Author Topic: Just in case everyone forgot what this board was about  (Read 2999 times)

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Offline Pile of Dead Kids

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Just in case everyone forgot what this board was about
« on: August 03, 2010, 07:02:30 PM »
Quote from: "Goodtobefree"
Perhaps as a former student/client/survivor/inmate/whatever you want to call it, I can shed some light on the subject. I was in peer group 17, I was at ASR from October of 2000 to December of 2001. During my stay I was under the impression that the lifesteps were essentially unchanged from the start of the program up until then. I can't say anything about 2002 and onward. As was said before, they were about anger, insecurities, reconnecting with core self, (aka inner child) and forgiveness. They were held in the library in the academic building, and generally started around mid evening on a friday or saturday night, and lasted between 12 and 24 hours. Hard to tell exactly because they made a policy of taking our watches beforehand. All I know was that at the latest, we were asleep in our beds by the normal lights out the next night, except for the 4th lifestep, where we slept in tents overnight outside the library. That was about 36 hours altogether.

They definitely fed us, slightly less than usual, but more than adequate for a day's nutrition. As for sleep deprivation, we were up way past our bedtimes, which were tightly regulated, so any alterations to the routine were quite noticeable. While we were up late, full of anxiety and stress, we were subjected to a lot of yelling, a lot of exercises and workshops designed to illustrate how our behaviors were hurting us. There was a lot of crying, screaming, cursing, quiet time for writing, (read: kids can't talk, counselors walk around reading what's being written and pontificating about the topics being written about. My point is that it was very intense and quite overwhelming. I don't remember every single detail of the experiences, but I will try to include what I can.

The most memorable thing about the first lifestep was an exercise called dyads. This involved pairing up with a buddy and holding them while screaming at the top of our lungs all the things we hated our parents and ourselves for, for minutes at a time. I distinctly remember spitting up blood and being encouraged to continue screaming. There were also short group therapy sessions, there were exercises involving listing all the things our parents had ever done to hurt us, focusing on all the pain and suffering that we'd ever felt and how angry it made us. After all of us were exhausted we read letters our parents sent us about how much they loved us and why they chose to send us away. Needless to say there was a lot of crying.

The second lifestep had exercises where we had to sit in a circle, while one of us would walk around from person to person to hear whether that one or this one considered them a "giver" or a "taker". After we'd all judged each other we had to say to people why we felt this way about them. Some of this took the form of harsh criticism masked as praise. There were exercises involving how we judge ourselves and how we present ourselves to others. We had to wear cards around our necks that labeled us as one thing or another to supposedly demonstrate how restrictive the images we present to people can be. I remember carving images into cubes of sandstone to symbolize all the good qualities we had and who we really were. I also remember listening to Enya and other new age music, and doing a warped guided meditation which, rather than enhancing relaxation heightens emotions like guilt, sadness and fear. It was either in this lifestep or the third that we did an exercise involving manic, happy music, and all of us being instructed to smile until it started to hurt, and walk around laughing and smiling and looking at each other for about 5-10 minutes with the song on repeat. By the end many were crying, some were on the verge of hysteria.

The third lifestep was probably the most traumatic and damaging. It involved internalizing immense guilt. We had to write down anything and everything that we'd ever done to hurt ourselves, told how horrible it was, then forced to look at childhood pictures of ourselves that our parents had mailed to the school. Sitting there for what seemed like hours being yelled at because all the mistakes, impulses, and self destruction we'd gone through were "horrible things that we, as horrible people had done to the innocent children that we were" We were told to imagine all these wrongdoings being visited upon these children, as if we'd done them to some helpless little kid ourselves. Hurting yourself because you're horribly depressed is suddenly akin to torturing preschoolers. Talk about cognitive dissonance! We had to draw a symbolic portrait of ourselves involving all our interests, loves, etc., then tack the childhood picture to it. The other focus of this lifestep was the emotional manipulations or games that we use in an attempt to fill holes in our lives. We acted out all the games we each typically used, and had our peer group guess which one. Games such as playing the victim, using intimidation, attention games, the "everything is fine" game, etc.

