-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | CULT ABUSE POLICY & RESEARCH | | Policy Representation of Cult Victims' Unmet Needs | | at the Federal Level | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Vol. 2, No. 1 Newsletter January-February 1994 | | *** Online Version *** | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ U.S. MARSHALS REPUDIATE SCIENTOLOGY ENDORSEMENT by David J. Bardin, Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn Washington Counsel for American Family Foundation (AFF) and Cult Awareness Network (CAN) Copyright (c) 1994 David J. Bardin. Permission to copy with attribution is hereby granted. Larry Lee Gregg, General Counsel of the U.S. Marshals Service, has informed Congress that the U.S. Marshals intended no "endorsement, in any way, of an organization or group" by attendance at ceremonies spon- sored by the Church of Scientology International (SCI). U.S. Marshals maintain order in federal court and enforce decrees. U.S. Marshals Concerned Gregg responded to an inquiry by Congressman William J. Hughes (D-NJ), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Judicial Administration, on behalf of AFF and CAN. Washington counsel David Bardin asked whether the U.S. Marshals were lending their name to an effort to "improve the image of Scientology." CAN's and AFF's challenge followed a series of SCI- sponsored "Drug Free Marshals" rallies with high-profile participation by government officials, culminating in a Washington, D.C. ceremony at which Cabinet-member Lee P. Brown, the "Drug Czar," pinned SCI stars on fifty children. U.S. Marshals personnel also appeared at that rally, and Gregg wrote: "We are concerned that our actions in this case may have been misinter- +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | The September 3, 1993 Letter Director Brown Doesn't Answer | | | | We were surprised to read [on August 10, 1993] that you participated | | in a Scientology ceremony -- pinning stars on 50 children. . . . | | Although ostensibly a measure to combat harmful drug use, the cere- | | mony seems more like a public relations stunt to improve the image | | of the Church of Scientology and . . . to forge links between law | | enforcement personnel of the Executive Branch and Scientology. . . . | | Is your Office aware of accounts of Scientology in Department of | | Justice court submissions, in judicial opinions, and in books and | | articles such as [Atack, _A_Piece_of_Blue_Sky_ (1990) and Behar, | | "Scientology the Cult of Greed" (_TIME_Magazine_, May 6, 1991)]? | | | | /s/ _David_J._Bardin_ | | David J. Bardin | | Counsel for AFF and CAN | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Cult Abuse Policy & Research Newsletter | | Jan.-Feb. 1994, Vol. 2, No. 1 Online Version Page 2 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ preted, and as a result, we are in the process of refining our policies on public appearances to ensure that a similar incident does not occur." The Marshals are independent of Lee Brown, who directs the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and is a member of President Clinton's Cabinet. No Response from "Drug Czar" Brown "Drug Czar" Brown did not answer similar inquiries. Indeed, his Office has not responded to requests to schedule a meeting to explain AFF's and CAN's concerns and share information. According to the Washington Post, Brown did not know of Scientology sponsorship when he attended the rally, but said he would have taken part even if he had known. KEY MENTAL HEALTH SURVEY OMITS CULT FACTOR; FINDS 14% WILL HAVE 3 OR MORE SERIOUS DISORDERS The important new National Comorbidity Survey missed an opportunity to relate cult experience factors to mental disorders. The federally- funded survey, covering a cross-section of all Americans, identified for the first time that over 14% of the public has three or more serious (i.e., debilitating) disorders, such as anxiety, severe depression, or substance abuse during their lives. The survey intensively interviewed a random sample of over 8,000 Ameri- cans. It used the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) pioneered by the National Institute of Mental Health, adding a sophisticated Post Trau- matic Stress Disorder module. However the survey failed to cover cult experience factors because investigators did not think of them and advisers did not suggest inclusion at the time of survey design. The survey, led by the University of Michigan's Ron Kessler, is reported in the _Archives_of_General_Psychiatry_ (January 1994) and _The_Wall_ _Street_Journal_ (Jan. 14, 1994, p. B1). According to the survey, 30% of participants report a mental disorder in the past 12 months; almost 50% will suffer mental disorder in their lifetime. Earlier surveys, limited to a few communities, had suggested a 12-month prevalence of 22%. RESEARCH DOCUMENTS CULTIST DISTRESS, PERSONALITY CHANGES Are cult experiences helpful, hurtful or benign? A new evaluation study published in the _Cultic_Studies_Journal_ adds to evidence of harm. The study examined 111 former cult followers upon entering residential reha- bilitation and 66 of them a second time six months later. As they entered rehabilitation, 95% suffered "abnormal levels of dis- tress in several of the personality and symptom scales." The 66 re- tested after 6 months showed "highly significant" favorable changes. On entering, 58% registered above the anchor point for {{the}} Dependent-Submissive personality scale. After 6 months, the level was +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Cult Abuse Policy & Research Newsletter | | Jan.-Feb. 1994, Vol. 2, No. 1 Online Version Page 3 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ down to only 28%. Of the 66 tested twice, 52% initially registered above the anchor point for Anxiety Disorder; after 6 months only 27%. Initially, 18% registered above the anchor point for Schizoid-Asocial personality; after 6 months only 1.5%. The changes in personality scores, unmatched in the literature, are con- sistent with clinical observations that cults impose "pseudopersonali- ties" on members. (Martin, Langone, Dole and Wiltrout, "Post-Cult Symp- toms As Measured by the MCMI Before and After Residential Treatment," _Cultic_Studies_Journal_, 9:2 pp. 219-250.) +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | BOARD OF ADVISERS * Peter N. Georgiades, Esq., Counselor at Law, | | Pittsburgh, PA * Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D., Thomas S. Trammell | | Research Professor of Child Psychiatry, Dept. of Psychiatry, Baylor | | College of Medicine, Houston, TX * Herbert Rosedale, Esq., President | | AFF, New York, NY * Patricia Ryan, M.P.A., Legislative Advocate, | | Sacramento, CA * Margaret Thaler Singer, Ph.D., Emeritus Adjunct | | Professor, Psychology Dept. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA | | * Louis Jolyon West, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, UCLA School of | | Medicine, Los Angeles, CA. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Send communications to David J. Bardin * Fax: 202/857-6395 | | * Internet: DJB%Arent_Fox@mcimail.com * Phone: 202/857-6089 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGPfreeware 6.5.8 for non-commercial use iQA/AwUBOrOCzDL5APkWv2amEQJqowCgjezxgikmQ9Qlnjq2q2l9t7XoM+UAniBH S1vKFmxb7uIsVVNDJQnE/RF0 =jLRo -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----