John M. Knapp, LMSW: Endorsements Retraction

John M. Knapp, LMSW and executive director of The Center for Healing Spiritual and Cultic Abuse (TheCHSCA.org), is a therapist specializing in cult-recovery counseling.

I was a client of John's for right at two years, in which the latter eight months John and I became 'friends' and were 'like colleagues' in the field of activism regarding recovery from toxic groups and/or cults.

At various places on the web, I previously endorsed John's services and activism.

Unfortunately, I currently can no longer endorse John M. Knapp, LMSW. Our relationship ended in an abrupt, harmful, and unexpected manner on August 2, 2010. At the end of September, 2010, I filed a formal complaint with New York State Office of Professions. The investigation regarding my complaint is still in process.

At some point, I may (or may not) publish the details surrounding part of the circumstances that led to and the reasons for my retraction. Once the investigation is complete, I may post my complaint and the results of the investigation.

To life,
~carol

(Beginning the end of March, 2011, updates were added below.)

[As of September 29, 2011, the CHSCA website and Facebook page and the Knapp Family Counseling Facebook page, which are linked various places below, have been, at least for the time being, taken down. The CHSCA website can still be accessed through an ISP address (see ** below). 
Toward the end of 2011, the Knapp Family Counseling site had also been taken down.
**As of January 8, 2012, the ISP, on which the CHSCA site was saved making it previously accessible, has been suspended.]

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{note: John Knapp reactivated his Knapp Family Counseling online discussion board in February, 2011. I am still listed on that board as an administrator and moderator. However, I clearly resigned from that position on August 2, 2010, in an email to John which stated:
"Please take me off as a moderator as well [as administrator]. Just so there is not confusion...I am resigning from all those positions."

[Addendum 1. As of 4/18/11, Borz Lema Nal and I (oneperson) are no longer listed as administrators or moderators on the Knapp Family Counseling discussion board. John Knapp did not make that change; Borz Lema Nal (Lom) did as Lom still had access to the board as a listed admin/mod. Thanks to Lom for that.
Addendum 2. As of at least 5/22/11, the Knapp Family Counseling website and online discussion board no longer exists (if  "exists" is the proper term for when a website doesn't appear). Some of the website's previous content is currently cached.
Addendum 3. The Knapp Family Counseling site was back up apparently within a couple(?) weeks after it went offline.]}

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I have posted response comments on the following two different blog entries, one supportive of The CHSCA and one that is non-supportive.

CHSCA: Support center launched for spiritual and cult abuse by Douglas Mesner
{Non-working link: The blog post was taken down sometime in or around September, 2011.)

John M. Knapp, LMSW, and The Center for Healing Spiritual and Cultic Abuse (The CHSCA) by Lom (Lema) Nal

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I started a topic as a forum discussion here:
John M. Knapp LMSW Retraction & Center 4 Healing CHSCA
at Modern Chat/Friend's Chat

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Here is a link to The CHSCA Gift of Hope and Healing page soliciting for funds in the amount of $10,000 by the end of April.

Here is a link to a solicitation campaign to promote The CHCSA and receive a "free" ribbon for a "donation" of $20 or for posting a status update via Facebook or Twitter promoting the organization.

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As of June 1, 2011, Knapp's license registration to practice in NY expired. If he re-registers, it should appear as "registered" beside his "status" at this link: NY State verification searches. To read about what NY "status" refers to, click here: Status. To read about NY state's misconduct enforcement system, click here: New York's Professional Misconduct Enforcement System.

Addendeum, 8/06/11: Knapp apparently re-registered with NY state. Sometime in the beginning of August, 2011, his "status" was updated as "registered" on the NY State verification link.

Addendeum, 12/10/11: Knapp's status was changed to "not registered" at least as of 12/10/11.

