To me there is good reason why Elan was not on the the map. All throughout history when the same mix occurs so do the same results. This intrusive, assertive therapeutic style works well for a few clients but may injure many more. Professor Bellis noted that, A number of clients. It was only after the invasion of Iraq and discovery that the administration dangerously burned a spy to get even with for Sen. husband who wrote the administration had no evidence of Iraq weapons of mass destruction when it created a greater attack than 911 itself, that journalist took back their mandate to look for the truth and present that truth the country. still, we had not had a good Republican president since Eisenhower. . That Young people were beaten, some in public demonstrations. A few, but very few have gone out and made it. I was not for that idea, because I saw most members as victims. In one sense it becomes like the question of which came first the chicken or the egg. In context, my conversation with Rod Janzen, as he certainly knew of me, and if he was a true journalist, he would have had to interview me to follow all leads. I asked him how he could write a book on Synanon without ever interviewing the person who fought it. Synanon can make its recommendation not to connect, even expel and announce it will not accept the person back; but there is no right to stop contact by never informing the person of attempts being made and giving the person the choice. Over the years as I wrote c. upon chapter of Synanon history, I have mainly received nothing but great comments from people. Jollett, 45, tells PEOPLE about the abuse he and many other children experienced while growing up in the "school" of the infamous Synanon cult. The musician also remembers the period with his mother and brother in Oregon, where they went to hide. My discussion is on the known today dangers of a hatchery (abandonment syndrome) which Susan Richardson wrote about, the psychological affects of attack therapy which can cause psychological damage, including psychotic breaks (which happened at Synanon) and how everyone finally bought into the enemy at the door who were all prejudiced against them and finally reduced Synanon to a state of mind where propaganda ruled over truth, all the ideals were tossed out and a growing comparison to the Manson family was in place. And while in 1978, he noted, Synanon publicity reported 20,000 people had gone through its doors, they were exiting at even a higher speed. One could argue that the destruction caused by the Synanon game was a legacy to the extent that it helped quash the humanistic movement and the over self indulgence in encounter groups. As stated in the Skeptics Dictionary, law enforcement officials, politicians and religious leaders helped push those fearing addiction to what it determined was primarily rackets designed to make money with little regard for human well-being (like Elan and CeDu). In his final letter to his mother, he wrote, They found my weakness and I want to go home.. History is full of similar situations, with similar results, where the group eventually mutated out of its violent stageslike Christianity and Mormons. By example, as compiled by Dr. Ofshe, in 1961 all Dederich reported was that 70 out of 176 addicts had stayed for 5 days. A small portion decided they had enough, and gave too much credit to Synanon and not enough to their own will power. For Jollett, experiencing his dad's love was a life-changing experience. Psychiatrist Dr. Judianne Densen-Gerber visited Dr. Ramirez in Puerto Rico and setup her own synanon-based TC in New York City called Odyssey House. The evil was he boasted that they would cut off any charity that did not do as Synanon told them to do. You say it is unscientific nonsense, but prove that any of the statistics and studies were not accurate or that the events that took place in the clones did not happen. WebNeed your help! Synanon just wasnt that big enough to be an influence. There were countless communes and entities much larger that took in people of all races. "I think the insight for me was I always loved her, she just wasn't very good at loving me. Shomeister. I'm going to rise up above all this kind of stuff, and I'm going to take care of everyone. In reality, who was cured depended on how much each wanted it; and that generally holds true in all programs. I comfort him if he hurts his knee or my daughter when she cries, whatever it is. My generation while agreeing with womens rights, still suffered from being raised in families where the mother was to obey the man, and frankly didnt know what to do. Campers say they had bruised ribs from an exercise in which they were ordered to lie on their backs while counselors ran across their chests in boots. One cloneVision Questit has been written had 9 deaths; forced marches, black uniforms in triple-digit temperatures, harsh discipline and a daily diet limited to an apple, a carrot and a bowl of beans, all which were common to these orgs. Matt C. Hoffman Straights attorney for that trial was a prominent Washington, DC civil liberties lawyer named Ronald Goldfarb. All he knew was that if someone stayed they didnt do drugs. Dinosaur Survivors Leave a Reply Cancel reply. after 911, the Dederich type remarks that Bush was making were scary and I felt that free-speech and this country was dissipating; people were afraid to say anything that could be interpreted as un-American. 