Still picking up the pieces of what was broken in me by this program.
The Insight Program Survivor: 2017 - 2019
this was my personal first incident of many of sexual abuse, coercion or harassment in the program that wasn’t punished or handled. I was forced to share about my prior assaults in excruciating detail, including being made to think of my part to blame for them.
This Program is Supposed to be for Sobriety Support
The Pathway Program Survivor: 2019 - 2022
“A lot of you probably know of me whether or not we’ve personally met or you’ve heard stories about me because of my reputation in the Phoenix group. Even a while after I’ve left, I’ve still gotten messages from people in this program, telling me they know me because I was the one who “got shot in the face while in the group”.”
High Control Group
The Crossroads Program Survivor: 2001 - 2004
The aspect of the Group that I’ve had the most difficulty articulating is how deep this sort of control goes. You are expected to constantly share all of your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Anything less is dishonest.
Staff Survivor Story
The Insight Program Staff Survivor Story: 2015 - 2019
I joined the group when I was 16. For the first couple of years, it seemed like my salvation. It felt like after years of trauma and abuse I had finally come home. For the first time, I felt like I belonged and I fell head over heels for that feeling. I had spent almost every day of the last 5 years not wanting to wake up the next morning and now it felt like my world had filled with color again. I did whatever I wanted and had hundreds of friends who all loved me, just so long as I complied with the rules and expectations imposed on me.
An Open Letter to Current Staff
I wanted to reach out to let you know that you can walk away from the program today. I assure you nothing I write here is meant to harm or cast judgement on you as an individual; I’ve been in your shoes. You are not “fucked up” for exploring this message, you have every right to hear this, to ask questions, to challenge your own thinking. I know you don’t think you’re in a cult, I certainly did not when I was there.
Topher Bayless Tells All
A Crossroads Program Survivor and Insight Program Outpatient Counselor tells his story of being a Group member, going to The Meehan Institute of Counselor Training, and becoming an Enthusiastic Sobriety Counselor. Topher spent 12 years in the Enthusiastic Sobriety Cult and has plenty to say about Bob Meehan, mind control and undue influence.
Synanon and Enthusiastic Sobriety
A conversation with David Cherry. He spent 15 years under Enthusiastic Sobriety's undue influence and mind control, which is a cult disguised as a drug treatment program.
Enthusiastic Superiority
It would be nearly impossible to discuss all of the ways in which the program views itself as better than the remainder of the world. While elitism is fundamental to any cult, it’s a trait of Enthusiastic Sobriety that often goes unnoticed by parents, who are so desperate to save their children, that they inadvertently hand them over to an institution that will likely damage them.
A Personal Account of the Program’s Approach to Sex and Sexual Orientation
The program not only intrusively dictates the sex lives of their clients, but has proven itself to be particularly unloving toward those who are LGBTQIA+. It is a cultural issue that can not be reduced to a few examples of bad counseling. It is clear that they see no reason whatsoever to change this.
Exposing Enthusiastic Sobriety Programs
The Insight Program Survivor Story: 2004 - 2006
Mark from Talk Beliefs hears Liz's story of her two years inside an Enthusiastic Sobriety facility, where prejudices, magical thinking, and bizarre judgments were the order of the day.
Crossroads Survivor Interview
The Crossroads Program Survivor Story: 2016 - 2017
In this episode Kate and Jes sit down and chat with Anna Tripolitis. Anna shares her amazing story of how she escaped a sobriety cult. That’s right; we said cult