Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => The Troubled Teen Industry => Topic started by: Maximilian on September 09, 2010, 03:31:09 PM
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I thought I'd start a topic on all the various ways troubled teens try to manipulate their way out of programs. I was successful at manipulating my way out of several treatment facilities, but I have to admit, the private program I was sent to did not budge to my many efforts to escape. In this thread I am going to describe the many techniques and insidious tactics I came up with in order to secure my release from the program. I was a very troubled teen and desperately wanted to get out and return to my own self destructive behaviors. But getting out of a program that knows you are willing to do anything to be released, can be a difficult process. This thread has been created to describe this process, and why or why not it was successful.
This is in the moderated section of fornits, so you are going to have to keep this civil. If you want to talk about the ways you tried to manipulate yourself out the program, feel free to post here.
I will get into more details later, but these are some of the tactics I used that I will later expand upon.
1. Claiming it was a mistake I was sent there
2. Saying I was innocent to everyone at the program
3. Claiming my parents were abusive to the program
4. Writing to my parents that the program was abusive.
5. Threatening my parents if they didn't release me I'd harm myself
6. Sending letters telling them I'd never forgive them
7. Running
8. Harming myself
9. Threatening to not take my medication that I needed
10. Refusing to participate in the program
These are just a small sample of the lengths I was willing to go, in order to secure my release and to re-engage myself into drug addiction, and the downward spiral that I had been removed from. The reason programs take kids against their will is because sometimes the will of a troubled teen is to destroy themselves, as it was in my case. Would it be ethical to allow me to kill myself as a minor? Or is it more ethical to keep me alive, even if against my will, for long as they were legally able to do so (until adulthood)? Society has declared people who are a danger to themselves should be kept from hurting themselves, and that freedom is less important than saving a life. As someone who was in that situation, and would have died if it were left up to me, I have to thank the people who will save another life even if they do not get gratitude. I was not grateful at the time and fought with the people trying to save my life, but now, as I have matured, and realized I was not a victim of them, but they were all victims of me, I am forever in gratitude for these wonderful people who sacrifice so much in the service of others.
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What program were you in, Max? See. I don't believe you were actually in a program (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=31062&p=377204#p377204). I don't believe anybody who was in a program would disrespect abuse survivors the way you do.
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Max, reading your posts is horrifying me, you have a textbook case of Stockholm Syndrome. I am truly sorry this happened to you and I hope you find the solace you are looking for here, apparently subconsciously.
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What program were you in, Max? See. I don't believe you were actually in a program (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=31062&p=377204#p377204). I don't believe anybody who was in a program would disrespect abuse survivors the way you do.
Well you are free to not believe me. I choose to be honest about my experience, and not withhold self incriminating truths to further an anti treatment agenda. If people really want to know what programs are like, some of us are going to have to be honest, even if it means admitting that not everything that goes on in programs is evil, and that some of us are helped, and that we might even be responsible for ending up in the program in the first place. I will add more to this thread as it goes on, and explain the manipulations in more details. As far as disrespecting abuse survivors, I have been dealing with people attacking me since I started posting on fornits. If people are not ready to admit that people are helped by programs sometimes, they simply wish to live in a land of denial. I can't be worried about the feelings of people who refuse to accept reality, that's their issue not mine.
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Max, reading your posts is horrifying me, you have a textbook case of Stockholm Syndrome. I am truly sorry this happened to you and I hope you find the solace you are looking for here, apparently subconsciously.
I don't have Stockholm Syndrome, I have the ability to be honest with myself.
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Max. You lied about being blackmailed. Why should I believe you were even in a program at all? You make the most absurd of claims: that you weren't abused in a WWASP program. There is hardly a WWASP program out there that hasn't been shut down for abuse. It's my belief you either weren't in a program, or you don't view abuse by the same definition the courts do.
80% of the solid evidence of abuse out there is about WWASP programs. Here's a video by Montana PBS documenting some that went on:
http://watch.montanapbs.org/video/1430387622/ (http://watch.montanapbs.org/video/1430387622/)
Were you in Spring Creek Lodge, Max? Were you ever in the Hobbit? Please explain to me how that was not abuse.
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Froderik just lied about not posting the jerk insult. Should nobody believe him from this point on?
I choose to keep some information to myself, because I don't need to be shown the light, and have people following me around trying to convince me I was abused. I was not abused, and my life was saved, that's my truth.
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you don't view abuse by the same definition the courts do.
I missed this part and I wish to address it. If what happened in the program was abusive, then why didn't somebody call the police? As far as I know, the authorities knew full well what was going on at the program I was at, and supported it fully. I actually believe it's fornits that has a watered down definition of the term abuse, different from that of the law enforcement or child protective agencies. If I called up and described everything that I saw and/or went through in the program, I would be told it's all legal, sorry we can't do anything. If abuse, and I mean the legal definition of abuse, is going on in all programs right now, well then why waste your time on fornits? Start calling every local LEO within a few miles of a program, and then the problem will be solved once and for all. Nothing illegal happened to me in a program, and I was never abused. Perhaps other people are, I'll let them speak for themselves, I can only relate what I experienced and my own opinions based on that.
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you don't view abuse by the same definition the courts do.
I missed this part and I wish to address it. If what happened in the program was abusive, then why didn't somebody call the police? As far as I know, the authorities knew full well what was going on at the program I was at, and supported it fully. I actually believe it's fornits that has a watered down definition of the term abuse, different from that of the law enforcement or child protective agencies. If I called up and described everything that I saw and/or went through in the program, I would be told it's all legal, sorry we can't do anything. If abuse, and I mean the legal definition of abuse, is going on in all programs right now, well then why waste your time on fornits? Start calling every local LEO within a few miles of a program, and then the problem will be solved once and for all. Nothing illegal happened to me in a program, and I was never abused. Perhaps other people are, I'll let them speak for themselves, I can only relate what I experienced and my own opinions based on that.
qft. i'll respond to this later before you edit it.
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Were you in Spring Creek Lodge, Max? Were you ever in the Hobbit? Please explain to me how that was not abuse.
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you don't view abuse by the same definition the courts do.
. Nothing illegal happened to me in a program, and I was never abused. Perhaps other people are, I'll let them speak for themselves, I can only relate what I experienced and my own opinions based on that.
Then please tell us all the name of this utopia that you were in. It seems that you would want to shout its praises for all to hear.
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Interesting topic, regardless. At CEDU, they were well prepared. Whether a student was being sincere or manipulative in trying to escape a program, CEDU was more manipulative in making sure they were unsuccessful. Hence the locked up telephones and physical isolation. Actually, CEDU manipulated my parents into lying that I would be sent to lock up if I tried to escape. Even though I had never even shoplifted, let alone abused drugs or acted violently.
