Best questions for ex-cult member survey about therapy experience

Here are some of the best questions for an ex-cult member survey about therapy experience, plus tips on how to create them. If you need to build your own, you can generate an ex-cult member therapy experience survey in seconds with Specific.

What are the best open-ended questions for ex-cult member survey about therapy experience?

Open-ended questions can reveal the depth and complexity behind therapy experiences—giving us rich, nuanced feedback instead of just numbers. They’re best when you want to understand emotions, motivations, and subtleties that simple choices miss. Here are 10 strong open-ended questions for ex-cult member surveys about therapy experience:

1. What motivated you to seek therapy after leaving the group?

2. How would you describe your initial feelings and challenges when starting therapy?

3. What aspects of therapy have helped you the most in your recovery journey?

4. Can you share any unexpected difficulties you encountered in therapy?

5. How does your relationship with your therapist impact your healing process?

6. Are there specific issues related to your former group that you think therapists should better understand?

7. What advice would you give to other ex-cult members considering therapy?

8. Were there topics you found too difficult or unwelcome to discuss in therapy? Tell us more.

9. How has your therapy experience changed your view of yourself and your future?

10. If you could change one thing about therapy for ex-cult members, what would it be?

Recent studies highlight why this is important: among 308 ex-cultists, a striking 70% sought counseling after leaving their group, with many reporting lingering anxiety, anger, or low self-confidence. Open comments can help us understand these psychological themes far better than just checking a box. [1]

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for ex-cult member survey about therapy experience

Single-select multiple-choice questions are great when you want to quantify trends, compare segments, or lower the entry barrier for tough topics. Sometimes, just choosing from a few options feels less overwhelming than crafting a whole answer—especially for people processing recent trauma. Once you’ve got their top-line answer, follow-up questions can help you dig deeper for context.

Question: How soon after leaving your group did you start therapy?

• Immediately (within 1 month)

• 1-6 months later

• 6-12 months later

• Over a year later

• I have not started therapy yet

Question: What type of mental health professional did you primarily work with?

• Psychologist

• Psychiatrist

• Counselor

• Social Worker

• Peer Support Group

• Other

Question: Overall, how satisfied are you with your therapy experience so far?

• Very satisfied

• Somewhat satisfied

• Neutral

• Somewhat dissatisfied

• Very dissatisfied

When to follow up with "why?" If a respondent selects an unexpected or strong answer—like "Very dissatisfied" or "I have not started therapy yet"—we should always ask why. For example, follow up with: "Could you tell us more about the main reason for this?" This prompts clarifying context, especially helpful if you see clusters of particular responses.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Always offer "Other" when your list may not cover everyone’s circumstances (for instance, unconventional therapies or self-made support systems). Follow-up questions will reveal those overlooked options and surface fresh insights you might have missed.

NPS-style question for ex-cult member survey about therapy experience

NPS—Net Promoter Score—asks how likely someone is to recommend a service (or experience) to others, on a 0–10 scale. For ex-cult member therapy, this format works well: it’s fast to answer—even for those who are emotionally drained—and can benchmark satisfaction over time or between therapists. Because 93% of ex-members in one study reported serious post-cult anxiety and 91% struggled with emotions, knowing who’s truly benefiting from therapy (and who isn’t) is critical for support programs. [2] You can generate an NPS survey for ex-cult member therapy experience instantly with Specific.

The power of follow-up questions

The secret to next-level feedback is what you ask after the first answer. With Specific’s automated follow-up intelligence, your survey adapts like an expert interviewer—asking clarifying questions the moment a reply feels incomplete. This means richer context, fewer misunderstandings, and more meaningful insights, without back-and-forth emails or scheduled interviews.

• Ex-cult member: “I felt unsafe in therapy.”

• AI follow-up: “Could you tell us more about what made you feel unsafe, and how it impacted your progress?”

How many followups to ask? Usually, 2–3 thoughtfully targeted follow-up questions are ideal. This keeps conversations focused and avoids feeling overwhelming. With Specific, you can set how deep you want the AI to probe, or allow skipping when you get the key info you need—no wasted cycles.

This makes it a conversational survey: The conversation feels natural, like a chat, not a static form. Respondents open up more, and the experience is both engaging and productive.

AI survey response analysis. Even with all this qualitative feedback, it’s simple to analyze open-ended responses using AI-powered response analysis. The system summarizes, finds themes, and lets you chat about the results—so large volumes of text aren’t a problem for your team.

Automated follow-ups are still a new concept for many. It’s worth trying—generate a survey and experience it for yourself.

How to prompt ChatGPT (or Any GPT) for great ex-cult member therapy experience survey questions

If you want to ideate without using a purpose-built survey generator, prompts are your secret weapon. Start simple:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for ex-cult member survey about therapy experience.

The more context you give, the sharper your questions get. Try this:

I want to create a survey for people who have recently left a high-control group and have started or considered therapy. The goal is to understand their feelings, what helped, what didn’t, and what support they still want. Can you suggest 10 open-ended questions to uncover their experience and advice?

To organize your ideas, prompt the AI to categorize:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Then, focus on what matters most. For instance, if you see categories like “Emotional Adjustment,” “Therapist Relationship,” and “Barriers to Therapy,” you can prompt:

Generate 10 questions for “Barriers to Therapy” and “Therapist Relationship.”

What is a conversational survey?

A conversational survey is a new type of survey that uses AI to engage respondents in a back-and-forth style chat—asking questions, listening, and then naturally probing for more detail based on what the respondent says. This format produces far deeper insights than traditional, one-size-fits-all survey forms.

Let’s compare:

Why use AI for ex-cult member surveys? Because many ex-cult members report layered, nuanced, and sensitive challenges (for example, 88% described a sense of emptiness and high rates of difficulty with emotions after leaving their group [2]). Conversation—not static forms—unlocks these layers, while respecting trauma and support needs. AI survey examples created with Specific enable this nuance, adapt to each respondent, and are simple to launch.

Specific offers the best-in-class experience for creating conversational surveys for all audiences—especially when the stakes are high, and every story matters. If you want to dig deeper, check out our guide: how to create ex-cult member survey about therapy experience.

See this therapy experience survey example now

Get instant inspiration from highly effective, conversation-style questions—see the therapy experience survey example and start gathering actionable insights from real experiences. Your survey is one step away from deeper, better feedback that truly supports ex-cult communities.