Ted Patrick

Theodore "Ted" Roosevelt Patrick, Jr. (born 1930) is an American deprogrammer and author. He is sometimes referred to as the "father of deprogramming."

In the 1970s, Patrick and other anti-cult activists founded the Citizens' Freedom Foundation (which later became known as the Cult Awareness Network) and began offering what they called "deprogramming" services to people who wanted a family member removed from a New Religious Movement. Patrick's methods frequently involved abduction and forced confinement, which led to him facing multiple criminal charges and civil proceedings. He was eventually convicted of a number of crimes, including kidnapping, false imprisonment and conspiracy.