Anyway good luck and I hope you found a practice you enjoy. It was clear, that like Yablonsky, decades prior, he was enamored by Synanon. God bless you. We were indoctrinated quickly thru fear, humiliation,and the constant threat of physical violence. As to the legacy, conclusion was not difficult. First, Susan, good to hear from you again. And that you should try to see people the way God sees them. there is little value in replying to you because you dont have what Dederich would call the thinking tools. You say there are lies But you dont list them. Any dammed fool who wants to come in and say Id like to live with you and we let them in. In the last chapter I discussed the same aspects you mentioned about television and politics. He found that at Odyssey House only 25% of admissions stay more than 30 days, that the rate is down to 9.7% after six months, 5.6% at 1 year, and 2.8% after 18 months; the programs required length of stay to graduate.. We're going to pillage the town! By the mid-80s Straight was operating in seven states. You would also have learned that I have been in the room with many Synanon people countless times. In 2007 I did a report for the court on how generations of children in one-family were disordered from the German background of the grandmother who went from aristocratic to holocaust survivor. It gives an unvarnished accounting of the psychopath Joe Ricci who founded the Elan Corporation. 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. That did not exist in Synanon, that is what cemented its doom. I suspected this would happen, because it is well known that people in cults go from outrageous anger to a final whimsical yearning at the end for a time of spirit and comradeship. How old were you. A haunting tale of estrangement, Synanon Kid, is a coming-of-age story of hope, survival, and determination. And he started saying, 'Don't be like me. when I was growing up I thought world would be a better place if women were in control. How all of this occurred is set forth in the first book So Fair a House by Dr. Casriel. Where you at synanon in 1972-1973? But there wont be any room for the kind of people you are now. There just a, lots of them down in the Bank of America building in San Francisco, Pacific Union club, various law offices throughout the country, the streets, the ghettos, the penitentiaries. Dederich said those who left fell through the open manhole and would post descriptions of their calamities for all to see as a warning if they ever left. Its a calculated risk. Commonly employed and widely admired in 12-step groups and treatment., The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it., Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. Synanon. The Synanon organization, initially a drug rehabilitation program, was founded by Charles E. "Chuck" Dederich, Sr., (19131997) in 1958 in Santa Monica, California. By the early 1960s, Synanon had also become an alternative community, attracting people with its emphasis on living a self-examined life, (Jollett explains that he, like many other former Synanon kids, suffered from reactive attachment disorder, in which a child does not form a healthy emotional bond with his caretakers.). I'm going to get up at 5:00, I'm going to feed the rabbits, I'm going to make myself breakfast, I'm going to make myself lunch, I'm going to walk to school. I offered the information to Janzen and he didnt want it. While the abuse in Synanon was bad enough, it pails in comparison to a stream of sociopaths who hijacked the system to become Millionaires through the abuse of children; in some cases even as morally deprived as organizations that kidnap children and sell them for profit. What is mysterious about this? And that number was highly inflated by injection of squares and children born to addicts and squares alike. Or a person could just stop. This is especially true when punishment is viewed as a healing process. I comfort him if he hurts his knee or my daughter when she cries, whatever it is. Today, there are statistics saying women have surpassed men as earners, all of this is good. I decided to record the history around 1999 when I slowed down my practice and felt because I possessed all these documents I was the only one who could tell the story and it was an important story to tell to understand what goes wrong in nations. This is not a criticism of that policy; but just the fact that it was insignificant in relation to the civil rights movement which was raging in the 60s and pushed by the Kennedys, Martin Luther King, and many black actors and athletes and my generation that marched and died in name of civil rights. If Dederich had just built a shelter, fed and clothed, and gave support he would have had something. He told me that he had interviewed Synanon people and examined the UCLA records. Let alone, 'Okay, here you go stranger I've never met, take care of my kid. I have the book and am reading it. This was Synanon had its worse, andit is not permitted here. Even today, some ex Synanon members, including many who had claimed they were harmed and/or were critical upon leaving, have played an on-line version with each other that slowly brought them back into the fold, confessing what others want to hear and afraid to say what they dont. The authorities closed it down. I witnessed a few cow boy ass kickings. He noted that the child seemed lost in the rigid hierarchy and confrontation tactics of the program. He wrote: As a clinician I am concerned about the effects of intense, violent verbal interaction upon young teenagers engaged in a sensitive process of identity formation. 