Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Straight, Inc. and Derivatives

Growing Together of Lake Worth, Florida

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Antigen:
More than allegations Check again, please. I gave you a link to some old news items that tell the tale of successful lawsuits and Ken (who was a proud graduate of Straight, Cincinatti for some years) gave you some info on a more recent criminal conviction (not just an allegation, a conviction... though in my opinion it landed on the wrong party)


No, we're not all a bunch of program failures. When I left Straight, Sarasota in `82 I was on 5th phase, pretraining for staff. Many, if not most of the people who post to this forum are graduates and/or former staff or parents. Most of us are doing alright, though a few have come through here who aren't alright at all.

There are very real and sometimes longterm side effects from the isolation, humiliation and pressure tactic used in these programs. If you're not comfortable with the way they're treating the parents, please know that your son is getting it in spades and has no escape, not even a moment of privacy to reflect.


Right now, you have more factual information about what's going on at GT right now than any of us. Not to put too fine a point on it, I know you're in a tough situation and trying your best to do what's right, but I'd like for you to examine the way you're staging the question.


Apparently you're unable to speak with your son or you wouldn't be asking strangers what's going on inside GT. Is that correct? And, instead of asking if any of us have any reason to believe you should be concerned, you seem to be asking whether or not any of us has absolute proof that something is wrong.


In essence, you've turned your son over to total strangers; never even having met with anyone who's completed the program; you don't seem to have any reason to believe that they're not abusing him and you do have ample reason to believe that these same people have abused children in the past.


Mm. or sir, I cannot give you absolute proof that they're doing bad things to your son in there. But I'd get him the hell out of there if I were you just on what you've got so far.


As for what to do next, almost anything is better than abandonment. I know you don't see it that way. The Program staff is probably giving you all kinds of strokes for being such a good parent, paying all the money, attending meetings, dealing with the anguish of not being able to see your son or know that he's safe.


But if GT today is anything at all like they were in the past and like all of the other programs run by the same affiliated people (and I have no reason to believe otherwise), they're telling him just exactly that; your parents don't want you or they wouldn't have brought you here, they wouldn't believe you even if you did tell them what we're doing to you. This is very often true. I'd bet dollars to donoughts they're telling you that you aren't capable of knowing whether or not your son, who you've known and loved all these years, is lying to you. They tell you they have 'special awareness' in dealing with teenagers (asif teenagers were some kind of wild animal and not just young people) and that only they can determine when he's telling the truth. (i.e. when he breaks down and supports their story on any particular point)


All of these bad behaviors you attribute to your son are very definitely cause for concern. But none of them are new to this generation. What did people do with wayward kids for the past couple of hundred generations? Send them to a different environment (boarding school, rural relatives, whatever); keep them busy with various activities; encourage them to do something better, different; let them fall down (but don't cause them to!) and then be there to support them and give direction when they realize they've messed up and ask for help....


There is no simple solution to raising kids no matter how much money and commitment the Program coaxes out of you. If things seem fishy to you for some reason after a month, trust your gut. Like so many other kids, your son will probably learn from his mistakes and outgrow his wild ways even without any help. But it's a lot easier to get situated in life when you have family to depend on.

Elle:
Caution In my opinion, even if it was an allegation, parents need to be weary of what a treatment center did that was so bad, it made a youth report go to such lengths of lying to the athorities.


Since leaving the abusive center I was in, I've gone on to accomplish plenty of great things, and am not on drugs. However, I am very bitter against abusive centers and cults, because of the pain that has been caused to me.


The defiancy in your teen may one day be his greatest quality. Love the fact that he's got determination and individuality, even if he may be aiming it in the wrong directions.


Good luck,


            Elle.  

ramprato:
Take off the blinders before it's too late......... Ok, like Ginger was saying I was in Straight Cincinnati, I was put in there 19 years ago Oct 16th, 1982, a year or so before junior was born and I haven't had a substance since. I "graduated" from there and went on with my life trial and error like everybody else. The only difference was that I was contacted by a former Straight Parent whose kid got abused terribly and will have to be in special care for the rest of his life because of the type of "therapy" he received.


This man did his homework and educated me how Straight Inc. and its spin-offs destroyed thousands of families and made millions at it. I already provided you with his link in my last post to you, I will add that everything he wrote down in that website can be backed up with legitimate sources. I found out by reading up on all these sites that I was experiencing PTSD in the ways of nightmares, flashbacks, depression, and unnecessary guilt for starts. I blamed myself for everything that was ever wrong with my family. That's is what those so-called "therapeutic" places teach. They make YOU the parent faultless and stick all the blame in the world on your kid. That's a hell of an incentive to keep your kid there. They tell you your kid is manipulative and label him a "druggie", when all the time they are the true manipulators and have had literally 30 years in its current state to perfect to work the most to their advantage.