The ONLY way to get out of CEDU was to split, try to commit homicide, slit your wrists, or conspire to or commit arson. I, of course, was unwilling to do any except split. Which I did. I never even gave my parents a reason. I think the only reason my Dad allowed me home (because my Mom wanted me gone) was because he was not comfortable with the fact that CEDU would never allow him to express skepticism.
So, to answer your questions:
1. Claiming it was a mistake I was sent there
I only said this once because I learned quickly what happens when you question the program. And, I was mis-placed. But I also do not believe any one should be sent to a therapeutically and academically fraudulent facility
2. Saying I was innocent to everyone at the program.
I never claimed to be innocent of anything, but looking back, I was fairly innocent and certainly naive. I was honest about anything I did. But really, I didn't do anything horrible. I didn't go there because I did something horrible. I wonder if CEDU can say it was innocent to me? Because I'll bet you a million bucks if I asked a staff member that question they could not look me in the eye and say yes. In fact, I would love to meet any of them now, as an adult, when they have no power over me. No, not to threaten them, but just to meet on equal footing.
3. Claiming my parents were abusive to the program -
I never lied about my parents. I also never claimed they were abusive. I did not talk about them much because I discerned quite quickly that CEDU exploited all revelations and made no sincere effort to repair family dynamics. In fact, CEDU introduced my parents to lying to me. At least before CEDU, they were direct.
4. Writing to my parents that the program was abusive.
Impossible. CEDU censored all letters going out. My letters were totally Pollyanna - the hills are alive with the sound of music.
5. Threatening my parents if they didn't release me I'd harm myself
Nope - too melodramatic. And only undermines your own credibility.
6. Sending letters telling them I'd never forgive them
Nope. Although CEDU may have allowed this expression though... familial division worked for them.
7. Running
Yes, twice. Second time successful, thank God. This wasn't manipulative though. I just wanted to get the fuck out. Even my dad is glad I did that.
8. Harming myself
No. Again, melodramatic and would only serve to undermine my own credibility. And why would I want to hurt myself?
9. Threatening to not take my medication that I needed
During my time, CEDU did not espouse medications. I also wasn't on any. I am still not on any. In the '90s, CEDU figured out how medicating kids could work for them (CEDU)
10. Refusing to participate in the program
You did not refuse to participate unless you were begging for emotional terrorism. But I split when I realized that I would need to bully and terrorize others to level up. I made the decision to split after a propheet (24/7 "experiential) where it became obvious I did not batter people enough. I knew it would not be tolerated much longer, and the thought made me sick.
I am not a splitter by nature. At that time, I was passive and scared. I never ran away from home before. I just couldn't stomach what was happening.
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Were you in Spring Creek Lodge, Max? Were you ever in the Hobbit? Please explain to me how that was not abuse.
It's long been known I choose to keep the name of the private program I went to, to myself. As far as I know this is not against the rules. But let's imagine for a moment I was placed in isolation in a treatment program. I could tell two version of the story. One version in which I am a victim of an evil program putting me in an isolation prison cell. The other a more honest, and accurate story of how a program decided to save me from myself. One event, two different interpretations. You've only read the first interpretation, in time I might share the latter if I feel comfortable enough. I had enough lying to suit an agenda, and censoring self incriminating details of my own experience to make myself appear as a victim. Perhaps other people are innocent victims of programs. I am not. My family,and everyone who worked at the program was a victim of my behaviors, not the other way around. Yes a program saved my life. Yes it took some extraordinary measures because I was willing to do whatever it took to destroy myself. Lucky for me they were willing to do whatever it took to save me as well, for that I will be eternally grateful.
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Were you in Spring Creek Lodge, Max? Were you ever in the Hobbit? Please explain to me how that was not abuse.
It's long been known I choose to keep the name of the private program I went to, to myself. As far as I know this is not against the rules. But let's imagine for a moment I was placed in isolation in a treatment program. I could tell two version of the story. One version in which I am a victim of an evil program putting me in an isolation prison cell. The other a more honest, and accurate story of how a program decided to save me from myself. One event, two different interpretations. You've only read the first interpretation, in time I might share the latter if I feel comfortable enough. I had enough lying to suit an agenda, and censoring self incriminating details of my own experience to make myself appear as a victim. Perhaps other people are innocent victims of programs. I am not. My family,and everyone who worked at the program was a victim of my behaviors, not the other way around. Yes a program saved my life. Yes it took some extraordinary measures because I was willing to do whatever it took to destroy myself. Lucky for me they were willing to do whatever it took to save me as well, for that I will be eternally grateful.
Hey dud come to WISCONHELL we have a SUPERMAX...you can live in a tiny cell and pretend you r free.
I will give you a razor blade to cope. :suicide:
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Were you in Spring Creek Lodge, Max? Were you ever in the Hobbit? Please explain to me how that was not abuse.
It's long been known I choose to keep the name of the private program I went to, to myself. As far as I know this is not against the rules. But let's imagine for a moment I was placed in isolation in a treatment program. I could tell two version of the story. One version in which I am a victim of an evil program putting me in an isolation prison cell. The other a more honest, and accurate story of how a program decided to save me from myself. One event, two different interpretations. You've only read the first interpretation, in time I might share the latter if I feel comfortable enough. I had enough lying to suit an agenda, and censoring self incriminating details of my own experience to make myself appear as a victim. Perhaps other people are innocent victims of programs. I am not. My family,and everyone who worked at the program was a victim of my behaviors, not the other way around. Yes a program saved my life. Yes it took some extraordinary measures because I was willing to do whatever it took to destroy myself. Lucky for me they were willing to do whatever it took to save me as well, for that I will be eternally grateful.
I don't believe for a moment you were ever in a program. You manner is too glib, heavy on the what ( "saved my life") but lacking in the "how". If you had really been in a program you would not want to deprive the needy parents looking to place their kid. I believe you just don't want to answer questions that would come up and expose your lies. Of course, after your last little game you have no credibility anyway. You sound like a late-night infomercial .
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Max, if you want to say the ends justifies the means, then fine. That is your opinion. I have tremendous ethical and moral issues with this statement.
But, if you insinuate that we all deserved to suffer abuse at our programs, I would question have to question your humanity. The ends does not justify the means. People I have loved have suffered horribly at these programs - I cannot condone what happned to them. Most were not addicts. Most were teenagers. But if they were suicidal or addicts I still would not advocate abusive psychodynamics.
This is not an effort to deflect responsbility from our actions. Part and parcel of teenage-hood is rebelling, questionning, clarifying, and experimenting. Some make worser choices than others.