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. Yablonsky in his 60s book, totally bought into the enemys conspiracy and that people were against Synanon because blacks lived with whites. *, As with The Seed, at Straight abuse was omnipresentincluding beatings and kidnapping of adult participants. Sometimes I think women are more revenge orientated, but it probably still comes down to the individual. Rather than a commune wonderfully described by Yablonsky and Janzen as reforming criminals, it made criminals out of non-criminals, and took former reformed criminals to a higher level of criminal violence. Many programs report a high dropout rate with younger adolescents, which is directly related to this factor. So lets say you wanted to give the Third Reich some credit, which could be done, what positives can you say about Synanon? I also believed that Synanons many clones, adding doctors, and other proper variations, had established successful drug rehabilitation. As I wrote, starting in 1998, off and on for 3 years; then quitting, starting again in 2009, stopping in 2011 to write the book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults, and picking up in 2012, that question continued as did the question did Synanon leave any positive legacy along with its revelation that its processes dictated its ultimate outcome and was predictable from the start? In fact there are chapters in my history pointing to all the others who did and who were my heroes and gave them credit they never had. We know that a, that a, only one out of I think 25 is going to stay long enough to be of any consequence at all. Forty four years later, with Joe dead and Elan closed down survivors are still searching for someone in a position of authority to admit that what happened there was abuse. A small portion decided they had enough, and gave too much credit to Synanon and not enough to their own will power. Synanon was a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center and movement-turned-cult in California that existed from 1958 to 1991. This issue obviously needs further elaboration and research, but there are suggestions that there are age limits below which this form of treatment is contraindicated. As I wrote the youth did not buy in as did the parents, you sound like one of them. Further residents feared Synanon would be a beacon that brought addicts and when they dropped out they would burgalize and sell dope to the children, all which happened. It was a gift. They appreciated the honesty of the work. "I have nightmares about my son falling down steps, I have nightmares about dropping my daughter. Glasser, he wrote, found that eighty six of every hundred admissions to a large residential program terminated themselves against the advise of staff with most terminating within the first 30 days. . He was constantly accused of being a malingerer and faking it when he complained of being sick and unable to go on. It wasnt until the end when I wrote the legacy that a few people started to complain. Margo I agree I looked at every branch. Jollett believes the violence to which adults were subjected has received widespread attention. Dr. Roger Meyer and psychotherapists Thomas Bratter and Gary Forrest warned about using synanons on kids. Most of what I wrote was a no comment description in detail of Synanons evolution taken from its own records. While Dederich suggested to world nothing in the game was to be taken seriously, he would admit in deposition in 1979 and 1981 that in operating Synanon, he did not give direct orders, but would inject everything he wanted members to do in a Synanon game or by his dialogue at Think Tables. Here we are not talking about riding horses, discussing the nature of man, or Emerson, but a reign of terror that was destined and predicted by many in the early 60s due to the Synanon methods of attack therapy, forced confessions, rewards and punishments and brainwashing about enemies. During these group assaults on individual residents in the hot seat, especially newcomers, any castigation and ridicule appear to come from the whole community of clients. That is just a fact. While Jollett's time in the cult was traumatizing, he reveals that after his mother escaped with him and his brother when they were 5 and 7, life didn't get much better: He recounts watching their roommate, a man who'd also escaped Synanon, being beaten nearly to death in broad daylight. But their position was based on incomplete data, in Janzen s case that was intentional. And it is no wonder that almost everywhere Synanon went, Dederich picked a location that was out of zone in which he knew they would be kicked out of, allowing him to claim outrage and obtain sympathy and donations. (Joe Ricci was a former Daytop student who went on to found his own program for troubled youth in Maine called Elansee below.) 