As stated in the timeline, in 2008 I hired John M. Knapp, LMSW, who specialized in cult-recovery therapy. I was Knapp's client for two years through July, 2010.
Beginning in early 2010, we worked together as co-administrators on his then-online Knapp Family Counseling Discussion Board. In May, 2010, Knapp recruited me as the Creative Director for his then-up-and-coming non-profit to help former cult members. By June, 2010, our relationship had expanded to client-friend-colleague.
In early August, 2010, as I was working with Knapp and one other person on a cult-recovery online project, I found myself in a triangulation with Knapp at the helm. He then turned on me after his disagreement with the third party. He blamed me for things I had not said or done, refused any sort of discussion on the matter, harmfully cut off contact with me telling me I was responsible for "destroying our friendship," cut off my involvement in a then support group in which I'd been a founding participant, and (I later learned) maliciously lied to me. In September, 2010, he privately emailed one of his clients, who was a friend of mine, justifying his unethical actions.
In mid-September, 2010 (and continuing through August, 2011), I communicated with a handful of Knapp's lay and professional colleagues and peers. I was put in touch with some; others contacted me without my solicitation. I learned that these people had also been on the receiving end of Knapp's manipulative tactics and wrath; some over a decade in the past, others in recent months.
At the end of September, 2010, I filed an official complaint with Knapp's licensing board, which was one of the hardest decisions of my life.
[When I filed my complaint, it was never my intention to get Knapp's license revoked (as Knapp later alleges and speculates). My hope was that he would admit he had made boundary violations, take a course in ethics, and be put on hiatus from accepting new clients until he could prove he had proper control regarding boundaries. Even after Knapp's public defamation later in August, 2011, I was willing to believe that maybe Knapp would own his errors and change.]
In March, 2011, approximately eight months after Knapp's initial harm in August, 2010, I came forward with a retraction of my previous support of Knapp. I publicly posted my retraction in March because at that time Knapp announced the launch of his online non-profit Center for Healing Spiritual and Cultic Abuse (CHSCA) and began soliciting the public for people and for funds in the amount of $10,000.
On the morning of August 25, 2011, Knapp contacted me via a Facebook message. It was Knapp's first communication with me since he had cut me off in August, 2010. In hindsight, it apparently was part of his smear, fear, and retaliation plan which he began some ten hours later with Beware Ca... W.... -- Cyberstalker (See below).
To my knowledge there were never any internet murmurings, ie "rumors," as Knapp alleges. Perhaps some internet folk were talking among themselves, or maybe Knapp considered my blog posts as "rumors."
I never cyberstalked or cyberharrassed John M. Knapp. I never continually called his clients or board members. I never engaged anyone's support in any sort of campaign against Knapp. I never propositioned John M. Knapp for sex. I never did most of the things Knapp accused me of. There is lie after lie in Knapp's article, Beware Ca*** W**** - Cyberstalker.
On August 28, 2011, I addressed most of Knapp's allegations and accusations here: My statements addressing John M. Knapp's allegations & accusations.
In December, 2011, I learned I was not the only ex-client whom Knapp had harmed. At that point I had no doubt that I had done the right thing by speaking up and by reporting Knapp.
[Update with link: Knapp's license was revoked in January, 2014.]
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[begin Knapp's article]
Thursday, 25 August 2011 20:57
[Ca*** W****'s photograph]
Beware Ca*** W****—Cyberstalker
Written by John M Knapp, LMSW
I want to be clear:
The Ca*** W**** I knew was a warm, compassionate, intelligent, creative, and gifted individual. To my knowledge she still is. Many people read her work and find great value there. Below I discuss a campaign she has been on for over a year to discredit me. I find her tactics, as I discuss below, terroristic, defamatory, and sadistically cruel.
I am not able to wrap my head around the Ca*** W**** I knew and the stalking, bullying behavior she is engaged in.
I neither disclose nor discuss below any details of Ca***’s life that I learned during our therapeutic relationship. Any details mentioned took place after we ceased working together or come from her readily available public writings.
In the spring and summer of 2010, I began working on the nonprofit that became the Center for Healing Spiritual & Cultic Abuse. I initially worked with two volunteers, one a former client, Ca*** W****; the other I knew by reputation only, “L*** N***,” his pseudonym.