Maybe your parents, mentors, and staff members were angels of mercy. I cannot say. But it would be odd if you and only you were the reason you were so fucked up. I am sure the situation was a bit more multifactorial.
In any event, it is NEVER helpful to place a child in an ABUSIVE facility.
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Ya know....I really don't understand this reluctance to name the program he was supposedly in. If it was so wonderful and non-abusive, surely it would be able to withstand scrutiny, right? I honestly cant' think of any rational reason not to name a program that someone truly believes "saved their life".
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Max, if you want to say the ends justifies the means, then fine. That is your opinion. I have tremendous ethical and moral issues with this statement.
But, if you insinuate that we all deserved to suffer abuse at our programs, I would question have to question your humanity. The ends does not justify the means. People I have loved have suffered horribly at these programs - I cannot condone what happned to them. Most were not addicts. Most were teenagers. But if they were suicidal or addicts I still would not advocate abusive psychodynamics.
This is not an effort to deflect responsbility from our actions. Part and parcel of teenage-hood is rebelling, questionning, clarifying, and experimenting. Some make worser choices than others.
Maybe your parents, mentors, and staff members were angels of mercy. I cannot say. But it would be odd if you and only you were the reason you were so fucked up. I am sure the situation was a bit more multifactorial.
In any event, it is NEVER helpful to place a child in an ABUSIVE facility.
I was never abused. So the ends that resulted in the means of me still existing were strict yes, but not abusive. I don't think abusing a kid is going to help them in any way, I don't advocate the abuse of children. But I don't agree that everyday events in programs are abusive. Yes, we read on fornits about staff being abusive, and being held accountable sometimes for it. But I don't believe abuse is a part of program curriculum. I don't consider being held against your will abusive, I don't consider LGAT sessions abusive, I don't consider isolation in of itself as abuse if it's used for a necessary reason. These things are not considered abuse under the law, it's only considered abuse on fornits. You can question my humanity all you want, it won't change my own experience though. I'm not telling anybody that anything did or didn't happen to them. I can only report on my own experiences and what I saw. As far as I know, nobody who posts on fornits was in the program with me. If people say they were abused, fair enough. I wasn't, why can't I be given the same respect instead of being dismissed.
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Ya know....I really don't understand this reluctance to name the program he was supposedly in. If it was so wonderful and non-abusive, surely it would be able to withstand scrutiny, right? I honestly cant' think of any rational reason not to name a program that someone truly believes "saved their life".
I don't owe you an explanation for what I choose to keep private. If my agenda was to sell programs and that was my job, you're right I'd post 10 links in my signature to various programs that pay referral fees. But that's not my agenda, it's just to share my experiences and opinions. Perhaps you cannot imagine a reason why somebody would want to wish to keep this info to themselves, well I have my reasons, but I am not required to explain why. You are free to disregard me and ignore my posts, as is everybody.
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Ya know....I really don't understand this reluctance to name the program he was supposedly in. If it was so wonderful and non-abusive, surely it would be able to withstand scrutiny, right? I honestly cant' think of any rational reason not to name a program that someone truly believes "saved their life".
I don't owe you an explanation for what I choose to keep private. If my agenda was to sell programs and that was my job, you're right I'd post 10 links in my signature to various programs that pay referral fees. But that's not my agenda, it's just to share my experiences and opinions. Perhaps you cannot imagine a reason why somebody would want to wish to keep this info to themselves, well I have my reasons, but I am not required to explain why. You are free to disregard me and ignore my posts, as is everybody.
And we do. If it was the great place you profess it to be, it would be able to stand up to scrutiny. So, it's logical to conclude that you either know it won't, or you didn't actually attend a program. You're a fake either way.
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Ya know....I really don't understand this reluctance to name the program he was supposedly in. If it was so wonderful and non-abusive, surely it would be able to withstand scrutiny, right? I honestly cant' think of any rational reason not to name a program that someone truly believes "saved their life".
I don't owe you an explanation for what I choose to keep private. If my agenda was to sell programs and that was my job, you're right I'd post 10 links in my signature to various programs that pay referral fees. But that's not my agenda, it's just to share my experiences and opinions. Perhaps you cannot imagine a reason why somebody would want to wish to keep this info to themselves, well I have my reasons, but I am not required to explain why. You are free to disregard me and ignore my posts, as is everybody.
And we do. If it was the great place you profess it to be, it would be able to stand up to scrutiny. So, it's logical to conclude that you either know it won't, or you didn't actually attend a program. You're a fake either way.
This tactic has been tried before. I am not willing to trade my private info for token gifts of credibility by posters who already question me, despite me not naming a program. I won't jump through your hoops, because I really don't care if you believe me or not.
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Ya know....I really don't understand this reluctance to name the program he was supposedly in. If it was so wonderful and non-abusive, surely it would be able to withstand scrutiny, right? I honestly cant' think of any rational reason not to name a program that someone truly believes "saved their life".
I don't owe you an explanation for what I choose to keep private. If my agenda was to sell programs and that was my job, you're right I'd post 10 links in my signature to various programs that pay referral fees. But that's not my agenda, it's just to share my experiences and opinions. Perhaps you cannot imagine a reason why somebody would want to wish to keep this info to themselves, well I have my reasons, but I am not required to explain why. You are free to disregard me and ignore my posts, as is everybody.
And we do. If it was the great place you profess it to be, it would be able to stand up to scrutiny. So, it's logical to conclude that you either know it won't, or you didn't actually attend a program. You're a fake either way.
This tactic has been tried before. I am not willing to trade my private info for token gifts of credibility by posters who already question me, despite me not naming a program. I won't jump through your hoops, because I really don't care if you believe me or not.
It's not a tactic...it's a simple fact. If it was so benign and truly saved your life you wouldn't have a problem naming it, but you know what would happen if you did. What little credibility you think you have left would disappear but quickly.
As I said, either way you're a fake.
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You're a fake either way.
As I said, either way you're a fake.
Read your own words carefully. You have now said twice that either way, if I release information I don't want to, or not, you will consider me a fake. So what do I gain if I release information I choose not to? Like you said, either way, you'll believe I'm fake. If it helps people maintain their views on treatment by dismissing me as a fake, that's up to them. It doesn't bother me at all whether people accuse me of being the easter bunny or santa clause, or a program parent, or Whooter. I will still continue to share my opinions based on my own experiences regardless of whether people believe me or not. I know what's true and that is what matters most, I'm not overly concerned how other people choose to respond to me.
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You're a fake either way.
As I said, either way you're a fake.
