Author Topic: Educational Consulting Services - ECS (Read 12673 times)

Ursus · « **on:** December 18, 2007, 10:01:04 AM »

This small company appears to exist dually on the web, i.e., on the following two sites:

http://www.educationalconsultingservices.com/
http://www.gposner.com/

It was started in the mid-90s or earlier by former Hyde School parent George Posner.

Current staff:

Dr. George J. Posner, CEP, Consultant, founder of ECS, and Director of Eastern Services. He has a B.S. in Psychology (1965), and a masters degree in Physics Teaching (1970), both from Union College, and a doctorate in curriculum and educational psychology (University at Albany, 1972). For more than forty years he has been teaching and advising youth. He has been on the faculty at Cornell University since 1972 (currently retired and Professor Emeritus of Education), where he has served as both Coordinator of Undergraduate Studies in Education and Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Curriculum and Instruction. Dr. Posner has been an award-winning faculty member while at Cornell, the principal author of three major textbooks used around the world and more than thirty articles on teaching and curriculum. He has also served as a consultant to schools, universities, foundations and states throughout the country and in several countries abroad on matters of curriculum, teaching and teacher education. In addition, Dr. Posner currently serves on the National Advisory Board of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Prevention Study (an independent evaluation of the DARE program), has been a Professional Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association since 1996, and has previously served on the Board of Education, Ithaca City School District (Ithaca, New York). Dr. Posner is known throughout the U.S. and Canada for his extensive professional and personal experience in education and special-needs consulting and for his ability to bring this knowledge to his work with families. He lives in Ithaca, NY, with his wife, Adrienne, and has two married daughters, both mothers, one a veterinarian living in Rochester, NY, the other, also a special educator living in White Plains, NY.

Sarah Finney, MS, LMFT, Consultant and Director of Western Services. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a B.S. in Social Psychology and an M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Brigham Young University. She is also a clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and a Professional Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association. Since 1992 Sarah has been working with adolescents, young adults and their families. She has experience working as a residential counselor and supervisor and as an adolescent, young adult and family therapist. Sarah has worked as a therapist and team director in a variety of private special-needs settings including an acute care eating disorder program, a therapeutic boarding school, and a residential treatment center for adolescents. Because of her training and experience, Sarah has presented numerous parent workshops around the country, and is a repeat presenter at NATSAP (National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs). Sarah's dedication, reputation and passion for helping teens, young adults and their families are her hallmarks. Sarah is married to her husband, Rod, who is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in adolescent and family care. Sarah is a Canadian transplant who now resides with her husband and son, Gabriel, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dr. Betsy Grigoriu, Consultant, earned a B.S.E. in Secondary English Education (1989), an M. A. in Clinical Community Psychology (1993), both from Mansfield University in PA, and a doctorate in the field of Educational Psychology (Cornell University, 1998). She is an Associate Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association. Dr. Grigoriu has worked in public school systems as a teacher at the high school level and a therapeutic counselor at the elementary school level. Her experience working with children, adolescents, adults, and couples in clinical and school settings involved conducting individual and family therapy, psychological assessments, evaluation team meetings with principals, teachers, and parents, and individual and group counseling with students. Dr. Grigoriu's research interest in cognitive-emotional development led to a research project at Cornell looking at how families build community support networks. She has taught educational psychology courses in adolescent development and learning processes, in the areas of cognitive, emotional, moral, and social development and has conducted numerous program evaluations in school and clinical settings. Her strength lies in helping families sort out a large amount of information to determine their options and make well-informed decisions. She lives in Ithaca, N.Y. with her husband, Mircea. They each have a grown son and a new daughter-in-law.

Ursus · « **Reply #1 on:** January 22, 2008, 05:45:48 AM »

To be fair, I think Educational Consulting Services may cater to mainstream boarding schools as well. However, ECS does also recommend Aspen Education TBSs, perhaps even RTCs and wilderness programs and, I am sure, Hyde Schools. The Utah office gives me pause, especially given the background of who it is staffed by.

