MMS was doing all this repressive therapy work when Norina was there, and of course while I was there. Some of the girls did intense work, myself included, that often involved free writing of past painful shit- the aim: getting in touch with that inner child that has hurt so badly, presumambly in hopes of uncovering past memories??? Who knows, I don't think they had any idea what they were doing. But at that time is was common for girls to go in and out of dissaccociative states and fall into 'different personalities' for lack of better term, that would bring out different stories from their childhood. MMS even named the different 'personalities' - well, John would name them and he really focused on that for a while. I would call us his guinea pigs given he had NO IDEA what he was doing. After a while it was virtually impossible to discern truth from fact.
I know MMS got much much worse once I left- I almost have nothing to be alarmed by in terms of my own experience comparatively, that's alarming in and of itself! It's not about me, though. While I feel I have an obligation to myself, yes I feel it more toward the girls who's stories I hear and who feel all messed up about the experience- and for the girls who are there now who are being molded into MMS atomatrons and who, for the next few years will go through the shock and agony of having to relinquish their minds and instead of thinking, will be regurgitating rhetoric with the fear of never going home/getting love at home and work/excersize miserably until they one day
leave, peice of paper in hand delineating protocol to prevent certain 'old behaviors' from reappearing (that doesn't work b/c often issues are exaggerated while there and real issue not dealt with- whatever 'tools' received are meaningless/worthless in real world) Then realizing that John Mercer's methods of teaching were not really applicable to the real world, and the therapy was in reality non-helpful in its simplicity, they make a phone call which are
never returned in hopes of some answers as to how to proceed. Like the article that PhD wrote posted somewhere on MMS/fornits, explaining that forcing a kid in a contrlled environement does not mean it will be a success outside of the program b/c it assumes that somehow the kid will internalize that outside control and that has not been seen to be the case nor the method effective.
I would say most of us at MMS wanted help. I think it unlikely most of us got the help that was appropriate for us. Common sense would certainly dictate otherwise.
Again, po'dunk therapy IMHO.[ This Message was edited by: katfish on 2005-07-31 12:59 ]