This community has adepts all over the world, I'm from Mexico City and of course there is a "Pathwork Centre" in Mexico, based in Cuernavaca, State of Morelos, just a few miles from Mexico City. The Director of this so called "Centre" is a man named Andres Leites who hired about 20 also so called "instructors" or “helpers”. The instructors are also individually involved in other kind of practices such as "Soul-healing" and other holistic stuff, and many Pathwork alumni attend what they call individual therapy with the instructors. Needless to say that very few if not none of the instructors are certified psychologists.

Since I was a teenager I always found occultism, paranormal phenomena and such related stuff amusing, as amusing you can find a David Copperfield show, as long as you don’t discuss seriously that he in fact can fly or make a plane disappear.

Well my wife, a certified psychologist in both clinical and industrial fields (but nevertheless always fascinated and intrigued by Wilhelm Reich and his work), felt attracted by this kind of group courses based on something they sometimes refer as “personal growth”. I went along with my wife, five or six years ago, to a few of this Pathwork group sessions and realised immediately that it was something far from amusing.
My wife got more fascinated when she found out that Eva Pierrakos (founder of The Pathwork was John C. Peierrako’s wife, due to the fact that Pierrakos was a disciple of Reich and through Reich’s theories he developed a new one called “Core-Energetics” (another issue worthy to be discussed in this forum).

To start with, the cost of the so called curses are very high, it is necessary to attend one session in a monthly basis, that is 12 sessions of 6 to 9 hours each, and they charge everyone about 3,500 t0 4,000 American dollars for that. All the lectures (translated in Spanish) are sold individually to each of the alumni and the instructor told us that such lectures are copyright material. (I found this amusing because the lectures were allegedly written by a supposed spiritual entity called The Guide through Eva Pierrakos, (founder of this cult).
The group is lead by one of the instructors. In my particular case, the sessions which I attended were led by a woman named Blanca Rosa Anorve, who is responsible for the rise of the Pathwork in Argentina and other southern countries of the American continent. It is important to say that nowadays Blanca R. Anorve is in a mental institution, suffering from all kinds of mental disorders.

To get along well in these kind of courses you got to be a believer and never question anything. Even though I found amusing this kind of things, when someone seems to take it seriously I tend to question and discuss the issue from a logical, scientific point of view. This behaviour was perceived by the “instructor” immediately as a threat and the strategy that followed was to point out at the sceptics, referring to them as people who are trapped in their personal and spiritual paradigm, unwilling to open their minds and spirit to the truth and the teachings of The Guide.

In one of these sessions I saw Anorve with a syringe offering us an injection of a clear water substance called by her as X-2, telling us that it will help us to relax and meditate. Nor my wife or I at that time accepted such a strange offer. Stating that the body, the mind and the spirit are connected, she told us to lie down on the floor and meditate. After a while she told us to get in contact with the energy of the others. At this point, the guy who was lying beside my wife started to touch and rub her up and down, allegedly as a form to get in contact with her inner energy. I was upset and tried to stopped the guy but immediately two of Anorve assistants hold me down and told me to relax. In a weird kind of compensation these two female assistants tried to caress me as well but I refused. All this was too much for me and ended up in a huge fight with my wife who, at that time, was already a fervour believer. I told her that she was free to believe and practise whatever she wanted, but t hat I wasn’t willing to attend this courses anymore, so I ran off from all this nonsense.

My wife got more and more involved in The Pathwork and she was always asking me to go back to it, nevertheless I refused. She took the LDP grade in The Pathwork that implies four years of attending. During this period she was told in the sessions that I was spiritually separated from her, because I do not believe in The Pathwork, that my behaviour toward The Pathwork blocked the mutuality that love should have between man and woman, just as stated by The Guide. Due to this teachings my wife avoided sex with me for more than six months. Because this wasn’t enough to make me come back to The Pathwork the instructors told her that it was necessary for her to find a spiritual compatible partner and so she did, becoming the lover of one of his fellow students, a 53 year old married man, involved also in something called “Family Constellations” created by a Hebert Hellinger, (another issue that is worthy of being discussed in this forum). Of course this situation derived immediately in a divorce. I tried to make up things with her, but she told me that she was willing to loose six years of marriage rather than loosing four years of “personal growth” acquired in The Pathwork.

And that’s how The Pathwork took my wife away from me.

So sorry to hear that. It hurts.

Same wolf. Different Coat (er... cult)

You will survive. And thrive. It takes time.

