(Ref:
“Sec Checking,” “Integrity Processing” and “Confessionals” are all the exact same procedure and any materials on these subjects is interchangeable under these titles (HCOB 24 Jan 1977 TECH CORRECTION ROUND-UP)
Withholds don’t just add up to withholds They add up to overts, they add up to secrecies, they add up to individuations, they add up to games conditions, they add up to a lot more things than O/W.
You are straightening out somebody on a moral code, the “Now I’m supposed to’s.” They’ve transgressed on a series of “Now I’m supposed to’s.” Having so transgressed, they are now individuated. If their individuation is too obsessive, they snap in and become the terminal. All of these cycles exist around the idea of the transgression against the “Now I’m supposed to’s.” That is what a Confessional clears up and that is all it clears up. It’s a great deal more than a withhold. (HCOB 1 March 77, Iss III, FORMULATING CONFESSIONAL QUESTIONS.)
A Confessional must be done by someone who is a well trained auditor, skilled in TRs, basic auditing and metering, who can make a prepared list read, and who has been fully checked out and drilled on these techniques.
Every reading question of a Confessional is F/Ned. The original question must be taken to F/N, not some other question.
Here is the basic procedure for a Confessional:
1. Set up the room with the auditor seated closer to the door than the pc, so that he can gently put the pc back in his chair if he tries to blow the session. Ensure all the necessary materials are to hand, per HCOB 4 Dec 77, CHECKLIST FOR SETTING UP SESSIONS AND AN E-METER.
2. Make sure the person is well fed and well rested, that his hands are not too dry or moist, that the cans are the correct size and that the person knows how to hold them. Include all the steps of HCOB 4 Dec 77, CHECKLIST FOR SETTING UP SESSIONS AND AN E-METER. (Also ref: FALSE TA HCOBs.)
3. Start the Confessional. Model Session and rudiments are used. Ref: HCOB 11 Aug 78, Iss II, MODEL SESSION. If the TA is high or low, do a C/S Series 53RL, assess and handle. If you are not trained in doing a C/S Series 53, end off for C/S instruction.
4. Put in any needed R-Factor on doing the Confessional. Briefly explain the meter and the procedure to the person if they are not already known to him or her.
The term “I am not auditing you” only occurs when a Confessional is done for justice reasons. Otherwise the procedure is the same. (By “justice reasons” is meant when a person is refusing to come clean on a Comm Ev, B of I, etc., or as part of a specific HCO investigation when the person is withholding data or evidence from such HCO personnel.)
A Confessional done for justice reasons is not auditing and the data uncovered is not withheld from the proper authorities. Any other Confessional is auditing and is kept confidential.
By F/Ning each question that reads, and by the use of Examiner and review, there is a great deal of case gain in a Confessional. It permits the person to again feel a part of his group.
5. Clear the procedure and the use of the buttons “Suppress” and “False” etc. If necessary as an example run a non-significant question to demonstrate the procedure (e.g. “Have you ever eaten an apple?”).
6. Take up the first question and clear the words backwards. Then clear the full command, noting any instant read that occurs on the command while clearing, as this is valid. See HCOB 9 Aug 78 Iss II, CLEARING COMMANDS, HCOB 28 Feb 71, C/S Series 24, IMPORTANT, METERING READING ITEMS, and HCOB 5 Aug 78, INSTANT READS.
Ensure the pc fully understands the question and what it encompasses.
7. With good TR 1 give the person the first question, keeping an eye on the meter and noting any instant read, i.e. SF, F. , LFBD. (Ref: HCOB 5 Aug 78, INSTANT READS.) A tick is always noted and in some cases becomes a wide read. (Ref: HCOB 28 Feb 71, C/S Series 24, IMPORTANT, METERING READING ITEMS.) But don’t assume you have a read because you get a tick. Put in Suppress and it will either read or the tick will vanish. In a Confessional, even the smallest change of needle characteristic, if it is instant, is checked into before you go on. But Note: You don’t take a rise as a change of characteristic in sec checking.
8. Take up each reading question, getting the what, when, where, all of every overt. Find out who missed it or who nearly found out, and what that person did to make the pc wonder if he knew. Get specifics, not general or vague answers. If no F/N, take the overt E/S to F/N. And ensure that the original question that read is taken to F/N before you leave it.
9. For security investigation purposes, get all the exact names, dates, addresses, phone numbers, and any other information that might be helpful in investigating the case further, should this be needed.
10. If the pc gives you three or four overts at once in reply to a reading question, you note them and ensure you take each separate reading overt or withhold to an F/N, or E/S to F/N.
11. Some people you have to ask the exact question. If your question is even faintly off they F/N. Low responsibility of the pc does this.