As happens frequently in a situation where people have a passion for a cause, we disagreed over a key issue in defining our mission. Tempers flared. I said things I now regret. I’d like to believe the other two regret some things said as well. We couldn’t get past it. I dissolved the team and closed down a forum we were working on. I went on to work with others. I have nothing bad to say about either former volunteer. Both are bright, creative, caring individuals. We just couldn’t work together.
Unfortunately, these two have launched an incredible campaign to discredit me and to apparently have my license to practice therapy taken away. Ca*** W**** lodged a complaint with my licensing board last Septmember [sic] and has made false and defamatory statements in many places on the Internet, calling those clients of mine she knows at home and making false claims, and also calling colleagues, friends, and board members.
I knew of some of this activity for a while and decided not to respond, partially under advice of my supervisor and partially under advice of a lawyer. However, it seems to just keep escalating and becoming more vicious.
Ca*** has loudly proclaimed that she does not care if she is breaking defamation or slander laws saying, “I will not be silenced!”
NO ONE to my knowledge, certainly not me, has attempted to silence or discourage her in any way during the year she has been pounding away.
Until now.
Ca***, unfortunately, has a public history of this sort of cyberbuillying.[sic] Two years ago she engaged in something very similar in attacking M****** D**** of Greasespot Café making disparaging, damaging, and defamatory statements about M****** and other Greasespot subscribers on public forums.
She has also engaged the support of M***** P*******, an unemployed PhD, former highly placed Scientologist, and former proponent of Thought Field Therapy, a fringe branch of psychotherapy developed by the discredited R**** C*******. M***** now appears to indulge personal grudges through cyberattacks on respected figures in the cult recovery world, such as S***** H***** and D***** E******. In fact, she has a little-read website dedicated to her attacks on numerous individuals she believes to be “quacks,” including H*****, with whom she simply disagrees. Apparently, at least at times, for her own personal reasons.
Someone has got to put a stop to these individuals.
Here’s what I can think to do: Make a quiet, simple, reason-based, factual refutation of the claims I know of.
I am also not wasting a moment’s time defending against the innuendo, as well as false and defamatory assertions of the people I discuss below. I do not have the time, emotional resources, or faintest desire to engage in the drama.
If I work in a profession that allows individuals with unclear motivations but destructive intents—and little or no proof—to tie me up in knots for a year, distracting me from helping others who want and need help—I’d just as soon give up the profession.
I’ll still heal. I’ll just make it clear that I claim no licensure whatsoever and do not practice psychotherapy.
Internet Rumors: Putting Them to Rest
This spring friends and supporters let me know there are Internet rumors flying about me and the Center for Healing Spiritual & Cultic Abuse.
They are untrue or at best contain a grain of truth. I thought it best to ignore them and not fuel the fire.
Unfortunately, Ca*** W**** has continuously contacted my clients with false claims for over a year. One such client suffers from schizoaffective disorder. She was deeply disturbed by Ca***'s insistent claims and went into crisis shortly thereafter.
They’ve also spread rumors to friends, colleagues, board members. One individual set up spam filters to deal with the barrage of “research links” she received from Ca***. Two board members, K****** M***** and A****** P*******, respected clergymen, recently abruptly resigned without offering the courtesy of relaying what the allegations were so that I could answer them. I guess Ca*** has a convincing way about her.
Ca*** and L***’s websites post demonstrably false statements. A fellow professional, M***** P*******, wrote me saying Ca*** W**** reported I made derogatory comments about M*****’s mental health. She was rightly concerned. M***** asked for my response—threatening she would complain to the National Association of Social Workers. Ca***’s statement was false. I said so to M*****. I haven’t heard from her since.
We work in a field where passions run high. When survivor identities or professional careers are involved things can get out of hand. In the past, S***** H*****, D***** E******, L******* W**********, and others have endured similar attacks.
Briefly, here are the false claims I know of:
- The CHSCA is not incorporated or is operating illegally. (L*** N**) Our website displays verifiable information that we are a charitable nonprofit corporation in Delaware. More US companies incorporate there than any other state. It turns out the service we used to incorporate did not register us as a foreign corporation in New York. This mistake isn’t uncommon. We are applying now.
- There are no people involved in the Center other than me. (L*** N**) The staff are listed prominently on the website. Our 15-member advisory board includes nationally and internationally known figures. (There are a number of bios yet to be added.)
