Narconon Trois-Rivieres: Scientology Connection

Perhaps a dangerous cult of dichotomies would explain some of the puzzling contradictions at this Canadian Rehab treatment facility. The ongoing controversy over the Narconon Rehab being secular, religious, or holistic, may continue on for decades, but the Scientology staff’s actions, point a clear assist finger at being a “Religious” entity. Although we must be cautious in judging ones actions before we know their motives; Hubbard has exposed motive in his writings, leaving “cautious” a moot point.

The words secular, religious, and holistic, are used at random to further the greatest good for their own Religious Group Doctrines and Therapies. In L. Ron Hubbard’s, own words, he states, “The only way you can control people, is to lie to them.” In a Policy Letter from 1972, Scientology Founder, Hubbard states, “Make Money. Make More Money. Make Other People Produce So As To Make More Money."

His motives are exposed in his decades of quotes: “"I'd like to start a religion. That's where the money is" and “"Let's sell these people a piece of blue sky." And these people pay and pay and pay.

Narconon uses the word secular to distance itself from the connection to Scientology controversies and the fear of losing profits should it become common knowledge to the public seeking help for desperate loved ones. When a vulnerable patient enters the Narconon facility under their care and control, speaking about or discussing Scientology is forbidden. In early December 2008, a staff member in the Withdrawal Unit quickly hushed up a few patients who were mumbling on about Narconon being Scientology. The patient who initiated the conversation had been in the Narconon program on a previous occasion and knew well that Narconon was Scientology.

Later on that same day, I inquired why a patient was not permitted to speak about a religion. After all, the Director did state to the Media that they do not discriminate against any religion – “all are welcome”, he said. I was amazed at the answer received from the Narconon staff member. “Well David” he said, “We are concerned that when a patient contacts their family at home, that they will continue speaking about Narconon being Scientology, and it may create an atmosphere of fear, and the family might pull the patient out of Narconon and place them in another treatment center.”

Even though I prodded for more information about why, there were no further answers at that time.

Let’s Do Some Scientology Religious Therapies:

Every step of the Narconon program is Scientology, in every aspect and Religious Doctrine as set forth by Scientology Founder, L. Ron Hubbard. These Doctrines and Therapies begin the day a patient arrives at Narconon Trois-Rivieres, in the form of Assists, Auditing Techniques, and Scientology Training Routines. For a patient detoxing from alcohol or drugs, with no doctor, nurse, or any other professional, qualified medical staff monitoring symptoms, Narconon can be a dangerous, life threatening experience. It was not uncommon for an ambulance or staff member to be seen rushing a patient off to hospital emergency in Trois-Rivieres. Indeed, a disturbing scene.

This Scientology program continues on for three to five months. Many hours, weeks, and months of Scientology Training Routines, Scientology Sauna Purification Rundown, and many weeks in Scientology Auditing Sessions. The patient is brain washed, coerced into writing success stories, and put through Auditing Sessions until what the Course Room Supervisor explained to me was a state of “cracked” obtained from the patient. Later I viewed a small Scientology hand book that was stored in the locked file cabinet where the Patient Case Files were stored in the Objectives Auditing Room. This book indicated what to look for in a Patient being in a Scientology Auditing Session at Narconon.

Scientology Soul Cracking:

As L Ron Hubbard Jr said in an interview, “Brainwashing is nothing compared to it. The proper term would be "soul cracking.” It’s very powerful, very workable and very dangerous.” - "It's like cracking open the soul, which then opens various doors to the power that exists, the satanic and demonic powers. Simply put, it's like a tunnel or an avenue or a doorway. Pulling that power into yourself through another person—“

"He designed his Scientology Operating Thetan techniques (Scientology's secret initiations) to do the same thing. But, of course, it takes a couple of hundred hours of auditing and mega thousands of dollars for the privilege of having your head
turned into a glass Humpty Dumpty--shattered into a million pieces. It may sound like incredible gibberish, but it made my father a fortune."

L. Ron Hubbard Jr. may not be far off his Humpty Dumpty analogy when it comes to the practices of Scientology. A story remembered by many at Trois-Rivieres, was that of a Patient from Iran who was in an Auditing Session and was crawling around on all fours. He left immediately after graduating and the Director, Marc Bernard, read his graduation speech. The speech contained a combination of only one word. Meow! The director shook his head in wonder, but did promise to read the speech. So on it went, “Meow -- meow meow meow -- meow meow –- meow.” And on and on, the disturbing speech went.