In one ear and out the other??? Now frankly, I don't suffer one bit no matter what you decide to do, the damage done to me all those years ago is done, I am only doing this for your kid, trying to save at least one person from experiencing what I did by simply telling you the truth. Verbal abuse is the worst form, your kid can not have any privacy and therefore can not escape it, because it is drilled in him from the early morning when he wakes up, till late at night when he goes to bed, no brakes from it ever, this is BRAINWASHING. They will tell him how worthless he is, how he screwed everybody over. Over and over again he will hear these statements they continually made in his mind until he actually believes it himself. he will lose reasoning ability because of this, you will become blameless and he will become blameful in his mind. Essentially you are allowing them to intervene in his natural ability to make mistakes on his own and learn from them as part of becoming an adult. If you allow them to manipulate you daily (as they will do) to keep you kid in there telling you he will be dead without them, then that's on you, consider yourself warned, you have to live with falling prey to their manipulation of your family situation, and you have to live with the decision you make of what you do about it, not me.  


How are those parent group discussions these days? I agree with Ginger, I bet they are leaving you alone now, just give it a little time, soon you will be confronted for even questioning them at GT by having the audacity to talk to us heathens. I think your trying to make yourself "right" no matter what you came on telling us all these things wrong with your son, nothing about what was wrong with you, or others in your family that contributed to dysfunction, it was ALL him, Ok, sure.


If I seem impassioned about this topic, good, I have seen a lot in these last 19 years most of those who were on staff telling me what to do without question are back using drugs, so much for that once boasted 75% success rate they were promoting all those years ago. Some are dead. Some are getting along OK, but are in therapy, wonder why they need therapy? Some are drinking, some aren't, a lot still believe they have drug problems, maybe some really did, but does that mean that everybody that went in there had a "problem", or were the majority of people in there from upper income families that afford to be there and pay the high price.


Oh yeah, why don't I use? I take a bit of medicine now and then and a good adult decision would be not to use any substance while taking medicine, you want the best healing advantage you can get, so how about that, an adult choice has been made without the "help" of Straight Inc., or GT.

2dogs2:
Quick fix  Hey if you are looking to keep your kid off drugs for a while ,you have got him somewhere where he can't get any. Good.  Now are you prepared to to see your child with problems for the rest of his life!  They may not be very big problems but he will have some, Even now the damage is being done. Or they could be huge problems, some former clients of "Straight based" programs have commited suicide because they could not get this crap out of there heads.  I , myself was there once.  

  I graduated from Straight Inc. in Dec. 1987 and it was one of the proudest days of my life. I hugged my Mom and Dad and brothers and sister. And set out on my new life that was going to take me so far.........  

   It was only a couple of days after I got out that I started getting scared.  Everybody in the "real" world was saying and doing things that I couldn't understand. 'Bad "things. Even other people that were clean & sober.  I was all alone. The only people that I could talk to were inside and I was not aloud to see them anymore.

   You see , This type of theropy takes away all reality and I mean all of it. And replaces it with a "group conscience". It really works for most.  For people , like your son,  who have a twisted sense of reality , it will replace that with a bunch of crap that works great inside the program for moving along sucsessfully and feeling good(?). He will probably even tell you he likes it and believe it himself, I did. But none of these programs ever explain to their clients that when they get out that all of the stuff they have learned is worthless on the outside when there IS no group!

   No offense but you sound like you too are struggling with a little something. Maybe all your kid needs is to know that it's not his fault. You probably screwed your kid up ,you probably alread know this but if you got your kid out and told him how you feel about this (failing as a parent) he may not need another bit of help ...ever!   I'm really not trying to be mean by saying this. I wish this could have been the story with me. First word is the only one that is hard to say , the rest are easy. One word.  

   If you get him out you should skip town right from the place and got somewhere where there are NO distractions. I hope this helps. I don't claim to be right , This is just what I think....  Good luck, To both of you........2-dogs

LESTAT49203:
Re: Growing Together of Lake Worth, Florida I had to chuckle to myself when I read that part of your post that said you wanted to hear the success storyies from the 7 Steppers, or maybe Staff from Straight.  Sorry but I don't think there are very many that will contribute there success to Straight.  Thats what these guys have been trying to tell you all along.  Well if it make's you feel better hearing it from a 7 Stepped Staff member of the old program than here it goes.  I was molded and twisted by the program, just like everyone else is trying to describe.  We all were forced threw countless nights of sleep deprivation, so called postive peer pressure which consisted of restraining clients on the floor till they went along with the program's rules. etc. etc.  I never was able to take a good look at it till after I left staff to get married.  It was then I was able to sit back and take a good long look at what had actualy happened to me while I was there.  And what was happening to others still.  If you want an honest opinion from someone that was there, Straight, and Straight like programs have always been very abusive.  Read some of the stories on this board if you realy want to know what those place's are like.  I haven't seen one lie or exageration on it the whole time Ive been here.  Sorry I dont know of any better treatment for your boy.  I know its a hard place to be in.  I would suggest letting him take his lumps as a young adolesent, rather than put him in a place like that.  Everyone of us still ended up having to take our lumps anyway once we got out and had to start dealing with the real world again.  Don't send him to a mental prison to keep him from going to jail.   Cincy84

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