Carlbrook

[Anonymous]

No one said everyone needs wilderness first. There are many programs that don't require wilderness first. If you are going to go to Carlbrook, you will go to wilderness first.  They have a waiting list, so they can require what they want.
The more senior students do not dole out punishments. Consequences for rule violations range from writing assignments, being on "bans" with certain other students, outdoor chores, to not being able to go to classes or a return to wilderness (for running away, hurting yourself or someone else or continued refusal to follow rules).  The students look forward to the workshops and earn the right to go to them. They come at certain points in the program.  There are excellent trained psychologists on the staff and most (not all) are respected by the kids. The senior level staff is very available and one of the directors sleeps on campus (they rotate)every night.  
Hate to tell you- but coersion is a fact of life the way your describe it.  If you don't do your work at your job, you might get fired.  Isn't that coersion?  There are always choices to be made. Most of the kids at Carlbrook find it to be a pretty good alternative to where they could be. Their transcripts are fixed and they have college counseling. The kids are mainly from wealthy families and there is a preppy element.  Many have been kicked out of private prep schools.  
Nihil- I see nothing in your background that gives you any credibility here.

[Deborah]

Carlbrook is the newest version, and probably does appeal to the 'wealthier' parents as stated previously. It's roots go deep into CEDU land.

Carlbrook Players
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?to ... t=20#49405
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?to ... 270#120286

SUWS
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?to ... rt=0#69285

[Nihilanthic]

Do you know what "ad hominem" means? Do you know that you just made that fallacy in arguement again?

A question is a question regardless of who asked it. It doesnt matter if Stephen Hawking or Paris Hilton says it, what is, is. Stop pulling that old excuse out of your hat!

Yeah, you are right, Carlbrook can do whatever the hell they want, but thats irrelevant to what I have to say. WHY do they do it, WHAT is the reason for it, and what would explain this as necessary and/or beneficial?

To assume it might be BUSINESS related is a fairly safe assumption, given the nature of it being a treatment INDUSTRY. Im sure there may be philosophical reasons behind that requiement in treatment, but its also naive to think that business partnerships dont play a role.

BTW, why not tell us some details about how carlbrook and the workshops go... the ones you didnt answer last time.

1. what powers do the higher level students have?
2. how are those decisions enforced?
3. are they final?
4. who holds THEM accountable?
5. how do the workshops work
6. what happens if they dont like them or refuse to participate
7. how long are they?
8. could you describe one?

Again, it doesnt matter who asked those questions, theyre just as valid regardless of whose mouth they come out of - Lon Woodbury, Ken Kay, ME, or Donld Duck!

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
-- Margaret Mead

[Anonymous]

I am not aware of any powers that more senior students have.  They have more privileges, of course. They are accountable to their peers and to staff.  The workshops range from one day to several days. I have never heard of a student NOT liking them.  Each one has a focus. I think the first one involves Truth- getting at who you really are. The leaders (staff) do an excellent job conducting the workshops and there is peer support by a couple of more senior students.  One has Friendship as its theme. The peer groups really bond with each other, and the workshops cement this bond.  
There aren't many of these kids who would have stayed on the Carlbrook property if they had not first gone to wilderness and got free of substances and began the therapeutic work.  Wilderness first is a good idea.

[Anonymous]

On 2005-08-08 15:20:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Can you read?  Carlbrook is not locked.  Many of the kids are already in wilderness before the parents even learn about Carlbrook as a next step option. Wilderness is a frequent first step taken by desperate parents whose teens need immediate help in a very different environment from that in the home community.  After the kids detox and spend some time getting at their core issues in wilderness, they are ready to move into a school environment such as Carlbrook or Oakley.  "

WT is a joke.  You want your kid to detox?  Take em out to the wilderness yourself, bozo.  Pull up a camp stool and get out your yellow pad.  Take notes.  Get a nickname (TEEN BUSTER?) and tell your kid how he needs to do as you say, not as you do.

Teens need parents, not wilderness guides on a power trip.  

Sheesh, you parents are just dopes.  Flippin stupid!



:smokin:

[Anonymous]

Do you not understand what kind of relationship kids and parents have by the time this point is reached? The kids hate the parents and wouldn't go anywhere with them.  The parents are not equipped to be therapists.  Unless you have gone to an excellent wilderness program and worked with a therapist there, I don't think your opinion is worth much.

[Anonymous]

I've been to Carlbrook as a student and I can tell you that it was the most caring and forgiving environment I have ever been in in my life.  I could be myself and feel again.  I felt good there.

[AtomicAnt]

On 2005-08-08 15:48:00, Anonymous wrote:


 
Hate to tell you- but coersion is a fact of life the way your describe it.  If you don't do your work at your job, you might get fired.  Isn't that coersion?  

No. The threat of being fired is not coercion. You can disagree with your employer. You can quit. You can leave anytime you want (you might be able to come back if you do). You took the job voluntarily.

How you can possibly compare holding a job to being incarcerated as the same form of coercion is way beyond my ability to comprehend.

[Anonymous]

The Carlbrook student who just posted can tell you that he or she was not incarcerated. The student was given the opportunity to learn and grow in an emotionally safe and therapeutic environment.

