-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | CULT ABUSE POLICY & RESEARCH | | Policy Representation of Cult Victims' Unmet Needs | | at the Federal Level | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Vol. 2, No. 2 Newsletter May 1994 | | *** Online Version *** | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ NIMH ENCOURAGES PROPOSALS TO RESEARCH CULT IMPACTS ON MENTAL HEALTH 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. The Director of the National Institute of Mental Health has confirmed that NIMH's current research interests would encompass impacts of cults on mental health. High quality research proposals in this area "are welcome," according to an April 21 letter signed by NIMH Director Frederick K. Goodwin, "and could be funded through either clinical research or services research allocations." Waxman Inquiry Congressman Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) asked Goodwin last year "whether the NIMH has supported research with respect to the mental health implica- +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | NIMH's Policy Letter | | | | Dear Mr. Bardin: | | | | As we discussed during our recent meeting, NIMH does not have a | | policy barring or discouraging appropriate research on the mental | | health impact of "cults". As noted in my correspondence with | | Congressman Waxman, the Institute's 1979 meeting on cults was | | terminated at the request of the Office of the Secretary, but this | | action of fifteen years ago has no bearing on our current research | | interests. | | | | With NIMH's mandate to support research relevant to mental illness | | and mental health, we are interested in a wide variety of factors | | which might contribute to or exacerbate mental disorders, or might | | interfere with treatment. While we have not received grant proposals | | dealing specifically with the impact of cults on mental disorders, | | high quality research proposals in this area are welcome and could | | be funded through either clinical research or services research | | allocations. | | | | Sincerely yours, | | /s/ _Frederick_K._Goodwin_ | | Frederick K. Goodwin, M.D. | | Director, NIMH | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Cult Abuse Policy & Research Newsletter | | May 1994, Vol. 2, No. 2 Online Version Page 2 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ tions of the conduct of cult leaders like David Koresh" and followers. Mr. Waxman, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Health and the Environ- ment, stressed that the "inquiry concerns only conduct, in the nature of (or stimulating) physical or mental abuse, and not beliefs, religious or otherwise." He asked for specific information on cult-related research that the NIMH had conducted or funded, as well as NIMH publications or conferences on such subjects. Finally, Mr. Waxman requested Dr. Good- win's "ideas on the desirable scope of Federally funded research on this topic and the appropriateness of NIMH as a focus of such activities in the future." NIMH Stymied After Jonestown Dr. Goodwin told Mr. Waxman that "NIMH has not supported or sponsored research or other activities on "cults" or "totalist groups" since 1978-1979. Following the Jonestown, Guyana, tragedy, the NIMH began, but abruptly terminated, plans for a research program. NIMH formed its plans in response to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which "rec- ommended that a concentrated program of research and training for mental health professionals be developed under the auspices of the NIMH." Dr. Goodwin explained that NIMH had planned a series of meetings with three purposes: (1) to delineate and evaluate existing research in the field; (2) to identify areas of non-existent or inadequate research knowledge; and (3) to assess mental health implications, if any, asso- ciated with membership in various "cults" or "totalistic groups." However, "strong controversies" led to "abrupt termination" of NIMH's initiative in June 1979, "at the request of the Office of the Secretary, HEW." Even though the focus of the meetings "specifically eschewed addressing issues of religion or belief," Dr. Goodwin reported that con- troversies focused on the appropriate role of Government regarding research on "minority religions." As a result, NIMH funded no research or other efforts over the entire 15 years from Jonestown to Waco. Research Status and Needs Today Despite NIMH inaction, Dr. Goodwin informed Chairman Waxman, some clini- cal and research activity had proceeded independent of NIMH. He cited the _Cultic_Studies_Journal_, published by the AFF, "which provides a forum for researchers," and the American Psychiatric Association's 1989 report, _Cults_and_New_Religious_Movements_. Dr. Goodwin believed, however, that serious questions remain "that are amenable to research for which the NIMH would be an appropriate focus." He concluded that questions regarding the state of research and the men- tal health implications of involvement in "totalistic" groups "remain as relevant today as they were in 1978." Policy Plug Unplugged After Jonestown the federal government deliberately withheld research into mental health implications of destructive cult experiences. Now, at last, there is no longer any such obstacle. Dr. Goodwin's confirmation +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Cult Abuse Policy & Research Newsletter | | May 1994, Vol. 2, No. 2 Online Version Page 3 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ of current policy came in one of his last official acts as Director of NIMH. He resigned as of the end of April in order to direct George Washington University's Center on Science, Medicine and Human Values. CAN VOLUNTEERS VISIT ON CAPITOL HILL CAN members from Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland joined members of other groups on May 19 for "Mental Health Constituency Day." CAN members discussed health reform needs of former cult members with Senator Simon (D-IL), Representatives Crane (R-IL), Kanjorski (D-PA) and Morella (R-MD), and aides to Senators Mikulski (D-MD), Moseley-Braun (D-IL), Robb (D-VA), Sarbanes (D-MD), Specter (R-PA) and Warner (R-VA) and Representatives Moran (D-VA) and Wynn (D-MD). At a White House briefing, Mrs. "Tipper" Gore, wife of the Vice President, thanked CAN Executive Director Cynthia Kisser for CAN's active involvement on the mental health issue. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | BOARD OF ADVISERS * Livia Bardin, M.S.W., Washington, DC * Peter N. | | Georgiades, Esq., Counselor at Law, Pittsburgh, PA * Bruce D. Perry, | | M.D., Ph.D., Thomas S. Trammell Research Professor of Child Psychia- | | try, 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/AwUBOrODATL5APkWv2amEQL1EQCgsy4vvYw+Q3NjZMXUdmhPkXrSNUYAniUO RWV5HX1B4n6UtBVcn0GgMFT5 =A1w5 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----