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Background: The controlling culture of a cult can be harmful to its members. Living in and leaving a cult can be challenging, lead to mental illness and experience the need for support.

Aims: I - To explore former cult members' perceptions of consultations with healthcare professionals for mental illness that they relate to their cult involvement. The study also aims to identify the needs, obstacles, and facilitating factors related to these consultations. II - To explore the experiences of acculturation into secular Swedish society of former members of cults, with particular focus on mental health, needs and resources. III - To explore exposure to violence and coercive control in cults, and its consequences for mental health.

Design: A qualitative approach was used in all studies. Semi structured interviews (I, III) and the cultural formulation interview from DSM -5 (II) were used to collect data. Studies I and II were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with systematic text condensation. Study III was analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Participants: Adult former members of ideological or religion-based cults. Studies I and III include nineteen participants who had been in contact with Swedish healthcare professionals due to mental illness related to their cult involvement. Study II include eleven participants.

Results: Being a cult member involved constant exposure to threats and violence. The acculturation process after leaving the cult put them in an in-between state and it took time and effort to resettle in mainstream society. They struggled with a persisting coercive bond to the cult's ideals, shame, trauma, and mental health sequalae. In their consultations with healthcare professionals the former cult members remained affected by the cults rules and belief system. This made it harder for them to communicate their needs and accept care.

Conclusion: Former cult members face a complex acculturation process while they struggle in several aspects of life with mental health, shame, problems with trust and personal boundaries. To effectively understand and support former cult members, healthcare professionals must consider both the cultural and existential aspects of former cult members' lives, in addition to their mental health and persisting bond to the cult.

Objective: To explore the experiences of acculturation into secular Swedish society of former members of cults, with particular focus on mental health, needs and resources.

Design: Qualitative method using the Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) from the DSM-5 as an interview guide. Analysis of participants’ experiences of acculturation through systematic text condensation.

Participants: Eleven Swedish former members of ideological or religion-based cults.

Setting: Swedish mainstream, secular society.

Results: Former cult members experience an ‘in-between time’ in the period after leaving the cult and find themselves in a confusing, chaotic state. They describe having lived in an honor culture where acts of violence were normalized. In the cult, they felt disconnected from themselves, and post-cult they try to regain access to their own values and feelings as well as create new bonds with family members and friends outside the cult. They find it hard to talk about their cult background and find relief in communicating with other former cult members. In their post-cult life, they eventually start seeing the world in a brighter, more hopeful way than before. However, they are also at risk of re-experiencing cult-related traumatic events and of new traumatic experiences within the post-cult acculturation process, and of persistent psychological distress.

Conclusion: Former cult members face a challenging acculturation process, having lost a functioning worldview upon leaving the cult but not yet gained another to take its place. While the in-between time is often transient, they may need support from the healthcare system, especially regarding mental health concerns, while establishing themselves into mainstream society.

Objective: This study explores former cult members’ perceptions of consultations with healthcare professionals for mental illness that they relate to their cult involvement. The study also aims to identify the needs, obstacles, and facilitating factors related to these consultations.

Design: Qualitative methods using semi-structured interviews that were analyzed using systematic text condensation.

Participants: Nineteen former cult members who had been in contact with Swedish healthcare professionals due to mental illness related to their cult involvement.

Results: Former cult members remain affected by cult belief systems, rules, and ideations even after leaving a cult. This leads to ambivalence and inner conflict for the former cult member in a healthcare consultation. Care providers are perceived as ignoring cult experiences and lacking knowledge of a cult’s impact on an individual.

Conclusions: To understand, help, and work with former cult members, healthcare professionals need to know about cults and the possible impacts of cult involvement. Person- and patient-centeredness in the form of non-judgmental attitudes, validation of experiences, and awareness of the psychosocial situation are important in consultations with these patients. More over, healthcare providers need to acknowledge cultural and existential aspects of a former cult member’s life, both in the present and from earlier experiences in the cult.

Objectives: We aimed to explore learning experiences among medical students learning to perform pelvic examinations and to identify factors that facilitate their training.

Methods: A mixed-methods study including a web-based survey and focus group discussions (FGDs) was conducted among medical students who had completed their obstetrics and gynaecology (ObGyn) clerkship. The FGDs were recorded, transcribed and analysed using qualitative content analysis with systematic text condensation. Survey factors were compared using the χ2 test or Fisher's exact test.

Results: 160 students (97 female, 61 male, two other) at six universities in Sweden responded to the survey. Two mixed FGDs were conducted. The majority (87%) of the students experienced confidence in performing pelvic examinations, stating that sufficient, repeated training opportunities and support from a clinical tutor were crucial components of the learning experience. Prior to the ObGyn clerkship, negative expectations were more common among male students. The male participants experienced having a disadvantage because of their gender, while female students considered their gender an advantage (p<0.001, N=121, Fisher's Exact Test). The clinical tutor and the use of professional patients (PPs) had a fundamental role in providing learning opportunities by including the student in patient care activities.

Conclusions: The importance of the clinical tutor, as well as the use of PPs, are important factors when planning education in pelvic examinations, and this knowledge could be used when educating other intimate examinations during medical school. In addition, similar investigations on students' experience in training other intimate examinations could be considered.