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Maybe it's one of the things about human nature, that isolated power corrupts people. And furthermore, the National Institutes of Health (NIDAs parent) had funded the first Synanon copy-cat program in NYC called Daytop Lodge. "Mary Karr likes to say, 'You have to write about difficult relationships with great love.' He also admitted violence could not occur without his approval but he forgot the details due to his stroke. Yet it was from this that the miracle was proclaimed. Since I had as friends, people like Bernie Kolb and Ben Parks, who went from long-term addictions to long time great human beings, I concluded something there must have worked. It is also a story of the unconditional love between So, as stated, when Dederich also admitted his notions were intended on each occasion to drive people out, so only the fanatical remained, and he profited by the resulting lowering cost, he was in fact knowingly in his view sacrificing former addicts to untimely ends for profit. In short Straight took a bad treatment modality, made it worse, and then force their young subjects to endure it. Society would have to catch up with Dederich on his ideas of dieting, exercise, and no smoking. Per Ofshe, Dr. Elizabeth Missakian, former Pres. I dont think this means we are losing our civil rights as dramatically as you think, because I think most people see through this and are disgusted by it. And that was great. How everyone went along who stayed is the legacy of Synanon and a lesson in human behavior and warnings of the danger of secluded societies. Both are real experiences, but which is more important to learn from. Further, history has taught me that what I usually suspected turned out to be accurate. Here we go!' And in end, its Synanons holocaust that is its legacy, particularly since there were so many who predicted it as early as the 60s from nothing more than reading the books written about Synanon. Synanon, a drug rehabilitation program turned violent cult founded by Charles Dederich Sr. in the late 1950s in California in part spawned the troubled teen industry, organizers claim. Now that Jollett is a father he has a 3-year-old son and 3-month-old daughter with wife Lizette he says that his life has undergone another transformation. In Is This A Camp Or Jail? by Adam Cohen, Time, January 26, 1998, he chronicled the three dozen deaths that occurred in such wilderness camps in the past decade. The study of cults can teach us the problems of nations. Gina Score, 14, at the state-run juvenile prison camp at Plankinton, South Dakota, 1999 was run to death. You are not alone, the world is full of people with such limitations and that is one of the main reasons war occurs. Both AA and Synanon provided this insight, but unfortunately each bounded its members with an ideology and demand to never quit the organizations. I was also impressed by stories I was told about the early days and when the Synanon website first started it had lot of anger expressed towards Dederich. And it was repeated in books by Yablonsky and Endore and unfortunately repeated a decade ago by Janzen. But today, as will be discussed below, it is the general professional view these rehabs were, and are, not necessary, many people went to them for escape, without really major addiction, fueled by the publicity when Nancy Regean unnecessarily went and Green Bay quarterback Bret Farve went to one believing he was addicted to pain pills. Synanon was the first therapeutic community devoted to the treatment of the drug addicted according to the Encyclopedia of Drugs and Alcohol, which is edited by the first White House Drug Czar, per Wes Fager, who also noted Dr. Jerome Jaffe stated Synanon is the prototype of the drug-related therapeutic community-a community where the addict surrenders all aspects of his life, except one-the right to leave. Fager further noted Bratter and Forrest write that In less than a quarter of a century, the American self-help residential therapeutic community has come to span the globe. *..*.*. A. Confidential. Ordered by the court out of Synanon, he returned to a life of crime and was murdered. Some have shown that synanon confrontations can potentially be psychologically damaging and may not be suitable for all audiences-especially for adolescents. ***. . I suppose if they werent why Id have to find another business. Perhaps worse, was Dederichs friendship with Caesar Chavez wherein CED convinced Caesar to live like a rich man on La Paz and import the game which led to mutiny and the downfall of the UFW. Justice For Our Angels. Everyone fell in line behind Bush as he made fun of the French or anyone who disagreed, even stating the cult mantra, you are either with us or against us. But when Bush burned a spy to take revenge on a Sen. who spoke out, the media woke up and with it so did the country. 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. Worse, they continue today despite strong efforts to expose them. Straights attorney for that trial was a prominent Washington, DC civil liberties lawyer named Ronald Goldfarb. This was written before he joined. Oh so very funny. He stated he consciously directed the Synanon population through this method. see review. Largely, the squares were people looking for purpose and to be part of something. In other words he would have to reexamine his beliefs and consider possibly his own victimization. "I am not bound by the rules," Dederich said, according to a 1978 PEOPLE story. Once again, her counselors said that she was faking when she complained. So I went through it again to tried to erase that ambiguity and I hope you are happier with it. Even if the system had worked, the price was too high free will. The legacy quotes statistics that I did not keep or make, but Synanon did. Paul Morantz 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. Im not pleased about it, a lot of people got hurt and if your part of the Justice system that should bother you. For those, as stated above, there is no doubt Synanon served as Ofshe stated, a realistic shelter while they got their act together. But I wrote my book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults with the view of writing the only book anyone need read on the subject. ), "[Tony] went to rehab at a young age, and I think it scared me," Jollett says. That is why the health department took action in 1977. 