I am a Synanon survivor. Before moving in, Jollett had always considered his dad a "badass," a "criminal," a "pirate. We were mentally ill. Chuck Dederich would not only envy the Money Elan made, but the protection they got. Seven years before that trial Goldfarb had written a book calling for prison reform using the Synanon-style therapeutic community. Anyway, you should learn about ones actual career before you make assumptions about it. Elan did not offer the same type of tapestry as Synanon and thus probably caused more injury to its members. There are more successes, like the Rolling Stones Rick Jones, that stemmed from bona fide psychotherapy. Jollett's father, though not in his life in the beginning, emerges as the hero in the book. 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. This piece was limited to legacy and was put together through stats, admissions and results in clones. AA, as Synanon did, says one must participate in AA for life and have a religious belief in AA 12 steps. Information from former members of the cult quickly identified two of Synanons Imperial Marines as suspects in the snake-attack. The musician was careful in his portrayal of his mother, whom he feared would come across as a one-dimensional villain. And as the classic 1971 Stanford prison experiment demonstrated, creating situations in which the severe treatment of powerless people is rewarded inevitably yields abuse. I'll see you in a few weeks for three hours,' Or in some cases, 'I'll see you in six months,' in some cases, five years. Jollett, 45, tells PEOPLE about the abuse he and many other children experienced while growing up in the "school" of the infamous Synanon cult. They appreciated the honesty of the work. A business illiterate, I dont know an invoice from a purchase order or the difference between shipped and delivered. Some people, whether from genes or experiences, or combinations thereof, just are not capable of living a good life on their own. For comparisons please get my book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults. Sells noted in 1976 that, The more strict the program the lower the percentage of clients retained in the [TC] program..Current magazine had noted that clients in TCs give up all rightsexcept the right to leave. Over the years as I wrote c. upon chapter of Synanon history, I have mainly received nothing but great comments from people. The entirety of my writings say the same thing. And of course, this was what was best in early Synanon, i.e., peers to talk to and help if the craving starts; also support when kicking cold turkey, food and a roof. What is known about the early days, was that the older joiners were more likely to stay than the younger, and its initial opening success per Ofshe reflected that then the current age of entry was 34 or older; they were people who had a strong desire to remove themselves from the demanding regime of an addict/criminal life. So is the eventual years later reverting to a longing for the days of comrades and cause. Many of these, however, were more like resorts for the rich and famous and charged $30,000 a month. I would say probably every decade my views changed, either up or down, but only in small degrees. 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. 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. No one will be mad at you. ! Today as it is known that alcoholic recovery has a 40% success rate with no treatment at all; it is doubtful AA can surpass that. And it will be edited further. According to newspaper articles of the day he has publicly disclosed, Ive smoked pot, popped pills, but none of the hard stuff. Hereceived a degree in psychology from a mail-order company in Florida. 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. In one sense it becomes like the question of which came first the chicken or the egg. 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. But I have certainly seen where the situation is clearly reversed. Sure it maybe closed but it still needs to be investigated in the same fashion that Penn state was investigated. Another boy froze to death (given no coat or shelter), and the victims even included former Synanon children who were placed in these camps by parents still believing in the Synanon system. All throughout history when the same mix occurs so do the same results. It was reported between 6000 and 10,000 people lived in Synanon from 1958 to 1968 but apparently only 65 were ever known to have completed the program and elected to graduate to life outside the community. By the mid-80s Straight was operating in seven states. Poor and, at one point, subsisting mostly off of rabbits they raised and butchered in their backyard, Jollett was unable to process the trauma he'd experienced, according to the book. Children say they were punched, kicked and forced to eat dirt for minor infractions such as failing to stand up straight. If it had ended there, Synanons legacy would be far different and it would probably still be there. Both are real experiences, but which is more important to learn from. It's not good.' by I remember you saying that you had not heard of Elan, yet you were aware of there being many Synanon spin off treatment centers. In 1972 he reported on the case of a 12 year old boy who had been admitted, along with older clients, to a second generation Synanon called The Odyssey House in New York City. Fourteen-year-old Martin Lee Anderson was murdered within 3 hours of his arrival at a Florida boot camp that was run by the local sheriff, Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen, on January 6, 2006. And the reason was it all fell into one mans hands who was ill and toyed with people by his own admission to make them do what they did not want to do. 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. Finally, even the founder was not cured, returning to marijuana by 1977 and to an alcoholic stupor in 1978 that led to drunken parties throughout Synanon, as Phil Ritters and my murders were plotted, and the supposedly rehabilitated and reformed celebrated at the news of resulting injuries. Childrens deaths in tough love boot camps include: Michelle Sutton, 15, Summit Quest, Utah, 1990. Died of dehydration. A belief system based upon coercive persuasion is expected by all who have studied it to be largely abandoned when the pressures are removed. Where you at synanon in 1972-1973? Education website. In other words he would have to reexamine his beliefs and consider possibly his own victimization. In one of his many papers on Synanon, Ofshe noted that it is doubtful that all the therapeutic communities that cloned themselves after Synanon would have done so if they heard Mr. Dederich testify as he did in 1979: its always a mistake to let anyone into Synanon. Similarly, there is no evidence that every substance abuser is such for life and can only avoid destruction through one of these programs. 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. But he failed to see while controlled and anti-social pathology still existedit awaited release and that many were eager to respond to their old days ways if the message to do good turned to do bad. The Hammer Podcast. It gives an unvarnished accounting of the psychopath Joe Ricci who founded the Elan Corporation. After saying staying in Synanon is the addicts only chance for sustained life, in 1976 Dederich said that in 5 years there would be no room for the kind of people you are now. Hillary Clinton probably wouldve made a good president, the Alaskan Gov. His family claims his pleas for help were ignored. Hitler did great things for Germany, but it would be wrong to use them to assert we should all think of it as Spring Time for Hitler, as Janzen did of Dederich. The monster that now existed had to be stopped. A few, but very few have gone out and made it. Pierce (1977) And I think he saw I might be going down that path, too. just state that and agree to the group rules!! They must be lies because you cant live with any other thoughts. The same result was stated by Steve Simon in his Harvard dissertation only in much more elaborate detail. "Whose fault is it? Although Synanon was officially shut down in 1991, it had inspired followers to start similar groups that perpetuated Synanons worst principles. 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. Many who studied Synanon agreed. : troubledteens. 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. Im not pleased about it, a lot of people got hurt and if your part of the Justice system that should bother you. And, as stated, many of those who left were purposely ejected or forced out by Dederich squeezes. Indeed, that same year Dederich, in his The Wrath of God speech accused addicts of stabbing him in the back by failing to negotiate an apartment complex purchase, and threatened to get rid of all of them and replace them with squares. If one thought about it, does one really need to go to a rehab to stop taking pain pills or a little drinking or smoking marijuana; these were and are issues that the medical profession could not fail in guiding if one wanted to quitreducing, changing or eliminating prescriptions. also, to write a good book, you have to think that is what you are doing or it will not be a good book. About six years ago, though, she began thinking it might be a good idea. 1 talking about this. And thank you for further documenting the direct connection of where all these horribly abusive re-education brainwashing treatment centers came from, the mother of them all Synanon. Did you change partners? "He was just this big, masculine, Italian, strong guy that loved his boys. This is due, in part, to many Synanites having left to form their own lucrative drug rehabilitation companiesa degree in medicine is not a requirement., ***. 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