Read your own words carefully. You have now said twice that either way, if I release information I don't want to, or not, you will consider me a fake. So what do I gain if I release information I choose not to? Like you said, either way, you'll believe I'm fake. If it helps people maintain their views on treatment by dismissing me as a fake, that's up to them. It doesn't bother me at all whether people accuse me of being the easter bunny or santa clause, or a program parent, or Whooter. I will still continue to share my opinions based on my own experiences regardless of whether people believe me or not. I know what's true and that is what matters most, I'm not overly concerned how other people choose to respond to me.
As per usual, you misread what I've written. And it's funny that you jump to the conclusion that I think you're Whooter. I don't and I never said anything like that. I commented on your use of ha,ha....you chose to connect that to Whooter. Wonder why?
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Max, I'm not going to tell you what your experience is. That would be stupid. However, you cannot deny or mitigate the experiences of others.
If my kid wanted to die, I would not subject him to a program based on daily sustained humiliation, anxiety, verbal abuse and histrionics. I also do not believe that LGATs conducted in isolation and deprivation in a highly contrived atmosphere is appropriate for children. Emotional terrorism = not good. You can do good shit without it. Now, maybe your program did not practice these modalities, but mine and its ever mutating spin-offs did and sure as shit, Straight did...
So, cool beans that you loved the ass off your programs, and I am glad you are not dead. But try and entertain the idea that many other people were not so lucky.
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And another thing I find odd. If a program saved my life and I now swam in a perpetual bowl of cherries as a result, I sure as hell wouldn't waste my time posting here.
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Edited: Wednesday, October 06, 2010
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It isn't advice. I suggest you read the post more carefully. I made a thread a while ago about realistic advice on how teenagers should handle themselves in a program, you can search for it if you like.
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And another thing I find odd. If a program saved my life and I now swam in a perpetual bowl of cherries as a result, I sure as hell wouldn't waste my time posting here.
This is very true and a good point, Samara, the kids who do well just move on and don’t look back. They view it as a speed bump in the road of their life and that’s all. It’s the few who were harmed by the programs or didn’t apply themselves and therefore didn’t do well who post here.
Think about it logically. If you were to man the phones at Walmart Customer service how many phone calls do you think you would get telling you how great their new flat panel screen was vs the number of people who would call saying they had trouble. Which group of people would be more likely to go out of their way to call Walmart? The ones who plugged in their set and it didn’t work or the ones who had no problems?
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Are you seriously suggesting it is the posters' fault for not applying themsleves to an abusive program? Seriously?
Ok - so your assertion is that there are NO abusive programs. Anyone here who claims they did go through an abusive program as well as everyone off site who claims the same is LYING and didn't aplly themselves properly? Wow.
I am asking Max why he spends so much time here when the program saved his life and everyone here is according to him, a loser. I am wondering why you live here when you could be focusing on saving more youths in your program. It really just defies understanding.
If I thought everyone here was a liar and if I were as apathetic to the abuse they experienced as you are, I would not waste my time. To do so would only prove I am sadistic, rather than merely ignorant.
You are super talented at twisting stuff around though - did you take classes for that or does it come naturally?
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Are you seriously suggesting it is the posters' fault for not applying themsleves to an abusive program? Seriously?
Ok - so your assertion is that there are NO abusive programs. Anyone here who claims they did go through an abusive program as well as everyone off site who claims the same is LYING and didn't aplly themselves properly? Wow.
I am asking Max why he spends so much time here when the program saved his life and everyone here is according to him, a loser. I am wondering why you live here when you could be focusing on saving more youths in your program. It really just defies understanding.
If I thought everyone here was a liar and if I were as apathetic to the abuse they experienced as you are, I would not waste my time. To do so would only prove I am sadistic, rather than merely ignorant.
You are super talented at twisting stuff around though - did you take classes for that or does it come naturally?
I believe you misread my post. I said:
It’s the few who were harmed by the programs or didn’t apply themselves and therefore didn’t do well who post here.
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But it wasn't a few.
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But it wasn't a few.
I believe it was. I guess it is relative, though. We would have to get some hard numbers in order to solidify whether the posters constitute a "few" or not.
...
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I am asking Max why he spends so much time here when the program saved his life and everyone here is according to him, a loser. I am wondering why you live here when you could be focusing on saving more youths in your program. It really just defies understanding.
I don't think everybody here is a loser. I don't work for a program, and I don't work with troubled youths. I will leave that to the people who have the experience, passion and training to do it. I choose to post here because I was involved in many different forms of treatment spread out over a relatively large portion of my life. Not many people want to talk about treatment programs, AA , sobriety and our issues when we were teens. I have opinions on what I experienced and I share to choose them, I don't see how that defies understanding.
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Ok. But you don't seriously blame yourself in entirety, do you? I mean, I'm not saying that you should find someone to blame. I'm saying that troubled kids result from a confluence of factors. Usually, a clusterfuck of factors. Parents, temperment, biology, choices, hormones, trauma. Bad therapy... (no, I don't even mean programs - I mean inept "support")
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Ok. But you don't seriously blame yourself in entirety, do you? I mean, I'm not saying that you should find someone to blame. I'm saying that troubled kids result from a confluence of factors. Usually, a clusterfuck of factors. Parents, temperment, biology, choices, hormones, trauma. Bad therapy... (no, I don't even mean programs - I mean inept "support")
This would be correct. BTW, your post that Max commented on was a great read. Thanks for your insight.
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Not many people want to talk about treatment programs, AA , sobriety and our issues when we were teens.
70% of the kids in program with me, including myself, were not there for drug related issues. Most were there for ADHD, aspergers, depression, lack of social skills, eating disorders, to finish high school, because their parents were getting divorced and so forth. I remember their names. I remember what they were there for. I remember how many graduated (3%). Now you can claim i'm lying but that's what their website advertises to so it's reasonable to assume they do that for a reason and gain such clientele. Most programs I know of are like this.
Maybe you were some wunderkid fuckup, but I highly doubt it. Most teens who use drugs, even to extreme, do not grow up to become addicts (http://http://www.peele.net/lib/panic.html). Furthermore:
Inpatient treatment programs are rarely justified for children's healthy development.10 They can even harm children by giving them identities as alcoholics or substance abusers, and setting them up for relapse.11
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Not many people want to talk about treatment programs, AA , sobriety and our issues when we were teens.
70% of the kids in program with me, including myself, were not there for drug related issues. Most were there for ADHD, aspergers, depression, lack of social skills, eating disorders, to finish high school, because their parents were getting divorced and so forth. I remember their names. I remember what they were there for. I remember how many graduated (3%). Now you can claim i'm lying but that's what their website advertises to so it's reasonable to assume they do that for a reason and gain such clientele. Most programs I know of are like this.
