Carlbrook

[Anonymous]

Breaking the pattern of manipulation is important.  Most kids that end up at Carlbrook are very bright and have learned manipulation techniques fueled by high IQ's.  Daily phone calls can become bitch sessions.  By the time my kid finished Carlbrook he/she was allowed (had earned the privelege) to call me one day, her mother one day, and his/her sister one day.  So, really, he/she was talking to one of us every other day.  That was a pleasant time actually.  We all looked forward to the calls and never had time for too much bitching.  Ted

[Anonymous]

Perhaps if they weren't escorted there they wouldn't 'bitch' so much.

[Anonymous]

Oh, please.  Spare me.

[Anonymous]

It's a legitimate complaint. Escorting is not safe at all.

[OKB4RMA]

Please compare and contrast the workshops at Carlbrook vs the workshops at RMA. I felt that the workshops at RMA were very traumatic experiences.

I would prefer not to hear generic "nothing in life is easy" answers. I would prefer to hear details regarding the specific exercises that are part of the workshops.

To make things more open and focused I would like to hear more about whatever workshop would be similar to our "Truth Propheet". I assume that that would be the first workshop's "topic" at Carlbrook also. Basically...a play by play account of the whole propheet/workshop would be nice.

[Anonymous]

I haven't been in the workshops.  I did a mini version for parents of the first one. It was about living your "lie" or your "truth". When my kid wants to give me all the details I'll see if he/she will be willing to share them with you. Again, it is his/her story to tell, not mine. It appears that you may not agree with this model so it's doubtful that anyone is going to share something that's important to them and to their self-esteem if they feel emotionally threatened.  I know nothing about RMA.   Ted

[Troll Control]

More disturbing information about Carlbrook surfaces...  As if having Tim Brace running the show weren't enough, this was posted on another thread:

I have been reading the feedback from all the posters about the pro's and con's of Carlbrook.
The foundation every program is built on, is the credibility of the owners and employees of the program, regardless of the type of program. The first person on the list of key people for Carlbrook is Dr. Glenn Bender. He states on his resume he has 25 years experience as an educator and employee of a number of programs and schools.
Dr. Bender seems to have forgotten his place of employment just before Carlbrook. From 1999 until he started at Carlbrook, Dr. Bender was the Director of Admissions and Marketing at Alldredge Academy in Davis,West Virginia. In Feb 2001 a child died at Alldredge Academy. One year later, Alldredge Academy pleaded guilty to "Child neglect resulting in death". Dr Bender was the primary recruiter of that childs family. He assured the family that Alldredge Academy was a safe and appropriate placement for a child with depression yet when the child died as a result of depression, Dr. Bender seemed to disappear. I can understand why Dr. Bender would not want to list an employer with a criminal conviction on his resume, considering he was a major player in the crime. In every field, weather it is academics or business, falsifying a resume is a serious breach of ethics usually resulting in dismissal. Did the other principals of Carlbrook not know or not care? In either event this creates a credibility issue and calls into question the honesty of the entire program.

IMO this doesn't "call into question" the credibility of Carlbrook, they already have none.  This just proves what everyone else has been saying.  It just takes a little time for all of the REAL information to come out.  It took eleven years for HLA's past to catch up and they're going through a REMARKABLE unravelling that will more than likely end up with charges of fraud and financial/ethical impropriety.

For everyone who was mistreated at Carlbrook, keep speaking out until the truth becomes self-evident.

[Anonymous]

I haven't heard ANYONE say they were mistreated at Carlbrook.  Good try, DJ, but there is simply no evidence of that.
Tim Brace does not run the show- Grant Price does.
The presence of Glenn Bender on campus, while a waste of resources, means absolutely nothing as far as whether the program is sound and kids benefit from it.

[Troll Control]

Well, it goes to show that they hire the trash thrown out by other facilities.  That can't be good.

Anyway...

The presence of Glenn Bender on campus, while a waste of resources, means absolutely nothing as far as whether the program is sound and kids benefit from it.

Can you show any studies that DO show the program works?  I'm interested in ANY clinical documentation that exists about the efficacy of Carlbrook's "program."  Surely you can quote some or provide references to them, right?

If not, are we left to just taking your word for it that it works?

[try another castle]

Breaking the pattern of manipulation is important. Most kids that end up at Carlbrook are very bright and have learned manipulation techniques fueled by high IQ's

Okay, I'm not naive enough to think that teens aren't manipulative, (most people are manipulative to SOME degree. It's part of being a human being.) but that mentality about "breaking manipulation" is a constant thread throughout behavior mod programs. ESPECIALLY if the kid tries to complain about something in the program. The staff will say "If you ever get any letter or phone calls from the kid saying that something is wrong at the program, they are just manipulating you and lying to you to try to get out."

Whenever a kid complains about ANYTHING in a program they are automatically considered being manipulative. You know, kids have died because of this mentality.

It suits the behavior mod industry just fine to label any kid who has a problem with their program manipulative. It automatically invalidates any true complaint someone might have. And unfortunately, the parents just fall right into that trap.

Word of advice, if the school gives you the old manipulation line, that is a SERIOUS red flag.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, Ted, I forgot to warn you not to use the M-word (manipulation) on this forum. It brings forth the ponies' one trick.
Karen

[Anonymous]

I don't know what you mean by "works".  The program can be beneficial for a struggling teen and the teen's family. Spending that kind of money and sending your kid to a program is a last resort. There is no guarantee that at the end of 14 months (or in our case, 9) you will receive a Stepford-kid. There are some kids who flounder once they are back out in the real world. They return to drug use, get arrested or quit school. However, there is a good chance that your kid will figure out what went wrong at home and what needs to be corrected- both within him or her and with the family dynamics- for life to go a little better. The kid is going to school, not using drugs or drinking, not doing dangerous things with cars, not being physically or verbally abusive to family members and getting therapy.  The police aren't on the doorstep.
The staff is dedicated and caring. (Again, with one exception in our case) The facility is nice. The food is good, although the girls got pretty fat while my son was there.  
I'm sorry, DJ, but I really don't get what your problem is with this place.
Karen

[Anonymous]

So what are you saying, that it doesn't happen?  Shit, it happens on a disturbing regularity.  Take a look at this list http://www.kathymoya.com/FICA/therapydeaths.htm

I would venture to say that most of the deaths that have been attributed to 'restraint' and cardiac problems/heat stroke etc. have the "malingering" factor in there.  When you read the accounts of what happened more often than not you see the staff saying that they thought the kid was faking.  Hell in the recent boot camp death of ?Martin Anderson  they shoved ammonia capsules up his nose and beat him while he was completely limp and unconscious because of that very reason.  They thought he was faking to get out of doing the exercises.

[Anonymous]

There have been no deaths or injuries due to restraint or anything else at Carlbrook.  While my son was there he and a couple of other kids had some athletic injuries.

[Troll Control]

However, there is a good chance that your kid will figure out what went wrong at home and what needs to be corrected

What do you mean by "a good chance"?  Are we to rely on the "good word" of one parent that this facility "works"?

Please reference any SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE you have to support this claim.  Please cite the study that was performed to assess this "chance."  Thanks.