Re-evaluation counselling

1. Introduction

Version followed: Re-evaluation Counseling (RC) peer co-counselling as described by John Heron while he was RC's European reference person (Self & Society vol. 1 no. 2, early 1970s), cross-checked against later accounts of RC (Self & Society 1998 special issue; Wikipedia); the independent Co-Counselling International (CCI) variant is given separately where it differs (CCI Principles submitted by Heron, 2006). Jackins's own manuals (The Human Side of Human Beings, 1965; Fundamentals of Co-Counseling Manual, 1970) are not drawn on here [uncertain].

What it is. RC is not a professional psychotherapy: it is a peer self-help method plus a worldwide membership organisation. Two trained lay people meet and split time equally, one as client and one as counsellor, then swap. It was formulated by Harvey Jackins in Seattle in the early 1950s, out of a schism in Dianetics (in 1952 Jackins formed Personal Counselors Inc. to practise Dianetics); RC itself describes its origins without reference to Dianetics and says its practice is not psychotherapy [source: Wikipedia, Harvey Jackins; Wikipedia, Co-counselling; en-academic mirror]. Since Harvey Jackins's death (1999) his son Tim Jackins has led RC as International Reference Person [source: Wikipedia; Boston Globe 2021]. In 1974 John Heron (University of Surrey) and Tom and Dency Sargent (Hartford, Connecticut) broke away and founded CCI, a leaderless peer network [source: Wikipedia, Co-counselling; P2P Foundation].

How change is said to happen. People are held to have inherent intelligence, capacity for love and cooperation, and zest. Hurts (loss, rejection, threat, mockery, lack of response) that could not be emotionally released at the time freeze intelligence into rigid, compulsive "patterns" that are later triggered ("restimulated") by similar situations. Given a counsellor's warm attention, the client "discharges" (cries, trembles, sweats, laughs, rages, yawns, talks freely) and then spontaneously "re-evaluates" the old experience, recovering flexible thinking [source: Heron, Self & Society 1(2); Wikipedia, Co-counselling]. RC adds that much distress is installed by social oppression, so liberation work is part of the method [source: en-academic mirror; Springer 1998].

2. Framework

RC has no treatment phases; it has a participation pathway and a within-session sequence [source: Talbut 1998 summarising Saunders 1998; Heron, Self & Society 1(2)].

Participation pathway (RC)

Fundamentals class. About 40 hours of basic training is the usual entry requirement in co-counselling organisations; each organisation requires its own course even of people trained elsewhere [source: psychology.fandom Co-Counseling; Talbut 1998]. In RC, entry is by invitation and classes are usually held in members' homes; one practitioner describes an 8-week introductory class found via the RC website [source: Talbut/Saunders 1998; Mitteldorf substack].
Ongoing class, support groups, workshops. Certified teachers run beginning and ongoing classes, support groups and local workshops; larger regional, national and international workshops follow [source: Talbut/Saunders 1998].
Community structure. Local areas of roughly 30 co-counsellors led by an Area Reference Person (who certifies teachers, edits the newsletter and ensures policy is followed); regions with a Regional Reference Person; about 40 International Liberation Reference Persons for constituencies; an International Reference Person at the top. From 1975 to 1990 Harvey Jackins appointed teachers, area and regional leaders, and wrote the Guidelines ratified by a biennial World Conference [source: Talbut/Saunders 1998; Wikipedia, Harvey Jackins citing Tourish & Irving 1995].
CCI pathway. A publicly advertised 40-hour Fundamentals (evening, weekend or residential), then self-organised peer groups, residential weekends and teacher training; no officers, subscriptions, membership lists or exclusion procedures [source: Talbut 1998; P2P Foundation].

Session format. Pairs meet regularly; each takes an equal turn as client, commonly about an hour each way, with a break before switching [source: Heron, Self & Society 1(2); Mitteldorf substack]. In a group of three or more, each member gets an equal client turn, choosing one counsellor or working with the group's silent attention [source: P2P Foundation, CCI Principles 1-2].

