This was first printed on Mark Borop’s site and is reprinted here with permission of the author. Another update suggests that Josh is currently missing from the center.
Earlier this week, after allegations that Josh Duggar had paid an adult film star for “traumatic” sexual encounters, it was revealed that Josh Duggar had checked into a long-term facility for sexual addiction. Unfortunately, the treatment facility leaves much to be desired in genuine treatment for sexual compulsion. Apparently, the Duggar Family still hasn’t learned any lessons from past mistakes, and they have no desire to do so.
Ordinarily, I would never knock a treatment center for addiction. As any recovering addict will tell you, “whatever works, works.” However, herein lies the problem, and it seems more than warranted to question the likelihood of any recovery for Josh Duggar.
You may recall that when the Duggar’s initially learned of their son molesting his siblings in 2002, they ignored the problem by “disciplining him at home.” Then when they learned of new incidents of him molesting his younger siblings within that same month, they sent him to a “friend” that ran a highly questionable Bible-based program for youthful offenders. That program had its own history of sex scandals.
During the 1980s, the administrative director of the Institute of Basic Life Principles (IBLP), Steve Gothard, was forced to resign when it was revealed that he had had a number of affairs with secretaries within the institute. His brother and the organization’s founder, Bill Gothard, was accused of knowing of the affairs and not taking action. Bill Gothard did resign but returned as head of the organization three weeks later. Unfortunately, Bill Gothard was brought into the spotlight again in 2014 when reports were made that Bill Gothard had sexually harassed and molested a number of young women in the institute, including former students, as well as covering up a number of allegations of child abuse within the organization. Bill Gothard is the “friend” that the Duggar’s sent their son to when they couldn’t stop him from molesting his sisters.
It was after Josh finished Gothard’s “treatment program” that Jim Bob Duggar brought his son to yet another “friend” who happened to have been a police officer to report an incident of molestation. That friend, Joseph Truman Hutchens, is now serving a 56-year sentence in the Arkansas Department of Corrections for a number of child pornography charges. Hutchens also maintains that he wasonly told of one incident involving molestation of one child.
In 2006, more allegations of child molestation by Josh Duggar are reported anonymously to the Child Abuse Hotline and to Harpo Studios. In 2007, more allegations and rumors of Josh molesting young girls surface online. You can see a rough timeline of eventshere.
There is a recurring theme here of ignoring the problem and calling on “friends” to cover up the crime.
So now we fast forward to 2015, when all the allegations are outed to the public and Josh is found to have had a number of affairs, thanks to the Ashley Madison hack and the disclosure of an adult film star. The problem is that the Duggar’s still haven’t learned anything from past mistakes.
What’s that old saying about the definition of insanity? Isn’t it something like “repeating the same action while expecting a different result?”
According to the Rockford Register Star, Josh Duggar was flown in the dark of night to Rockford, IL – MY TOWN — in order to enterReformers Unanimous, a faith-based group that boasts using spiritual beliefs to cure various addictions. The problem is that this program is again no different that the faith-based programs Josh Duggar has already been through. It honestly isn’t much different than what one might call a “Christian work camp.”
For something as serious as sexual addiction (or compulsion), Josh Duggar should be examined by a medical doctor or a mental health professional, if for no other reason, to find out if there is a physiological cause or a mental defect that may be facilitating his addictions. Reformers Unanimous has no professionals of any kind and relies solely on peer counseling. That might be just dandy for some who suffer from alcohol addiction or drug addiction, but sexual compulsions are a lot more complex. It’s also important to keep in mind that there is no cure for any addiction, but addiction is something that can be managed. Reformers Unanimous admits that themselves, but claims an 80-percent success rate through spirituality. Here you can see a full schedule of daily activities and rules for the organization, but never once is there any evidence of any kind of individualized counseling or therapy.
According to Brad Woodbury, one of the organization’s development team members:
“The residential program is for people who need to be in a place where they can grow in their relationship with Christ. We do not focus on the addiction. It’s about your walk with Christ.”
Lend your ear to their introduction video. Don’t forget to note the appearance of organizations co-founders, anti-LGBT pastor Dr. Paul Kingsbury (honorary doctorate) and former addict Steven Curington (deceased).
Remember that recurring theme I warned you about? They did it again! The Duggar’s have deep connections to Reformers Unanimous and proudly posted about an appearance they made there in October 2014 for the organization’s national conference.
You see, Rockford is also home to the international headquarters of the World Congress of Families, a very large and global anti-LGBT hate group. The World Congress of Families is partnered with a number of harsh right-wing fundamentalist paleoconservative organizations, including, of course, the Family Research Council. That’s that happy little organization that Josh Duggar was the executive director of until his past molestation charges were made public. The organization itself has faced a number of sex scandals in recent years.
So here we are again with the same problem – the Duggar’s using “friends” to cover up their indiscretions and ignore the problem completely. At what point do we need to get to before we admit that sexual addiction cannot be treated with faith alone, especially since so many “friends” and family members have assisted in covering for Josh Duggar? Keep in mind that Josh’s wife, Anna, has recently given birth to a fourth child – a daughter. The Duggar family is not allowing Anna to speak to the public at all or have any contact with anyone outside of the Duggar family.