Despite your very real concern, your wife may take a long time before she acknowledges what happened to her. Your concern about her being manipulated must be as great, if not more so, than your own loss.

sigh.

Antipathwork,

Amazing how similar to the way my spouse acted after starting LEC. Again it shows how powerful the techniques are, no matter by what person or group. Perhaps we here in the USA need to see just how we are being dealt with on an consumer/economy level to purchase stuff.
Ever notice how bizarre ads are, what they are appealing to...what skull & bones are doing...how marketing is done and why it does work?(see the
Manchurian Candidate - the new & old one) I mean when you look at it, how could any rational humane being fall for this crap? Well, they didn't fall, they wer "led" subtlely not pushed!

P.A.X.

Thanks a lot to Toni and UNTAWARE for heir kind comments. What concerns me the most, that now I'm realising it is a worldwide phonomenon, is that things like LEC or the PATHWORK are promoted and many times sold as something called "alternative psychotherapy".

This kind of forums and sites like the Rick Ross site, in my opinion, must be used as a tool to compel authorities, specially those involved in health issues, to warn people about the risks and consequences derived from the so called "alternative psychotherapy" and also to regulate the professional exercise of psychology and promote it as a science.

I think it is time to stop these unscrupulous people from messing around with people's minds and to demand all kinds of liability from them, taking in mind that this kind of practises have a very strong impact in society bringing not only harm to the people involved directly in the cult, but also to their families.

'Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology' by Lilienfeld, Lynn and Lohr discusses many of these issues, including use of psychotherapy on the talk show circuit, use of untested, controversial methods that have not been adequately tested in double blind research, and various problems that come up with alternative and new age therapies propagated by charismatic individuals and coterie-type groups.

An earlier book is [i:58fff81aff]'Crazy Therapies' [/i:58fff81aff]by Dr. Margaret Singer

Quote
antipathwork
This kind of forums and sites like the Rick Ross site, in my opinion, must be used as a tool to compel authorities, specially those involved in health issues, to warn people about the risks and consequences derived from the so called "alternative psychotherapy" ..............to stop these unscrupulous people from messing around with people's minds and to demand all kinds of liability from them, .........bringing not only harm to the people involved directly in the cult, but also to their families.

Yes!

BTW, France has now outlawed the Landmark Forum in their country.
The Italian government is considering legislation to outlaw thought reform groups that use coercive persuasion to psychologically and financially abuse people. They are carefully defining such at a governmental level.

The USA.... I doubt the government will get involved in psychological abuse issues. :?

Thank you antipathwork for posting your story and information. I am very sorry for your loss. I too have lost a loved one to a similar practice that brought so much confusion to my life.

Shortly that relationship ended, I met another person and started dating him. I then found out he was doing the "Pathwork" the very same organization you are speaking of. After reading your story, I now see in more detail how damaging that would had been.

Dear Solway:

Thanks for your kind comment.

Be aware about this thing called The Pathwork, they are very subtle, but as terrible as any other brainwashing group or organisation.

Ask your guy what he is purchasing through The Pathwork and listen very carefully to his answers. When I purchase a ticket for a David Copperfield show I'm purchasing a couple of hours of entertainment and that's it. If I ever get to tell you that by means of a David Copperfield show I'm acquiring knowledge about the real truth and wisdom through magic, swearing that he can in fact fly and make objects dissapear, then you'll inmediately find out that there's something very wrong with me, right?

Well, the same thing happens with The Pathwork. If he finds the meetings and the lectures interesting and somehow amusing or clever and if he sees through the session a good opportunity to socialize with other people and relax, during those hours, because he can have his mind in something else, then he is fine. If he takes the levels LDP and HDP to become a Pathwork helper and gain some extra money (as people do with Amway products for example) he is fine also. Remember that "Pathwork" is a trademark and trademarks are supposed to be an aid to sell a product.

Nevertheless, if he really thinks that The Pathwork is the true way to self purification and self transformation, ... if he believes that the so called "Guide" is a true spiritual entity, bringer of the real truth and blessings, ... if he thinks that Eva Pierrakos (founder of the Pathwork) really got in contact with this spiritual entity to reveal the mysteries of our "true self" and some other things like that, ... be very aware, because he is, in my opinion, like the guy who is willing and ready to discuss seriously that David Copperfield can fly or make a plane dissapear for real.

Hi again antipath...

FYI.. another one. Yes, the partner remaining in the group has the deeper problems to untangle from involvement. so sad. :(


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