Editing NXIVM (section)

===Tourette's treatment claims===
A 2018 documentary film directed by Alessandro Molatore showcases a purported study of the use of NXIVM's exploration of meaning technique to treat [[Tourette syndrome]]. The film is executive produced by [[Clare Bronfman]]. The film identifies the Tourette's study's "lead researcher" as Dr. Brandon Porter, at the time a [[hospitalist]] at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany.<ref name=makesense>{{cite web |last=Berman |first=Sarah |date=May 1, 2018 |title=I Tried to Make Sense of the Alleged Sex Cult NXIVM's Bizarre Health Claims |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/i-tried-to-make-sense-of-an-alleged-sex-cults-bizarre-health-claims/|website=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |access-date=April 15, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Molatore |first=Alessandro |title=My Tourette's |date=March 4, 2018 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6096256/ |type=Documentary |publisher=Truth Films |access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=August 20, 2019 |title=RE: In the Matter of Brandon Porter, M.D. |url=https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubdoh/professionals/doctors/conduct/factions/FileDownloadAction.action?finalActionId=12236&fileName=HRG+253486.pdf&fileSeqNum=2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823141840/https://apps.health.ny.gov/pubdoh/professionals/doctors/conduct/factions/FileDownloadAction.action?finalActionId=12236&fileName=HRG+253486.pdf&fileSeqNum=2 |archive-date=August 23, 2019 |access-date=June 7, 2022 |website=[[New York State Department of Health]]}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Lyons |first=Brendan J. |date=August 22, 2019 |title=NXIVM doctor who conducted brain studies loses license |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/NXIVM-doctor-who-conducted-brain-studies-loses-14370824.php |access-date=June 7, 2022 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the sentencing of Clare Bronfman, prosecutors from the [[United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York]] wrote, "the participants in this 'study' have expressed significant distress at their involvement" and offered one [[victim impact statement]] from a Tourette's study's participant that said the study "did nothing for me except ruin my self-esteem, ruin my mental health, and made me hate myself. It did not cure my Tourette’s in any way."<ref>{{Cite Pacer|plaintiff=United States of America|defendant=Keith Raniere|title=The Government's Sentencing Memorandum as to Defendant Clare Bronfman|doc-number=922|date=September 14, 2020|pacer-number=420062|use-recap=yes|case-state=NY|case-district=ED|case-division=1|case-year=2018|case-type=cr|case-sequence=00204|access-date=June 7, 2022}}</ref>{{better|date=November 2025}}

The purported treatment for Tourette syndrome was noted by one reporter as not having been tested in a scientific peer-reviewed setting.<ref name=makesense/> Another reporter reached out to NXIVM member [[Marc Elliot]], who promotes both the purported treatment and film, and did not receive a reply.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 1, 2020 |title=Self-Help Group NXIVM Once Claimed It Could Cure Tourette's — How? |url=https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/the-vow-nixvms-alleged-cure-for-tourettes-explained |access-date=June 16, 2022 |website=Oxygen Official Site |language=en-US}}</ref> Dr. Alan Jern, Associate Professor of Psychology at [[Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology]], wrote in ''[[Psychology Today]]'' that "[d]espite NXIVM’s obsession with being taken seriously by influential people and mainstream institutions, their penchant for secrecy and refusal to follow the [[Scientific method|norms of science]] means that their research was scientifically pretty worthless."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Did the NXIVM Cult Actually Help People? {{!}} Psychology Today |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/overthinking-tv/202211/did-the-nxivm-cult-actually-help-people |access-date=November 12, 2022 |website=www.psychologytoday.com |language=en-US}}</ref>