Within-session sequence and criteria for moving on

Build free attention (present-time noticing) until the client can split attention between the counsellor's presence and the distress [source: Heron 1(2)].
Light material: quick random review of pleasant memories, then of minor upsets [source: Heron 1(2)].
Chronological scanning within one category, positive incidents first, then distressing ones [source: Heron 1(2)].
Sustained review of a single distressing incident, using discharge techniques (section 4) [source: Heron 1(2)].
Re-evaluation: new insight after discharge; then end on time [source: Heron 1(2); P2P CCI Principles].

Move deeper only while the client keeps a balance of attention (feeling the distress while also aware of the counsellor and room); if the client is swamped or detached, step back to lighter material or present-time attention [source: Heron 1(2); CCI Principle 3]. The counsellor tells the time at the end or when asked [source: CCI Principle 5].

3. Guiding principles

The person is not the pattern. Treat rigid behaviour as a removable recording, never as who the client is; address the person behind it [source: Heron 1(2)].
Inherent intelligence and goodness. Assume the client is basically capable and loving; your expectancy is part of the intervention [source: Heron 1(2); P2P (Postle)].
Discharge then re-evaluation. Aim for emotional release, not discussion; insight is expected to follow release rather than be supplied [source: Heron 1(2); Wikipedia, Co-counselling].
Client self-direction. The client chooses what, when and how to work and may reject any suggestion; in CCI the client is explicitly in charge and sets a contract [source: Heron 1(2); CCI Principles 3-4]. RC permits more counsellor-led, "non-permissive" interruption of patterns [source: psychology.fandom; en-academic] (risk: see Harm account).
Free, supportive, expectant attention. Listen fully, do not interrupt, judge, advise, interpret, moralise or tell your own stories; it is not a discussion [source: Heron 1(2); Mitteldorf; Wikipedia].
Suggestions, not interpretations. Interventions are tentative practical proposals of what the client might say or do, and must not come from the counsellor's own distress [source: Heron 1(2); CCI Principle 7].
Balance of attention. Discharge needs attention divided between the hurt and present safety; manage depth by that balance [source: Heron 1(2); CCI Principle 3].
Validation. Affirm the client's worth apart from patterns, by attention, words and respect for autonomy; Heron called it central [source: Heron 1(2)].
Contradiction. Distress loosens when the client acts or speaks against the pattern's message [source: Heron 1(2); en-academic].
Reciprocity and equality. Time is split evenly; everyone's primary role is client [source: Heron 1(2); Wikipedia].
Confidentiality. Session content is not referred to anywhere without the client's explicit, specific permission (CCI), and co-counsellors describe it as stricter than in many clinical settings [source: CCI Principle 11; psychology.fandom].
Safety and non-harm. The client must work in ways that do not harm self, counsellor, others or the environment; the counsellor ends the session if the client becomes harmful [source: CCI Principles 4-5].
Counsellor limits. A restimulated counsellor may interrupt or withdraw; take a breather if sleepy or triggered [source: CCI Principle 10; Mitteldorf].
Feelings toward the counsellor are material, not action. RC rejects the term transference; attraction or love is counselled on, not acted on; RC enforces a no-socialising rule except for pre-existing relationships [source: Wikipedia; psychology.fandom; en-academic] (see Harm account).
Oppression shapes distress (RC). Since the 1970s RC frames much distress as installed by oppression (sexism, classism, racism, adultism) and organises liberation groups and leaders around this [source: en-academic; Springer 1998].
Not psychotherapy (RC's stance). RC says it does not imply pathology or a need for professional treatment; CCI members vary [source: en-academic; psychology.fandom]. For clinicians, this means RC techniques imported into therapy must be adapted to clinical duties [synthesis].

4. Intervention inventory

Sources for this section: Heron, Self & Society 1(2) (RC as taught in the early 1970s); CCI Principles (P2P Foundation); Mitteldorf substack (a current RC practitioner's account); Wikipedia and psychology.fandom (secondary). Example language is illustrative throughout. For a clinician: these were designed for reciprocal lay sessions; in paid one-way therapy, keep your usual consent, screening and risk duties [synthesis].

