Carol Giambalvo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Carol Giambalvo | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1944 |
| Occupation | Cult expert, consultant |
Carol Giambalvo is a consultant and eminent expert on cults. She herself considers herself an ex-cult member. Giambalvo is a cofounder of reFOCUS, a national support and referral network for former cult members. She has been a Thought Reform Consultant since 1984[1]. Giambalvo is on the Board of Directors for the International Cultic Studies Association. She is also the Director of the International Cultic Studies Association's Recovery Programs.
Giambalvo was a contributor to the book Recovery from Cults, and with Herbert L. Rosedale author of The Boston Movement: Critical Perspectives on the International Churches of Christ.
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[edit] Erhard Seminars Training
Carol Giambalvo initially became exposed to cult-like practices through her associations with Werner Erhard and Erhard Seminars Training.
A legal secretary in New York named Carol Giambalvo was typical of these enthusiasts. She signed her enrollment card in the Hunger Project at the end of her est training session in February 1978. Privately she thought that Erhard's grandiose pledge to end hunger within two decades sounded like a bit of a reach, but she was flushed with enough enthusiasm about est to begin signing up others in the antihunger campaign...Carol Giambalvo and her fellow volunteers were careful about what they told new recruits and potential contributors. Although they never bothered to explain that none of the money would be used to feed anyone, they also were intentionally vague about the real purpose of the Hunger Project. That's the way they had been trained by other Hunger Project officials[2].
[edit] Giambalvo and The Hunger Project
Carol Giambalvo wrote The Hunger Project: Inside out][3], a critical analysis of the organization The Hunger Project, in December, 1988, based on her own personal involvement as a Hunger Project volunteer as well as numerous other sources. This article originally appeared in the Spiritual Counterfeits Project Journal.[4]
Giambalvo had also published the article on her website.[5] Due to a complaint from The Hunger Project to AOL, Giambalvo's website was temporarily shut down. She later agreed to modify the website, and provides copies of the controversial paper upon direct request only[6]. Rick Ross based most of his summary The Hunger Project: A Historical Background[7] on Giambalvo's piece.
Giambalvo appeared on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation program the fifth estate, on October 23, 1986. This was a documentary on The Hunger Project[8].
As part of this controversy, The Hunger Project COO and Vice President John Coonrod wrote a letter to Carol Giambalvo in which he stated:
It has come to my attention that you are continuing to publish a web page about The Hunger Project based on your experience as a volunteer more than 20 years ago...remove the web page...and eliminate any other references to The Hunger Project in your professional materials...The Hunger Project has never denied that Werner Erhard was one of the founders of The Hunger Project or that, in the late 1970s and 1980s, Mr. Erhard encouraged participants in his programs to support The Hunger Project. Mr. Erhard left our board in 1990 and has had no subsequent participation with The Hunger Project. The successor to his own organization, Landmark Education, has not supported The Hunger Project, either directly or through encouraging anyone to support The Hunger Project[9].
Giambalvo later posted the entirety of John Coonrod's letter on her website. On April 2, 2003, AOL cut off Giambalvo's internet services, citing complaints from The Hunger Project[10]. Giambalvo's internet service was later reinstated after she agreed to remove all material relating to The Hunger Project.
The Hunger Project created web pages entitled Hunger Project refutes innuendos[11], and Rebuttal to the notion that The Hunger Project attempts to purge criticism and history from the internet[12], to address these issues.
[edit] Publications
[edit] Books
- Recovery from Cults (book), Contributor
- The Boston Movement: Critical Perspectives on the International Churches of Christ, with Herbert L. Rosedale
- Exit Counseling: A Family Intervention, by Carol Giambalvo, 1995, ISBN 0931337054 , ISBN 978-0931337055
- Today's Destructive Cults and Movements, by Lawrence J. Gesy (Editor), Carol Giambalvo (Editor) , Our Sunday Visitor, 1993, ISBN 0879734981 , ISBN 978-0879734985
[edit] Articles
- "Exit Counseling: A Family Intervention", 1996, International Cultic Studies Association, author
- "The Boston Movement: Critical Perspectives on the International Churches of Christ", co-editor
- "Ethical Standards for Thought Reform Consultants", co-author
- "The Forum: est in the heir", Spiritual Counterfeits Project Journal, Volume 8:1, 1988
- "What Is a Thought Reform Consultant?", Carol Giambalvo, Joseph F. Kelly, Patrick L. Ryan, & Madeleine Tobias, ICSA
- "Child Abuse in Cultic Groups", IP03, ICSA
- The Hunger Project: Inside Out, Spiritual Counterfeits Project Journal, Volume 8:1, 1988
[edit] Conferences Led
- "Coping with Triggers & PTSD Symptoms", St. Malo’s Recovery Workshop, 2000
- "From Deprogramming to Thought Reform Consultation", American Family Foundation Conference, Chicago, Illinois, November 1998
- The Abuse of Women Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 30 - May 31, 1997
- "Children and Cults", American Family Foundation, Annual Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 29 - May 31, 1998
[edit] References
- ^ Giambalvo Profile, International Cultic Studies Association
- ^ Pressman, Steven, Outrageous Betrayal: The dark journey of Werner Erhard from est to exile. New York: St Martins Press, 1993. ISBN 0-312-09296-2, pg. 163.
- ^ The Hunger Project: Inside out
- ^ Spiritual Counterfeits Project Journal, Volume 8:1
- ^ Carol Giambalvo's Cult Information and Recovery, Giambalvo, Carol, personal website
- ^ Cult Information and Recovery Giambalvo, Carol, personal website
- ^ The Hunger Project: A Historical Background, Ross, Rick, April 8, 2004
- ^ Cult Information and Recovery, Giambalvo, Carol, personal website, "Awards" section
- ^ Coonrod, John, letter to Carol Giambalvo, February 5, 2003
- ^ The Hunger Project attempts to purge criticism and history from the Internet, Ross, Rick, April 10, 2004
- ^ Hunger Project refutes innuendos, May, [2006]
- ^ Rebuttal to the notion that The Hunger Project attempts to purge criticism and history from the internet, June 2006
[edit] External links
- Giambalvo Profile, International Cultic Studies Association website
- Carol Giambalvo's Homepage, Cult Information and Recovery
- Cult Experts List, Giambalvo Profile, FACTNet website