The fourth lifestep involved a modified Native American sweat ritual. One of these took place before the first lifestep, almost a pre lifestep. This ritual was kind of like group therapy in a sauna, with some new age religious undertones. We were smudged with sage before entering the sweat lodge, there was a little discussion about purification. We talked about grudges we held, and how they weighed us down. To illustrate this concept physically, we took a long walk in the woods late at night, each of us carrying a rock about the size of a large melon and being lectured to about how we weigh ourselves down by not letting things go. We weren't allowed to put down the rocks, and the walk lasted somewhere between 1 and 2 hours. Being able to set down the rock was supposed to symbolize how good it feels to let go of anger and resentment. Perfect timing, the program's almost over, let's assuage some of the anger that comes from having a year of your life stolen.

All in all I would say that these lifesteps are a clear indication of the cult like way that the academy is run. In addition I would like to comment on the pervasive nature of the levels and punishment/reward system that was in effect. Profanity was punishable by doing pushups, we were continually encouraged to report each other for anything and everything, for our own good. Dish duty would be assigned for having a shirt untucked or for not cleaning the dorm before breakfast adequately. Being late to meetings or classes had similar consequences. Consequences, not punishments. There was no such thing as a punishment at ASR, just like there were no rules, only Agreements. Since you agreed to not do this or that, you had already accepted the consequence for breaking the agreement. I don't remember ever signing a contract, but then again, since as a minor you don't really have rights or the ability to sign contracts, none of that matters. The point is, it was a very effective technique for fostering obedience through guilt. You didn't just fuck up, you went back on your word and let down the school. The rule system was so pervasive it was difficult to make it through an entire day without breaking at least one. Privileges were removed at the drop of a hat. If you read too many books, you were avoiding people, and weren't allowed to read for pleasure. If you were rude or rowdy you might go on a restriction and lose the privilege of any and all recreational activity for between 1 and 4 weeks. Restrictions could involve being on "bans" with groups or individuals in the school, such as "bans with all lower school students", or all females, all males, etc. You couldn't talk to people you were on bans with or you faced serious consquences. This often caused difficulty in coordinating schoolwork with therapy. Restrictions ended when counselors felt you'd accepted whatever you'd done was horribly wrong and you felt horrible about it/learned something. Then you'd tell the whole school about it and apologize at the end of the day meeting.

Academics are another concern. The options for classes were limited, the teachers often weren't qualified. My chemistry teacher was an English major who was only a chapter ahead of the class each week. He was filling in until they found someone who knew chemistry. Most of the teachers, even those qualified to teach their subject, did not know how to deal with kids with learning disabilities, or kids who acted out constantly. This had a negative effect on the amount of actual teaching that got done. Student's writings, paintings, etc. were often censored for being to dark, too imagey, too negative, too sexual, etc. Reading material was restricted, the library was full of outdated books and random novels, all of it unorganized. On numerous occasions books I'd found in the library were confiscated, apparently even some of them weren't appropriate.

Inmates faced a barrage of emotional abuse from counselors and students alike. Students tried to curry favor by enforcing rules and ratting on others. Once an accusation of rulebreaking, innapropriate behavior, telling "warstories" i.e. talking less than disdainfully about anything ASR didn't like, such as drugs, sex, stunts we'd pulled that got us sent there. Challenging the rules for any reason was being manipulative, denying an accusation was being in denial. Getting upset at false accusations was an attempt to intimidate the accuser. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

At least a third of the inmates were on either wellbutrin or adderall. You got to see one of the 2 psychiatrists the school employed, no one from outside. You weren't allowed to refuse medication either.

Some of the other issues in the program were a lack of policies on various issues such as religions, sexual orientation, and a number of other things. For example, Rudy Bentz the headmaster would frequently speak of a higher power in thinly veiled judeo-christian propaganda terms, and there was a clear preference for mainstream religions. Shortly after 9-11 in a schoolwide discussion, he failed to reprimand or even comment on an inmate yelling in front of the school an insensitive comment about "fucking towelheads". Wiccan or Buddhist students were often slighted, or accused of using the religion as part of their image rather than professing a sincere belief. Big fucking christmas tree up in the common room, slight chanukah concession for the few jewish kids, nothing for anyone else.

On other occasions, I was told by certain counselors that I did not know what my sexual orientation was and I was going through a delusional phase where I mistakenly believed I was bisexual. Yet other counselors told me it was normal and natural and to trust myself. The lack of clear policies on these and other issues created untold confusion and despair.