12. If the person gives off another’s overt, ask if he ever did something like that. You want what the person himself has done.
13. Do not take up unreading questions.
a) If a question does not read and does not F/N you can put in the buttons Suppress and Invalidate, asking:
“On the question________ has anything been suppressed?”
“On the question________ has anything been invalidated?”
But don’t require it to be answered and don’t look up at the pc expectantly either. If it’s not reading, tell him so and go on.
b) If Suppress or Invalidate reads, it means the read has transferred exactly from the Confessional question to the button. (Ref: HCOB 1 Aug 68, THE LAWS OF LISTING & NULLING.) Put in the button (simply get what the pc has to say and acknowledge), then take up the question. Fully clean the question, as in No. 8 above. Then go on to the next question.
c) Or, if the question reads and the pc is trying to answer it and is groping, puzzling, baffled and doesn’t have any answer, then check False. Ask: “Was that a false read?”, in which case it will read and on indication that it was a false read will now F/N. If no F/N, E/S to F/N.
14. Follow up fully on any Dirty Needle. A dirty needle will either clean or turn into an R/S. It is your hottest string to pull in finding and turning on an R/S. Thus it is not to be overlooked. The area that is producing a dirty needle when questioned for full data will either clean or go into an R/S. The area that gave the dirty needle is considered clean when you can go over it and it no longer produces a dirty needle. If a dirty needle still persists then there is more to the withhold itself or something the pc isn’t voicing about the withhold or how he feels about the withhold. But, pushed. with auditor’s TRs in, this dirty needle will turn into an R/S or it will fully clean. (Ref: HCOB 6 Sept 78, FOLLOWING UP ON DIRTY NEEDLES, and HCOB 17 May 69, TRs AND DIRTY NEEDLES.)
The auditor must know cold the difference between an R/S and a dirty needle. The difference is in the character of the read not the size. (Ref: HCOB 3 Sept 78, URGENT, URGENT, URGENT, DEFINITION OF A ROCK SLAM.)
A Confessional is not a rote procedure. Your job is to get the data and help the pc. Sometimes you will be thrown curves or may encounter attempts to be led off in the wrong direction. This is simply a sure indicator the subject is withholding and that the withhold is in restimulation. One has to ignore the volunteer misdirections of the pc as the pc is of course misdirecting, and simply get the read E/Sed or the W/H F/Ned. You must use your tools as given in HCOBs, Sec Checking tapes and tape demonstrations since 1961.
15. Take the original reading question to F/N. Not some other question. This all comes under the heading of completing cycles of action and getting one auditing question answered before you ask a second question.
In going earlier similar to take the question to F/N, always repeat the Confessional question as part of the earlier similar command to keep the person on that question.
Example: “Is there an earlier similar time you ate an apple?”
16. On each question be sure you get all the overts. When you have taken a specific chain of overts earlier similar to F/N, then re-check the original question for any read. If it F/Ns, fine. It’s clean.
If it reads you have another overt or overt chain to clear to F/N on that question. Use False and Protest buttons as needed.
Example:
Question A: “Have you committed any overts against apples?” Meter reads. Auditor gets an overt, takes it E/S to F/N. Auditor then re-checks Question A. Meter reads. Pc finds another overt against apples. Auditor takes it E/S to F/N.
You clean it, getting all, until the original question F/Ns.
(Ref: HCOB 14 Mar 71R Corr & Rev 25 Jul 73, F/N EVERYTHING HCOB 19 Oct 61, SECURITY QUESTIONS MUST BE NULLED HCOB 10 May 62, PREPCHECKING AND SEC CHECKING.)
17. If the person gets critical, realize you have missed a withhold and pull it. It is no light thing to miss withholds and mess up a pc when doing a Confessional. So be alert for any of the 15 manifestations of missed withhold and handle fully should any of these crop up. (Ref: HCOB 8 Feb 62, URGENT, MISSED WITHHOLDS, HCOB 12 Feb 62, HOW TO CLEAR WITHHOLDS AND MISSED WITHHOLDS, HCOB 3 May 62R Rev 5 Sep 78, ARC BREAKS, MISSED WITHHOLDS, HCOB 11 Aug 78 Iss I, RUDIMENTS, DEFINITIONS AND PATTER.)
It is wise, particularly when doing a Confessional of any length, to periodically check the question, “In this session has a withhold been missed?” or “Have I missed a withhold on you?”.
18. At the first sign of any trouble in doing a Confessional check for: missed withholds, false reads and ARC breaks, in that order, and fully handle what you get. In the majority of cases the above buttons should resolve the difficulty.
