The Iceberg Beneath Anger: From Radicalization to Recovery

This post draws on research by Katharina Meredith Sengfelder for her thesis “After They Leave: A Thematic Analysis of Post-Exit Distress and Coping in Former Violent Extremists.”

When working with current or former violent extremists, anger is usually the first thing we see. But beneath that surface emotion lies something deeper — often more painful and harder to name, such as:

• Childhood trauma

• Isolation or neglect

• Neurodivergence or untreated mental health challenges

• A deep craving for belonging, affirmation, or purpose

  
  

Extremist groups know how to exploit these vulnerabilities. They offer identity, connection, and validation — often to those who have never truly had it elsewhere.

After exit, the loss of that identity can leave someone feeling even more exposed than before. When someone leaves extremism behind, the hardest part may be just beginning.

As researcher Baaken et al. (2021) explains, deradicalization is not a reversal of beliefs — it’s a reckoning with the pain that fueled those beliefs in the first place. The ideologies may fall away, but the trauma, rejection, and emotional wounds that made those ideologies feel appealing remain.

One former extremist put it this way: “The things that I experienced, that led me into extremism, were still present [...] all of that shit that I used extremism, and ideology to kind of mitigate was still there.”

If we don’t help individuals confront the deeper pain, anger can remain their conditioned response to stress, shame, or vulnerability (Meredith, 2023). That’s why, for practitioners and families alike, support after exit must go beyond ideology.

It means helping the individual:

• Understand what drew them in to begin with

• Name the hurt that radicalization masked

• Build new ways of coping — like problem-solving and self-understanding

• Create genuine connections

• Grieve the past, and begin again

This work takes time, patience, and trauma-informed care.

It’s not about “fixing” someone who was broken — it’s about holding space for their pain while guiding them toward new, healthier ways of coping.

If you’re supporting someone on this journey, you don’t have to do it alone. Parents for Peace offers confidential guidance, connection to trained professionals, and lived experience support from people who’ve been there.

“After trauma, anger can be a mask — hiding deep sadness and giving the illusion of control.” — Dr. Miri Bar-Halpern, Parents for Peace’s Director of Trauma Training and Services  

References: 

Meredith, K. "After They Leave: A Thematic Analysis of Post-Exit Distress and Coping in Former Violent Extremists." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2023. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/psych_theses/274

Baaken, T., Guhl, J., Jones, M., & Vergani, M. (2021).