Dianetics can work for some people sometimes but let me try de-mythologize it for you. It is a method that lets your brain more fully process traumatic incidents and it can bring relief. Not always but if it didn't work at all this cult would not last.
If you want to understand from a brain stand point what it is read a book on EMDR. Eye Motion Desensitization Reprocessing. There you will get an up to date explanation of what is going on with Dianetics. The only difference bestrewn EMDR and Dianetics is that with EMDR you move your eyes back and forth while recalling the traumatic event so that the event processes in the left and right side of the brain.
Even with EMDR they will tell you that an event can be hooked into an earlier similar event. They don't use a meter to find the events, but you don't need one, you can tell what is bothering you if you carefully over your life.
I have to admit that Hubbard did this in the 30's (and I think he got much of it from Fraud...I'm not sure) but EMDR only came out in the 80's.
Now there are 2 other techniques that do the same thing. NET Neuro Emotional Technique. They use muscle testing to find painful incidents.
And EFT Emotional Freedom Technique.
also TFT temporal field tapping.
All these techniques are very similar to dianetics.
They have different methods for finding incidents, some have to tapping points, others use eye movement, whatever. They all have earlier similar events. But they basically do the same thing. The truth of it is Hubbard pre-dates them all, so I would not be surprised if the inventors of these techniques read dianetics.
The danger of Hubbard is that he tells you this is a spiritual technique and that he is directly talking to your soul, but the other techniques describe it as a brain function technique.
Hubbard also tells you that once you get rid of all your painful events you will be clear, and that there are a limited number of these things, and these are the things that are blocking you from perfect recall and cause all the ills in your life. That is where it becomes a danger. Its when he attaches lies to some truth.
When he talks about locks and secondaries other techniques talk about incident being connected and they talk about triggers. That does not sound so crazy to me. When he talks about the "file clerk" people take that literally , and he may mean it literally, I'm not sure. But in terms of EMDR, NET, EFT or TFT they talk about completing a process in the brain that you were not able to complete at the time of the incident.
That is (some of) the dangers of Hubbard. There are more. Then the really big lies happen on the upper levels, and yes they will try to get your family in then separate you from them if you quit, they will come to your house at night demaning you give them money or join the sea org.And yes, if the processing does not work they will tell you that it is becasue you are a really bad fucked up person who has to spend even more money to get saved. Don't get caught in the trap.
...so yes that can be a problem. But the idea of processing old traumatic events can be very useful.
In my opinion a way to stop Scientology is not simply to say it does not work, because sometimes (like many therapies) it does. But if we show what it actually is then it loses its "secret sauce" and it basically becomes another burger.
here are some books on EMDR ( I just googled it). Get a scientific understanding of what is happening.
https://www.google.com/search?q=boo...me..69i57j0.2846j1j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8