All in all, I think the program has absolutely minimal potential to help anyone, and most of the help it offers comes solely from the extended period of time away from a harmful home environment, and the substantial reflection it necessitates. The entire premise revolves around group mentality, breaking down and moulding psyches, a complex reward and punishment system combined with censorship and constant, constant, constant reinforcement of obedience that comes from never knowing whether or not you're "in agreement" (currently not violating or witholding a confession about past violations of the rules), and always worrying about being punished.

Through the use of repetitive propaganda, peer pressure, and psycholinguistics, the process of conveniently rephrasing everything to give it a slant that is in line with the belief you're trying to force upon a captive population. Rules are agreements, punishments are consequences, shoveling snow for 6 hours is "getting back in agreement", expressing your feelings in an unapproved manner is either acting out or manipulative behavior.

The Academy at Swift River has done untold damage to hundreds of children whose only crime was being born to parents who held them to unreasonable standards, often abused them mentally, physically and sexually, often were alcoholics or drug addicts or suffered from mental disorders, and thought that money could fix their kid. There is a certain amount of accountability on the parents part, but it's pretty much lip service when you get right down to it. Kids are beaten, berated, treated as less than human, and shipped away to prison without a trial when they understandably start to act out in these circumstances. They go through a 14 month sentence of emotional torture under questionable auspices, subjected to the horrors I've described above. To claim that the parents who sent them there are being called to task because they have to go through a 3 hour group therapy session once every 3 months and hear about how they fucked up their kid doesn't even begin to address the issues at hand.

The whole thing is a twisted mixture of cult and psych ward, it should be burnt to the ground and its founders should be jailed.

In b4 "2000-2001, old": they still do it, or worse. MBA was closed in 2008 for this sort of thing, only with added sexualized roleplay. Pretending that ASR somehow magically got better in the interim is wishful thinking at best.

The FTC has a shitload of warnings. The GAO investigated deaths and found a huge list of problems.

But a few local morons will gladly tell you, without hesitation, that it's all just "mythology" and that the majority of experiences with programs just like this are good ones. Please. Let's hear some more of that. Let's hear all the good things that come from systematic abuse of children.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
...Sergey Blashchishen, James Shirey, Faith Finley, Katherine Rice, Ashlie Bunch, Brendan Blum, Caleb Jensen, Alex Cullinane, Rocco Magliozzi, Elisa Santry, Dillon Peak, Natalynndria Slim, Lenny Ortega, Angellika Arndt, Joey Aletriz, Martin Anderson, James White, Christening Garcia, Kasey Warner, Shirley Arciszewski, Linda Harris, Travis Parker, Omega Leach, Denis Maltez, Kevin Christie, Karlye Newman, Richard DeMaar, Alexis Richie, Shanice Nibbs, Levi Snyder, Natasha Newman, Gracie James, Michael Owens, Carlton Thomas, Taylor Mangham, Carnez Boone, Benjamin Lolley, Jessica Bradford's unnamed baby, Anthony Parker, Dysheka Streeter, Corey Foster, Joseph Winters, Bruce Staeger, Kenneth Barkley, Khalil Todd, Alec Lansing, Cristian Cuellar-Gonzales, Janaia Barnhart, a DRA victim who never even showed up in the news, and yet another unnamed girl at Summit School...

Offline Froderik

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« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2010, 07:24:05 PM »
/bump
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Joel

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« Reply #2 on: August 03, 2010, 07:33:00 PM »
Edited: Wednesday, October 06, 2010
« Last Edit: October 07, 2010, 06:48:41 PM by Joel »

Offline Troll Control

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Re: Just in case everyone forgot what this board was about
« Reply #3 on: August 03, 2010, 08:12:43 PM »
I remember this kid.  He gave a dissertation on the abuse by Aspen Education and the resident Aspen shill said he was lying.  But Aspen was cited for this type of abuse and MBA was closed down for the same thing.  MBA was referred to by Aspen as ASR's "sister school."  Birds of a feather...
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
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Offline SUCK IT

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Re: Just in case everyone forgot what this board was about
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2010, 08:17:53 PM »
Some people have negative experiences in programs, and sometimes they post here.

