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1958 California drug rehab program that devolved into a 1970s cult
This article is about the organization. For the film, see Synanon (film).
Synanon
Club Casa del Mar (seen here in 2005), at one time a Synanon facility
Company type
For-profit
Genre
New Religious Movement[1][2][3][4]
Founded
1958
Founder
Charles Dederich Sr.
Defunct
1991 (US); still exists in Germany
Headquarters
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Key people
Charles Dederich Sr.
Products
Drug rehabilitation
Subsidiaries
Synanon Branch, Germany
Synanon, originally known as Tender Loving Care, was a new religious movement founded in 1958 by Charles E. "Chuck" Dederich Sr. in Santa Monica, California, United States. Originally established as a drug rehabilitation program, Synanon developed into an alternative community centered on group truth-telling sessions that came to be known as the "Synanon Game", a form of attack therapy.[5][6]
Described as one of the "most dangerous and violent cults America had ever seen",[7][8] Synanon disbanded in 1991 after several members were convicted of offenses including financial misdeeds, evidence tampering, terrorism and attempted murder.[9][7]However, an offshoot of the group remains active in Germany and Sydney, Australia.[citation needed]
^Goethals, Ilse; Yates, Rowdy; Vandevelde, Stijn; Broekaert, Eric; Soyez, Veerle (2011). "A religion too far: a historical and qualitative study on how ex-Synanon members value critical incidents that might have led to the downfall of their Utopia". Mental Health and Substance Use. 4 (3). Informa UK Limited: 177–194. doi:10.1080/17523281.2011.578582. ISSN 1752-3281.
^Stark, R.; Bainbridge, W.S. (1985). The Future of Religion: Secularization, Revival and Cult Formation. University of California Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-520-05731-9. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
^Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Schager, Nick (April 24, 2020). "A Violent, Deadly Cult With Forced Abortions and Shades of Scientology". www.thedailybeast.com. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
^Helping People Change: A Textbook of Methods, Page 508., Frederick H. Kanfer, Arnold P. Goldstein, ISBN 0-08-025097-1, 1980, Pergamon Press
^[1]
^ abCite error: The named reference longform.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Synanon's Sober Utopia: How a Drug Rehab Program Became a Violent Cult". 15 April 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
^The Cult That Spawned the Tough-Love Teen Industry. Archived 2018-06-12 at the Wayback Machine, Mother Jones, September/October 2007.
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