The state alleged that VanBloem then used his hands and knuckles to press into the child's abdomen and ribs, causing pain. One mother of an 8-year-old patient reported finding bruises on her daughter after therapy sessions.

VanBloem also faced several other lawsuits alleging the same kind of abuse. One was filed last month.

Since the state's petition was filed, VanBloem and his supporters have vehemently disputed it. VanBloem has videotaped testimony from eight parents who say state investigators have twisted their words, that Cascade never abused their children and that holding therapy was an effective treatment.

VanBloem complained that he and the therapy he practiced were largely misunderstood. Last month, he allowed the Deseret Morning News to sit in on a therapy session to show that he did not lie on children or in any way cause them pain during therapy sessions.

Proponents of holding therapy believe that children who have suffered severe physical and sexual abuse often develop reactive attachment disorder, which renders them incapable of forming a healthy bond with their parents.

Through holding (VanBloem often cradled small children in his arms during sessions) and physical prodding to the abdomen area, attachment therapists say they help children release pent-up anger.

What will become of the state's case against Cascade and VanBloem, as well as the lawsuits against him, is unclear at this point, sources said.

"It's an unbelievable tragedy, considering what he's done for children," said Laura Thalin, a supporter and fund-raiser for Cascade. "He left behind seven children and a business that has been left in ruins because of what's been done to him."

Thalin, director of Hope for the Children, a fund-raising arm of Cascade, said a memorial fund has been established at Wells Fargo Bank to help support VanBloem's widow and children.

"They're just about bankrupt," Rowland said. "And I don't know how they're going to get through this."

Rowland said she hopes her younger brother isn't remembered for the controversy that dogged him but for the good he did in the world.

"He had a plaque in his office that said '100 years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.'

"So many nasty things have been said about him, but all he ever wanted to do was help children. I guess God needed to call him home."

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Lehi therapist Larry VanBloem and the controversial practice of holding therapy were featured in a Deseret Morning News Sunday Extra on Nov. 28. The story can be found on our Web site:

 Therapy or abuse? Controversial treatments may sink Cascade

   • Sunday Extra

E-mail: jhyde@desnews.com