Author Topic: Re: CEDu Watch  (Read 5746 times)

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Offline Anonymous

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Re: CEDu Watch
« on: January 28, 2008, 09:21:34 PM »
I'm looking at Shortridge for my 16-year old son.  Is there anyone out there that has first-hand experience with Shortridge? I realize there is a CEDU cpnnection, but what is Shortridge like now?  Help!
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline alia23

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Re: CEDu Watch
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2008, 11:56:23 PM »
nin-

i don't know you or your 16 year old son, but if there is anything that this long long journey has taught me, its that you should never EVER believe that anyone can help your child more than you can yourself.

educate yourself, see a therapist yourself, explore yourself and above all, trust your child even if you don't think they are trustworthy.

there is nothing that fosters bad behavior more than an atmosphere of mistrust.

there is nothing that fosters good behavior more than an atmosphere of trust. 

don't believe anyone who tells you that you aren't the best thing for your child.  maybe you have made mistakes, everyone does.  maybe there are areas you need to improve, so be the example and improve.

the biggest thing in my life has been to see my mom grow.  more than anything she ever told me, seeing her recognize her own weaknesses, and grow, admit her own imperfections, and continue to have self respect taught me that i was capable of doing the same.

you know, this world is very very very very messed up.  your child is probably confused by many of the lies and double standards and dysfunction in the world that you have already found ways to cope with. 

respect your child.  respect their need for independance and try and foster it.  respect their differences.  respect their god given right to make mistakes and fail and thus learn and grow.  trust in their ability to learn and grow.

and for god's sake, dont beleive the hype!  if your son is smoking pot or dropping acid or even doing speed, don't freak out and assume he is bound to be an addict for the rest of his life!!!  in fact, if anything was to ensure that possibility it would be if you cut him off and abandoned him now in this his hour of need.

and i promise you, anywhere you send him now will only seem that way to him.

my advice?  talk to him.  tell him your honest concerns.  make yourself vulnerable to him.  treat him with as a peer, with respect, honor his opinions and consider them, allow him to speak his mind, resist the temptation to talk him out of his mistaken perspectives and have faith in his ability to see the truth for himself.

and if you are truly worried about him developping a drug problem or something, talk to him openly about your fears, and then let it go.  give him time to process and consider what you have said, and don't react to what may seem to you to be him blowing off what you have said.  it takes time, and it takes trust.

our society has a very poor track record when it comes to helping teens, as evidenced by all these myriad programs that have been developped to sometimes help and sometimes pray on frustrated parents like you.

but i am telling you right now, no one can help your child better than you, no one, no organization, no idea, no religion, no set of activities, nothing.  teens need to be allowed to make their own mistakes, and know that their parents will be there to love them no matter what. 

and again, look to yourself.  be the change you want to see in him. 
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
lia
your silence will not protect you

Offline dishdutyfugitive

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Re: CEDu Watch
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2008, 01:32:41 AM »
I graduated RMA (CEDU) in 1990. As a model RMA graduate I went on to graduate from a respected University, etc. etc. etc.. My family still swears that "RMA saved my life".

It took me about 15 years to completely realize what a warped, detrimental, developmental detour RMA was.

RMA had no checks and balances. No oversight. It was a runaway train.

To answer your question:
Adam Rainer was an RMA student from 1989 to 1991 (give or take 6 months). Adam started Shortridge.
According to Shortridges' website, Mike Strader (sp) and Bruce Wilson work there. Mike is a graduate of RMA and Bruce was an RMA staff member from circa 1986 to 1993.


My advice to you:

1. Be wary of anyone who tries to close their sales pitch with lines such as these,  "It saved my life" - "Without that program I'd be dead"

2. If you are really considering Shortridge you should go visit it. During your tour you’ll hear their sales pitch.  When you get to brass tacks, they'll give you a dose of their omnipotent essence. They’ll be sure to give you the 'new and improved' neutralizer to any set of your prepared  ‘hard hitting’ questions. Many of these programs websites encourage prospective parents to ask these hard hitting questions.

 "Please parents, ask us anything. We'll be forthright and upfront with you. Our school has evolved. There are bad programs out there. Ours is different".


At that point call an official time-out.

All of these programs say that.

Go back to your hotel, sit your ass down and take a breather.

Why?