4.1 Setting the contract (CCI)

Purpose / when: At the start of every client turn, to fix how much the counsellor may intervene [source: CCI Principle 9].
Steps: (1) Client names the contract: free attention (no verbal interventions, nonverbal support only), normal (counsellor points out what the client misses and makes some interventions; direction shared), or intensive (counsellor intervenes as much as needed to deepen, hold a direction, interrupt a pattern or release discharge, including leading into avoided areas). (2) Agree the time. (3) Client may change contract mid-session. (4) Counsellor sticks to it.
Example language (illustrative): "What contract would you like: just my attention, normal, or intensive?"
Watch for: Intensive contracts with new or fragile clients; in clinical use, agree in advance what "leading into avoided areas" may include and how to stop [synthesis]. RC does not use formal contracts; its counsellors may intervene more freely [source: psychology.fandom].

4.2 Free attention (listening)

Purpose / when: The base of every session [source: Heron 1(2); Mitteldorf].
Steps: (1) Sit facing the client, relaxed, eye contact available. (2) Give full, warm, expectant attention; do not interrupt. (3) No advice, interpretation, judgement, moral comment or your own stories. (4) Approve silently and unconditionally; show it through posture and face, occasionally a word. (5) Stay pleasant and relaxed even with hard material (Mitteldorf notes smiling through it is sometimes needed).
Example language (illustrative): "I'm with you. Go on."
Watch for: Counsellor drowsiness, urge to fix or to share; client checking whether you approve. Working: client talks more freely, starts to discharge, looks to you less anxiously.

4.3 Present-time attention building

Purpose / when: At the start, or whenever the client is swamped or too detached to discharge [source: Heron 1(2)].
Steps: (1) Ask the client to notice and describe concrete present details: the counsellor, the room, objects. (2) Continue until the client is visibly here and relaxed. (3) Then move to light material.
Example language (illustrative): "Before we start, describe me and three things in this room."
Watch for: Breathing settling, eye contact returning. Heron's account frames this as building the free attention needed for discharge.

4.4 Remembering spectrum (light to heavy)

Purpose / when: To graduate depth according to the client's free attention [source: Heron 1(2)].
Steps: (1) Quick random review of pleasant memories. (2) Quick random recall of minor upsets. (3) Chronological scanning within one category (e.g. all times of being left out), positive incidents first, then distressing ones, earliest to latest or the reverse. (4) Sustained review of one distressing incident, combined with 4.5-4.9.
Example language (illustrative): "Run quickly through some good times with your father. Now some small upsets with him. Now go through, in order, the times you felt left behind."
Watch for: Discharge appearing at a particular incident = where to slow down. Loss of present-time awareness = step back a level [synthesis from Heron's balance-of-attention principle].

4.5 Literal description

Purpose / when: In a sustained review, to bring an incident alive without intellectualising [source: Heron 1(2)].
Steps: (1) Ask for the scene in perceptual detail: where, who, what was seen, heard, smelt. (2) Include the emotional tone of the moment. (3) Gently redirect analysis or explanation back to description, in present tense if helpful [present tense: synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Don't explain it. Just tell me what you see: the kitchen, where she's standing, her voice."
Watch for: Emotion rising as details sharpen; that is the cue to hold there.

4.6 Repetition

Purpose / when: When a phrase or moment carries charge [source: Heron 1(2)].
Steps: (1) Notice a revealing phrase (often said lightly, or with a catch in the voice). (2) Suggest the client repeat it, slowly, several times, or revisit the same event again and again. (3) Stop when the charge falls or shifts.
Example language (illustrative): "Say that again: 'I was never enough.' And again."
Watch for: Rising discharge on each repetition (working) versus flat mechanical repeating (change technique).

4.7 Free association

Purpose / when: When the client is unsure what to work on, or a theme opens up [source: Heron 1(2)].
Steps: (1) Invite the client to voice whatever thoughts, images or feelings arise. (2) Do not steer. (3) Note charged items for later repetition or description.
Example language (illustrative): "Just say whatever comes, without sorting it."
Watch for: Drifting into repetitive storytelling without feeling, which co-counselling treats as pattern rather than discharge [synthesis].

