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Joey brings the Hoffman Quadrinity Process to Hyde

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Fred Burnside:
I am an former Hyde student from the early and mid-1970 -- the Joe and Ed period. I went through the Hoffman Process six years ago in Brisbane, Australia, and am quite shocked to hear that Hyde has any relationship at all with them. They are clearly the antithesis of each other. My experience with Hoffman was positive. It was rigorous, and deeply spiritual, but also enormously gentle and supportive. Confrontation, tantrums and shaming, which seems the core of Hyde,  is completely the opposite of my experience. I would have to say that while the Hoffman Process was helpful in dealing with a difficult familial past, which Hyde greatly exacerbated, I did not have any major breakthroughs. However, I made some very strong relationships and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

I think the primary reason I am so surprised at the Hoffman-Hyde tie-up is the emphasis of Hoffman on internal spiritual guidance, which is necessarily non-judgmental. Hoffman believes that if you are not in touch with your own spirituality meaningful progress is not possible, and mistakes are endlessly repeated. Simply put, humans on their own do not have the capacity to recognize truth as it so frequently can be at odds with self will. We accept and view as real that which the self is willing to. Real progress comes from gently being guided to recognizing blocks and transcending them through understanding and forgiveness. The very notion that confrontation and shaming can result in anything but further confusion and damage is ridiculous.  

I recognize that many people may be put off by the spiritual nature of Hoffman. It is a bit New Agey, but better that than "having your attitude rammed right down your throat" by people with no professional training and even less compassion.

Frederick W. Burnside

Ursus:

--- Quote from: "Fred Burnside" ---I am an former Hyde student from the early and mid-1970 -- the Joe and Ed period. I went through the Hoffman Process six years ago in Brisbane, Australia, and am quite shocked to hear that Hyde has any relationship at all with them. They are clearly the antithesis of each other. My experience with Hoffman was positive. It was rigorous, and deeply spiritual, but also enormously gentle and supportive. Confrontation, tantrums and shaming, which seems the core of Hyde,  is completely the opposite of my experience. I would have to say that while the Hoffman Process was helpful in dealing with a difficult familial past, which Hyde greatly exacerbated, I did not have any major breakthroughs. However, I made some very strong relationships and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

I think the primary reason I am so surprised at the Hoffman-Hyde tie-up is the emphasis of Hoffman on internal spiritual guidance, which is necessarily non-judgmental. Hoffman believes that if you are not in touch with your own spirituality meaningful progress is not possible, and mistakes are endlessly repeated. Simply put, humans on their own do not have the capacity to recognize truth as it so frequently can be at odds with self will. We accept and view as real that which the self is willing to. Real progress comes from gently being guided to recognizing blocks and transcending them through understanding and forgiveness. The very notion that confrontation and shaming can result in anything but further confusion and damage is ridiculous.  

I recognize that many people may be put off by the spiritual nature of Hoffman. It is a bit New Agey, but better that than "having your attitude rammed right down your throat" by people with no professional training and even less compassion.

Frederick W. Burnside
--- End quote ---
Well... with all due respect, I'd have to disagree with you re. Hyde and the Hoffman Process being "the antithesis of each other." I'd venture that they're both cut from the same cloth, namely, they're both thought reform programs that utilize psychological tools and shortcuts derived from the Human Potential movement ... as a means of eliciting your inculcation.

Ya may well find fault with much of Joe's bombastic blustering, displays of temper, and capricious indulgence of personal excess. Granted, his style might seem very different from what you experienced with the Hoffman Process, but that doesn't mean that these aren't essentially pretty much the same thing. It's just a lot easier to recognize Joe's way for what it is. [Btw, your description of the A Negative Experience was most excellent!]

You probably gather I don't think much of the "spirituality" behind the Hoffman Process. Mind you, I'm sure that some folk are able to derive some spiritual truths out of such an "awareness training," just as I also think some folks are able to derive some spiritual truths out of a variety of other pursuits. Most of those latter do not involve methodologies which have been linked to - in some cases - long term psychological damage. For which, I might add, Hoffman does not seem to take any accountability for (sound familiar?).

Ursus:
Hyde School isn't the only program in the troubled parent industry that has links to the Hoffman Institute. Another fornits poster alerted me to the following blurb about Dale Stohn, co-founder of Rocklyn Academy in Ontario, which appeared on a page describing / advertising her thermography clinic in the Winter '09 issue (Vol. 3, No.  2) of the newage newsletter It's Your Life: Live it well (published by "Life Renewal and Reinvention Specialist" Marie Knapp of DallaCor).

Dale Stohn B.A., O.T.C., C.T.T. taught elementary school in Parry Sound and Toronto before becoming Canada's lead facilitator of the 8-day Emotional Growth Process at the Hoffman Institute Canada. This led her to a Psychotherapy Private Practice and then Co-Founder and Co-Facilitator of 5-Day Residential Emotional Growth Program for Teenagers in 1995. Since 1999, Dale has been Co-Founder and Dirctor of Canada's Only Ministry-Licensed, Therapeutic, Private Boarding School for Teenage Girls - the Rocklyn Academy. "This year Dale became a Clinical Thermographic Technician through the International Academy of Clinical Thermology."[/list]

Ursus:
According to their wikipedia entry, as well as their website, the Hoffman Institute undertook some "research studies" in order to evaluate the efficacy of their program.

Outside of the fact that these "studies" appear to be little more than ramped up "consumer satisfaction surveys" ... whose ultimate utility as marketing tools is more than obvious (see also the commentary of former Hoffman facilitator Ken Ireland above), an interesting coincidence re. funding details in their "2003" study (ultimately published in Nov/Dec 2006) struck me recently.

First, here's the abstract:

Explore, Volume 2, Issue 6, Pages 498-508 (November 2006)
Positive Emotional Change: Mediating Effects of Forgiveness and Spirituality
Michael R. Levenson, PhD1 Corresponding Author, Carolyn M. Aldwin, PhD1, Loriena Yancura, PhD2

We evaluated the efficacy of an emotional education program that seeks to reduce the intergenerational transmission of negative interaction patterns by increasing forgiveness and spirituality. We examined both reduction of psychological symptoms and increase in positive psychological outcomes over the course of a year, as well as the mediators of this change. At baseline, the sample consisted of 99 participants and 47 waiting list controls. Comparisons of scores from baseline (Time 1) to one week after the Hoffman Quadrinity Process (Time 2) showed large declines in negative affect (depressive symptoms) and increases in both positive outcomes (mastery, empathy, emotional intelligence, life satisfaction, forgiveness, and spiritual experience) and health and well-being. Over the course of a year, most of these gains were sustained, in comparison with the control group. Further, increases in forgiveness and spirituality mediated the effect of program participation on depressive symptoms.

Key words: Emotional education, positive mental health, forgiveness, spirituality, emotional intelligence

1 Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
2 Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Hawai'i, Manoa, HI

Corresponding Author. Address: 203 Bates Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331.

This research was supported by grants from the Hoffman Institute, The Donner Canadian Foundation, and the Mental Insight Foundation. However, the investigators were independent researchers with no financial interest in the Hoffman Institute or its operation.

PII: S1550-8307(06)00367-3
doi:10.1016/j.explore.2006.08.002

© 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.[/list]

Ursus:
For those who would prefer to read the whole article:

Positive Emotional Change: Mediating Effects of Forgiveness and Spirituality
By Michael R. Levenson, PhD, Carolyn M. Aldwin, PhD, Loriena Yancura, PhD
EXPLORE, Vol. 2, No. 6, pp 498-508 (Nov. 2006)

LINK to full article (pdf, 11pp)[/list]

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