Your nerves at that point are beyond shot, you're exhausted and that's exactly where they want you.

Vulnerable.

You need to make this decision with your head not your heart.

Sure, there's a 1% chance that Adam got it right. Let’s say Shortridge is a great place. I don't know I haven't been there. But from everything I've heard about Shortridge - it is another modern day CEDU. No one from their organization has felt that they are so beyond reproach and pure that they can contribute something positive to a discussion on Fornits. Ask Shortridge to respond to my 2 cents. If I ‘m wrong about Shortridge's program, I’ll openly admit it. I fight fair. As I said, I don't have hands on knowledge about Shortridge. I do have historical information about Shortridge. And, I'm willing to engage in an a fair, intellectuall discussion about Shortridge any day of the week.

There's a fellow here named "the who" that is here to encourage parents like yourself to send their kids to a CEDU like program. He claims his daughter went to ASR (Academy at Swift River). Which is owned by Aspen which is owned by CRC (http://www.crchealth.com/).    At least 4 staff members that I knew of from RMA (1986-1993) ended up becoming staff members at ASR (1995-?), Brett & Lisa Carey and Rea & Sharon Kreider.  I mention this for 2 reasons.

1. "The who" is not a parent of a child who went to ASR. He is an employee of CRC/Aspen. He is paid to do 'damage control' on the internet for the programs that his corporation owns.

2. There isn't 1 RMA staff member (from the 1986-1992 era) that can be located/contacted. They have evaporated. Their sins just absorbed themselves and disappeared. No one is accountable. Not one staff from that era has the character to stand up and call a spade a spade. These former life saving “counselors/therapists/life coaches” from CEDU have vanished. They live guilt ridden, secret lives (I have found 1 staff member from my RMA era who has a website. If you are truly interested in understanding CEDU and Shortridge I will be happy to forward you her website).

I say all this because CEDU set the precedent for all future programs within the industry. In 1990, 'tough love' programs, wilderness programs, therapeutic boarding schools, Residential Treatment facilities became very fashionable. These programs claimed to be robust solutions to the 'troubled teen' problem. Ironically, these programs provide short term, miraculous reformations in adolescent behavior. Ultimately, these wreck less excursions in behavior modification put everyone in an uncontrollable tailspin. Their experimental, unregulated, coercive, 'tough love' quack therapy only compounds the child's original problems.  At their core, these programs are profit driven. They intentionally manipulate parents who are emotionally exhausted, desperate and unable to find the proper resources to help their children.

On that note I recognize, there is no easy answer. Life can be challenging. Grueling in stretches. We often times find ourselves in situations where there is no easy or acceptable answer. I recognize this. However, for your own sanity and your child’s well being think 20 years down the road.


Program advocates will never let you (truly) examine the sum of their program’s parts. They'll always tell you to look at it's "whole".  This is called manipulation. It’s called smoke and mirrors.

Do yourself a favor. When you finish your visiting and interviewing each program ask them 1 question.

Ask them this. Should the program work - should my child do well for 5 years and then fall flat on his face. Will you be there to answer my questions? Or come 5, 10, 15 years from now, am I able to contact at least 1 staff member or will they have magically disappeared? Will I look around and find my self surrounded by other, nascent, cutting edge, programs that have no accountability for their predecessors?

I appreciate your attention to my long winded response.
« Last Edit: January 29, 2008, 01:46:34 AM by dishdutyfugitive »

Offline blownawaytheidahoway

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Re: CEDu Watch
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2008, 07:23:52 AM »
Dishduty,
that was a great post. It illuminates some of the most important questions about our experience and what the CEDU experience was like. Unfortunately, just because parents may sometimes make the distinction that CEDU flavored spinoff schools are a risk, it won't change the industry more than a drop in the bucket. See, the CEDU model is still the best one out there from a business standpoint: 1. take kids at their parents' word of what the problem child's problem is- 2. cash check. 3. isolate child (teen, American) from his home, school, society, and friends (not to mention biological parents, step parents and extended family, friends of family who may have disagreed with the separation for 36 months or had a different opinion of what the troubles in the family stemmed from) 4. take these important and intense and often more abstract issues and promise the new parent about your "track" record and mending families being sure to occasionally integrate the nightmare option that could occur without the intervention, 5. Begin to tear the child down (as soon as you can confirm through the "parent communicator"'s redneck, bedraggled, 9 toothed cousin, who works as a baggage handler at the local airport can confirm you've boarded flight 666 back to worry free adolescence done easy! 6. Convince the child he is alone, stupid, irresponsible, manipulative, a sex maniac, a drug addict, and that his parents hate him. 7. Become the new parent! 8. Cultivate rewards/ punishment program with unexpected punishments and rewards to confuse more the adapting child...you know the rest of the story.