4.8 Role play

Purpose / when: To replay an earlier situation and say or do what could not be done then [source: Heron 1(2)].
Steps: (1) Client sets the scene. (2) Counsellor may play the other person, briefly, as directed by the client. (3) Client speaks directly to that person. (4) Step out of role clearly afterwards.
Example language (illustrative): "I'll be your teacher for a minute. Tell him what you wanted to tell him."
Watch for: Counsellor over-playing a hurtful figure; client freezing. De-role explicitly [synthesis].

4.9 Acting into

Purpose / when: When an emotion is felt but not releasing; the client deliberately performs the movement or sound of anger or fear to reach real discharge [source: Heron 1(2)].
Steps: (1) Agree what is safe (no hitting people; use a cushion; keep volume tolerable). (2) Client performs the movement or sound, at first as an act. (3) Let it become genuine; counsellor stays steady.
Example language (illustrative): "Try pushing against my hands as if you could push him away. Make whatever sound comes."
Watch for: Physical safety, panic, or re-traumatisation in clients with trauma histories; this is the kind of high-arousal work linked to complaints in the Harm account (Boston 2021 reports of crying, yelling and screaming without follow-up). In clinical use, screen first and keep it optional [synthesis].

4.10 Contradiction (positive direction, self-appreciation)

Purpose / when: When a self-deprecating pattern is active; the client states the opposite of the pattern's message, unqualified, with matching tone, face and gesture [source: Heron 1(2); en-academic].
Steps: (1) Identify the pattern's message (e.g. "I'm stupid"). (2) Offer a short opposite statement, said with full conviction and posture to match. (3) Repeat; expect embarrassed laughter, tears or protest, which co-counselling counts as discharge. (4) Let the client reword it so it is theirs.
Example language (illustrative): "Try saying, as if you mean it: 'I'm a brilliant thinker.' Shoulders back. Again."
Watch for: Laughter or tears on saying it = working; flat compliance or shame spiral = too far, step back. Do not push a contradiction the client rejects; CCI requires client consent to interventions [source: CCI Principle 3].

4.11 Validation

Purpose / when: Throughout; Heron treated it as the central principle [source: Heron 1(2)].
Steps: (1) Separate the person from the pattern in your own mind. (2) Express respect and appreciation through attention, positive directions and brief verbal affirmation. (3) Respect the client's autonomy to refuse.
Example language (illustrative): "You've always been a person who cares. That never went away."
Watch for: Validation that is generic or pushed; it should fit the person and be welcomed.

4.12 Following bodily cues

Purpose / when: When the client signals charge (giggle, shudder, yawn, tear, turning away) and enough safety exists [source: Mitteldorf substack].
Steps: (1) Notice the signal. (2) Wait for enough trust. (3) Gently invite a return to that subject.
Example language (illustrative): "You laughed when you mentioned your brother. Tell me more about him."
Watch for: Pacing: Mitteldorf advises patience and not telling the client what they need to do even when you see it clearly.

4.13 Interrupting a pattern (RC "non-permissive" counselling; CCI intensive contract)

Purpose / when: When the client is looping in a pattern (repetitive complaint, self-attack, distraction) [source: en-academic; psychology.fandom; CCI Principle 9].
Steps (CCI): Only under an intensive contract: name the loop, propose a different action (contradiction, repetition, return to an incident), hold the direction while the client tries it. RC: counsellors may interrupt without a contract [source: psychology.fandom].
Example language (illustrative): "You're telling it the same way again. Let's try saying the opposite."
Watch for (risk): Interrupting without consent overrides client self-direction; combined with a power gap (leader counselling a member, adult counselling a teen), it can become coercive. Get explicit consent each time in clinical use [synthesis; see Harm account].

4.14 Nonverbal interventions and touch (CCI)

Purpose / when: To support or release discharge: eye contact, expression, gesture, posture, and touch through holding, pressure, applied movement or massage [source: CCI Principle 8].
Steps: (1) Only with client request or explicit agreement. (2) Use minimal, non-sexual contact (hand, shoulder). (3) Stop at any sign of discomfort.
Watch for (risk): Touch during regressive, high-arousal work blurs boundaries; sexual-misconduct allegations against RC's founder concerned counselling sessions (see Harm account). Most professional codes restrict therapeutic touch; follow yours [synthesis].