- I practice NeuroLinguistic Programing or Ericksonian hypnosis unethically. (L*** N**) I never studied NLP, don’t know how to practice it. I’ve read academic articles on hypnotism. I don’t know how to do it. I don’t know why this individual claims I used NLP on him. My former supervisor is trained in NLP. Once or twice she invited me to a training. I politely declined. It’s not unusual that a practitioner supervises someone with a different theoretical perspective. I also have Republican friends. I wouldn’t vote for them.
- I use coercive influence on my clients, friends, and colleagues. (Ca*** W****, L*** N**) It’s not possible to prove a negative. I think of myself as a collaborator with my clients. The only expert in a client/therapist relationship in my mind is the client him or herself. Each client knows more about their own thoughts, feelings, actions, and history than I ever could.
- I treat Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID or “multiple personality disorder”). (L*** N**) I have never trained to treat DID. I have never treated an individual diagnosed with DID. Many clients experience uncomfortable dissociative experiences. This appears to be common after spiritual or cultic abuse—S***** H***** made note of this long before I did. I do teach well-known coping strategies for dissociative phenomena. When I can’t treat a client’s challenges, I tell them so and refer them to someone with that training.
- I myself have DID. (Ca*** W****) I am not diagnosed with DID. I have experienced moderate to severe dissociative symptoms. I began writing about my disabling dissociation in 1995. This is hardly a secret. I have been diagnosed with major depression, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, malingering, hypochondriacal tendencies, post-traumatic stress disorder, complex migraines, sleep deprivation, lupus, and god knows what else. Between 1995 and 2006, every psychiatrist, therapist, and medical professional had a different diagnosis or treatment. Many clients report similar stories. I suspect I did experience PTSD symptoms. PTSD—suffered by war veterans, rape victims, abused spouses, spiritual-abuse survivors, and others—is often misdiagnosed. There is no cure for a personality disorder or major mental illness. PTSD sufferers, however, frequently experience symptom improvement. Sometimes quite rapidly.
- I “have a problem with ___.” Fill in the blank with your favorite cult-awareness organization or crusader. (L*** N**, C**** W****) I support anyone who works in this field. Period. I am a proud member of the ICSA. I write about my personal debts to M******* S*****, J**** L*****, and S***** H*****. But I don’t agree with everything an association, expert, or authority says. Most academics, researchers, and practitioners freely agree or disagree with schools of thought or authorities—even as they respect their contributions. Discussion and debate are integral to research-oriented or scientific fields. The CHSCA is not an anti-cult or cult-awareness organization. We focus on pain and how to heal it.
- I don’t have the credentials to suggest ideas or treatment. You don’t have to have credentials to express ideas or opinions or to report experience. I have sufficient credentials to practice counseling and therapy. Although, because I have no intention of defending against Ca***'s complaint to my Board, I'm likely to lose the licensure soon. Since Ca***, to my knowledge, has never presented evidence of criminal behavior or ethical breaches, I feel the Office of Professions should never have entertained the complaint in the first place.
- I consider myself an authority or leader. (L*** N**) I am a minor player in the very small field of spiritual or cultic trauma treatment. I currently run a treatment center, much like hundreds of similar centers in the US. That’s about it. Anyone who has worked with me knows that I follow thinkers like R.D. Laing who strongly worked to destroy the doctor/patient paradigm. I don't believe there are authorities in our field. Least of all me.
- I offer miracle cures. I use psycho-education and standard treatment from cognitive therapy, narrative therapy, social learning, and evidence-based schools. I also use the strengths-based perspective, task-centered approach, and Carl Rogers person-centered approach. In brief therapy, 10–12 sessions may improve most challenges. Some complex challenges may take longer. My goal for any client is to fire me and hire themselves as their own “therapist.” I present my approach in detail during the initial consultation with any client. This included Carol Welch.
- Practicing counseling over the Internet is unethical. (L*** N**, Carol W**** via New York State Office of the Professions investigator) Practicing distance counseling or psychiatry has been common for over a decade. I belong to the International Society for Mental Health Online, a professional organization and subscribe to their suggested ethical guidelines. I am a member of the NASW and abide by their ethical code.
