All of these 'program' ideas converge. Perhaps someone like John Underwood (he was always spoken of reverentially, though I never met him) provided the 'missing link' to Synanon. And the changes the Seed underwent, from kind of a hippy hangout with free food for the freaks and AA-type raps, to a full-bore 'behavior mod' program, seems to indicate this type of outside influence. Maybe someday, someone will 'fess up.
I have been trying to put my finger on the essence of all of these programs, and why they are so slippery - you know, seductive, and why people have such a hard time letting them go, being honest (even to themselves) about the experince, years later, and why, even critics have grudging admiration for them. I'm going to doa a separate post for that, at the risk of me being over-exposed on this forum. I have to get it out!