4.15 Group turns

Purpose / when: In classes, support groups or CCI groups [source: CCI Principles 1-2; Talbut 1998].
Steps: (1) Divide time equally. (2) Each client chooses one counsellor or the group's silent attention. (3) For some work, a client may ask two or more counsellors to cooperate. (4) Confidentiality applies to everyone present.
Watch for (risk): Disclosure of intimate history in groups that include strangers or people with power over the client (Boston 2021 reports). Never pressure disclosure; agree limits on what is shared [synthesis].

4.16 Counselling on attraction or strong feelings toward the counsellor

Purpose / when: When the client falls in love with, idealises or resents the counsellor [source: Wikipedia; psychology.fandom; Mitteldorf].
Steps: (1) Bring the feeling into a session as material. (2) Discharge on it repeatedly. (3) Do not act on it; RC's rule bars social or sexual relationships between co-counsellors that did not pre-date co-counselling; CCI asks new members to wait and strongly discourages teacher-student sexual relationships.
Watch for: Clinically this is transference work; your professional boundaries override any peer-group norm [synthesis].

4.17 Counsellor self-management

Purpose / when: When the counsellor is restimulated, sleepy or distracted [source: CCI Principle 10; Mitteldorf].
Steps: (1) Say you need a short break. (2) Stand, walk, look around. (3) Resume; if the client keeps working in a way that keeps restimulating you after you explain, you may withdraw (CCI). (4) Take your own turn as client on it later.
Example language (illustrative): "I've lost my attention; give me two minutes and I'll be back with you."

4.18 Ending the turn

Purpose / when: At the agreed time [source: CCI Principle 5].
Steps: (1) Counsellor gives time warnings and the end time. (2) Bring the client back to the present (practice is widely described but not documented in the sources used) [uncertain]. (3) End immediately if the client becomes harmful to self or others [source: CCI Principle 5]. (4) Swap roles after a short rest [source: Mitteldorf].
Watch for: Clients leaving still flooded; in clinical use, do not end with the client dysregulated [synthesis].

4.19 Liberation and identity work (RC)

Purpose / when: RC organises work on oppression by constituency (women, working class, people of colour, young people, and others), with liberation reference persons and workshops; RC's United to End Racism project presents this externally [source: en-academic; Talbut/Saunders 1998].
Steps (as described secondhand): Members of a constituency meet, take turns discharging on experiences of oppression and internalised oppression, and plan action [source: en-academic] [uncertain: detailed RC procedures].
Watch for (risk): Boston students of colour reported being pressured to share experiences of racism with white adult strangers [source: Boston Globe 2021]. Keep participation voluntary and audience chosen by the client [synthesis].

4.20 Other client work (CCI)

Purpose / when: After discharge work: creative rethinking of personal beliefs, visualising future states for goal-setting, transpersonal work; CCI treats discharge as foundation for these [source: CCI Principle 3]. CCI also allows techniques borrowed from other therapies (e.g. behavioural goal-setting) if used self-directedly [source: Talbut 1998].

4.21 RC practices named in RC literature but not verified here

The following are widely associated with RC (opening a session with something new and good; brief mini-sessions; spoken commitments; think-and-listen rounds; support groups on a theme; ending with attention-away questions) but their exact form is not described here [uncertain].

