Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1991, Page 37
alcoholics and other substance abusers. Under the leadership of Charles Diederich, a
charismatic former substance abuser, Synanon developed into a highly controlled, tightly
organized authoritarian community. With the intention of expanding, Synanon members
began recruiting among disaffected middle class dropouts who were seeking to form a
utopian community. Many members sold their homes and businesses, turning the proceeds
over to the “Synanon Church.” These new members --“lifestylers” --subjected themselves
to abortions or vasectomies to abide by the group‟s dictate and to show a sign of
identification with their leader.
Children of members were subjected to extraordinary brutalization. J., a former member
who was enrolled at age 11 when her parents joined, eventually sought treatment at the
Cult Hotline and Clinic. She described how she was separated from her parents and received
no education. After enrollment, she was repeatedly raped by groups of men who were “in
charge” of the children. She described having been severely beaten when she attempted to
run away from Synanon. Isolation and degradation in confrontational stripping-down group
encounter sessions --the “Synanon Game” --also followed her attempts to escape. During
her initial consultation at the Cult Clinic, she reported anxiety-laden nightmares reflecting
her entrapment in the group. J.‟s fears and anxieties are similar to those reported by many
members and former members of other destructive cults. Like Kathy in the earlier example,
J.‟s story is not unique. Histories replete with descriptions of isolation, separation, and
degrading confrontation sessions have been reported by former members of other cult-like
groups, such as the Sullivanian Institute, another utopian “therapeutic” community (Lewin,
June 3, 1988).
Residents and Cult Members: Clinical Considerations
Cult members and residents of residential treatment centers share many clinical
characteristics, even though cult members are usually older and may appear to be more
sophisticated. Both cult members and residents often employ similar immature defense
mechanisms, such as splitting and projection. Both groups often show poor frustration
tolerance and faulty reality testing both employ magical thinking in dealing with their
problems. While the resident of a center may be attracted to grandiose pop cultural heroes
such as Michael Jackson, Prince, and so on, the cult member will be attracted to grandiose
gurus and/or pop ideology with its promise of becoming part of a new governing elite.
Residents and members alike frequently demonstrate severe problems with separation.
Both often have internalized unrealistic expectations of their families and/or society.
Indeed, in both cults and cult-like residential treatment centers, members are encouraged
to establish a symbiotic bond with the leader.
Initially, the residential treatment center may function as a leader-centered group where
both staff and residents feel compelled to adopt a regressive dependent posture toward the
group leader. This focus on the group leader may encourage the vulnerable director to see
himself as possessing a unique access to the arcana of therapy. Thus, the group may
transform its leader into a magus whose therapeutic wisdom will allow the staff and
residents to participate in a therapeutic endeavor with a goal that has been redefined from
the prosaic one of integration into society to the more magical one of rebirth.
Residential treatment centers often appear to work best when they are organized around
charismatic leaders who are able to lend some part of their enthusiasm, dynamism, and
therapeutic optimism to the staff and residents. However, the recent revelations about the
Orthogenic School and the activities of Bruno Bettelheim underscore the risks inherent in
entrusting an enterprise to the beneficence of a single gifted, charismatic leader.
Bettelheim‟s former staff have characterized him as a
...cult leader who would enter into a therapeutic relationship with staff members
to solidify his hold on them. “It‟s a story of how someone who‟s a very smart
alcoholics and other substance abusers. Under the leadership of Charles Diederich, a
charismatic former substance abuser, Synanon developed into a highly controlled, tightly
organized authoritarian community. With the intention of expanding, Synanon members
began recruiting among disaffected middle class dropouts who were seeking to form a
utopian community. Many members sold their homes and businesses, turning the proceeds
over to the “Synanon Church.” These new members --“lifestylers” --subjected themselves
to abortions or vasectomies to abide by the group‟s dictate and to show a sign of
identification with their leader.
Children of members were subjected to extraordinary brutalization. J., a former member
who was enrolled at age 11 when her parents joined, eventually sought treatment at the
Cult Hotline and Clinic. She described how she was separated from her parents and received
no education. After enrollment, she was repeatedly raped by groups of men who were “in
charge” of the children. She described having been severely beaten when she attempted to
run away from Synanon. Isolation and degradation in confrontational stripping-down group
encounter sessions --the “Synanon Game” --also followed her attempts to escape. During
her initial consultation at the Cult Clinic, she reported anxiety-laden nightmares reflecting
her entrapment in the group. J.‟s fears and anxieties are similar to those reported by many
members and former members of other destructive cults. Like Kathy in the earlier example,
J.‟s story is not unique. Histories replete with descriptions of isolation, separation, and
degrading confrontation sessions have been reported by former members of other cult-like
groups, such as the Sullivanian Institute, another utopian “therapeutic” community (Lewin,
June 3, 1988).
Residents and Cult Members: Clinical Considerations
Cult members and residents of residential treatment centers share many clinical
characteristics, even though cult members are usually older and may appear to be more
sophisticated. Both cult members and residents often employ similar immature defense
mechanisms, such as splitting and projection. Both groups often show poor frustration
tolerance and faulty reality testing both employ magical thinking in dealing with their
problems. While the resident of a center may be attracted to grandiose pop cultural heroes
such as Michael Jackson, Prince, and so on, the cult member will be attracted to grandiose
gurus and/or pop ideology with its promise of becoming part of a new governing elite.
Residents and members alike frequently demonstrate severe problems with separation.
Both often have internalized unrealistic expectations of their families and/or society.
Indeed, in both cults and cult-like residential treatment centers, members are encouraged
to establish a symbiotic bond with the leader.
Initially, the residential treatment center may function as a leader-centered group where
both staff and residents feel compelled to adopt a regressive dependent posture toward the
group leader. This focus on the group leader may encourage the vulnerable director to see
himself as possessing a unique access to the arcana of therapy. Thus, the group may
transform its leader into a magus whose therapeutic wisdom will allow the staff and
residents to participate in a therapeutic endeavor with a goal that has been redefined from
the prosaic one of integration into society to the more magical one of rebirth.
Residential treatment centers often appear to work best when they are organized around
charismatic leaders who are able to lend some part of their enthusiasm, dynamism, and
therapeutic optimism to the staff and residents. However, the recent revelations about the
Orthogenic School and the activities of Bruno Bettelheim underscore the risks inherent in
entrusting an enterprise to the beneficence of a single gifted, charismatic leader.
Bettelheim‟s former staff have characterized him as a
...cult leader who would enter into a therapeutic relationship with staff members
to solidify his hold on them. “It‟s a story of how someone who‟s a very smart
