Dr Sylvia Pack

When Dr Sylvia’s Masters thesis on counselling Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) survivors was published online, it drew considerable response. She was then working counselling survivors and co-leading recovery support groups for adult survivors of child sexual abuse, while studying for her PhD in Psychology. Her subsequent dissertation on the psychology of racism against indigenous Maori in Aotearoa New Zealand was disseminated before a wide range of audiences in both New Zealand and Australia, including the Joint Conference of the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists (NZCCP) & the New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPsS), the Society of Australasian Social Psychologists (SASP) Conference, staff training sessions, university lectures and workshops for postgraduate students. The subject of racism against the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand was given a great deal of attention, and readily understood and supported by academia.

In contrast, those who contacted her because of the terror that SRA had wrought in their lives, impressed her with their poignancy yet also a strong sense of isolation and aloneness. They said there was a lack of professional help or support available, even though in some cases there was a life-or-death urgency to their problems. There was no public acknowledgement of their abuse, and no teaching given professionals on how to cope with the existence of SRA or how to help survivors, either in the field of counselling or psychology. Survivors often said they had given up trying to find help because only child sexual abuse was understood, believed and recognised. Dr Sylvia noticed that academics often mocked the very idea of the existence of SRA, and this discouraged others from researching it.

At the same time, in her twenty-six continuous years’ volunteer work as a team leader for prison ministry in both the men’s and women’s prisons, and her work with recovery groups, she occasionally met SRA survivors, who all mentioned similar abuse events. They also echoed what she was hearing from those who contacted her following the publication of the Masters thesis online. They gave accounts confirming the secretive but widespread nature of SRA, its atrocities and its chilling effects, and said they reached across the years into adulthood. As the response to the Masters thesis and requests for a book continued, Dr Sylvia began writing a trilogy in everyday language:

Healing from Satanic Ritual Abuse, a Christian perspective.

Book 1, How to heal from Satanic Ritual Abuse, she provides the reader with information answering questions asked by SRA survivors as they start their healing journey.

Book 2: How to triumph over Satanic Ritual Abuse, examines mind control, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and the healing process.

Book 3, How to Counsel the Survivor of Satanic Ritual Abuse, looks at how counsellors and therapists may best serve and understand SRA clients. It is due for publication in 2024.