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Finding Aid for the Synanon Foundation Records, ca. 1956-1987
342
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Title: Synanon Foundation Records,
Date (inclusive): ca. 1956-1987
Collection number: 342
Creator: Synanon (Foundation)
Extent: 564 boxes (282 linear ft.)
118 cartons (59 linear ft.)
32 boxes
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Synanon was founded by Charles Dederich, Sr. in 1958. Synanon's detoxification therapy attracted wealthy drug and alcohol
abusers with chapters in San Francisco, Tulare and Marin Counties, Detroit, and as far as Germany and Malaysia. The collection
consists of correspondence, recordings, films, video tapes, photographs, and printed materials related to the Synanon Foundation.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language:
English.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
No copying (except by hand notes and/or note taking with a personal computer) for any purposes, including publication, or
use for commercial purposes in permitted without prior written approval by the Trustees of the Synanon Archives Trust, which
retains copyright to the Synanon records. The names of Synanon members or residents shall not be revealed or used, nor shall
members or residents be contacted unless prior written approval has been granted by the Trustees of the Synanon Archives Trust.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Additional Physical Form Available
A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Department of Special Collections for in-house
consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:
- Public Services Division
- UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
- Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
- Box 951575
- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
- Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific Time)
- Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of The Synanon Church, Incorporated, 1993.
[Identification of item], Synanon Foundation Records (Collection 342). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Synanon was founded by Charles Dederich, Sr. in 1958; originally named TLC (Tender Loving Care Club), the group was renamed
Synanon and had its headquarters in Santa Monica, California; Synanon's detoxification therapy attracted wealthy drug and
alcohol abusers, and eventually the organization became a $30 million nonprofit organization; chapters sprang up in San Francisco,
Tulare and Marin Counties, Detroit, and as far as Germany and Malaysia; Dederich declared Synanon a religion in 1974; Dederich
was forced to give up control of Synanon in 1979 after pleading no contest to conspiracy to commit murder; Synanon quickly
lost its popularity thereafter.
Collection consists of the records of the Synanon Foundation. Includes correspondence, recordings, films, video tapes, photographs,
and printed materials.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Dederich, Charles.
Synanon (Foundation)--Archives.
Detoxification (Substance abuse treatment)--Archival resources.
Group psychotherapy--Archival resources.
Audiotapes.
- Seven voices from Synanon [oral history transcript] / Charles Dederich, Charles Hamer, Bettye Coleman, Monte Morton, James Middleton, Arlene Hefner, and Reid Kimball, interviewees. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 1962. Available at Department of Special Collections, UCLA.
- S. Guy Endore Papers (Collection 279). Available at Department of Special Collections, UCLA.