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November 22, 1996 To whom it may concern: I am a clinical psychologist who has been in private practice in Houston, Texas for the past 15 years. I have a quite successful psychology practice. I have been very happily married for the past 12 years. I am quite close with my family, all of whom live in the Houston area. I have many hobbies and friends, and spend a considerable amount of time in the mountains of Colorado, where I have a second home. During the past 13 years, I have had the occasion to participate in, and familiarize myself with, many of the courses offered by Landmark Education. I would estimate that I have participated in approximately ten of the major Landmark classes during this period of time. I was first introduced to Landmark Education by an ex-girlfriend and by a business associate. Since then, my pattern has been to take a couple of Landmark classes, go for a couple of years without participating in any classes, then participate in a couple of classes again, take a break again, etc. I currently am in the middle of a "break." although I have been seriously considering enrolling in another class soon. I have found the Landmark courses to be extremely beneficial, and I could write at length about how the Landmark courses have helped me. However, in the interest of time, I will give just a few examples. The Landmark Education classes have helped me learn a great deal about my strengths and weaknesses, about how to use my time more effectively, about how to communicate more clearly and effectively, about how to set goals and commit myself powerfully to them, and about how to help others. I an clear that without the work I have done with Landmark Education,, I would be a less successful husband, family member, businessman and friend. That is, it is no coincidence that,, during the time of my periodic participation in Landmark classes, I have married a wonderful person, become closer with the members of my family, improved my business income seven-fold, etc. In the world of psychology, we call what has happened to me the process of self -actualization, and I believe that my work with Landmark Education has contributed significantly to this process. During the past 13 years, I have had the opportunity to recommend to family members, business acquaintances and friends that they participate in the Landmark Education classes. Those that have chosen to participate uniformly have been satisfied with the benefits of the classes. I also periodically have referred patients to the Landmark Education classes. These patients, without exception, have found the Landmark classes to be worthwhile. And, in many cases, the "work" they did in the Landmark classes signaled an end to their psychotherapy because they felt that, through Landmark, they had found the tools to resolve their remaining problem . I have been told that there is action in France to prohibit Landmark Education classes because they are considered "cult-related." As a psychologist, I have considerable knowledge of cults and cult-like behavior. I have seen no evidence that Landmark Education is a cult-like organization. Therefore, I specifically would like to address this unfounded concern. Cult-like behavior often is characterized by an organization whose members are strongly encouraged or forced to: accept a unified belief in a group "good," become dependent upon the group often in response to a perceived common "enemy," give up their possessions and funds, break away from their prior support system (friends, family), etc.I do not believe that the Landmark Education system meets any of the above criteria for a cult. In fact, I believe that the focus of Landmark Education is in many ways directly contrary to the focus of a cult. For example, individuals in Landmark classes are encouraged to think for themselves and not to automatically believe what everyone else believes. These individuals are encouraged to pursue their own personal goals, even when these goals are in no way related to Landmark Education. These individuals also are encouraged to become independent, to feel that they have control over their own lives, and to understand that they are not being "victimized" or controlled by anyone or anything. Finally, these individuals are strongly encouraged to improve their relationships with their families, actively pursuing the mending of any damaged relationships that exist. It absolutely would be counterproductive for any cult to encourage its members to pursue any of the above goals. During the past 9 years, I also have had the opportunity to serve as the mental health consultant to the Landmark classes in the Houston area. My responsibility has been to oversee the classes from a mental. health standpoint, insuring that no participant's mental health precluded them from participating in a class or was being harmed by their participation in a class. During this period of time, I have observed many courses, attended by hundreds of class participants. I can report that I saw no evidence at any time of cult-like behavior. Furthermore, I have never been aware of any harm caused to any participant in any Landmark Education class. And, in these 9 years, I am aware of only one individual who had to be removed from a class because of a pre-existing problem with her mental health. In general, at Landmark Education, I have witnessed participants actively and willingly engaged in challenging educational programs, directed at improving their lives in ways that the participants choose. My personal participation in these classes has been very positive and worthwhile. While I do not believe that Landmark Education classes are appropriate for everyone, I believe it would be very unfortunate to refuse to permit the teaching of these classes, given that they can be so beneficial to so many people. Cordially, Steve S. Callahan, Ph.D |