[Anonymous]

Maybe we should agree to disagree on this???  Carlbrook students and parents who have posted on this topic generally like the place.  Posters who have not been to Carlbrook, are bashing it.  Seems like the Carlbrook people have more credibility.  I'd give anything if my kid had not had to go anywhere, but I don't have a goddamn time machine.  In that sense, I agree with the posters who say that good parenting is preferable to a program.  While in wilderness and at Carlbrook, my husband and I were getting the help we needed.

Since this forum is intended to help kids and parents who sometimes have to make hard choices, I'd like the bashers to consider the possiblilty that Carlbrook may not be a bad place.  I found this forum when looking for internet dirt on Carlbrook.  I didn't find very much.  Found a lot of internet dirt on PCS, Tranquility Bay, Island View, etc.  The original poster on this topic asked if Carlbrook might be a good choice for his neighbor's kid.  It certainly is a better choice than many other places, and I hope that message has been conveyed.

[Anonymous]

"While in wilderness and at Carlbrook, my husband and I were getting the help we needed. "

Anon Carlbrook Parent- would you mind emailing me at [email protected]   I was a Carlbrook parent also and would like to get in touch with you.  I don't want to be too public on this forum.
Thanks.

[Nihilanthic]

On 2005-08-14 07:02:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Maybe we should agree to disagree on this???  Carlbrook students and parents who have posted on this topic generally like the place.  Posters who have not been to Carlbrook, are bashing it.  Seems like the Carlbrook people have more credibility.  I'd give anything if my kid had not had to go anywhere, but I don't have a goddamn time machine.  In that sense, I agree with the posters who say that good parenting is preferable to a program.  While in wilderness and at Carlbrook, my husband and I were getting the help we needed.



Since this forum is intended to help kids and parents who sometimes have to make hard choices, I'd like the bashers to consider the possiblilty that Carlbrook may not be a bad place.  I found this forum when looking for internet dirt on Carlbrook.  I didn't find very much.  Found a lot of internet dirt on PCS, Tranquility Bay, Island View, etc.  The original poster on this topic asked if Carlbrook might be a good choice for his neighbor's kid.  It certainly is a better choice than many other places, and I hope that message has been conveyed."

No, its not physically as brutal at those places, but the backbone of it is STILL LGA seminars. Those are potentially very psychologically damaging, and arent therapy at all. If you had bothered to read up about them, you would find out that its just a pathological effect... its a emotional experience that comes out of it. No actual therapy. It fits brainwashing to a "t" and was debunked DECADES ago.

Plus, it wears off in a few years, so why even bother? It is what it is, and thats all that it is - and you dont know what it is!  

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/eldon.braun/awa ... hology.htm
http://nospank.net/bean.htm

They go by many names and guises, and people's ignorance of them, but be they called a workshop, seminar, "large group awarness training" (LGA), "experiential"-whatever, propheet, or a rap, it is what it is.

Thats not therapy, its not even lasting, its just replacing their cognitive facilities with emotions and making them spew hippy loveydovey newage buzzword bullshit like "lika you" did for a few years. It ain't therapy, because it doesnt address any underlying issues. It just covers them up with fake happiness and sunshine and puts buzzwords in their mouth.

I have never seen the slightest scientific proof of the religious theories of heaven and hell, of future life for individuals, or of a personal God.
--Thomas Edison, American inventor

[Anonymous]

Nihil...Im going to get personal, i read a section of your live journal, sucha sadness, and dark holes you express. Thats why none of your feedback means anything to me, because you are honsetly projecting your own miserable life onto the few places in this world that are trying to help and love people that are just like you! I feel for you, honestly i do, your entries make your life seem so sad, and i am sorry for whatever kind of state you are in, no one deserves to feel so shitty. Maybe you should look at your own shit before you go and make unreasonable accusations about the people that are trying to help people deal with theirs.

[Anonymous]

Nihilanthicus's live journal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/nihilanthic/

Aug.8th...particularly sad.

[Anonymous]

I also graduated from Carlbrook...in may of 2005, so about three months ago. I would attest to how positive this program is, and what a good experience it would be for any teenager really, but especially one who is doing drugs, isn't doing well in school, isn't cooperating, etc. It did a lot for me and for my family, and is actually a lot different than most therapeutic boarding schools. The schools the nihil guy is describing sound like lock downs...carlbrook is really well balanced as far as school and emotional growth go, and they definitely DO NOT brainwash you. a huge part of the school is letting you find your own answers, they don't tell you what to think...they give you the tools to figure out what's right for you and your life. this guy does not know what he's talking about...you don't have much information on the school and i would personally listen to graduates and parents of alumni when trying to figure out what's right for a kid who needs to get sent away. all i can tell you is that i, too, am going to one of the best schools in the country...bryn mawr...and, at the risk of sounding corny, it gave me my life back. im not perfect, but i deal with my problems a lot better now, and i am sure that i will have a much more successful, happy life after the program. i am much more aware of myself and i don't shut off my emotions, plus i make good choices and know how to surround myself with positive people in my life. so think what you must, but i think that this would be a very good thing for a kid that got sent away to the woods.