Christian therapist tries to reunite his sons with their father accused of abuse and causes controversy

A Christian therapist's attempt to reunite two sons with their father, who is accused of trying to drown their older brother and sexually abusing their sisters, has sparked major controversy in Colorado.

The children's mother, Rachel Pickrel-Hawkins, accuses the therapist – Christine “Chris” Bassett, a licensed marriage and family therapist at Lighthouse Christian Counseling – of abusing the sons during therapy. And Pickrel-Hawkins is refusing to cooperate with the court-ordered therapy, according to the Denver Gazette.

Because of her refusal to undergo so-called “reunification therapy,” a judge initially sentenced Pickrel-Hawkins to seven weekends in jail for contempt of court. Her mother served two weekends in jail.

But after loud public protests, the judge suspended the remainder of her sentence during a hearing on Thursday, the Gazette reported. He also suspended reunification therapy until the criminal case against the father is concluded.

The goal of reunification therapy is to restore the relationship between a parent and child who have become estranged, often during divorce proceedings. In many cases, it is based on the parental alienation theory, which states that the trusted parent caused the estrangement by brainwashing the child.

Most experts think this theory is nonsense. In addition, studies have shown that reunification therapy harms children from families where there has been domestic violence. An abuser can use the therapy as a weapon to force frightened children to contact each other, the researchers write.

After news of Pickrel-Hawkins' incarceration broke, lawmakers and dozens of citizens gathered outside the Colorado Supreme Court building, demanding the state's highest court's intervention. A fundraiser for her legal costs raised more than $80,000.

The editor-in-chief of the Gazette, which broke the news, wrote that the article about the controversy had “generated more outrage than any story I have ever seen.”

On July 29, authorities arrested Hawkins on charges that he raped his daughter, repeatedly sexually abused her and two adopted daughters, and attempted to drown his son, now an adult. The alleged abuse is said to have spanned nearly two decades.

A lawyer for Hawkins did not respond when The Roys Report (TRR) has not been contacted for comment. He has previously denied the allegations, which were made after a two-year investigation, the Gazette reported. Hawkins, a retired Aurora police sergeant, is seeking sole custody of his minor sons.

The dispute over the boys' treatment comes amid growing criticism of Colorado's family court system. Previous reporting by ProPublica found, among other things, that custody evaluators in the state who have been accused of domestic violence continue to advise courts in cases involving alleged domestic violence and child abuse.

Following ProPublica's revelations, the state banned courts from ordering “reunification camps,” where the estranged parent and child are taken away for weeks and the child is denied contact with the familiar parent.

The lawmakers behind that law blamed the courts for failing to reform and enforce the ban, the Gazette's editor-in-chief wrote. And the controversial theory of parental alienation is still pervasive in Colorado family court cases.

Hawkins' attorney attempted to discredit Pickrel-Hawkins in court filings, calling her “highly manipulative” and saying the allegations were unproven, according to the Gazette's reporting.

This despite previous findings by the county's child protective services agency, which reportedly confirmed Hawkins' sexual abuse of the daughter and physical abuse of the son.

Meanwhile, Pickrel-Hawkins claimed the two boys experienced “severe anxiety” and worsening PTSD symptoms after therapy sessions with Bassett, the Gazette reported.

An attorney filed a complaint against Bassett with Child Welfare Services, alleging he exercised abusive and coercive control, according to the Gazette. A representative of the Larimer County Department of Social Services, which handles child welfare complaints, said TRR that the ministry could not confirm or deny any of the allegations.

Attorneys for Pickrel-Hawkins did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. Nor did Bassett's office.

Mother accuses Bassett of abuse

In interviews with the Gazette, Pickrel-Hawkins claims Bassett's methods are abusive and misguided.

Pickrel-Hawkins said she told Bassett about the sexual assault and child abuse charges against Hawkins. But that same day, Bassett told one of the boys he needed to forgive his father, Pickrel-Hawkins told the Gazette.

The mother also reported that one of the two boys was found curled up in the fetal position on the floor in Bassett's office during a session on June 25, four days before the father's arrest. Bassett told the boy's mother to stop talking about what was happening to the boy.

The child welfare complaint says Bassett roughly grabbed and squeezed one boy's arm and withheld water from the boys until they gave water to Hawkins, who was also attending the session. The complaint also alleges Bassett prohibited the sons from wearing watches to stop the sessions.

Bassett has been a longtime member of Focus on the Family's Christian Counselor Network, a database of licensed counselors who the organization describes as “Christian therapists who counsel from a biblical perspective.”

Her practice, Lighthouse Christian Counseling, prides itself on helping people “meet life's challenges in the context of their faith.” Bassett's profile says she attends Vintage City Church, a nondenominational church in the area.

Bassett was disciplined by Colorado's licensing board in 2021 for a therapist ethics violation, records show. Of 1,929 marriage and family therapists licensed in Colorado, only 42 have faced disciplinary action, according to a list maintained by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations.

In court on Thursday, Pickrel-Hawkins' attorney also accused Bassett of falsely convincing another mother that her children's father was a safe co-parent. In that case, the father killed the children, ages 8 and 6, before taking his own life in December 2022, the Gazette reported.

The judge reportedly asked Bassett on Thursday if she had ever “misjudged the safety of a parent.” Her response: “I'm sure that probably happened.”

Sarah Einselen is an award-winning writer and editor based in Texas.