update Jan 20 2020: Samaritan Institute is now called Solihten Institute.

What’s crazy is when a counseling center and therapist I put my faith into (and not in any crazy way against their suggestions) not only refuse to acknowledge my experience but have over the past two and a half years refused to acknowledge dozens of letters from me and others, over 150 petition signatures, and a whole lot of research presented asking them to acknowledge very real and serious problems with their ‘preferred mode of treatment’ which involves wholesale disregarding of these kinds of things, and to modify their current standards of practice. That’s crazy and weird IMO.

I’m talking about not just one therapist, not just her supervisor and the clinical director, but a whole network of over 300 ‘faith-based’ (and state licensed) centers accredited by one organization that seems to have no interest in addressing this.

“Declaration of any particular religious belief is not a requirement for treatment, however, and counselors do not impose personal theological beliefs upon counselees, but instead work within a spiritual context when appropriate.”

That’s not actually what happened. I have almost no reason to believe that this is not a 12-step front group. One Samaritan Counseling Center (of Western PA) said they did not coerce 12-steps and did not want to be confused with this. Nobody else including the Institute itself has said anything as compassionate. I’ve documented their refusal to speak with me if I did not engage in expensive and frustrating 12-step treatment. These are state licensed therapists. And I have emailed at least 62 of the centers as well as the Institute itself, to no reply.