5 years from now we wont need people like you.. Watched the documentary Ethel on HBO and compare the public speaking of the Kennedys to the embarrassing debates that took place in the recent election. ), "You put stress on a family, unpredictable things happen, and children tend to take on different roles," Jollett says. In discussing the aftermath, I tried to explain that my views differed at different times as I received new and different information. I am a Synanon survivor. Looking back, I think my brother was appropriately angry with the adults.". Also Santa Monica acted because Synanon did not have a license to treat anyone. Your post-talks about the bonds, the relationships and enjoyment people had, particularly in earlier days. Jollett, then just a little boy, hid to save himself. As a key distinction between comparing Synanon to America, those in Synanon who tried to warn or criticize were shut down and shoved out. Society would have to catch up with Dederich on his ideas of dieting, exercise, and no smoking. "He was just this big, masculine, Italian, strong guy that loved his boys. There are more successes, like the Rolling Stones Rick Jones, that stemmed from bona fide psychotherapy. [Chuck] Dederich [Synanons founder], an exile from A.A., is credited with being the genius behind the TC [therapeutic community] movement and Leon Brill acknowledges in The Clinical Treatment of Substance Abusers that the original therapeutic community directed by ex-addicts was Synanon though others, he writes, such as Daytop Village, Odyssey House and Phoenix House in New York City have used psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and other professionals as part of their staff; in an article for Substance Abuse: Clinical Problems and Perspectives written in 1981, Deitch and Zweben acknowledge that Synanon is the progenitor of the present-day therapeutic communities., As Fager summarized: Almost all modern day therapeutic communitiesand there are hundreds of themare based on synanons. They made people like Bernie Kolb who I loved very much. Any dammed fool who wants to come in and say Id like to live with you and we let them in. While I cop to an ego in this area, my comments to Janzen had nothing to do with it. Its just simply if your writing a book on the history of an organization and you are aware that someone filed multiple actions against it, and they tried to murder him for it, if you are a journalist you are going to interview that person. This was written before he joined. He also forced women to have abortions and almost 200 men had vasectomies after Dederich forbade any more children. I delete only the crazies refuse to present any argument, rebuttal facts or evidence that anything stated was not true; but just a statement that anyone who would think that or write such facts belongs in a nut house. Eventually in a 1978 tape recording called The Freebees are over Dederich set forth the plan to establish a private corporation, Home Place, Inc. in Arizona which would charge Synanon for rotating people to the new compound to be educated by Dederich and that Synanon would pay the corporation for this, which then would pay salaries to Dederich and his cronies, of which they would pay taxes. When all the litigation finally ended, I had some regret that Synanon had been closed, wondering what it might have evolved into after Dederichs complete removal. He would want to know the reasons that motivated me, if he was in search for the truth. I have it. Others were taken below or in barns to be beaten. Further it established shelter and group support could aid those truly wanting to stop. Studies found that Synanons encounter groups could produce lasting psychological harm and that only 10 to 15 percent of the addicts who participated in them recovered. When they asked me, if an addict enters Synanon, how long will it take? My answer is, If he is lucky, it will take forever.. A haunting tale of estrangement, Synanon Kid, is a coming-of-age story of hope, survival, and determination. He stated he consciously directed the Synanon population through this method. Sidney Poitier did more for race relations in one movie than most of the world combined. There is likely truth that allowing contact with past relationships might lure someone to leave or want to get high, but that is the persons choice. Yet it was from this that the miracle was proclaimed. Even AA, which similarly indoctrinated a specific dogma the 12 steps is seen as not so successful as promoted and/or a proper therapy to cure alcoholism as it demands a dogmatic conversion and life time attendance that has been proven not necessary. For more than a decade, a Tucson nonprofit drug-treatment center And it will be edited further. Dr. Roger Meyer, a professor of psychiatry at Boston University, and formerly the Acting Chief of the Center for Studies of Narcotics and Drug Abuse at NIMH, was one of the first to question the wisdom of subjecting kids to the brutality of the Synanon Game. just state that and agree to the group rules!! Synanons punitive system of verbal attacks and humiliation was counterproductive and drove out most that entered. NIH had even started its own experimental synanon at the federal lockup hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. is a different Posted by 6 years ago. Ofshe further pointed out Dr. Casreil who wrote the first Synanon book also reported similar short-term stats: 102 stayed 3 months and most who stayed longer were gone within a year. my last chapter in my book did just exactly what you asked which was put my what you call myscholarly talents on the American cult. If you think I am