Kevin Garvey

Pioneering exit counselor, James Kevin Garvey, formerly of Hamden, CT. and New York City, died after an extended illness on May 27, 2008 in Middletown, CT. His loving family was by his side. He leaves many grieving friends in the ICSA community.

Kevin was born in Flushing, New York on February 22, 1943, the son of the late Attorney Charles Augustus Garvey and Frances Lynch Garvey of New York City. He received a B.A. in Philosophy from Columbia University and was the President of Kevin Garvey and Associates, a Consulting Service on Psychological Training Systems.

Many of his ICSA friends may not have realized that Kevin was a world class sailor. He completed the 1973 Honolulu Race, crewed in the Newport to Bermuda Race and the America's Cup, and placed in such competitions as the North American Championship, the Atlantic Coast Championship, the Chesapeake Soling Bowl, as well as placing in numerous U.S. Olympic Trials in the Soling class.

Survivors include: his two children, Sean Timothy Garvey (26), a law student at Syracuse University, and Darragh Burgess Garvey (21), a Senior Communication Major at Southern Connecticut State University; his sisters, Francis Linton of St. Augustine Florida, Joan Smith of Naples, Florida, Mary Denig of Chester, New Jersey, Judith Boxley of Glen Rock, New Jersey; and a brother, Charles Garvey of North Bergen, New Jersey. A brother, Martin Garvey formerly of Walnut Creek, California predeceases Mr. Garvey.  Kevin's former wife Sheila Hickey Garvey lives in Hamden, Connecticut.

Kevin was over thirty when his very considerable analytical talents were accosted in the mid-1970s by the cult phenomenon. He had been a Manhattan stockbroker for the better part of a decade when he discovered that a friend had become enmeshed in a "mind-controlling "Jesus" group. The revelation to Kevin came in his friend's response to subtle romantic interest shown him by a young woman: the friend broke out in a rash. Kevin learned that the group had conditioned his friend to react with morbid guilt when he thus felt "satanic" romantic responses in himself. During the same period, Kevin dated a woman who began to suffer from a tri-partite personality conflict as a result of a new age training group. These experiences, plus his own interaction with recruiters to popular New Age training groups, set him on a new path.

Kevin enrolled at Columbia University and began to read what literature there was on the subject, and actually fashioned his own course of study. He persuaded the head of the graduate philosophy department to supervise a double-credit tutorial on issues of contemporary cultism. He then did tutorials in other disciplines, focusing on various aspects of the phenomenon. All in all he helped set in motion a process, still ongoing, to legitimize cultic studies in academia. When in 1978 he experienced the est training - a sort of graduate fieldwork project - he had the tools for comprehending the cult phenomenon better than most in that era. He also began consulting with psychiatrists in New York City who needed his help understanding the problems of Columbia graduate students caught up in the "est" training.

In the 1980s, he became one of the founders of the original Cult Awareness Network NY/NJ, now the Cult Information Service in New Jersey. His independent exit counseling career took off soon after that. Throughout, he based his approach on the epistemological principles and metaphysical conceptions of Thomas Aquinas. He said that Aquinas's understanding of the way the intellect deals with the senses is "down to earth" and thus extremely helpful in encouraging the dialogue needed for successful exit counseling. Aquinas’ metaphysics added to Kevin's natural empathy and capacity to discuss both religious issues and the ethics of cult manipulation, which arise in many cult involvements.

In addition to exit counseling, Kevin provided industrial consulting on New Age training programs and testified in cult-related court cases.

Kevin wrote and co-authored numerous articles and chapters for books on cults and recovery issues, including a well-received series on est in Our Town. He was capable of seeing the ‘big picture’ as well as the details of the cult issue, and was able to articulate many of the most complex constructs underlying cultic processes and problems.

He contributed to a landmark chapter on exit counseling in ICSA's Recovery from Cults: A Handbook for Victims of Psychological and Spiritual Abuse, and also contributed to that book a chapter entitled, "The Importance of Information in Preparing for Exit Counseling: A Case Study."

In the early 1990s he developed a keen interest in the phenomenon of Satanism and published (with Linda Blood) an article, "Interesting Times," in ICSA's Cultic Studies Journal.

In the mid-1990's Kevin was approached by the FBI to consult on strategies regarding what became the final days leading up to the WACO disaster. Kevin had warned the FBI not to allow government forces to invade the cult compound because many children were in residence and because the ethos of the cult was apocalyptic.

During the past year, despite his debilitating illness, Kevin was working on a paper, "Alcoholics Anonymous: The Disorganized Cult?" He had hoped to present this paper at the 2008 ICSA Annual Conference in Philadelphia. Sadly, he was never able to make that conference.

Kevin's colleagues considered him to be a "walking encyclopedia" of modern and ancient cultic practices alike. Even a simple question could generate an extraordinary conversation over a cup of coffee, for which Kevin, a raconteur as well, was famous. His quick wit, great sense of humor, and loyalty will be missed by all who knew him.

Kevin's family has asked that memorials in his name be made to: International Cultic Studies Association, P.O. Box 2265, Bonita Springs, FL 34133 (www.icsahome.com).

Contributions by author

Garvey, Kevin & Blood, Linda: "Interesting Times" - abstract