The following is from their Welcome page:

Educational Consulting Services: An Introduction

Public and private day schools and colleges work well for some students. However, they are inadequate for some young people for a variety of reasons. Typically, families begin to explore other options when their son or daughter:

Needs more individual attention and support from teachers;
Begins to fall through the cracks;
Finds school unchallenging and needs more advanced programs;
Has a disability that public schools do not adequately address;
Lacks proper study habits;
Is graduating but not ready for college;
Has low self-esteem;
Lacks motivation and grades begin to drop;
Blames others for his or her difficulties;
Begins to make poor decisions regarding his or her personal life

In some cases, intensive intervention is needed; in other cases a young person may need a more structured or therapeutic school. If a young person exhibits the following behaviors, we are able to assist the family in developing the most appropriate plan to address these issues.

ADD/ADHD
Oppositional and defiant at home and/or school
Negative peer group
Depression
Anxiety
School refusal
Issues related to adoption
Substance abuse
Anger or aggression
Self-harm
Eating disorders
Sexual identity or sexual promiscuity
Poor social skills
School suspension/expulsion
Running away
Legal involvement
Computer/TV addiction

Ursus · « **Reply #2 on:** January 22, 2008, 07:40:06 AM »

...And this from ECS's "Related Articles" section. Most, if not all, of these are written by ECS personnel. George Posner has a version of this article on Lon's StrugglingTeens site as well...

How Do I Know If an Out-of-Home Placement Makes Sense?: The 5 Phases of Parent Growth

Dr. George Posner

In most placements the process through which the parents must pass is as crucial to the success of the placement as the process through which their children must pass, in some cases even more crucial. Just as their children progress through specific phases in their growth process, so too do their parents. These phases are important for the consultant to recognize, since the consultant must often help the parent through them, if the placement is to have any chance of success. If the consultant attempts to push the process too fast or to ignore a particular phase, he or she risks the parents derailing the placement: discontinuing the placement process; "rescuing" their child from the program; or undermining the program by communicating their lack of commitment to graduation from the program. Although these disruptions are always possible, the risks greatly increase if the parents do not get help in working their way through the phases. Drawing on 31 years as an educational researcher, 12 years as an educational consultant and 4 years as a Hyde School parent, I have found it useful to think of the phases through which parents must pass as a series of realizations. Each realization itself takes place over time as the person progressively internalizes it. This internalization process, stated simply, moves from the head (understanding what needs to be done), to the heart (believing in a course of action), to a commitment to act (ready to do it). The series of phases can be described as follows:

1. Realization that a problem exists.

Overcoming denial is the first phase. It can be triggered by a range of potential precipitating events, including falling grades, parents learning of a child's sexual acting out, verbal or physical abuse of a parent, suspension from school, running away from home, attempted suicide, or arrest, among others. A particular event or set of events, will function as a "turning point" if it moves the parent from denial to the realization that a serious problem exists. Of course every parent has his or her own "turning point." This phase involves not only seeing the behavior, but also realizing that it is neither "normal" or O.K. (just because others are doing it) and that the child will not necessarily grow out of it (and may even die from it). Helping a family move from understanding that a problem exists, to a sense of readiness to act can be difficult. I have found that the consultant can be instrumental in this process by asking the parents the question, "What exactly are you waiting for?," then waiting for a response, and then finally replaying their answer back to them.
2. Realization that home is not necessarily the best place for the needed changes to take place, and may even be part of the problem.

Children typically resist leaving home, younger children because of their attachment to their parents, adolescents more because of their attachment to their peers. Parents resist sending their children to a distant program due to guilt that they have failed as parents, their own need for companionship, and their need to nurture their child. Parent support groups can be crucial in helping parents move successfully through this phase.
3. Realization that the problem is serious enough to warrant a major disruption in the family's budget.

Treatment programs, schools, transportation, and evaluations all can represent an overwhelming expense, even for those who can afford them. And since no program or school can guarantee results, the parent may have grown so disheartened and disgusted, that desperation has turned to hopelessness and pessimism. These two factors, costs and the lack of guarantees, can interact to become a major obstacle to taking action. I have found it possible to overcome this obstacle with an analogy: Suppose your child had cancer and I told you that there was good news and bad news about it. The good news is that the disease is treatable and that treatment is often successful. The bad news is that the treatment will cost a lot of money and that there are no guarantees. Would you say, "Wait. I'm not sure I want you to treat my child."? Well, your child has cancer of the soul and it could kill him if not treated. However, it is treatable, but it will cost a lot and is not always successful. So, what do you want to do? Sometimes I have pointed out that younger siblings are watching how the parents are dealing with the problems and that decisive action may prevent future problems with siblings, regardless of success with the child who is acting out.
4. Realization that it will take a long time before the child can come back home.