Maybe you were some wunderkid fuckup, but I highly doubt it. Most teens who use drugs, even to extreme, do not grow up to become addicts (http://http://www.peele.net/lib/panic.html). Furthermore:
Inpatient treatment programs are rarely justified for children's healthy development.10 They can even harm children by giving them identities as alcoholics or substance abusers, and setting them up for relapse.11
What you just quoted is an explanation why I find this topic interesting enough for me to put the time in to posting on fornits. I'm not sure what that has to do with what the people you were in program with were there for. What percentage of people in Benchmark were "kids", as compared to legal adults? Isn't Benchmark for 17-28 year olds or something like that? Perhaps since it was more of a voluntary treatment environment, people went there for different issues. I can't really comment on it, I don't know enough about it. I am only commenting on my own experience, I can't speak for other people. I was stealing and lying to get high in middle school, and I grew up to become an addict. I wish I was the people in that study that grew out of it but I didn't. I remember the names of people from treatment programs I was in too.
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Ok. But you don't seriously blame yourself in entirety, do you? I mean, I'm not saying that you should find someone to blame. I'm saying that troubled kids result from a confluence of factors. Usually, a clusterfuck of factors. Parents, temperment, biology, choices, hormones, trauma. Bad therapy... (no, I don't even mean programs - I mean inept "support")
I could blame other things like you list, but I would feel like I am being dishonest with myself. That is just how I feel at this point. My siblings did well in school and followed the rules of our family, at least for the most part. I chose to use drugs, and do whatever I wanted without thinking of the consequences. I did those things because I thought it was fun, I didn't care about my life, and I was self centered and would always be let off with a slap on the wrist, whether from my parents or from the police. So I wasn't frightened of authority, had basically zero supervision, and reacted to that in a very self destructive way. I took it too far and eventually had to be helped to climb back out of the hole that I dug.
Nobody else forced me to degenerate the way I did, it happened because a long series of poor choices on my part. I'm not sure who else I could blame. My parent did the best they could, I won't blame them. Perhaps biology, because both my parents are alcoholics/addicts and I've been told it runs in the family. Perhaps a lot of things. I agree with you that our lives are made up of a series of many different and unique experiences, and our reactions to it. I made so many poor choices that to blame anybody but myself would just be very dishonest. That's how I feel about it. But no I'm not a extremist with this ideology, I do believe some things are out of our control. But I do know it was my fault, and mine alone that I ended up in a program.
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Nobody forced you to degenerate, and you made some bad choices, but I'm not sure if the forces were all in your control. But that's just opinion. Sometimes, I take too much responsibility for things to avoid bitterness. If I just accept total responsbility, I don't have to be bitter toward someone else. And sure, many things are in the realm of my control/responsibility. But, I've also found that sometimes I take on responsibility for something that isn't mine to take. So I don't have to focus on resenting someone. I hate the feeling of disliking someone. I'm okay with someone not liking me. I know I'm good enough, and if I'm not to your taste, fine. But, I have a hard time not liking other people. Pretty strange, huh?
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Not many people want to talk about treatment programs, AA , sobriety and our issues when we were teens.
70% of the kids in program with me, including myself, were not there for drug related issues. Most were there for ADHD, aspergers, depression, lack of social skills, eating disorders, to finish high school, because their parents were getting divorced and so forth. I remember their names. I remember what they were there for. I remember how many graduated (3%). Now you can claim i'm lying but that's what their website advertises to so it's reasonable to assume they do that for a reason and gain such clientele. Most programs I know of are like this.
Maybe you were some wunderkid fuckup, but I highly doubt it. Most teens who use drugs, even to extreme, do not grow up to become addicts (http://http://www.peele.net/lib/panic.html). Furthermore:
Inpatient treatment programs are rarely justified for children's healthy development.10 They can even harm children by giving them identities as alcoholics or substance abusers, and setting them up for relapse.11
Psy, you and I both know there is a huge population of meth, cocaine, heroin and crack addicts out there between the ages of 15 - 18. They will not end up at Benchmark because statistically they come from families with little resources, they also have violent tendencies which can be very disruptive to a program. They would rather have the non-drug user because they are easier to deal with. Drug addicts are also more aggressive and manipulative upon coming into treatment.
Whether these kids grow up not to be drug addicts is a "crap shoot", where do you think the drug addicts of today came from, you and I, Psy. We were just the lucky ones.
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Nobody forced you to degenerate, and you made some bad choices, but I'm not sure if the forces were all in your control. But that's just opinion. Sometimes, I take too much responsibility for things to avoid bitterness. If I just accept total responsbility, I don't have to be bitter toward someone else. And sure, many things are in the realm of my control/responsibility. But, I've also found that sometimes I take on responsibility for something that isn't mine to take. So I don't have to focus on resenting someone. I hate the feeling of disliking someone. I'm okay with someone not liking me. I know I'm good enough, and if I'm not to your taste, fine. But, I have a hard time not liking other people. Pretty strange, huh?
I don't think it's that strange at all. To carry around any sort of negative energy can take it's toll, I think and I try to avoid it as well. I do agree with you that some things are out of our control. Addiction has always felt that way to me, something I can't control sometimes. The reason I say the reason I ended up in a program was my fault, was because my parents tried all the local options, and I successfully manipulated my way out of those until the only option was a long term private program. I could have stayed in the local residential treatment center, and had visiting rights, two people per room which was luxurious compared to the private program, we were allowed stereos and CD's and had a volleyball pit. But I knew if you wanted out bad enough, they wouldn't stop you. So I ended up back at the psychiatric hospital after some things happened after that, and from there the social worker and psychiatrist said he needs to go somewhere long term. I also want to say I appreciate that you talk about yourself in your posts. I enjoy reading other people's experiences and opinions and why they feel the way they do, I think it makes for a more meaningful conversation. thanks for posting.
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Not many people want to talk about treatment programs, AA , sobriety and our issues when we were teens.
70% of the kids in program with me, including myself, were not there for drug related issues. Most were there for ADHD, aspergers, depression, lack of social skills, eating disorders, to finish high school, because their parents were getting divorced and so forth. I remember their names. I remember what they were there for. I remember how many graduated (3%). Now you can claim i'm lying but that's what their website advertises to so it's reasonable to assume they do that for a reason and gain such clientele. Most programs I know of are like this.
Maybe you were some wunderkid fuckup, but I highly doubt it. Most teens who use drugs, even to extreme, do not grow up to become addicts (http://http://www.peele.net/lib/panic.html). Furthermore:
Inpatient treatment programs are rarely justified for children's healthy development.10 They can even harm children by giving them identities as alcoholics or substance abusers, and setting them up for relapse.11
What you just quoted is an explanation why I find this topic interesting enough for me to put the time in to posting on fornits. I'm not sure what that has to do with what the people you were in program with were there for. What percentage of people in Benchmark were "kids", as compared to legal adults? Isn't Benchmark for 17-28 year olds or something like that?
