This is about you.
The MeadowHaven program exists to provide a refuge for former members of high control, destructive groups to rest, heal, and grow.
Introduction to the Ten Principles of Recovery
“It would be great if we could ease back into life with a year or so of gradual transitioning, like those guys in the movies awakening from a 20-year coma, with the help of a guide to gently bring us up to speed. Alas, no such program exists. In reality, we are faced with the need to change the tire while driving the car.” Ray Connolly – Former Member
Why this website?
Nobody wakes up one day and says, “I think I’ll join a spiritually destructive group and have them ruin my life!” People join what they believe will be a spiritually healthy place to serve God, raise a family, and change the world around them. There are also those who were born and raised in some spiritually destructive group, and this is all they have ever known. They had no choice.
Sadly, nobody leaves a destructive spiritual relationship or group unscathed. Spiritually abusive groups and relationships are by nature trauma producing environments. There are lasting, often devastating, effects that, unless addressed, may haunt the survivor the whole of their life, damaging their sense of self, relationships, parenting, employment opportunities, health, etc.
Thus, the purpose of this website is to empower, offer hope, and provide a tested program of recovery for survivors of spiritual abuse. The following Ten Principles of Recovery are offered as a guide for your own personal journey or may be used in conjunction with a counselor or therapist.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE TEN PRINCIPLES
These steps are the foundation of our program.
Recovery starts here:
#1 - There is nothing wrong with you; Something happened to you. (more)
#2 - You can correct only what you truly understand. (more)
#3 - When you accept what actually happened, change is possible. (more)
Click (more) for expanded information
Bob Pardon, MDiv, ThM, and Judy Pardon, MEd, are the Executive and associate directors, respectively, of the New England Institute of Religious Research and MeadowHaven. For over thirty years, they have been helping survivors from many highly destructive religious groups, casualties of devastating spiritual abuse. To meet the critical needs of these survivors, they founded MeadowHavenin 2001, the only long-term residential facility in the world designed to provide a refuge for former members of spiritually abusive groups to rest, heal, and grow. The goal of MeadowHaven was to help survivors acquire the necessary skills for life outside the group. However, after twenty years of assisting cult survivors from around the world, the residential component ended in 2021.
During the past 30 years, they have specialized in Bible-based communal groups and aberrational Christian groups. Many of these groups are known (Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints, The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Christian Science, etc.). Many are lesser known or unknown (The Twelve Tribes, The Family of Love, The Brethren, The Body, Shincheonji, etc.) and numerous other Asian, Western, and New Age groups.
They also have consulted with the FBI, Homeland Security, and local law enforcement agencies regarding destructive groups and have provided expert witness court testimony. They speak nationally and internationally on cults. However, most of their work involves counseling, leading support groups, working with those born or raised in groups, and helping former members rebuild their lives.
Over the years, they have had numerous media appearances on such programs as Dateline, EXTRA, CNN, 20/20, The Early Show, Today Show, Good Morning America, PrimeTime, Inside Edition, Dr. Phil Show, PBS, Chronicle, Firecracker Films, THS, A&E and various local television stations, cable outlets, and numerous news outlets.
They authored the book "The Twelve Tribes: Journey from Orthodoxy to Heresy" in 1995, published by The New England Institute of Religious Research, and co-authored an article, "Residential Treatment Modality for Cult Trauma Survivors," for the book Cult Recovery: A Clinician's Guide to Working with Former Members and Families, 2017. They have also produced many other articles and papers regarding cults and destructive groups.
About Us
Your Journey, Your Destination
“If we begin to reconnect the puzzle pieces, the picture begins to look less random and more comprehensible… Admittedly, the picture isn’t quite as neat in my mind’s eye as the cultic color-by-numbers landscape. …(But) wow, …This landscape connects me in a much more profound and real way with the Artist.” Ray Connolly - SSS
There are some journeys we may take in this life that have a hoped-for destination, a place that can offer rest and comfort to the weary traveler. That hoped-for destination for the spiritual trauma survivor is a place of refuge that helps integrate all their terrible spiritual abuse experiences into their life in a way that provides healing and not continual heartache and pain.
Over the decades, we have learned that each person is on a unique journey. If you are wondering what your journey might be like with the MeadowHaven program as a guide, here are some expectations, assurances, encouragements, and challenges.
• Your journey of recovery is a marathon and not a sprint. It will continue, in some form, for the whole of your life, so pace yourself.
• No two journeys are the same. You are a unique individual, and while you may share similarities with others, do not compare your journeys.
• Expect to revisit most of the 10 Principles of Recovery during your journey. This is normal and necessary for a lasting recovery.
• Expect others not to understand what you have experienced, or the depth of your life’s struggles.
• Expect that there will be some good days and many dark days in the beginning, but persevere and this will change.
• For those who desire to build (or rebuild) their relationship with God this is often the most daunting, fearful, and confusing task. But, it is also the most rewarding.
• Expect to recognize your progress when you sense a “gratefulness” for your suffering because it has made you a deeper, more compassionate person.
HELPING FORMER CULT MEMBERS TO HEAL AND GROW
NEIRR@verizon.net
508-947-9571