It's the essence of how the places still function. And it works. You can see why, and you can see the issues unfold in any group encounter that is not optional in one of these programs. The one question I would ask is about GROUP encounters, or RAPs. If one of these institutions offers anything like that bullshit- you know the PR package is ALL hoax. Smoke and mirrors is right. The CEDU spinoff people are con artists...even if you still kinda like 'em for whatever reason!
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
Life is a very wonderful thing.\' said Dr. Branom... \'The processes of life, the make- up of the human organism, who can fully understand these miracles?... What is happening to you now is what should happen to any normal healthy human organism...You are being made sane, you are being made healthy.
     \'That I will not have, \' I said, \'nor can understand at all. What you\'ve been doing is to make me feel very very ill.\'
                         -Anthony Burgess
                      A Clockwork Orange

Offline dishdutyfugitive

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Re: CEDu Watch
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2008, 06:38:33 PM »
Well said blownaway. That is the receipe.

I can't resist upgrading your post to bullet friendly status. 

1. take kids at their parents' word of what the problem child's problem is-

2. cash check.

3. isolate child (teen, American) from his home, school, society, and friends (not to mention biological parents, step parents and extended family, friends of family who may have disagreed with the separation for 36 months or had a different opinion of what the troubles in the family stemmed from)

4. take these important and intense and often more abstract issues and promise the new parent about your "track" record and mending families being sure to occasionally integrate the nightmare option that could occur without the intervention,

5. Begin to tear the child down (as soon as you can confirm through the "parent communicator"'s redneck, bedraggled, 9 toothed cousin, who works as a baggage handler at the local airport can confirm you've boarded flight 666 back to worry free adolescence done easy!

6. Convince the child he is alone, stupid, irresponsible, manipulative, a sex maniac, a drug addict, and that his parents hate him.

7. Become the new parent!

8. Cultivate rewards/ punishment program with unexpected punishments and rewards to confuse more the adapting child...you know the rest of the story.

Remember folks:  2+2 = 5 and 1 size fits all ! Happy smooshing!
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline AuntieEm2

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Re: CEDu Watch
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2008, 06:35:13 PM »
This just breaks my heart. I'm so sorry this was done to you all, and is being done to kids now. It's Orwellian.

Auntie Em
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
Tough love is a hate group.
"I have sworn...eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." -Thomas Jefferson.

Offline Anonymous

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Re: CEDu Watch
« Reply #6 on: February 12, 2008, 02:11:02 AM »
AGREE WITH THE ABOVE!
Do not send your 16yr.old child away.You will never be able to take back the damage that WILL be done to your child no mater what your intent.
Make time in your life to work through whatever your current problems are and raise your kid.Don't take the "easy" way out your child will suffer in the long run.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline da voice from nowhere

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Re: CEDu Watch
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2008, 03:40:54 PM »
Quote from: "yo"
AGREE WITH THE ABOVE!
Do not send your 16yr.old child away.You will never be able to take back the damage that WILL be done to your child no mater what your intent.
Make time in your life to work through whatever your current problems are and raise your kid.Don't take the "easy" way out your child will suffer in the long run.

unless your parents are like mine and still think they deserve parent of the year awards for the bitter, "tough love" decision they had to make...
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Offline AuntieEm2

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Re: CEDu Watch
« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2008, 04:46:15 PM »
Quote
unless your parents are like mine and still think they deserve parent of the year awards for the bitter, "tough love" decision they had to make...
Well this is one of the many "Catch-22's," isn't it? Parents can play the martyrs because it's so hard to send your child off to be incarcerated, but "we had to." And if a teen comes out of a "troubled teen" program and they are an emotional mess, well, parents say, we told you they were a mess. And you can't file a complaint with child protective services because you have to be able to see and talk to the teen to be able to document a specific incident of abuse--names, dates, places. No access, no proof.

It's a rigged game.

