 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2024) |
 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
:2was 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
- ^ "How to watch 'Born in Synanon,' the docuseries about a cult led by Charles 'Chuck' Dederich". USA Today.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
longform.orgwas 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.