Related articles and links |  1 of 5

Scott Rogers says that as he was driving down a Georgia back road in March 1994, he tuned to a Christian radio station and heard a representative of the Minirth-Meier/New Life Clinics (MMNLC), America's largest Christian psychiatric company, discussing child abuse and inviting listeners to call the company's toll-free phone number if they needed help.

The program, Rogers says, had a deep impact on him. "They were talking about my unresolved issues, and I impulsively pulled over and called," says the 27-year-old, citing his physical abuse as a child.

But instead of receiving comfort and encouragement, Rogers alleges he was pressured to seek costly inpatient treatment and then drawn into "62 days of hell" at the hands of social-service agencies investigating a report that he had confessed to abusing his own children. Although Rogers was eventually cleared of abuse charges, he has filed a malpractice suit against MMNLC.

The Rogers case is becoming a potent symbol within the Christian counseling field because of how it highlights one of the industry's most sensitive challenges: the balancing act between ministering to the needy and making a profit. It has taken on a larger life because two religious gadflies have made Rogers into a poster boy of sorts in their campaign against Christian psychiatry and counseling.

Milwaukee-based Christian radio show host Vic Eliason and Dallas-based chaplain Ray Hoekstra of International Prison Ministry have waged a long-running crusade against the growing Christian mental-health industry, especially against MMNLC, whose prestige and size-more than 600 employees in 25 inpatient units and 55 outpatient units-make it a sizable target.

"This whole industry is a multimillion-dollar racket," says Hoekstra, who has pressured broadcasters to drop the MMNLC program. Broadcaster Eliason, who had a 1993 run-in with MMNLC over his alleged unauthorized sale of MMNLC radio program tapes, declined an interview with Christianity Today, but is not new to controversy, having launched critical campaigns against other Christian leaders (ct, May 16, 1994, p. 38).

MMNLC President Stephen Arterburn inherited the Rogers conflict when his eight-year-old New Life clinic bought Minirth-Meier in 1994. But he defends the way the firm reacted to the Rogers case in that counselors are legally required to notify state officials in instances of suspected child abuse.

"We handled this matter in a textbook fashion," he says. "Our company isn't perfect," says Arterburn. "I was prepared for us to say we had made a mistake in this situation and make amends, but we did nothing wrong."

The case likely will go to trial next year. Arterburn says there was no profit motivation to have Rogers seek counseling, because its Atlanta facility, unlike other MMNLC clinics, is not-for-profit.

Arterburn says Rogers's pain actually has been prolonged by Eliason's crusade. He says, "This family is merely an instrument with someone who has an agenda and is not really concerned about their welfare or their recovery."

IMAGE OF GREED? Industrywide, MMNLC is not the lone focus of criticism. Others have raised questions about the marketing methods of Christian mental health professionals.

"Our field is in a period of crisis," says Gary Collins, president of the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC). "Some of the inpatient programs give an image of greed and make people feel that companies get people in a hospital and keep them there until their insurance runs out, and then they let them go."

next page... |  1 of 5

September 16 1996, Vol. 40, No. 10