wrong to have spent time over the years going through Synanon documents to record its history, particularly its plunge into violence, that is your right and opinion. Yet at the same time, the noise Synanon made did wake up people to the idea, not yet existing, that cure was possible. Hollywood Park recounts Jollett's life at various stages: an orphaned 5-year-old, a troubled preteen, and an adult trying to find himself in his music. If you have read all my entries you would know I have written about the early philosophies of the early Synanon and how many who incorporated those philosophies because of that when they left came forward to testify because of those philosophies. We either do that or we stop. Many have the support of state agencies, because of the past publicity for Synanon, unaware of what happened in California and assuming therefor these programs worked. The Cedu Schools developed into an industry of sister schools, clones and copy-cats, that are now a multi-million dollar, international and unregulated business., *.*.. Most of what I wrote was a no comment description in detail of Synanons evolution taken from its own records. By the 90s, she wrote, tough love had spawned military-style boot camps and wilderness programs that thrust kids into extreme survival scenarios. It was known for communal living, practices such as group "truth-telling" sessions they called "The Game," requiring married couples to split and take new partners and female members to shave their heads. All Rights Reserved. I had seen your type all throughout the Webb, and many sites, always accusing and attacking the speaker, with no ability to point out a single thing wrong written in what being attacked and no ability to even understand what was written. you say I profit from yellow Journalism sort of an oxymoron given the fact that my website is free. Being a journalist, I find this approach, which was not just unique with him, disappointing and when we realize there are a lot of people like that, he creates a problem for researchers trying to ascertain history. Oaks and Spokes. Since I alone have the records (UCLA has only what Synanon chose to give it) I felt obligated. Followers joined Synanon, from the first beach house location in Santa Monica that expanded to San Francisco, Oakland, all across California, and the nation. Thousands of people joined and the organization acquired millions of dollars in assets. A belief system based upon coercive persuasion is expected by all who have studied it to be largely abandoned when the pressures are removed. Dederich admitted at deposition that Synanon did not know how to cure a drug addict and he believed the addict would fail if he left. Ben had told me you felt I had added more to what you had written and your excellent children study, and when I went back and read it I saw there was ambiguity between when I was quoting you and when I was adding my own additional comment. And in March she went, flying into Georgetown with her family, a few friends, and Jordan Such people probably would be happier in a small environment with given friends, lovers, jobs and a sense of purpose, where most needs are fulfilled. Also, if a person made that choice sincerely, that person may have a better chance of succeeding in an environment with supporting persons and ex-addicts urging of them on while removing competing problems of how to support themselvessuch as a housing, friends and a job. ", It wasn't until the boys moved in with their father a tall, Italian man who awed them with stories about once hiding a shotgun under his trench coat that the once-distant dad became more than just a mythological figure. I suppose if they werent why Id have to find another business. WebSynanon Industries. I had never been arrested nor done drugs. Synanon was a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center and movement-turned-cult in California that existed from 1958 to 1991. And I still do. (Joe Ricci was a former Daytop student who went on to found his own program for troubled youth in Maine called Elansee below.) In 1964 a New Jersey Drug Study Commission opted not to give Synanon any funding after reviewing rehabilitation statistics supplied by Synanon Foundation. By the mid-80s Straight was operating in seven states. Thats the nature of our business. Great concept, even though the eventual plan was to charge the givers and receivers and in Dederich words become Synanons greatest money makerwhich in turn would make him rich. She was at the facility for almost one year before she escaped at the age of 15. WebJan 2010 - Present13 years 2 months United States Im a CEDU Survivor who created & runs the Synanon Survivors Group on Facebook. How all of this occurred is set forth in the first book So Fair a House by Dr. Casriel. Zones are designed to separate business from residential, etc. Me there is good reason why Elan was not on the the.. Camps and wilderness programs that thrust kids into extreme survival scenarios not to give Synanon any funding after reviewing statistics! In Oregon, where they went to hide clients but may injure many more also Santa Monica acted because did... Loved her, she just was n't very good at loving me he boasted that they would cut off charity! Insight for me was I always loved her, she wrote, love..., experiencing his dad 's love was a life-changing experience is expected by all who have it... Ever interviewing the person who fought it now we wont need people like synanon survivors who... 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