by joe134cd 98 Replies latest watchtower scandals
Hi Joe, I have used his services. He charged me around $200USD (this was around $250CAD at the time) for an hour of his time. This was in 2014.
He's not a psychologist, but counselling services in Canada are around $150CAD an hour, so he charges around 70% more than a counsellor. Expensive, yes, but not ridiculously so.
It reminds me of two fleas fighting over the same dog ... or god in this case. So Steven Hassan has 'enemies', good! This means he stood up for someone somewhere in his life. Should he charge fees? Yes, especially considering there is not one single god out there that allows you to worship him or her for free.
Joe, please read the links regarding Rick Ross, who wrote the piece cited in the OP. He's not an unbiased source, there are good reasons to question the accuracy of what he says. Steve Hassan has done some very good work, I will not negate that based on unverified rumor.
I declined, well because I just dont have the money and It was not obviously a case of 1 session = end of services .
I can understand both points of views , yes nothing is for free and he must earn a living .
But If he was dedicated , as he says , to helping victims ( I was not a victim but trying to help someone) then he could easy half his fee. The sales dept of FOM seemed to be to very pushy , during the first phone call she kept asking me for my credit card details , but maybe that is the normal business practise in the States , Im in Europe .
All this said and done , I believe he is genuine and has a wealth of knowledge in this field . What is totally different and maybe almost unique to the JWs is the fact that so many are long term / born in members . His books are 90% directed at people who have just been sucked in to a cult .
The review of Freedom of Mind linked on the page was interesting. I recently read the book so it was fresh to me. My opinion is that Hassan is a mixed bag, but mainly good.
Some of the criticisms of his book are just petty. The claim of plagiarism is unfounded. Hassan may not use academic footnotes and bibliography, but he is more than clear about using Lifton's ideas and others.
The criticisn that he uses the discredited term "mind control" instead of the legal term "undue influence" is plain weird. Because Hassan himself acknowledges in the book that "undue influence" is the better term and he has now started using it instead.
The observation that Hassan's focus is on families helping cult victims is spot on. His book is no help whatever to people in cults who don't have families that want to help them out. The book offers little hope for such people, but it never pretended it did.
The reviewer is probably correct that Hassan exaggerates the growth of cults today and it's true he offers no proof for such assertions. And yes he probably casts his net as widely as possible to make his book relevant to as many people as possible because he wants sales. So what?
I find the accusation that Hassan uses hypnosis and NLP to be obnoxious because he acknowledges that he used them in the past, was concerned about them ethically, and has now condemned both. His statements on this are quite clear and the review obscures rather than explains Hassan's stance on this.
The question of authority and legitimacy is interesting and difficult. The reviewer raises relevant questions about Hassan never being used as an expert witness and about qualifications. Many would say that Hassan's status as expert derives from his experience leaving a cult and many years helping others to do the same. He also has relevant academic qualifications in counselling I don't think are disputed.
I broadly agree with the criticism of Hassan's use of the term "cult personality" as opposed to real or authentic personality. Some people may find this way of viewing things helpful to some extent. Personally I don't. The reviewer says these descriptions have no "scientific" basis. What they mean is that it's not standard terminology in the discourse. Fair enough, but if you want to get into the scientific basis of psychological discourse in general that's a whole other can of worms.
Frankly the least interesting accusation against him I find are his prices. I can not envisage me ever paying for his services or anything like them. But what he charges is between him and his clients. If he charges too much then don't buy, simple as that. Watch a YouTube video instead.
He seems to me like a genuinely nice guy who wants to help other people. He also makes apparently a good living from offering his advice and guidance to people with a lot of money. Too much for some people's taste, but no one is forcing them to buy. Good luck to him.
I think this site { thanks to Simon ,Ange ,and Mods, and all the posters who contribute} , is the best de-programming help their is , and it`s totally FREE for all to benefit from.
They have never charged me for the service they provide .
Just saying.
slimboyfat, I wouldn't wish Steve Hassan good luck because I think he may cause more damage than good.
Why?
slim, Hassan's knowledge stems from his experiences with the moonies during that period. jehovahs witnesses have enough differences from the Moonies of that period to make us want to question the effectiveness of his methods and also to ask what actual damage they can do to the person endeavouring to question and leave Jehovahs witnesses.
Most therapists nowadays focus on the individual becoming independent and strong within their own sphere. Hassan needs the family for support for his methods to work. this for me is an acknowledgment that his methods do not really work for the individual. indeed the individual may come away feeling even more alienated and bitter that he/she has no family support. others may feel they need to remain witnesses for family support without exploring very well how living as an individual can work. this would be a shame as most of those who have joined did so by breaking away from family in the first place. they already have experience of being individuals, so why doesn't Hassan focus on these strengths instead of emphasizing that family support is needed for his methods to work?
Slim = can't you see the irony behind this. Much of what you have said about Mr Hassan to justify his actions, could also be used by a jw apologist to justify WT. Absolute hypocrisy - and I'm not justify Wt either. Just curious but why isn't anybody investigating Hassan to see how much money he is making, and what he is returning to community based projects. Mr Hassan if you end up reading this, although I wouldn't expect you to work for nothing I'm a bit dissopointed in you really.