Auntie Em
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
Tough love is a hate group.
"I have sworn...eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." -Thomas Jefferson.

Offline AuntieEm2

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Re: CEDu Watch
« Reply #9 on: July 07, 2008, 10:26:51 AM »
Bump.

Good stuff in here from Alia123, Dishdutyfugitive, Blownawaytheidahoway, and others.

AuntieEm
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
Tough love is a hate group.
"I have sworn...eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." -Thomas Jefferson.

Offline Anonymous

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Re: CEDu Watch
« Reply #10 on: November 07, 2008, 04:40:41 PM »
Mount Bachelor Academy was one of the very first CEDU spinoffs, back in the eighties. Linda Houghton, Steve Houghton, Bill Hoffman, Greg & Wendy Andrick, Alexandru & Sharon Bitz, and many other former CEDU staff all started the boarding school that is still in operation in central Oregon to this day. A modified propheet system is used that they refer to as Lifesteps.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline iamartsy

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Re: CEDu Watch
« Reply #11 on: November 07, 2008, 05:53:06 PM »
Brown Schools (?))
Timberlawn Psychiatric (?) which directly traded students back and forth with Brown. Although, there were no propheets as such it was CEDU like. The rules changed by the minute. The level system was nuts. Ratting someone out got you rewards, unless you were the scapegoat. Punishments were isolation or restraints for extensive lengths of time. Then there were the sandwich boards with your crime on them, and public isolation. Not sure what category this falls into.

I left "at patient's request" when denied medical help once too often. I really was a model patient but was scapegoated. I would never say it saved my life. In fact it probably made it worse; although, I often made Dean's list in college, and graduated a grad school with a 4.0. Timberlawn told me I would go nowhere when I left, due to being not fit for society. I think they meant their society in retrospect.

PDAP(?)
Quote
For a staff member, there is no such thing as a private matter. Sex, relationships, thoughts, fears, past history, family matters, and money is discussed with and even managed by superiors. As outlandish as it may seem, it is actually a seamless, natural progression for the client, who becomes the student, and then the employee. Staff members, even those with years clean and sober are, handled as though they were clients in a Synanon-type therapeutic community.
http://http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/133/ripoff0133362.htm
The PDAP hospitals were paid kickbacks to PDAP counselors for each patient. I was in Deer Park Hospital (now Cenikor-Synanon TC like) which had psychodrama (blech!!!!), raps (used to fall asleep or get bored to shit), and of course the level system. I was a semi-model patient there, except they never could break me.

Please remove this post if you feel it is incorrect. Thank  you. PDAP  has since been revised i think, but we have lots of alternative peep group programs in Texas that I know very little about.
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Offline try another castle

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Re: CEDu Watch
« Reply #12 on: December 05, 2008, 04:44:16 AM »
Lets not forget Jackie Danforth's (Guber) brief foray into the TTI with her wilderness school new horizons. (now out of business due to economy)


Also, I have no idea what the connection is between the Hyde schools and CEDU, but Oz girl told me that they have a workshop there that is essentially the Imagine propheet. For those of us who went through that, I think I can safely say that it would be impossible that it would just be a coincidence.
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Offline blownawaytheidahoway

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Re: CEDu Watch
« Reply #13 on: November 17, 2009, 09:42:41 AM »
Quote from: "try another castle"
Lets not forget Jackie Danforth's (Guber) brief foray into the TTI with her wilderness school new horizons. (now out of business due to economy)


Also, I have no idea what the connection is between the Hyde schools and CEDU, but Oz girl told me that they have a workshop there that is essentially the Imagine propheet. For those of us who went through that, I think I can safely say that it would be impossible that it would just be a coincidence.


Don't forget That school employed Caroline (nee Jenny) Eide Wolf as one of the "student escorts", and also in other contexts, more than likely. You can't let skills like hers go to waste simply on "transporting" kids ala Mike Parr style.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
Life is a very wonderful thing.\' said Dr. Branom... \'The processes of life, the make- up of the human organism, who can fully understand these miracles?... What is happening to you now is what should happen to any normal healthy human organism...You are being made sane, you are being made healthy.
     \'That I will not have, \' I said, \'nor can understand at all. What you\'ve been doing is to make me feel very very ill.\'
                         -Anthony Burgess
                      A Clockwork Orange