I'd say a good portion came there at 17. Probably around half. The rest were in fact over 18. I woulnd' say they were consenting adults, however. True consent requires it to be informed. They deceived people into enrolling. They made it look like a nice place on the tour, set up rigged interviews, flat out lied about elements of the program, and more. I consented to go to a boarding school where I would finish high school. I didn't consent to, and made it quite clear to both my parents and the program that I was not interested in changing. I was told change was optional and that they would not force me. They lied. Do you know what it's called when you sell one thing and deliver another? It's called fraud. It's called misrepresentation. I didn't consent to thought reform. I didn't consent to have my property, identification, and and any means of establishing myself on my own confiscated and held from me illegally. When adults want to leave Benchmark their property is held from them. They are told (eventually) to get jobs but are forced to sign their paychecks over to the program if they want to remain in good graces or ever have a relationship with their parents again.
I have no problem with consensual anything, but if you're thinking for one second I signed up for what I got, you're out of your mind. I was an extrovert back then. I could talk to a crowd of people without flinching, feeling nervous, or having this feeling of being surrounded. Watch the video I recorded at NYRA. That is not what I was. They did that to me. They did not help me. I thought they were saving my life when I was there but the truth is that all they did was demolish my sense of self and leave me hollow. I did nothing to deserve what was done, not that anybody did. It was an accident, and even my parents would admit that. They were deceived too. Maybe yours were evil. Maybe your did knew everything and did nothing. Maybe you're this way because you need your parents love and that's the approval you seek. Know what? It's not worth it to give up who you are just because your parents disapprove.
I'm not saying go do drugs. I never said that. I felt sorry for you when you would describe what state you were in... about Tijuana. What i'm saying is that you shouldn't do even the right things if it's for the wrong reasons. You should quit drugs for yourself, not because of conditional parental love, and you shouldn't praise the program just because you can't accept the fact that your parents abused you by proxy and had full knowledge of what went on. Your father knew how long you were in the Hobbit. Don't deny it was abuse. Accept it and if you can find it in your heart, forgive him.
Perhaps since it was more of a voluntary treatment environment, people went there for different issues. I can't really comment on it, I don't know enough about it. I am only commenting on my own experience, I can't speak for other people. I was stealing and lying to get high in middle school, and I grew up to become an addict. I wish I was the people in that study that grew out of it but I didn't. I remember the names of people from treatment programs I was in too.
You were traumatized when you left the program. You only knew one way to cope with the pain. I don't blame you for turning to drugs, but I think here you're reversing cause and effect.
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I am not in the position to forgive anyone for what happened to me in treatment. I was not wronged, in any other way than people finally showing me I wasn't allowed to destroy myself. It is me who must apologize to the people I hurt because of my behavior, not the other way around. If I could, I'd apologize to the staff I threatened and manipulated, and never thanked in the program. I'd also apologize to my family for being a self destructive, self centered drug addict who was more interested in my own selfish desires than the well being of our family. I will never get the opportunity to apologize to the staff at the program that I insulted and/threatened. I will never get to thank them for putting up with my arrogant, self centered, self destroying attitude. But I will eventually apologize to my family, in the form of a check, for the full amount of what they sacrificed in order for me to be saved from myself. I don't talk to my parents about my addiction issues, or the program and haven't in a long time. I'm not seeking any approval, but I do hope one day I will receive their forgiveness. Thanks for your post Psy.
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Are you seriously suggesting it is the posters' fault for not applying themsleves to an abusive program? Seriously?
Ok - so your assertion is that there are NO abusive programs. Anyone here who claims they did go through an abusive program as well as everyone off site who claims the same is LYING and didn't aplly themselves properly? Wow.
I am asking Max why he spends so much time here when the program saved his life and everyone here is according to him, a loser. I am wondering why you live here when you could be focusing on saving more youths in your program. It really just defies understanding.
If I thought everyone here was a liar and if I were as apathetic to the abuse they experienced as you are, I would not waste my time. To do so would only prove I am sadistic, rather than merely ignorant.
You are super talented at twisting stuff around though - did you take classes for that or does it come naturally?
:tup:
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A better thread would be, "How to get revenge on your asshole fuckwit parents for sending you to an abusive shithole."
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It’s the few who were harmed by the programs or didn’t apply themselves and therefore didn’t do well who post here.
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Didn't apply themselves? Ahh hah hah! I am pretty sure that the program never told my mother that "applying myself" was a requirement. To apply yourself implies that you have consented to this treatment, I certainly never did. Furthermore it is my belief that nearly everyone is harmed by these programs and the number of kids who get positive results from them is so laughably minuscule that it is hardly worth mentioning.
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It’s the few who were harmed by the programs or didn’t apply themselves and therefore didn’t do well who post here.
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Here's some of the "few" that were not only harmed, but killed by programs.
http://www.caica.org/NEWS%20Deaths%20Li ... mitted.htm (http://www.caica.org/NEWS%20Deaths%20List%20of%20Names%20-names%20omitted.htm)
Sadly, the list is too long to copy/paste.
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A better thread would be, "How to get revenge on your asshole fuckwit parents for sending you to an abusive shithole."
Before i read up on the last few posts on this thread, i have to say kudos to you, Gookin, for this post ^
The very title of this thread rubbed me the wrong way from the start... that godawful word used in the program context... "manipulating".... jesus...can someone take over for me here..
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There are many who have "manipulated their way out of the program" by simply killing themselves while at the program. Sadly, many would rather die than remain on earth tortured and abused for fun and profit.
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There are many who have "manipulated their way out of the program" by simply killing themselves while at the program. Sadly, many would rather die than remain on earth tortured and abused for fun and profit.
Well said.
But those "manipulative druggies" probably would have done that sooner or later anyway, right?
That's just part of their "druggie behavior?" ::puke::
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I attempted suicide before the program, and then in it. So in my own case, I can't speak for others, it wasn't so much because of the program itself. It was a constant battle I was having with myself. That's why I was kept on suicide watch for almost my entire time at the program, and that worked in keeping me safe from myself, for the most part.
What if a parent finds a teen attempting suicide at home, or God forbid finds them hanging in the closet or something, does that mean those parents are somehow guilty of abuse? I'm not saying people haven't committed suicide in programs, I know that happens, but how can you automatically assume you know their reasons? I say this respectfully.
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It's only a shame you didn't succeed.
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A better thread would be, "How to get revenge on your asshole fuckwit parents for sending you to an abusive shithole."
Before i read up on the last few posts on this thread, i have to say kudos to you, Gookin, for this post ^
:tup:
The very title of this thread rubbed me the wrong way from the start...
