Steven
Hassan has been involved in educating the public about mind control
and destructive cults since 1976.
He is a Licensed Mental Health
Counselor (LMHC) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Nationally
Certified Counselor (NCC). He holds a Masters
degree in counseling psychology from Cambridge College.
He also wrote "Combatting
Cult Mind Control: The #1 Best-selling Guide to Protection, Rescue,
and Recovery from Destructive Cults" (1988) and "Releasing
the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves" (2000).
Both books have received extensive praise from former cult members, families
of
former members, clergy, cult experts, and psychologists; people from all walks
of life interested in the problems that destructive cults pose
for
the world today.
Early Years
Deceptively recruited into the Moon organization at the age of nineteen
while a student at Queens College, Steven spent twenty-seven months
recruiting and indoctrinating new members, fundraising, political
campaigning and personally meeting with Sun Myung Moon during numerous
leadership sessions.
Steven ultimately rose to the rank of Assistant
Director of the Unification Church at National Headquarters.
Following
a serious automobile accident, several former members at his parents
request deprogrammed him. Once he realized the insidious nature
of the organization, he authorized police officials to take possession
of his personal belongings, which included a massive set of private
speeches documenting Moon's secret plan to take over the world.
During the 1977-78 Congressional Subcommittee Investigation into South Korean CIA activities in the United States, he consulted as an expert on the Moon organization and provided information and internal documents regarding Moon's desire to influence politics in his bid to "take over the world."
In 1979, following the Jonestown tragedy, Steven
founded EX-MOON Inc., a non-profit educational organization composed
of over four hundred former members of the Moon group. Although
now defunct, it was the first and largest ex-member organization
in the world.
Currently
Steven founded the Freedom of Mind Resource Center Inc., a counseling
and publishing organization dedicated to helping people to become
psychologically empowered, upholding human rights, promoting consumer
awareness and exposing abuses of destructive cult groups.
In his commitment to fight against destructive cults, Steven devotes
a major portion of his time and energy to preventive education.
In this function he has addressed hundreds of campus, religious and professional
organizations throughout the world.
Steve's Approach
Steven has pioneered a new approach to helping victims of mind
control called the Strategic Interaction Approach (SIA). Unlike
the stressful
and sensationalized "deprogramming", this non-coercive
approach is an effective and legal alternative for families to
help
cult members. This approach utilizes family and friends and teaches
them how to strategically influence the individual involved in
the
group.
Using his SIA technique, Steve over the years has already helped literally thousands of
persons victimized by destructive cult-related mind control.
Recognition
Steve's work has been praised by cult experts, cult counselors, mental health professionals, religious leaders, former cult members, family and friends of cult members, psychologists, law officials, and educators.
During his many years of work, he has been asked to provide numerous training workshops and seminars for mental health professionals, educators and law enforcement officers, as well as for families of cult members.
As a cult expert, cult counselor, and mental health professional, Steve has appeared on innumerable television and radio shows.
Newspapers and magazine the world round extensively quote Steve Hassan.
Freedomofmind.com fully supports religious
freedom and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The fact that a person’s name or group appears on our website
does not necessarily mean they are a destructive mind control cult.
They appear because we have received inquiries and have established
a file on the group.
The Freedom of Mind Resource Center Inc. was established by cult expert Steve Hassan.
Steven
Hassan has been involved in educating the public about mind control
and destructive cults since 1976.