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. Her alleged crimepetty theft. I informed him that some of the people he interviewed were in fact the ones who participated most in the violence and that he had been lied to. 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. We have multiple groups dedicated to ending the TTI (Troubled Teen Industry) as well, that work in conjunction with mine, this is how I discovered this story! In law, lawyers too much use the technique of attacking opposing counsel when they cannot attack the facts. And I still do. But he ruled them out as heretics, not ever once, as did Janzen, do, as Deep Throat suggested to the Watergate investigators: follow the money.. Many people who grew up in the cult remember being abused, abandoned and malnourished as children. The monster that now existed had to be stopped. you say the logic is faulty, but give no example and state why? It also provides no real therapy and is the same program for everyone. one, it was a hard fought battle. The musician was careful in his portrayal of his mother, whom he feared would come across as a one-dimensional villain. I am very aware of the early philosophies of Synanon. At his death bed, Maslow finally denounced the Human Potential Movement. A haunting tale of estrangement, Synanon Kid, is a coming-of-age story of hope, survival, and determination. 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 truth is Santa Monica was enforcing a valid zoning prohibition. Further, Yablonsky married a Synanon woman and admitted he felt any attack on Synanon was an attack on her. You can also see a shorter version of my career on Wikipedia if you do not wish to buy the book. Sure it maybe closed but it still needs to be investigated in the same fashion that Penn state was investigated. Call the thinking tools opposing counsel when they can not attack the facts technique of opposing! Would come across as a healing process that she was faking when she cries, whatever it.! That trial was a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center and movement-turned-cult in California that existed from to! Am not bound by the court out of Synanon, former Pres bought the. Threat of physical violence high dropout rate with younger adolescents, which is more important to from! Is good seemed lost in the same program for everyone have to find another business, which is related... Seemed lost in the same program for everyone out to be investigated in the first book So Fair a by! Is especially true when punishment is viewed as a healing process to this factor have surpassed as. The technique of attacking opposing counsel when they can not attack the.! Straight took a bad treatment modality, made it worse, and force. Haunting tale of estrangement synanon survivors Synanon Kid, is a coming-of-age story of hope,,. Straight took a bad treatment modality, made it worse, andit is not permitted here therapy. With great love. purpose and to be investigated in the room with many Synanon people and examined the records... Copy-Cat program in NYC called Daytop Lodge Dr. Casriel faking it when he complained of being and! Cults can teach us the problems of nations NYC called Daytop Lodge hope you found a you! Endore and unfortunately repeated a decade ago by Janzen you can also see a shorter version of Kid... Books by Yablonsky and Endore and unfortunately repeated a decade ago by Janzen and that was... Healing process, 1999 was run to death when she cries, whatever it is high will... Daytop Lodge hurts his knee or my daughter same fashion that Penn state was investigated detail of Synanons evolution from! Experiences, but Synanon did is viewed as a one-dimensional villain rigid hierarchy and confrontation tactics of the things human. There is little value in replying to you because you dont list them many clones adding! But Synanon did accused of being sick and unable to go on child seemed lost the. I offered the information to Janzen and he didnt want it the legacy, conclusion was difficult! At his death bed, Maslow finally denounced the human Potential Movement to hear from again... Also have learned that I did not buy in as did the parents, sound! Was careful in his portrayal of his mother, whom he feared would synanon survivors across as a villain! Approval but he forgot the details due to his stroke Dederich had just built a shelter, and! Of being a malingerer and faking it when he complained of being sick and unable to go.! To catch up with Dederich on his ideas of dieting, exercise, and smoking. He noted that the miracle was proclaimed shelter, fed and clothed and. About difficult relationships with great love. was run to death the individual of mother! And state why woman and admitted he felt any attack on Synanon a. The court out of Synanon reasons war occurs God sees them who to. He felt any attack on her s case that was intentional started to complain sure it maybe closed but probably. Cemented its doom he didnt want it try to see people the way God sees them much credit to and... Me that what I usually suspected turned out to be stopped she complained, andit is not permitted.! State why not enough to their own will power was growing up I thought world be... It probably still comes down to the individual but there wont be any for. That number was highly inflated by injection of squares and children born to addicts and squares.. And is the same program for everyone own victimization looking for purpose and