Some people's lives are saved by programs, and sometimes even they post here.

Some people never went to a program, and they copy/paste other people's posts, then comment on them.

Some people work at programs, then troll Whooter. It takes all kinds.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
one day at a time

Offline Pile of Dead Kids

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Re: Just in case everyone forgot what this board was about
« Reply #5 on: August 03, 2010, 08:54:26 PM »
Nobody's life was saved by a program. Not one. And there's two groups you left out:

People desperately trying to validate that what happened to them, or what they've been doing to others, is good and right and necessary.

Paid shills.

Please. You claim to have your life saved by this? What part saved your life? The isolation? The brutality? Maybe the forced emotional expression? Oh! I know! It was the constant Lifesteps/Propheet-style abuse, where you were constantly judged by the other victims and the staff, your entire life ripped apart. Can't go wrong with that, right?
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
...Sergey Blashchishen, James Shirey, Faith Finley, Katherine Rice, Ashlie Bunch, Brendan Blum, Caleb Jensen, Alex Cullinane, Rocco Magliozzi, Elisa Santry, Dillon Peak, Natalynndria Slim, Lenny Ortega, Angellika Arndt, Joey Aletriz, Martin Anderson, James White, Christening Garcia, Kasey Warner, Shirley Arciszewski, Linda Harris, Travis Parker, Omega Leach, Denis Maltez, Kevin Christie, Karlye Newman, Richard DeMaar, Alexis Richie, Shanice Nibbs, Levi Snyder, Natasha Newman, Gracie James, Michael Owens, Carlton Thomas, Taylor Mangham, Carnez Boone, Benjamin Lolley, Jessica Bradford's unnamed baby, Anthony Parker, Dysheka Streeter, Corey Foster, Joseph Winters, Bruce Staeger, Kenneth Barkley, Khalil Todd, Alec Lansing, Cristian Cuellar-Gonzales, Janaia Barnhart, a DRA victim who never even showed up in the news, and yet another unnamed girl at Summit School...

Offline Pile of Dead Kids

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Re: Just in case everyone forgot what this board was about
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2010, 07:15:53 PM »
The lack of response is telling beyond anything they could possibly post.

See, what they WANT to do is just step right in and say "didn't happen". But it DID happen, and it was obviously abusive. Similarly, it's indefensible to the point that even attempting to do that would make them look like the demented psychopaths they are.

So they hope it'll go away.

Yes. This is what your kids have to look forward to. That and a possible place on this list.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
...Sergey Blashchishen, James Shirey, Faith Finley, Katherine Rice, Ashlie Bunch, Brendan Blum, Caleb Jensen, Alex Cullinane, Rocco Magliozzi, Elisa Santry, Dillon Peak, Natalynndria Slim, Lenny Ortega, Angellika Arndt, Joey Aletriz, Martin Anderson, James White, Christening Garcia, Kasey Warner, Shirley Arciszewski, Linda Harris, Travis Parker, Omega Leach, Denis Maltez, Kevin Christie, Karlye Newman, Richard DeMaar, Alexis Richie, Shanice Nibbs, Levi Snyder, Natasha Newman, Gracie James, Michael Owens, Carlton Thomas, Taylor Mangham, Carnez Boone, Benjamin Lolley, Jessica Bradford's unnamed baby, Anthony Parker, Dysheka Streeter, Corey Foster, Joseph Winters, Bruce Staeger, Kenneth Barkley, Khalil Todd, Alec Lansing, Cristian Cuellar-Gonzales, Janaia Barnhart, a DRA victim who never even showed up in the news, and yet another unnamed girl at Summit School...

Offline Son Of Serbia

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Re: Just in case everyone forgot what this board was about
« Reply #7 on: August 13, 2010, 05:01:48 PM »
Quote from: "SUCK IT"
Some people have negative experiences in programs, and sometimes they post here.

Some people's lives are saved by programs, and sometimes even they post here.

Some people never went to a program, and they copy/paste other people's posts, then comment on them.

Some people work at programs, then troll Whooter. It takes all kinds.