If not, handle with an LCRC (BTB 8 Dec 72RC, CONFESSIONAL REPAIR LIST). Use of the above buttons first, however, before resorting to the LCRC, avoids the possibility of getting into an “overrepair” situation.
19. If the pc consistently immediately dives whole track on Confessional questions, use the preface “In this lifetime…”, with good R-Factor. This should not be used to prevent him going whole track on the earlier similar command to F/N the question.
20. One must always report a Rock Slam in the auditing report, note it with session date and page inside the left cover of the pc’s folder and report it to ethics including the question or subject which rock slammed, phrased exactly. (HCOB 10 Aug 76R, Rev 5 Sep 78, R/Ses, WHAT THEY MEAN.)
As the R/S is probably the single most important and dangerous read on the meter, it is important that they are carefully noted when doing a Confessional.
For a pc to be branded as an R/Ser is a very serious thing. Also for a real R/Ser to be overlooked by an auditor is a catastrophe both to the pc and to those around that particular person. (Ref: HCOB 24 Jan 77, TECH CORRECTION ROUND-UP.)
Valid R/Ses are not always instant reads. An R/S can read prior or latently. (HCOB 3 Sep 78, URGENT, URGENT, URGENT, DEFINITION OF A ROCK SLAM.)
21. If you want a pc to stop fiddling with the cans you make them put their hands on the table and keep them there.
22. HCO or executives may request a Confessional be done but neither Tech nor Qual are bound by such requests as an FES could reveal that the trouble stems from “out-lists” or other matters needing correction. They should however take cognizance of such requests and do all possible to get the person handled.
23. If a reading question does not go to F/N and bogs or the TA goes high, take up an LCRC (Confessional Repair List, BTB 8 Dec 72RC), assess and handle per instructions.
24. End off any Confessional session and the entire Confessional itself, when complete, with the rudiments which would pick up anything which might have been missed: Half Truth, Untruth, Missed Withhold, Told All, etc. Use the prefix “In this session…” or “In this Confessional…”. Take any reading rudiment E/S as needed to F/N.
25. When the Confessional is fully completed, the auditor who has administered the Confessional informs the person he is forgiven for the overts and withholds he has just confessed, using the following statement:
“By the power invested in me, any overts and withholds you have fully and truthfully told me are forgiven by Scientologists.”
The usual response of the pc is instant relief and VGIs. On any adverse reaction to the Proclamation of Forgiveness, get the rest of the withhold or repair the Confessional session at once.
(Ref:
26. All worksheets are routed to Tech Services so they can be included in the person’s pc folder. (Ref: HCOB 28 Oct 76, C/S Series 98, AUDITING FOLDERS, OMISSIONS IN COMPLETENESS.)
27. Examiner. All Confessionals must be followed immediately by a standard pc examination. The folder is then routed to the C/S.
The C/S looks for any nonsequitur F/N on some other subject. It’s the primary thing he inspects.
If a person falls on his head after a Confessional session an LCRC is given. However, an FES to find missing questions that F/Ned on something else is done. Standard C/S rules apply to Confessionals.
28. On any bad Exam Report (non-F/N, BIs or nonoptimum statement) after a Confessional, or on any person who gets sick or upset or does not do well or has a high or low TA, give an LCRC as the very next action.
The 24-hour red tag rule must be strictly enforced.
If the pc is not in session you won’t get the withholds. TRs play a large part in the pc being willing to talk to the auditor. A wrong or challenging auditor attitude can throw the scene off as there is a destroyed comm cycle. If TRs are rough or choppy the pc feels he’s being accused.
A poor or comm lag TR 2, hidden from the view of the C/S, can also mess up a person in a Confessional. It invalidates his answers and makes him feel he hasn’t gotten it off. If suspected, this could be checked by D of P interview or person to the Examiner for: “What did the auditor do?” (Also see HCOB 16 Aug 71R Iss II, Rev 5 Jul 78, TRAINING DRILLS REMODERNIZED.)
So TRs must be polished and the auditor, while maintaining good ethics presence, takes the role of confessor when handling the pc’s answers and makes it safe for the pc to get off his overts and withholds. Similarly, an auditor who is certain of his tech and does not miss withholds will build the pc’s confidence in him.
Anyone doing a Confessional should be fully trained and interned by doing a course and interneship in the handling of Confessionals.
You had better determine to become an expert in it, since an auditor’s inability to handle this is a fast route to “how to win enemies and wrongly influence people.” (HCOB 24 Jan 77, TECH CORRECTION ROUND-UP.)
But even more important is the fact that, in knowing and applying Confessional tech correctly, you are helping the individual to face up to his responsibilities in his group and the society and putting him back into communication with his fellow man, his family, and the world at large.