Everybody would love a quick fix. Even if parents don't expect it at the outset, once they see their child act "normal" within a program and the memory of the crisis begins to fade, the parents can relapse back into denial. Maybe the problem was not so bad after all; maybe they acted too quickly; maybe the child can come home now. This is the time when parents who are not prepared typically pull their child out of the program or renege on their commitment to follow up a short-term program with a longer-term program or school. They need to realize that one to two years of treatment is a short time compared to the amount of time during which the problems were developing. Commitment to graduation from the program is essential before the placement.
5. Realization that they as parents played a role in the development of problems and that they are crucial in order to work through the problems successfully.

In matters of character there is no way of escaping the fact that parents are their children's primary teachers. Durable changes in children (i.e. changes that last once the child leaves the school or program) require serious family work. Again, parent support groups, commitment to family counseling, and parent attendance at Alanon are often important steps for parents to take. The consultant should help parents realize that the time during which the child is away from home is an opportunity for parent personal growth, rather than just time to feel guilty or for parents to escape their problems (e.g. spending more time at work). The consultant can try to help parents avoid getting stuck in guilt, but, at the same time, accept responsibility for their roles in the family dynamics. Then the next step becomes moving them to take some steps in changing those dynamics. For a child finally doing well in a program or school, a visit (or vacation) home may well be more a test of the family's progress than a test of the child's. How to make the connection between program and home seamless represents a major challenge for any family. This phase is often the most difficult. Each parent moves through these 5 phases at his or her own pace, often getting stuck at a particular phase, unable to progress on his or her own. It is at these points that leadership needs to emerge in the family. Without leadership the family languishes or, worse, spirals downward. It is difficult to predict where leadership will emerge. The mother, who has been accused of being overly emotional may be the only one who is finally willing to act on the basis of her conscience, even if her action creates disharmony. Or the father, who has been overly rational, analytic and emotionally inaccessible, may be the one who pushes the family to make fundamental changes in the way it functions. Occasionally the out-of-control child, once he or she is out of crisis, emerges as the leader in the family. People outside the immediate family, such as grandparents or an adult brother or sister, might even take on the leadership role. And leadership may shift from one family member to another as each person progresses at his or her own pace through the phases of growth. The consultant, because of the need to maintain professional distance, can never lead the family members through the phases of growth, but can act as a catalyst for these changes: by asking questions, challenging invalid assumptions and beliefs, sharing personal experiences, encouraging phone calls to other parents, and lending reading materials.

Ursus · « **Reply #3 on:** October 08, 2008, 05:18:10 PM »

'Tis a pattern seen in many aspects of the troubled teen industry: the broadening of services rendered. Programs, ed cons, transporters, "aftercare," parent seminars, coaching, so-called therapy or counseling, loan "facilitation," etc. etc. etc. ...these places are teaming up with one another.

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Homeward Bound
Lehi, UT
George Posner's Education Consulting Services Partners With Homeward Bound

Contact:
Tim Thayne
801-768-1441
http://www.homewardbound.net

October 6, 2008

Despite economic downturns, many families across the country are still in desperate need of help for their troubled teens, and a new partnership between placement and consulting firm, Education Consulting Services (ECS), and after-care experts, Homeward Bound, offers these families the assistance they need to achieve greater long-term success.

“We have been impressed, as many of our clients have been, with Homeward Bound’s professionalism and positive outcomes,” said Dr. George Posner, founder of ECS and director of eastern services. “Many of our families have credited their teen’s successful transition home to the aftercare support they received as a family from Homeward Bound. We believe our partnership will allow us to further improve the overall outcome for ECS families.”

Through this partnership, ECS will be able to custom-design comprehensive aftercare plans for its clients with the help of transition specialists at Homeward Bound. All ECS clients will receive a complimentary subscription to Homeward Bound’s online collaboration, communication, and parent education tool called The Family Bridge. Other available aftercare resources include in-home coaching, 24-hour professional support, and parenting seminars.