- It’s a conflict of interest for me to run the Center for Healing and offer therapy as well. (S***** H*****, Ca*** W****, L*** N**) Dozens of founders or directors of nonprofit centers in the US practice therapy. A quick Google search: Metropolitan Counseling Services (Atlanta), the Susan B. Krevoy Eating Disorders Program (Los Angeles), the Center for Balanced Living (Worthington, OH), and the Beck Institute, (Bala Cynwyd, PA). Judith Beck, director and therapist of the last nonprofit, is Aaron Beck’s daughter. He was a giant in psychotherapy. We plan to hire healing professionals from several schools of thought, an independent clinical director, and a professional administrative manger to replace me. All income from our clients goes to support the Center—as well as a good deal of my income from my private practice, which I am closing and transferring all clients to the Center. No one draws a salary at this time. We promise to post officer salaries when and if they are paid.
- I have practiced unethically and traumatized a client. (Ca*** W****, ad nauseum) This is the most damaging allegation, I feel. Ca*** W**** has submitted a complaint to my governing licensing board. I learned of this in April. The investigator from the office of the professions would not discuss the specifics of the allegations with me. So I’m not sure what to think. This investigator could hardly contain her scorn and disdain for me, whom she obviously believed had traumatized Ca*** intentionally. She made flat out false assertions to me regarding Ca*** being my client when we worked together, the illegality of practicing therapy over the Internet, and numerous other “facts” about which she could have determined the falsity for herself. Investigators are not credentialed therapists. They are clerks. They are rarely schooled in the law. Their job is simply to gather facts. Some clerks come to believe they have power—and therefore wisdom. These are very dangerous people.
I am bound not to reveal confidential details but may confirm information Ca*** has made public. She was once a client of mine, but had not been for some time. She did volunteer for a nonprofit forum I began. I didn’t pay her. She didn’t pay me. We didn’t trade services. She, another volunteer, and I had equal votes. We reported to each other. The forum had no effect on my income whatsoever. It was for professionals and activists only. It was private, invitation only. I could not use the forum to seek clients or other benefit.
Whether through misunderstanding or misperception, I feel Ca*** has misrepresented what occurred. But I do not doubt for a minute that she acts in good faith and represents her feelings and understanding accurately.
Within days after this three-way disagreement occurred, Ca*** posted the details, including my name, on her personal blog and at least one other public forum, stating she was considering legal action against me. Both my supervisor and lawyer advised me to not contact Ca*** in any way. Her psychologist did not contact me for her records or to discuss the situation. I attempted to contact her psychologist to transfer records as is the normal practice, but for whatever reason he chose not to answer my attempts.
Ca*** herself posted these statements publicly a week after our disagreement:
I had been a client with a therapist for over two years. The therapist is very good at their profession and expertise. I had graduated (for lack of a better word) from therapy almost a year ago, but still remained in close contact with the therapist. (I think, in reality, I hadn’t really graduated.) [delayed edit note: I was a client for over a year, not two years.] ....
As I’ve pondered more the entire situation, taking in all the context of the previous weeks/months as well, I don’t think it was therapist abuse. I don’t think this therapist abuses their clients. They didn’t abuse me in any way, shape, or form during therapy. They helped me tremendously.
That said, the final circumstance had the same effect as abuse, intentional or unintentional. The effect on my psyche is what it is. I am the only one that can redirect that. That (redirection toward wellness) is solely my responsibility....
I will add that I offered Ca*** a greatly reduced fee for my services as she claimed she could not afford them—I do so for anyone according to financial need. I also went further to allow her to not pay for months on end when she claimed financial hardhship [sic]. Ca*** was effusive in her praise of her work with me, both publicly and in private, for well over a year and a half.
Finally, Ca***’s attacks on my character started shortly after I made it clear to her that I would not engage in a sexual relationship of any kind with her, despite her oft-repeated requests after our therapeutic relationship ended.
I am genuinely devastated that Ca*** is experiencing genuine pain. I do not believe I acted unethically. But we have drastically changed policies regarding working with former clients through the CHSCA. We no longer do this.
I have waited patiently for over a year for Ca*** to work through this, allowing defamatory, damaging, and personally devastating statement after statement go by unchecked. I thought I owed her some time to come to grips with her pain on her own.
Today, because Ca***’s cyberattacks, bullying, and defamation have not stopped—for over one year, mind you—I have reported the situation to the authorities and am seeking legal recourse for relief in the irreperable [sic] damage to my emotional well-being, family life, and professional career.
[end Knapp's essay]
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Click here to continue: For the Record: Part Two, Facebook Dialog Number One
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