"What exactly do you mean by a cult?", asked the visitor in the back.
I was in the midst of teaching a class on worldviews and truth. The question hung in the air. No one had ever asked me that before. I just assumed everyone knew what a cult was ... you know it when you see it, sort of thing. I learned later that my questioner was Mormon, so my passing comment on cults invoked an immediate response from him.
I was reminded of his cult question as I dug into the background of the Insight drug rehab program. The word "cult" kept showing up.
This sudden interest in Insight started when someone recently asked us for a recommendation for a drug rehab program for their sixteen year old. They could not find any Christian programs that they liked. They felt that their son would not respond to Christian counseling at this point. We remembered the families at our former church, and suggested that they contact them for help. They did. To make a long story short, they entered their son into the Insight program in Greensboro last week.
Unfortunately, I started my research into the Insight program after their son was already entered. The father of this boy mentioned a book he was given by one of the parents in the program. I asked him who wrote it. He said a guy named Bob Meehan.
I .
The first thing I found was Steven Hassan's Freedom of Mind Center. This site is set up to combat cults. Turns out that Meehan has been the inspiration for more than one drug treatment center. In fact, the network of programs he has founded or influenced are numerous:
Pathway in Arizona; Cornerstone in Colorado; Crossroads in St. Louis; Atlanta Insight; Freeway or Good Company in California; PDAP (prior to 1980); SLIC Ranch in California or Arizona; or Step Two Recovery Center in Georgia or Arizona
Hassan's site has a link to a site called On The Emmis -- subtitled "For Survivors of Meehan-Run Drug Programs." "On the Emmis" was opened last year by some former drug counselors in one of the Meehan programs. The site is extensive and includes many posts from kids that have been through the program at one time or another. Not all of it was ranting -- but a lot of it was.
These former employees obviously had a beef with Meehan, but was it really a cult? I followed a second link from Hassan's site to an ABC investigative report done on Meehan. It did not paint a pretty picture. Testimonials from former employees in the program were particularly damaging.
I kept searching. Next up, an article in the Tucson Weekly from this May called Pathway's Problematic Preachings: "A local addiction-recovery program has a history of forgery, homophobia, racism and coercion, former employees say"
And then, an article from this May in the St. Louis newsweekly, Riverfront Times, called Kids & Drugs & Rock & Roll: "At the Crossroads Program in Chesterfield, teen sobriety is supposed to be fun. It's also expensive -- and not everyone's buying."
Finally, I went ahead and invested an hour and half reading sections of Bob Meehan's philosophy in his book, Beyond The Yellow Brick Road.
The picture which emerges from all of this research has me very concerned. What I discovered was the long and checkered past of Bob Meehan. His drug rehab career started in Houston ... he was a former druggie who was loved back to sobriety by a priest named Father Charlie. He responded to this by setting up a program to help kids get off drugs. The program Meehan helped start in Houston in the 70's grew and produced results. Meehan's fame grew when he helped Carol Burnett's daughter get off drugs.
A murky side emerges when you begin to drill into the complicated timeline. Meehan was asked to leave the program he started in Houston over bad publicity he had caused. He showed up in California in the 80's, started some rehab programs, but ran into trouble with the state. He failed to get a license from the state because they felt he had been less than honest with them. The residents also complained about the cult-like nature of his drug recovery program. His programs were shut down.
He emerged in Arizona several years later. New programs were started in the 90's in Phoenix and Tucson. Programs were also started in Altanta, Denver and St. Louis. Meehan owned some. Meehan's son-in-law, Clint Stonebraker, owned some. An associate of Meehan's named Frank Szachta was also an owner. The programs go by different names, but they had one thing in common. They were connected to the Bob Meehan training institute. This is the institute where all drug counselors got trained and certified. The programs all operate under the same philosophy. In fact, they were part of the same association, called "icecap", until it was dissolved earlier this year. Most of these programs are still operating. Meehan, however, has apparently backed out of everything. A note on his web site reads:
Dear Friends,
As of March 1, 2005, I have officially retired from involvement in any and all ICECAP programs and activities, as well as Step 2. Also, as of March 1, ICECAP has been officially dissolved.
The directors of Cornerstone, Crossroads, Insight, Pathway and I feel that the outstanding quality of treatment will not change, as I have not had any involvement in the treatment aspect of the programs.
