At IJCAM, we believe in rigorous academic standards, transparent processes, and constructive scholarly exchange. Our editorial team plays a central role in upholding these values by overseeing a fair and impartial peer review process. Each submission is carefully reviewed by the editorial board before being sent for blind peer review.
Learn more about our peer review process.
Editor-in-Chief | United States
Dr. Jackie Johnson is the Executive Director of ICSA and Editor-in-Chief of both ICSA Today magazine and the International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation (IJCAM). She is a second-generation cult survivor, raised in Jehovah’s Witnesses. Dr. Johnson is a licensed clinical social worker (NY, GA), specializing in forensic social work. Dr. Johnson’s private practice focuses on consultation, speaking engagements, expert witness testimony in cult-related legal cases, and providing therapeutic recovery from trauma, abuse, and systems of control and coercion, Dr. Johnson has appeared in numerous podcasts and in the documentary, “Crusaders”, produced by VICE TV (Vice Versa, S1, E9, 2021).
Managing Editor | United States
Navah Chestnut serves as the Managing Editor for the International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation, and as the Marketing Technology Specialist for the International Cultic Studies Association. Navah also studies English and Rhetoric at the University of Louisville in pursuit of a Master’s degree. Publications include an undergraduate honors thesis titled Gender Performance in ‘Cult’ Conversion Narratives: The Twelve Tribes and an forthcoming chapter titled “Race, Hate, and Culture in the Twelve Tribes: Epistemologies of Power and the Curse of Ham” in the collection titled The Rhetorics of Southern Place (ed. Dr. Jennifer Beech and Dr. Heather Palmer, Brill).
Spanish Language Editor | Spain
Carmen Almendros is a clinical and health psychologist and associate professor at the Faculty of Psychology at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), Spain. She developed an early interest in the study of coercive groups, which began before and continued throughout her undergraduate studies in Psychology. She was also a founding member of the Association for Psychosocial Research and Counseling – Counselling in Madrid, which provided support to individuals and families affected by psychological manipulation (2003–2010). Carmen lectures on courses such as Psychological Assessment, Ethics and Professional Deontology, Gender and Psychology, as well as various subjects related to violence in different contexts, including coercive groups.
English Language Editor | United Kingdom
Dr. Roderick Dubrow-Marshall is a Professor and psychologist and is a Programme Leader at the University of Salford. A member of the ICSA Board of Directors and Chair of ICSA’s Research Committee and Network, he has been researching the psychology of coercive and undue influence including in cults and extremist groups and in relationships and families for over twenty five years and developed the evidence based Totalistic Identity Theory to explain and tackle the psychological effects of coercion and ideological extremism. Rod also offers private consultations with families and individuals affected by coercive control and is an exit worker and psychologist with the Re-entry Therapy, Information and Referral Network (RETIRN) UK which he co-founded in 2004 with Dr Linda Dubrow-Marshall. He has served in leadership roles in higher education and as a trustee in the non-profit sector and in schools.
Co-Editor | Canada
Marie-Andrée Pelland, PhD, full professor and director of the sociology and criminology Department, Université de Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. She is also Vice-president of Info-Cult She received her doctorate from the School of Criminology of the Université de Montréal. Her dissertation is entitled, Allegations of Illegal Conduct: Effect on Social Reality of a Community of Canadian Polygamous Mormons.
Marie-Andrée Pelland, PhD, est professeure agrégée et directrice du département de sociologie et de criminologie de l’Université de Moncton au Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada. Elle est également vice-présidente d’Info-Secte. Elle a obtenu son diplôme de 3e cycle de l’École de criminologie de l’Université de Montréal. Ses travaux traitent de la question de l’effet des conflits avec la société sur le fonctionnement des groupes religieux minoritaires. Sa thèse s’intitule : « Allégations d’entorse aux lois : Effets sur la réalité sociale d’un groupe de mormons polygames canadiens ».
Spanish Language Co-Editor | Spain
Omar Saldaña is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology at the University of Barcelona. He holds a PhD in Psychology from the same institution, where he graduated with the distinction of Excellent Cum Laude. His doctoral research focused on psychological abuse in group contexts, including its assessment and psychological consequences. He has been a member of ICSA since 2010 and is a frequent contributor to ICSA conferences and publications.
Omar’s academic work focuses on coercive control, psychological violence, and radicalization, particularly in group and interpersonal contexts. He has developed and validated several instruments for measuring psychological abuse and emotional distress in survivors of high-control environments. His research integrates quantitative and psychosocial approaches and has been published widely in peer-reviewed journals. In addition to his university teaching, he regularly provides specialized training for professionals and contributes to projects addressing abuse prevention, public safety, and social well-being. He also serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Cultic Studies and is active in peer review and academic evaluation committees.
English Language Co-Editor | Canada
Stephen Kent, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Alberta, taught undergraduate and graduate courses on the sociology of religion and the sociology of sectarian groups. He has published articles in numerous sociology and religious study journals. His 2001 book, From Slogans to Mantras: Social Protest and Religious Conversion in the Late Vietnam War Era, was selected by Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2002. His 2025 book, Psychobiographies and Godly Visions: Disordered Minds and the Origins of Religiosity, examines personality and neurological disorders in numerous religious figures.In 2012 he received The Margaret Thaler Singer Award for advancing the understanding of coercive persuasion and undue influence from the International Cultic Studies Association.