5. Handling problems

No discharge, only talk. Go back to present-time attention (4.3), then lighter memories (4.4); try literal description or repetition of a charged phrase [source: Heron 1(2)]. Accept that some sessions are calm; do not push [synthesis].
Looping in a pattern. Under consent, name the loop and offer a contradiction (4.10) or interruption (4.13) [source: Heron 1(2); CCI Principle 9]. If refused, respect it (CCI) [source: CCI Principle 3].
Overwhelm, flooding, dissociation. Balance of attention is lost: stop deepening, re-orient to the room and counsellor, move to pleasant memories [source: Heron 1(2) principle; steps synthesis]. Clients with PTSD, dissociative disorders, psychosis, recent bereavement or suicidality need clinical assessment before cathartic work; co-counselling sources used give no screening procedure [synthesis].
Suicide or self-harm risk. Peer co-counselling has no risk protocol in the sources used. Clinicians: do a standard risk assessment, safety plan and lethal-means counselling (safe storage or removal), and never substitute peer discharge sessions for crisis care [synthesis].
Counsellor restimulated or attention lost. Pause, take a breather, resume or withdraw (4.17) [source: CCI Principle 10; Mitteldorf].
Attraction, dependency, idealising the counsellor or leader. Counsel on the feelings, do not act on them (4.16) [source: Wikipedia; Mitteldorf]. Watch for dependence on a teacher or community as sole support; encourage outside relationships [synthesis].
Non-adherence (missed sessions, unequal time). Re-contract; keep time strictly equal; CCI allows partners to end partnerships freely [synthesis].
Rupture between partners. Each takes a client turn on the upset before discussing it; if still stuck, use a third person as counsellor [synthesis]. In clinical practice, use ordinary rupture-repair: name it, own your part, invite the client's view [synthesis].
Client disagreement with theory. RC expects members to discharge on disagreements before challenging the theory, and treats some criticism as "attack" [source: psychology.fandom; Wikipedia, Harvey Jackins]. Do not do this in clinical work: treat disagreement as legitimate information, not pathology [synthesis; see Harm account].
Medication and psychiatric care. RC's listeningwell.info site addresses its scepticism about mental illness and psychiatric drugs, and Boston students said they were discouraged from licensed care [source: Boston Globe 2021]. Never advise stopping medication or avoiding treatment; coordinate with prescribers [synthesis].
Minors. CCI runs children's events with high adult-to-child ratios [source: Talbut 1998]; Boston 2021 shows the risk of teens in adult workshops [source: Boston Globe]. Use parental consent, safeguarding policy and no unsupervised adult-teen sessions [synthesis].
Clinician who co-counsels personally. Do not co-counsel with your clients or recruit them into a community you belong to (dual relationship); peer confidentiality norms do not override your legal reporting duties [synthesis].

Harm account

Scope: the harms documented here concern RC's governance, community rules and specific programmes, not the listening techniques as such. The sexual-misconduct allegations against Harvey Jackins were never adjudicated: no court ruled on them, the one lawsuit was withdrawn, and Jackins denied them until his death in 1999. What follows reports only what the cited published sources state. The key academic critique (Tourish & Irving, 1995/1996) and the 1993 Belgian documentary history are not drawn on here; their content is reported only as summarised by Wikipedia [uncertain].

