Shanea,
You got it. Coercive and abusive. It's inappropriate therapy for teens. Even adults for that matter. Unless it was done in a very thoughtful way. One learns how to ACT, but has the real underlying emotion/misbelief been dealt with. I can see where they would like to go with this, but again, it is not done well and not age appropriate. What MIGHT be useful is if the teens performed plays and took a role they weren't comfortable with. There's actually a psych term for this that isn't coming to me. I want to say psychodrama, but not sure that's it.
I do see benefit in contradicting the beliefs one has erroneously adopted about themselves. It's like, how do you help a dog that has been beaten to the point of cowling. Tell it to stand up and act like a bulldog? Some think that a dog that has been that badly abused will can never fully recover. But common sense dictates that you won't 'help' that dog with further mistreatment.
Is it so hard to relate that to humans?
Take for example a kid who has been told he is stupid so often that he begins to believe it- his self esteem severely damaged. I fail to see how role playing a genius is going to be helpful. Learning to ACT smart is not going to suddenly make him 'feel' smart. He may not even know how to play that part, could blunder and feel even more stupid... and humiliated on top of that. Or if his self esteem has really been damaged, the whole exercise will feel humiliating- particularly if it is forced. He will not relate but will go through the motions because he is made to do it. I think the more useful thing would be to point out his brilliance at every opportunity. Find ways to dismantle the misbeliefs. Provide opportunities in which he could see that he indeed was not stupid. This method requires a highly trained staff and a whole different structure. Something used car and furniture salesmen, turned program gurus, wouldn't know anything about. They DO know alot about acting.
I think all these programs would be better off if they sent their staff to be trained in the Montessori method. They need to reinforce the truth and help teens learn to master their environment. That would be MY solution. Turn all BM programs into Montessori high schools. Get some people in there who have been taught how to respectfully assist teens in their journey to adulthood. Who won't subject them to ignorant, unproven techniques and abuse.
Even if their ignorant 'therapy' worked. The rest of the program is disrespectful. How does one come to feel good about themselves when they are treated worse than prisoners?
This discussion reminds me of a story about an indigenous tribe and how they dealt with 'anti-social' behavior. When a member acted disrespectfully they saw it for what it was. The entire tribe stopped what they were doing. They encircled the distressed member and each took turns reminding the member of his/her goodness. Can you fathom that happening in a program? It's the antithesis of what programs do.