I think that was his intent, although he's constantly changing the thread titles.
that godawful word used in the program context... "manipulating".... jesus...can someone take over for me here..
Was just reading in the Deaths in Facilities section over on Caica and, as we all know, there are many deaths due to the fact that the staff are trained to think that any complaining that a kid does is all manipulation. I don't know when or where America got so off track that we've pathologised (sp?) adolescence. It seems that whenever a teen of one of these kinds of parents starts to develop their own thoughts, ideas and values...the parents panic because the kid isn't living up to what the parents want them to be. I said yesterday that a lot of this really is about control for these parents. Children are not commodities and they're not our property. It's not our job to mold them into what we want them to be. It's our job to help them realize their own hopes and dreams, not ours for them.
Aaron Bacon's story is one of the saddest I've ever heard. That poor kid suffered unbelievably because the staff thought he was being "manipulative" when he repeatedly complained of stomach pains. He died a horribly torturous death because the staff ignored his pleas for help. His father's testimony follows:
Testimony of Bob Bacon, father of Aaron Bacon
Committee on Education and Labor
October 10, 2007
Chairman Miller and Distinguished Committee Members, my name is Bob Bacon, the father of Aaron Bacon. Speaking for my wife, and Aaron’s mother Sally, his brother Jarid and his sister Kia Sullivan; and speaking on behalf of the many families not at this table whose lives have been shattered by these fraudulent programs, we deeply appreciate your efforts to put a stop to this country’s growing industry of institutionalized child abuse.
During our search for the best alternative to the remaining three months of Aaron’s sophomore year in high school, my wife and I spoke with therapists, counselors, pastors and doctors until we were eventually referred by friends to North Star Expeditions, a now defunct, but formerly licensed Utah-based program that billed itself as a “wilderness therapy program for troubled teens.”
After reading their very compelling brochure, speaking to their office by phone, and finally meeting the owners for a personal interview, we thought we had found the perfect situation: Caring people who were experienced in counseling kids who were struggling with drugs and social pressure – and to top it off - writing in a daily journal we were told was an integral part of their “counseling” program.
As a writer, we felt journaling would help Aaron to sort things out; and we were certain that, as a poet Aaron would find the awesome beauty of southern Utah to be inspirational and spiritually healing.
Of course, being normal, trusting and honest people ourselves– we assumed we were being told the truth. We were dead wrong. His mother and I will never escape our decision to send our gifted 16 year old son to his death at North Star. The guilt of our apparent naiveté was crippling. We were conned by their fraudulent claims, and will go to our graves regretting our gullibility.
Adding further to our regret, we were talked into using their escort service. Aaron was taken from his bed at 5:00 AM on Tuesday morning, March the 1st, 1994 by two burley strangers who announced to Aaron with a tone of authority that any resistance on his part would be countered with whatever physical force was necessary. He was not allowed to speak to us, or put on any shoes. His eyes expressed a strange mixture of anger, despair, fear and loving sadness. I was able to manage only the briefest of hugs which, being restrained, he could not return.
In the trauma of this surreal instant I offered words of comfort without thinking of their potentially ominous meaning when I said, “Aaron, I know you will find God in the wilderness.”
Little did I know that these would be the last words I would ever speak to my youngest son! His mother managed only a fleeting moment to cradle his face in her hands and utter her spontaneous words of love and the assurance that he would later see that this was really for the best.
I cried inconsolably from the depths of my soul as the escort van backed out of our driveway with our terrified son silently pleading with his sad eyes for us not to send him away. This excruciating scene would have to serve for the rest of our lives as the last living memory of our beautiful son.
Aaron arrived in the Escalante Wilderness Area of southern Utah that same night and waited a few days for a brief intake exam, indoctrination into the rules of the program, and the issue of ill-fitting shoes and clothing.
This picture of him was taken on March 8th, when he was noted as weighing 131 pounds on a lanky 5’-11” frame. Aaron’s bloody and tattered journal would contain no poetry, but would record in his own words an unbelievable account of torture, abuse and neglect; a horrific tale that is corroborated by the journals of the so called “counselors”, along with the journals and sworn testimony of his troubled young cohorts.
This calendar was assembled by criminal investigators from program records and chronicles 21 days of ruthless and relentless physical and psychological abuse and neglect. Aaron spent 14 of his 20 days on the trail without any food whatsoever, while being forced to hike 8-10 miles per day.
On the days he did have food it consisted of undercooked lentils, lizards, scorpions, trail mix, and a celebrated canned peach on the 13th . On top of this, with temperatures below freezing, he endured 13 of 20 nights with only a thin wool blanket, plus 5 nights without warmth or protection of any kind.
Aaron complained of severe stomach pain and asked to see a doctor as early as the third day of hiking, and by the tenth day had lost all control of his bodily functions; but unbelievably, as he got weaker and lost nearly 20% of his body weight they repeatedly refused to send him to a doctor.
Taken from what appears to be the industry handbook, their policy had predetermined that these kids are all liars and manipulators and therefore “Aaron was faking.”
[Slide #3] This grotesque skeleton is what Aaron looked like when he was seen the evening before he died by Georgette Costigan, the registered EMT who, still insisting that he was faking, didn’t even take his vital signs, but instead took the occasion to barter a meager piece of cheese in return for his promise to try harder and hike the following day.
This company employed EMT, and relative of owner Bill Henry, dismissed his final desperate plea to see a doctor who could prove he wasn’t faking and made a conscious decision to prove a point rather than render aid, thus effectively killing our son rather than saving him.
What you cannot see in these photos are the bruises, cuts, lesions, rashes, blisters and open sores that covered Aaron’s body from head to toe. These scars of abuse and the dried skin stretched taut over his bones are what his mother and I were left to discover without any warning when the sheet was pulled back at the mortuary. This, we screamed, could not be our son as we grabbed each other and collapsed to our knees, but the scar above his now sunken right eye told us that it was.
It was in that one shocking moment of proof that our lives changed forever. The stories of Aaron’s death and the others who have died, or survived the abuses of these programs, are chilling reminders of the dangers of absolute power, and point out the extremely high risks we take in allowing these programs to operate without strict regulation and oversight.
This country, this congress and this committee are faced as never before with several urgent and critically important choices. If we choose economic growth over human rights; if we choose no-growth-in-government over the safety of our children; and if we continue to place our faith in the self-regulation of private enterprise over the mandate of our government to protect our nation’s health, safety and welfare, we are choosing to fail in our sacred obligations to our children, our families, and our future.
I implore you, as I know Aaron would, to PLEASE stop paying lip service to “family values” and start placing “value-in-families.” We can do this in part, by investing the resources of the American people in our children who will soon inherit our challenging legacy; and we can START NOW by putting a stop to these fraudulent and destructive programs of institutionalized child abuse.
