Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Existence and Location of Copies
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Preferred Citation
Processing Information
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biographical / Historical
Scope and Contents
Related Oral Histories
Related Materials
Online Items Available
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Synanon Foundation records
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.0342
Physical Description:
341.0 linear feet
(564 boxes, 118 cartons, and 32 boxes)
Date (inclusive): circa 1956-1987
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. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
No copying (except by hand notes and/or note taking with a personal computer) for any purposes, including publication, or
use for commercial purposes 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.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
CONTAINS AUDIO AND AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: This collection contains both processed and unprocessed audio and audiovisual materials.
Audio and audiovisual materials are not currently available for access, unless otherwise noted in a Physical Characteristics
and Technical Requirements note at the series and file levels. All requests to access processed materials must be made in
advance using the request button located on this page.
Existence and Location of Copies
Digital reproductions of some audiovisual materials are available for viewing in the Library Special Collections reading room.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of The Synanon Church, Incorporated, 1993.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Synanon Foundation records (Collection 342). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Processing Information
Processed by Manuscripts Division staff.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user
interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides
a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive
processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating
existing description of our materials that contains language
that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they
could be described more accurately, by filling out the form
located on our website:
Report Potentially Offensive Description in Library Special Collections.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biographical / Historical
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.
Scope and Contents
Collection consists of the records of the Synanon Foundation. Includes correspondence, recordings, films, video tapes, photographs,
and printed materials.
Related Oral Histories
The following oral history is available through the UCLA Library Center for Oral History Research:
Online Items Available
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Audiotapes.
Group psychotherapy -- Archives.
Detoxification (Substance abuse treatment) -- Archives.
Dederich, Chuck
Synanon (Foundation)--Archives.