I regret having to take this action, but I no longer want the programs to be adversely affected from my involvement This decision is for the best.
With God's Love,
Bob Meehan
This is a lot of information to absorb. The story is complicated. But reading Meehan's book was particularly illuminating for me. He clearly expresses his worldview and philosophy. I'll share some thoughts on that in part 3. Take a look at some of the links in this post ... particularly the ABC news video. It is about 8 minutes long.
Hi there, I just stumbled across your website. I have been dating my boyfriend for about a year now. He was a counselor for the cult in St. Louis for 10 years, until leaving about 2-3 yrs ago. He just turned 30 and his anger and issues of the cult and feeling like he was jipped of 10 years are getting worse. He is starting counseling next week for the 1st time, which Im thrilled about. My question for you, is can you direct me to a website etc that helps family memebers and friends better understand this all so I can be of more support for him? Thank you for you time- Elizabeth
Posted by: liz | July 09, 2008 at 17:14
Hello. I posted sometime ago regarding the Meehan programs. I apologize for not answering your questions--however, I did not see your response at the time. I only found this website again tonight--and it seems someone else was asking about it recently.
To answer your questions Dawn Treader, I call it a cult (instead of a scam) because this is a group of people in a position of authority over young people and desperate parents who exert mind-control and advance definite spiritual agendas in the upper ranks. The inner circle of the administration of this program are mostly practicing Wiccans, with a smattering of other new-age spiritual teachings thrown in as well. One major problem is that they call themselves a "non-sectarian program" which they are most certainly not, especially at the staff level (keep in mind that all the primary staff have been involved since they were adolescents who were once clients...)Not only is this unethical, it is illegal. Parents bring their children to these programs having no idea that sooner or later, if the program deems them marketable as counselors, their adolescents will be further indoctrinated with a specific spiritual belief system and groomed for positions as counselors. That, among other things, makes these programs cults.
Secondly, when people ask if I am a disgruntled employee (which I certainly have heard) I say, "You bet I am!" Not because I'm upset at leaving the lowest-paying job I ever had, or because I discovered in the real world that your boss doesn't have a right to control your life (including but not limited to whom you marry, what your sex life consists of, what God you believe in--or not, and whether you and your spouse have a right to have children whenever you and the Lord decide...), or even that it is healthy and appropriate to have friends outside of work and a relationship with your own family. I am a disgruntled ex-employee because I (and many others like me)am so disgusted that I was involved in such an insidious organization that has adversely affected hundreds upon hundreds of families, and continues to until this day. It is my responsibility to make amends in whatever way I can for that horrible error. It is my responsibility to do whatever I can to see to it that it's stopped. That is why I continue discussing it so many years after the fact (in terms of it's practical impact on my life, anyway)--because even as I write this, more kids are being sucked in in several states.
Please also note that although Mr. Meehan officially retired in 2005 (I think?) his website is up and running again in full-force. Every one of these programs has instituted links to him again on their sites. His son-in-law is now doing speaking tours and billing himself additionally as a life-coach, with a new book out. At one of his seminars in Arizona last year, Mr. Meehan was present and participating. All of us said it was only a matter of time before he emerged again, once they felt the "heat was off" on the national news front. And so it goes....same as it has for over 20 years...
For you Elizabeth, there are several websites that are out there to help, if you haven't found them already. The largest is ontheemmis.com. There are links from there to many resources. I am not a poster there, but they will help you find the information that you seek. God Bless....
Posted by: gnatarat | August 12, 2008 at 21:03
I too was a part of this program. As a counselor for this program we were taught in the Meehan Institute for Counselor Training why anyone who isn't white is below our intellectual level, and were pressured in to using racial slurs. This included gays. Bob Meehan was the main figure in these training classes, and Clint Stonebraker was there too. The counselor's behind closed doors all used this kind of language, and subscribed to the same beliefs. The clients may never see this but it is deeply instilled in any new trainee. You can see the clips of Bob Meehan on the web site, which include his beliefs about christians. Please DO NOT refer any one to these programs. The kids that work for these programs after being clients really get hurt. The directors all subscribe to the sme beliefs. This is an organization whose staff is indoctrinated by people that they looked up to while in the group. The worst part is that we never heard any of this until we went through training, and then once we got there we were already sold.
Posted by: rascal | September 18, 2008 at 18:49