Scientology, John Smyth, South Africa, Norway, Jehovah's Witnesses, Legal, Deprogramming
Journal IE: Reports of Church of Scientology recruiting asylum seekers 'deeply concerning', says O'Gorman
News4: Church in South Africa reeling from John Smyth abuse scandal
Stop Mandated Shunning: Norwegian Court to Hear Landmark Case Against Jehovah's Witnesses in February 2025
From Deprogramming to Thought Reform Consultation - Patrick Ryan, Carol Giambalvo, Joseph Kelly, Hana Whitfield
"MINISTER FOR INTEGRATION Roderic O'Gorman has said that reports of the Church of Scientology recruiting asylum seekers to volunteer for the church under the guise of helping them with their applications for international protection is "exploitation" and "deeply concerning".
This morning, The Irish Times reported that the controversial church had recruited numerous asylum seekers residing at the tented accommodation in Crooksling to leaflet and volunteer in the church.
The volunteers received certificates for their participation and were told that this volunteer work would aid them in their applications for international protection."
News4: Church in South Africa reeling from John Smyth abuse scandal
Allegations of a cover up of decades of abuse by John Smyth has sparked debate within the Anglican Church in South Africa where Smyth spent the final two decades of his life.
Stop Mandated Shunning: Norwegian Court to Hear Landmark Case Against Jehovah's Witnesses in February 2025
"A historic appeal case will take place at the Oslo Appeal Court from February 3-14, 2025, with critical testimonies scheduled for February 7 and 10. This case, brought by Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) against the Norwegian State, has the potential to reshape how mandated shunning is understood and addressed legally.
The Norwegian State previously revoked JW's status as a recognized religion, stripping the organization of annual financial support of approximately €1.6 million. This decision was largely driven by the efforts of Jan Frode Nilsen, a former Jehovah's Witness and a victim of mandated shunning, who courageously brought the issue to the attention of Norwegian authorities. Through his tireless advocacy, Jan provided the State with insight into the harmful practices of mandated shunning, amplifying the voices of victims who often suffer in silence. His work has made it clear that this is not merely a local issue but a global one, affecting hundreds of thousands of individuals worldwide.
Now, Jehovah's Witnesses are appealing the State's decision for the third time in five years, claiming procedural reforms. However, victims and advocates, including Jan, maintain that these changes do little to address the systemic harm caused by mandated shunning."
From Deprogramming to Thought Reform Consultation - Patrick Ryan, Carol Giambalvo, Joseph Kelly, Hana Whitfield
" ... In the 1980s many attempts were made by individuals doing interventions to get together to find ways to improve our profession and ourselves. But a difficulty arose in the definition of exit counseling and deprogramming. Some helping organizations at the time contributed to that confusion by maintaining a position that there was voluntary and involuntary exit counseling and voluntary and involuntary deprogramming. As a result, without the ability to establish a clear-cut definition, at those meetings people who called themselves exit counselors but were doing involuntary deprogramming could not be excluded and our work to establish ethical guidelines and a more professional approach spun its wheels, so to speak. A group of individuals who had committed themselves to voluntary interventions only began to meet regularly to share ideas and information and to develop Ethical Standards. We formed an organization of Thought Reform Consultants and eventually published our Ethical Standards. Those Ethical Standards were patterned after the Ethical Codes or Standards of the following organizations:
- American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy
- National Association of Social Workers
- Standards for the Private Practice of Clinical Social Work
- American Psychiatric Association
- National Academy of Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselors
We worked diligently to combine those standards with some uniquely necessary to our profession. And we owe our gratitude to the following advisors for their professional support and encouragement:
- Margaret Singer, Ph. D.
- Michael Langone, Ph. D.
- Herbert Rosedale, Esq.
- David Bardin, Esq. and Livia Bardin, M.S.W.
- Bill Goldberg, M.S.W. & Lorna Goldberg, M.S.W.
- Paul Martin, Ph. D.
Thought reform consultation involves much, much more family preparation. It is necessary for a 2-3 day, sometimes more, formal family preparation involving all members of the family team and all thought reform consultant team members. This formal preparation accomplishes the following:
- The family team experiences how they work together under pressure and how the thought reform consultants work together
- Enables the thought reform consulting team to observe how the family works together under pressure and who may or may not be appropriate for major roles in the intervention
- Improves family communication with the group member
- Enables the family to understand the culture of the group, its teachings and how thought reform techniques impact the group member
- Prepares the family for how to communicate in the intervention and what practical arrangements should be made
- Emphasizes the recovery process and their responsibility in it
- Emphasizes the seriousness of an intervention and all its repercussions
- Facilitates the family in making a fully informed decision about doing an intervention
Thought reform consultation involves even more assessment, as you see — and places much more responsibility on the family. They realize that a team is not just going to come in and perform some magical process and things will forever be okay.
In both exit counseling and thought reform consulting, the purpose of the intervention is not to get someone out of a cult. While that may be a desired outcome, the purpose is to give the group member the information that enables them to make a fully informed choice."
News, Education, Intervention, Recovery
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