I would stay up till all hours, diarizing notes from different scenes at Narconon Trois-Rivieres; it was an amazing and absurd thing to see and record and I would usually fall asleep, waking up in the morning with papers all over the bed and floor.
As each day passed, my curiosity grew and I asked more questions. When I asked what Scientology had to do with Narconon, I was told, “Narconon is not Scientology, it’s secular. We only use the technology written by Hubbard, not any of the Religious parts.” Although still in wonder, I carried on in the program as best I could.

The Narconon Holistic Approach:

In Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard is the absolute, supreme authority, and everything he said is true and correct. It can NOT be changed. It is a law not to be questioned, or face severe discipline and a PTS interview, where one is interrogated as to whether there may be a family member or other person in your life that is suppressing you or affecting your life in a negative way. In Scientology, being PTS to somebody is the cause of all accidents and all illness is one’s life – absolutely no other reason.

At Narconon, a Patient must memorize these Scientology Religious Scriptures, word for word and repeat all of them exactly to their Course Room Supervisor. They cannot move forward in their program until this Scripture memorization is perfected. Because I did not believe in such a science fiction approach to life, I refused and my program was halted for three days until my adamant and boisterous opinion was heard. I stood on my integrity and rights to hold my own reasonable and rational views on illness; we agreed to disagree and my file was taken off the shelf and I moved on.

Scientology is famous for throwing around words that suit their purpose in times of need. Holistic Treatment Programs have been around for a long time, going back some 5, 000 years in India and China. A holistic addiction treatment program focuses on techniques of abstinence and solving situational problems that may arise.

Narconon Vista Bay states on their web site, “Holistic medicine is a method of health care that will build a cooperative relationship together with all those parts affected, leading closer to ideal accomplishment of the physical, mental emotional, social and spiritual elements of health. This focuses on the need to treat the entire human being, together with examination of physiological, nutritional, environmental, emotional, social, spiritual and lifestyle principles. Holistic medical care is focused on education and responsibility when it comes to individual endeavors to accomplish harmony and well being.”
“Clearly, the all natural, holistic strategy leaves absolutely nothing untreated which is the reason Narconon Drug Rehabilitation has embraced it as the right approach to alcohol and drug inpatient rehab.”

On The Contrary:

When combined with traditional Addiction Treatment Therapies, Holistic Medicine seems to be effective and well worth investigation. Learning new skills that promote continuing recovery is the aim of treating addiction holistically.
True Holistic Medicine and Addiction treatment, advocate one on one counselling and group counselling for a period of approximately 40 weeks on the average. Aftercare is also available which is a whole-family program designed for preventing relapses of participants and helps the family core, as a whole. Also, the holistic addiction treatment program methodologies continuously evolves and adapts to new treatments and in combination with tradition treatment modalities there is little debate that holistic treatment can also be an added benefit.

The Narconon Holistic addiction treatment is something of a different flavour. They state they leave absolutely nothing untreated, but do not promote continuing recovery, individual or group counselling, or deal with any situational problems, except being interrogated and encouraged to disconnect from family members.
Narconon may use Holistic in their marketing lures, but it seems far from a true Holistic treatment of any kind whatsoever. Scientology-Narconon must follow and abide by their dogmatic L. Ron Hubbard’s Pseudoscience approach and Religious Doctrines and Therapies for the life time cure of suffering addicts. Narconon is not permitted to evolve and use new scientific and approved approaches. They must adhere to out dated, science fiction quackery of Scientology founder, Hubbard.
All eight of the Narconon Program Course Books are written by L. Ron Hubbard and contain Scientology Religious Doctrines and Therapies. Every word in these Narconon Books are Scientology. There are no counsellors for patients to meet with and discuss personal problems. No group counselling.

As far as Narconon being secular; only a figment of their imagination and dreams of wealth and filling Scientology coffers.
The Narconon Holistic marketing on their web sites, is nothing more than a ploy to attract paying clients with pockets full of money and indoctrinate patients and recruit them into the Cult of scientology. Perhaps “Holisticness” may fit their Scientology jargon more comfortably.

It is clear that Narconon is Scientology and they cannot escape their own documented proof of such. The Narconon Program is Scientology Scripture, Doctrines and Therapies, and no suffering addict or alcoholic should be subject to such exploitation and unprofessional, dangerous treatment.

Yes, there are some success stories from patients who have completed the Narconon program, but I suggest it is only because they have been removed from their drug invested environment for a period of time and their body and mind had the necessary time to heal. Without proper aftercare, many of these may relapse and be worse off, or in some cases, dead.

Scientology is the most ruthless, the most classically terroristic, the most litigious and the most lucrative cult the world has ever seen. It is not a matter of “if” another person will die; it is a matter of “when.” Narconon is a dangerous rehab center and the health risks and dangers to the Canadian public must not be tolerated any further.

By: David Edgar Love