Respectfully,
Bob Bacon, father
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I attempted suicide before the program, and then in it. So in my own case, I can't speak for others, it wasn't so much because of the program itself. It was a constant battle I was having with myself. That's why I was kept on suicide watch for almost my entire time at the program, and that worked in keeping me safe from myself, for the most part.
What if a parent finds a teen attempting suicide at home, or God forbid finds them hanging in the closet or something, does that mean those parents are somehow guilty of abuse? I'm not saying people haven't committed suicide in programs, I know that happens, but how can you automatically assume you know their reasons? I say this respectfully.
So there are two questions here:
1. What if a parent finds a teen attempting suicide at home does that mean those parents are somehow guilty of abuse?
-- Answer: Of course not.
2. Of those who committed suicide in programs, can you automatically assume you know their reasons?
-- Answer: No, you cannot always...however, some (despite your saying a program saved your life) just couldn't take it.
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So there are two questions here:
1. What if a parent finds a teen attempting suicide at home does that mean those parents are somehow guilty of abuse?
-- Answer: Of course not.
2. Of those who committed suicide in programs, can you automatically assume you know their reasons?
-- Answer: No, you cannot always...however, some (despite your saying a program saved your life) just couldn't take it.
Agreed. Especially given the methods used in many programs (LGATs, confrontational/attack "therapy", isolation from family and friends and pretty much the entire outside world). The kids in these places have no 'touchstone', no reality check so-to-speak, to even realize if what's being done to them is 'normal and therapeutic' or abusive or what. They're not allowed to question these methods and know if they do dare to speak up and question what's being done to them, the punishments will be quick and severe.
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If I tried to kill myself in a program and they stopped me and kept me from doing it, would it be a factual statement to say the program saved my life? Perhaps this might better help people understand my terminology.
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pRETEND u are insane, act as much of a disturbance and fight them to the death... never give in and never give up.. thats how I did it
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I guess it would really depend on the program and your parents. At the programs I am familiar with if you break the rules you will be kicked out so it is fairly easy to get out if you want to. For example if you try to run away more than once or twice, start fighting, pull a knife on someone, strike a counselor etc. you will be sent home and your parents will lose whatever they have paid to date (hopefully they didn’t prepay for the whole year).
Next after you have been kicked out what will your parents do? Send you to a stricter program? Give up and let you move out onto the streets? Let the legal system deal with you? These should be considered before getting yourself kicked out.
The best course for any kid would be to take advantage of their time in the program, move ahead with their academics, work with their therapist on personal issues and graduate a stronger more focused person. Its hard to convince a teenager of this, I know, but this would be the best advice.
...
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I guess it would really depend on the program and your parents. At the programs I am familiar with if you break the rules you will be kicked out so it is fairly easy to get out if you want to. For example if you try to run away more than once or twice, start fighting, pull a knife on someone, strike a counselor etc. you will be sent home and your parents will lose whatever they have paid to date
What program was this? If that had been the case when I was incarcerated at HLA I would gotten out much sooner then I did. If all you have to do is beat up a counselor those places would be ghost towns. No, at HLA (and many other places) the threat is, "Do what we say or we'll send you some place worse." With HLA that threat was always focused towards 3 Springs. Just another manipulative tactic from this abusive industry.
The best course for any kid would be to take advantage of their time in the program, move ahead with their academics
Take advantage of time locked up? Move ahead with academics? Academics come secondary at these places, you can't fail the classes, and many of them don't offer transferable credits to legitimate schools.
work with their therapist on personal issues and graduate a stronger more focused person.
You mean their unlicensed therapist who's offering hack ineffective therapy? How are they supposed to become a stronger more focused person under that?
Its hard to convince a teenager of this, I know, but this would be the best advice.
Are you kidding? You just told them if they beat up a staff member they get to go home. That may be the best advice you've ever posted on here.
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:cheers:
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I agree that there is absolutely no way Max was in a program. Your presence here is insulting to the rest of us who were. Your language reminds me of the brainwashing crap that program personnel feeds to parents. Brainwashing tactics that keep parents from feeling guilty for ignoring their children's please for help. Brain washing tactics used to keep parents from pulling their kids out of an abusive situation. You are either a liar and an impostor or you are crazy. EITHER way, your post is doing a disservice to kids who are or have been institutionally abused. I hope you dont' have children, Max.
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Yeah, yeah. I know. I shouldn't even bother responding to you.
At the programs I am familiar with if you break the rules you will be kicked out so it is fairly easy to get out if you want to.
Breaking the rules, running away, or getting in fights was grounds for being sent to a isolation room with a plank of wood to sleep on and no bathroom. Being sent there enough times (or doing something really daring) would get you sent to Tranquility Bay. The enrollment agreement stated kids could be sent to Jamaica at the staff's discretion with 72 hours notice. If the parents could not be contacted within this time frame they had the authority to send the kid there without explicit permission.
The best course for any kid would be to take advantage of their time in the program, move ahead with their academics . . .
My program had fake accreditation. The textbooks were tattered, vandalized, and 10 years out of date. The 'teachers' were there to grade tests. I could finish an entire 'class' in about 3 days. I learned nothing and gained nothing.
. . . work with their therapist on personal issues . . .
My 'therapist' accused me of manipulating when I asked if she could help me contact my father - who was unaware I had even been sent to a program - and told everything I said to the program staff. She was the one who informed me I could be set to Jamaica on a whim(where, in her words "the Jamaican Mamas sit on you".)
. . . and graduate a stronger more focused person.
Yeah. If dissociation is a life skill.
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Academics were not secondary or tertiary... Just fraudulent/non-existent/made up.
There were no individual therapist at mine. There was no individualized anything. Hell, I would get more individualized resources at the public school my child attends.
Later, to comply, they hired a psych - who had an assistant implicated in homicides. This doc also was nothing more than a puppet. His job was to keep you drugged up.
I'm not sure why Whooter thinks we should learn and grow in an environment that is based on insularity, isolation,therapeutic fraud and psychological mind fuckery.
Manipulating your way out of the program is a bit hard when you are a minor. Also, it's hard to manipulate the Masters.
Sure, you could commit crimes to get out, but that would just compound your label as criminalized youths. Most of us were not criminals any way; and they held the threat of a CEDU style lock up over our heads.
The only kids I know who were kicked out were kicked out for a plan to commit arson. No one thought it was serious, but staff had to protect their investments. Don't know what happened to the kids, or if staff were even honest about it. But I sure as hell wasn't going to go on a burning rampage to get out of hell. Mama always taught me "don't play with fire."