What was actually done

Centralised control (1975-1990). Harvey Jackins personally appointed local teachers, area reference persons and regional leaders, and wrote RC's Guidelines, which a biennial World Conference ratified; Tourish and Irving compared this to the democratic centralism of Communist states [source: Wikipedia, Harvey Jackins, citing Tourish & Irving 1995]. Area reference persons certify teachers and ensure policies are followed; entry to classes is by invitation [source: Talbut/Saunders 1998]. Heron's 1974 open letter put the problem as: the client is in charge, but Jackins is in charge of all the clients [source: Springer 1998, paraphrase].
The "attacks" policy. RC defines an attack as an attempt to harm a leader or the organisation while claiming to disagree. Members are told to interrupt the accuser, treat the criticism as the accuser's own personal problem, defend the person attacked, ask the critic to apologise and, if unresponsive, make them leave; Jackins advised ignoring criticism of leaders as attacks, and this became policy [source: Wikipedia, Harvey Jackins]. Members who disagree with theory are asked to discharge on it before challenging it [source: psychology.fandom]. RC calls CCI an "attack organisation" and bars people who have actively participated in CCI groups [source: psychology.fandom; Wikipedia, Co-counselling].
No-socialising and closed community. Co-counsellors are expected not to socialise or have social or sexual relationships with other co-counsellors unless the relationship pre-dated co-counselling (RC Guideline on Relationships, 2005) [source: en-academic mirror; psychology.fandom]. Strong sexual feelings are to be discharged, not acted on [source: en-academic]. RC does not ally with other therapies, keeps a low internet profile and spreads person to person [source: en-academic; Mitteldorf]. Critics describe "naturalized" groups promoting RC methods without disclosing the affiliation [source: en-academic].
Discharge as cure. The theory holds that discharge and re-evaluation remove patterns. Jackins's 1974 article "Is Homosexuality a Distress Pattern?" argued that same-sex sexual activity results from distress and can disappear through discharge; RC policy later stated both that "participation in sex with a human of your own gender is based on distress" and "principled and deep opposition" to anti-gay oppression; LGB members had to use pseudonyms in RC publications [source: Wikipedia, Harvey Jackins; en-academic]. In 2021 RC's new site listeningwell.info addressed its scepticism about mental illness and psychiatric drugs and stated a firm stance against oppression of LGBTQ+ people [source: Boston Globe 2021]. Whether the homosexuality policy is still in force was not verified [uncertain].
Allegations against Harvey Jackins (Seattle, 1981-1990s), never adjudicated. In 1981 RC member Deborah Curren made the first allegation; allegations by members over the 1980s ranged from favouring attractive young women to rape, reported in the Seattle Sun and on KIRO TV [source: Wikipedia, Harvey Jackins; original reports not drawn on]. Jackins attributed the rumours to government "spook agencies"; the 1981 World Conference unanimously condemned circulation of written attacks on him; when the Minneapolis-St Paul community criticised him he disbanded it and 45 members resigned [source: Wikipedia, Harvey Jackins]. Curren sued (Curren v. Jackins, First Amended Complaint, King County Superior Court, 17 January 1990) and withdrew after Jackins filed for costs [source: Wikipedia, Harvey Jackins]. A 1993 Activist Men's Journal report said multiple women accused him of sexually exploiting them during counselling sessions in the early 1990s, and that RC decertified teachers and closed chapters in response; Jackins denied the allegations [source: Boston Globe 2021, summarising].
Resignations. In 1989 Daniel le Bon and other European leaders resigned, saying RC lacked a scientific basis, Jackins made improbable and dogmatic claims and broadened RC's aim to "general liberation" without evidence [source: Wikipedia, Harvey Jackins].
Boston Public Schools, to 2021. RC was used with the school-sponsored Boston Student Advisory Council via contractor Youth on Board, whose director (an RC practitioner without a mental-health licence) was co-director for at least 15 years. Students reported twice-monthly sessions in the basement of her Jamaica Plain home; being encouraged to share mental-health issues, family troubles and abuse histories in groups and to discharge by crying, yelling or screaming, with no professional follow-up; attending regional RC gatherings and adult workshops with adult strangers; being discouraged from licensed treatment; personal details being used as leverage; and students of colour being pressured to tell white adult strangers about racism. An outside investigation recorded students calling the sessions "weird, uncomfortable, and cult-like". BPS stopped the sessions in March 2021, cut ties with the contractor and ordered a broader investigation; the Suffolk DA met with students [source: Boston Globe 2021]. These are students' and BPS's reported accounts; the outcome of the investigation was not found [uncertain]. RC said the students were not members, had no information on any mistakes, and Tim Jackins's email to members attributed attacks to critics' unresolved traumas and recommended more RC sessions [source: Boston Globe 2021].

How it caused harm

Silencing complaint. Defining criticism of leaders as the critic's distress, interrupting accusers and expelling the unresponsive removes the channels through which misconduct is reported and corrected; the Minneapolis disbanding and the 2021 response are documented examples of this pattern being applied [source: Wikipedia, Harvey Jackins; Boston Globe 2021; mechanism: synthesis]. Satter (Rutgers) said the 2021 email implied the students were sick [source: Boston Globe 2021].
Power plus regression. Cathartic sessions invite regression and intimate disclosure; when the counsellor is a leader with authority over certification and invitations, the client's self-direction weakens, the setting for the never-adjudicated allegations of exploitation during sessions [source: Boston Globe 2021; Heron's 1974 critique via Springer 1998; mechanism: synthesis].
Closed community. The no-socialising rule protects against peer entanglement, but combined with invitation-only entry, bans on CCI participation, non-alliance with other therapies and pressure to discharge disagreement, it leaves members' support and identity concentrated inside a hierarchy they may not question [synthesis from en-academic, psychology.fandom, Wikipedia].
Discharge as cure. Treating sexual orientation as distress fosters shame and conversion-like aims; scepticism about mental illness and drugs plus discouragement of licensed care can delay treatment for serious illness [source: Wikipedia; Boston Globe 2021; harm mechanism: synthesis]. No documented deaths or specific clinical injuries are documented in the sources used [uncertain].
Unscreened catharsis with minors and in mixed groups. Teens disclosing abuse histories in groups and adult workshops, with no follow-up, faced breach of confidentiality, emotional distress and leverage by the adult leader [source: Boston Globe 2021].
Most at risk: young people; trauma survivors; people with psychosis or severe mood disorder; LGB members under the 1974 framing; isolated people who come to depend on the community; members counselled by leaders; people of colour asked to perform disclosure for white audiences [source: Boston Globe 2021; Wikipedia; risk ranking: synthesis].

