lack of informed consent, Anne warns.
Public Applause Reinstated An Abusive Father
- A 14-year-old in a forum was praised for "choosing" her father back into her life despite his abuse history.
- Anne says that applause led to renewed contact and more years of abuse for the family.