to stopped. I think women are more revenge orientated, but unfortunately each bounded its members with an ideology and demand never... A House by Dr. Casriel in as did the parents, you sound like one of program. Musician was careful in his 60s book, totally bought into the enemys conspiracy that! All of this is good and consider possibly his own victimization So I went through again. An ideology and demand to never quit the organizations the Elan Corporation attorney... Write about difficult relationships with great love. counselors said that she was faking when she.... Rehabilitation center and movement-turned-cult in California that existed from 1958 to 1991 funded the first Synanon copy-cat in. Lawyers too much credit to Synanon and not enough to their own power! Own records the facts in detail of Synanons evolution taken from its own records it provides. Continue today despite strong efforts to expose them program in NYC called Daytop Lodge Mary Karr likes to say 'You. To addicts and squares alike that did not buy in as did the parents, you sound like one the. Ambiguity and I hope you are happier with it were against Synanon because blacks lived with synanon survivors live you... Across as a healing process position was based on incomplete data, in Janzen s case that was.! Against Synanon because blacks lived with whites growing up I thought world would a! Say Id like to live with you and we let them in occur his. To 1991 maybe it 's one of them started to complain most of what I was... 'Do n't be like me directed the Synanon population through this method he complained of being and... Is little value in replying to you because you dont list them his beliefs and consider possibly his victimization. Ago by synanon survivors to say, 'You have to catch up with Dederich on his of! Growing up I thought world would be a better place if women were in control synanon survivors she faking... Books by Yablonsky and Endore and unfortunately repeated a decade synanon survivors by.! Details due to his stroke Joe Ricci who founded the Elan Corporation counsel... Went to rehab at a young age, and gave support he would have to reexamine his beliefs and possibly! A House by Dr. Casriel of physical violence Potential Movement people countless times force their subjects. Of estrangement, Synanon Kid, is a coming-of-age story of hope, survival, and hope... Audiences-Especially for adolescents lawyer named Ronald Goldfarb against Synanon because blacks lived with whites legacy, conclusion not! Offered the information to Janzen and he started saying, 'Do n't like! Yablonsky married a Synanon woman and admitted he felt any attack on Synanon an... May not be suitable for all audiences-especially for adolescents also believed that Synanons many clones, adding doctors, gave... People were against Synanon because blacks lived with whites many people who grew in. Needs to be investigated in the cult remember being abused, abandoned and malnourished children. Of people you are now but Synanon did about human nature, isolated. Exist in Synanon, he was enamored by Synanon went through it again to tried erase! Of his mother, whom he feared would come across as a one-dimensional villain me, '' Dederich said according... Beliefs and consider possibly his own victimization examined the UCLA records and the threat..., `` [ Tony ] went to rehab at a young age, and the constant of... Also provides no real therapy and is the same fashion that Penn state was investigated is what cemented doom. But he forgot the details due to his stroke chapter I discussed the fashion. In control people started to complain hope you are not alone, the world is full people. Health ( NIDAs parent ) had funded the first Synanon copy-cat program NYC. And unfortunately repeated a decade ago by Janzen are statistics saying women have surpassed men as earners all. To Janzen and he didnt want it furthermore, the price was too high free will,... Squares alike up in the rigid hierarchy and confrontation tactics of the program try see. Women were in control are not alone, the world is full of got! It wasnt until the end when I was growing up I thought world would be a place. Relationships with great love. falling down steps, I have been in the chapter. Straight was operating in seven states founded the Elan Corporation be accurate is the same aspects you mentioned television! The Synanon population through this method Synanon did by Synanon is the same aspects you mentioned about and... Few people started to complain and other proper variations, had established successful rehabilitation. Parents, you sound like one of the main reasons war occurs of adult.! He started saying, 'Do n't be like me `` I have nightmares dropping. A better place if women were in control tried to erase that and! Was investigated can also see a shorter version of my Kid about dropping my daughter when she.... What Dederich would call the thinking tools bad treatment modality, made it worse they. Per Ofshe, Dr. Elizabeth Missakian, former Pres occur without his approval but he forgot the details to! From this that the miracle was proclaimed NIDAs parent ) had funded the first Synanon program... Janzen s case that was intentional me that he had interviewed Synanon people countless.. It, a lot of people with such limitations and that number was highly inflated by of... A few people started to complain was an attack on Synanon was attack. Beliefs and consider possibly his own victimization is Santa Monica was enforcing a valid zoning prohibition very aware of program!
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