Recognising it today

Vocabulary: discharge, patterns, restimulation, re-emergence, contradiction, free attention, reference person, Fundamentals, "attacks", benign reality [source: en-academic; Wikipedia].
Red flags in a group or colleague: criticism of a leader answered with "that's your distress" or "discharge on it first"; invitation-only classes in leaders' homes; leaders counselling the people they certify; bans on attending other groups; secrecy about affiliation; teens in adult workshops; pressure to disclose trauma in groups or to strangers; discouraging therapy or medication; promises that discharge cures orientation or illness; no complaint route outside the hierarchy [synthesis from sources above]. Rebranding: RC methods presented in schools, youth or anti-racism programmes without naming RC ("naturalized" groups) [source: en-academic; Boston Globe 2021].
Legitimate versions differ: CCI keeps peer reciprocity but has no leaders, subscriptions, membership lists or exclusion, uses client-chosen contracts and explicit confidentiality, permits other therapies and is publicly advertised [source: Talbut 1998; P2P Foundation]. Clinical emotion-focused or trauma work uses screening, consent, a licensed and accountable clinician, and an external complaints route [synthesis]. CCI is not free of risk: RC supporters have alleged its looser atmosphere blurs boundaries [source: Wikipedia, Co-counselling].

What to do instead and how to help those harmed

Safer alternatives: for peer support, CCI-style networks with no hierarchy, written confidentiality and a clear exit; for clinical problems, licensed therapy with evidence-based trauma treatment where indicated; for school programmes, licensed staff, safeguarding policy, parental consent and no requirement to disclose [synthesis].
Assessing affected clients: ask about duration, roles held, who counselled them, disclosures made and to whom, any sexual contact with leaders or counsellors, pressure around orientation, medication or treatment, and losses on leaving (friends, partners, community); screen for PTSD, depression, suicidality and shame [synthesis].
Treatment considerations: validate that a community can be both helpful and harmful; avoid cathartic techniques that mimic RC sessions early on; work on autonomy, trust in own judgement and rebuilding outside relationships; affirm sexual orientation; support re-engagement with medical care [synthesis].
Duties: report suspected child abuse or exploitation under local mandatory-reporting law; if a licensed professional ran or promoted harmful sessions, consider a licensing-board complaint; peer-group confidentiality does not override safeguarding duties; document carefully; do not recruit clients into any personal-growth community you belong to [synthesis].

Sources

Sources:

Further reading (not drawn on) [uncertain]:

Jackins, H. (1965). The Human Side of Human Beings. Seattle: Rational Island.
Jackins, H. (1970). Fundamentals of Co-Counseling Manual. Seattle: Rational Island.
Jackins, H. (1974). Is Homosexuality a Distress Pattern? (RC article).
Re-evaluation Counseling (2005). Guidelines for the Re-evaluation Counseling Communities (relationships guideline).
Heron, J. (2001). Helping the Client: A Creative Practical Guide, ch. 16 Co-counselling. London: Sage.
Evison, R. & Horobin, R. (1985). How to Change Yourself and Your World.
New, C. & Kauffman, K. (2004). Co-Counselling: The Theory and Practice of Re-Evaluation Counselling. Hove: Brunner-Routledge.
Tourish, D. & Irving, P. (1995). Group influence and the psychology of cultism within re-evaluation counselling. Psychology Quarterly 8(1), 35-50.
Curren v. Jackins, First Amended Complaint for Damages, King County Superior Court, 17 January 1990 (as cited by Wikipedia).

← Previous · III-099Bonding psychotherapy Next · III-101 →Encounter groups