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June 28, 2011: Click the following link (and scroll down the page to the "June 26, 2011," section) to access a partial list to journal and memoir entries regarding my story & perspective of what happened and my processing through my situation in regard to Knapp.
Journey through Memoir (an index)

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July 3, 2011:
Last night I discovered that the Center for Healing Spiritual and Cultic Abuse uses a past recommendation quote that I gave (regarding Knapp Family Counseling) to promote the Center for Healing Spiritual and Cultic Abuse (theCHSCA). The quote is slightly changed and instead of my name given as the author, it is changed to "Anonymous."

My statement was true at the time I stated it in support of John Knapp and Knapp Family Counseling (KFC), not theCHSCA. Of course, I since retract the endorsement for KFC. I never endorsed theCHSCA.

It is obvious from the comparisons below (if you click the links), that some of the testimonials for theCHSCA were initially stated in support for Knapp Family Counseling.

Below is the statement I previously made in 2009 (and since retract) endorsing Knapp Family Counseling and a copy of the same statement that was then lifted, altered, and posted on The Center For Healing Spiritual and Cultic Abuse testimonial page in March, 2011. The links are to two different testimonial pages: one for Knapp Family Counseling and one for The Center for Healing Spiritual and Cultic Abuse.

From the Knapp Family Counseling page:
http://www.knappfamilycounseling.com/testimonials.html
John's work has been a huge help to me, and I'd highly recommend his services to anyone who is looking for support and help in the area of mental and emotional health. One of his goals is for the client to "fire him." That means obtain wellness. (note: Wellness does not equal perfection; quite the opposite..imo. ;-)
—Carol Welch, TossAndRipple Blog

(note: I had stated the above in one of my blog entries and gave John Knapp permission to use it on his KFC page. Apparently (and unfortunately) I deleted that entry section after the trauma I experienced with Knapp. On February 18, 2012, I ran across the blog entry where I made the statement: Silence: There's More than Meets the Ear [3rd paragraph] )

From theCHSCA page:
http://thechsca.org/component/k2/item/24-testimonials-for-the-chsca%E2%80%99s-work
My counselor’s work has been a huge help to me, and I'd highly recommend his services to anyone who is looking for support and help in the area of mental and emotional health. One of his goals is for the client to “fire him.” That means obtain wellness. (Note: Wellness does not equal perfection; quite the opposite..imo. ;-) —Anonymous

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July 18, 2011
I recently learned that the address listed on the TheCHSCA Facebook page and on the Facebook Knapp Family Counseling page is the address for the Malone, NY's, FedEx/UPS shipping and office store. That address is 123 Covington Street, Malone, NY, 12953.

TheCHSCA website and The Knapp Family Counseling website still list the previous(?) address of Knapp Family Counseling where John Knapp rented(?) an office space for face-to-face consultations. That address is 40 Rockland Street, Malone, NY 12953, and was (is?) the address for Pathfinder Counseling Service.

Pathfinder Counseling was (is) the counseling service provided (in part) by Knapp's past(?) LCSW supervisor. In the state of NY, a counselor with a Master Social Work degree must be supervised by a Clinical Social Worker.

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August 16, 2011: Click here to read "Complaint Overview".

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August 28, 2011: Click here to read "My statements addressing John M. Knapp's allegations & accusations"

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September 24, 2011: Below are links to posts by Lom Nal and by Monica Pignotti, PhD.
John Knapp Blames the Victim by Lom Nal, August 26, 2011
John Knapp Blames the Victim (Part 2) by Lom Nal, August 26, 2011
John Knapp Blames the Victim (Part 3) by Lom Nal, August 26, 2011
Updates on John Knapp and the CHSCA by Lom Nal, August 28, 2011

Center for Healing Spiritual and Cultic Abuse (CHSCA): Some Questions to Advisory Board Members and Staff by Monica Pignotti, PhD, August 27, 2011
John Knapp, LMSW: Timeline of My Very Limited Contacts With Him by Monica Pignotti, PhD, August 29, 2011
What is a Dual Relationship? by Monica Pignotti, PhD, September 3, 2011
Update: Center for Healing Spiritual and Cultic Abuse by Monica Pignotti, PhD, September 9, 2011
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