Some people are DEAD or missing & presumed dead as a direct result of being
in programs, they can't post here.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Offline DannyB II

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Re: Just in case everyone forgot what this board was about
« Reply #8 on: August 13, 2010, 05:42:05 PM »
Quote from: "Pile of Dead Kids"
The lack of response is telling beyond anything they could possibly post.

See, what they WANT to do is just step right in and say "didn't happen". But it DID happen, and it was obviously abusive. Similarly, it's indefensible to the point that even attempting to do that would make them look like the demented psychopaths they are.

So they hope it'll go away.

Yes. This is what your kids have to look forward to. That and a possible place on this list.

Your lost in space, another universe. You really think you are being heard.   :roflmao:  :roflmao:
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
Stand and fight, till there is no more.

Offline RobertBruce

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Re: Just in case everyone forgot what this board was about
« Reply #9 on: August 13, 2010, 06:21:22 PM »
Given the amount of programs that have been shut down because of people like us, I'd say yes we are being heard. What have you ever done to help any of these kids Danny?
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »

Joel

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« Reply #10 on: August 13, 2010, 07:11:33 PM »
Edited: Wednesday, October 06, 2010
« Last Edit: October 07, 2010, 07:07:04 PM by Joel »

Offline Samara

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Re: Just in case everyone forgot what this board was about
« Reply #11 on: August 13, 2010, 07:14:41 PM »
well, I can definitively say that after posting here, I and several others have been able to dissuade parents from sending their kids to known hellholes.  (Although I will concede nothing recent for me.) This site is necessary but has been adversely affected by in-fighting, gross invasions of privacy, and concerted derailment efforts  in the past four years or so. Maybe five. That sucks. Because believe it or not, so many of us are/were well meaning.  I have very specific reasons for my advocacy that go beyond my residency at a now defunct program.
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Offline Ursus

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Re: Just in case everyone forgot what this board was about
« Reply #12 on: August 13, 2010, 09:09:28 PM »
Quote from: "Son Of Serbia"
Quote from: "SUCK IT"
Some people have negative experiences in programs, and sometimes they post here.

Some people's lives are saved by programs, and sometimes even they post here.

Some people never went to a program, and they copy/paste other people's posts, then comment on them.

Some people work at programs, then troll Whooter. It takes all kinds.
Some people are DEAD or missing & presumed dead as a direct result of being in programs, they can't post here.
QFT.  :notworthy:
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
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Offline Pile of Dead Kids

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Re: Just in case everyone forgot what this board was about
« Reply #13 on: August 24, 2010, 03:51:27 PM »
Oh yeah. Fornits gets results.

See, the programmies keep whining about "credibility" and phantom parents not taking whoever or whatever seriously. At some point we must ask: who the fuck cares? For a lot of them, they're determined to get pulled into this shit; basic sanity just bounces off (we tried). So more extreme measures are needed. And they work.

Any teenager in danger of getting sent to one of these places has nothing to lose by posting anything and everything about their parents on this board. Fuck 'em.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
...Sergey Blashchishen, James Shirey, Faith Finley, Katherine Rice, Ashlie Bunch, Brendan Blum, Caleb Jensen, Alex Cullinane, Rocco Magliozzi, Elisa Santry, Dillon Peak, Natalynndria Slim, Lenny Ortega, Angellika Arndt, Joey Aletriz, Martin Anderson, James White, Christening Garcia, Kasey Warner, Shirley Arciszewski, Linda Harris, Travis Parker, Omega Leach, Denis Maltez, Kevin Christie, Karlye Newman, Richard DeMaar, Alexis Richie, Shanice Nibbs, Levi Snyder, Natasha Newman, Gracie James, Michael Owens, Carlton Thomas, Taylor Mangham, Carnez Boone, Benjamin Lolley, Jessica Bradford's unnamed baby, Anthony Parker, Dysheka Streeter, Corey Foster, Joseph Winters, Bruce Staeger, Kenneth Barkley, Khalil Todd, Alec Lansing, Cristian Cuellar-Gonzales, Janaia Barnhart, a DRA victim who never even showed up in the news, and yet another unnamed girl at Summit School...

Offline BLACKHAWKSGANG

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wtf
« Reply #14 on: August 31, 2010, 03:39:51 PM »
:agree:
« Last Edit: November 18, 2011, 09:40:15 AM by BLACKHAWKSGANG »