“The Family Bridge is truly innovative,” said Sarah Finney, a licensed marriage and family therapist and director of western services at ECS. “We’ve never seen anything like it and are excited to offer this feature to every family we work with.”

In addition to offering greater success through aftercare treatment and support, the partnership between ECS and Homeward Bound may also help to make treatment options more affordable for families.

“By including intensive in-home services and multi-systemic support as an option within the overall treatment plan, treatment lengths can be shortened,” said Dr. Tim Thayne, founder and CEO of Homeward Bound. “This makes the placement of troubled teens in out-of-home treatment settings more financially feasible to a larger number of families than ever before.”

For more information about Homeward Bound’s aftercare services or its partnership with ECS, contact Tim Thayne at Homeward Bound.

About Homeward Bound:
Created in response to a need for more effective aftercare help for troubled teens, Homeward Bound is recognized as the industry leader in aftercare and transition management. The company’s innovative, evidence-based aftercare program helps teens and families bridge the gap between out-of-home treatment and the return to real life. For more than three years, Homeward Bound has assisted teens and their families throughout North America in navigating the transition process and achieving long-term success, unity, and happiness.

About Educational Consultant Services:
Established in 1994, Educational Consulting Services (ECS) advises and guides families from across the U.S., Canada and abroad seeking solutions for children and other family members with emotional, behavioral, learning or substance-abuse issues that require intensive support and intervention. ECS has offices in New York and Utah and can be found on the web at gposner.com.

Anonymous · « **Reply #4 on:** October 08, 2008, 06:09:34 PM »

Dr Posner's head would look great in a bowling bag

dishdutyfugitive · « **Reply #5 on:** October 08, 2008, 06:13:47 PM »

Posner sure as shit doesn't roll on shabus.

Ursus · « **Reply #6 on:** October 16, 2008, 03:03:48 PM »

More news: he's trying for both ends now (before and after "care"). George Posner claims that his new service "Intensive Early Care" is a "truly innovative intervention service." See the following link for more complete coverage:

viewtopic.php?f=43&t=24482&p=317402#p317402

Ursus · « **Reply #7 on:** April 02, 2009, 11:41:30 AM »

Breaking News
Posted: Mar 26, 2009

Dr. George Posner, CEP
Educational Consulting Services
Ithaca, NY

George Posner's Consulting Firm Announces Testing Services

Contact:
Dr. George Posner, CEP
607-273-5400
http://www.gposner.com

March 22, 2009

The difficulty in obtaining a timely, comprehensive, highly competent assessment of a child has been frequently mentioned by parents, consultants and other professionals. As a response to this need, the eastern offices of Educational Consulting Services in partnership with Psychological Solutions now offers psychological, neuropsychological, and educational testing services that are tailored to the needs of the individual.

These services are provided by Jennifer Wisdom, PhD, MPH, in her New York City office. Dr. Wisdom is a licensed clinical psychologist and health services researcher, currently Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University Medical Center and Research Scientist at New York State Psychiatric Institute. These services are of the highest possible quality with several characteristics not typically found in other testing services:

1. Professional consultation. Before it is finalized, each assessment report is reviewed by another psychologist with expertise in the special needs of the child. The partnership with Psychological Solutions provides special expertise in learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, adoption/attachment issues, substance abuse issues, developmental disorders, trauma, mood disorders, and personality disorders.

2. Timely. Typically, we test the individual within two weeks and have the full report within two weeks after the testing.

3. Strength-based. The assessment develops a comprehensive and coherent picture of the child, both the child's strengths and his/her deficits. The purpose of this balanced approach is to help the child, parents and school learn how to use the child's strengths to compensate for his/her weaknesses.

4. Parent/Family conference. A full explanation of the report is provided to both the parents and the child in a family conference.

5. School conference. The assessment is explained to appropriate school staff, emphasizing how the school can better accommodate the child's unique needs and build on the child's strengths.
For more information about this service, please see our website at http://www.gposner.com or call us at (607) 273-5400.

Copyright © 2009, Woodbury Reports, Inc.

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