Help At Any Cost

[shanlea]

I haven't read the Help At Any Cost book yet, but I am planning to... Especially since it could be relevant to my profession. I just got word the author, Maia, is appearing at Borders Books in Columbus Circle in NYC on March 23rd to anyone interested. I might see if I can work it in myself.

[Antigen]

Hey, she's got a newsletter and an events page too. She's doing quite a lot of solid promotion. Check out http://HelpAtAnyCost.com/

...it is in fact nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail.
--Albert Einstein

[Anonymous]

I was reading Maia's bio, and saw that she worked on Charlie Rose's show on PBS (I love him) and also did some work associated with Barabara Walters. Barbara's daughter Jackie went to a CEDU affiliate and has since started her own program that I know nothing about.  However, I've read here that she was close to Carolyn Wolf, a student/staff member who not only was a vicious participator in the program but may have breached a pantheon of therapeutic ethical boundaries.  (I know I know, they all did to greater or lesser extent) I wondered if Barbara or Jackie ever reviewed the abuses of these programs and could effectively bring them to light in the media or if they continue to operate with ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Maia worked on an Aids project that Barbara Walters was associated with but did not work with her.  Her attempts to contact Jackie about her program etc. were not returned.

[Anonymous]

Jackie's program is not at all abusive. Quite the opposite. She does not have many fond memories of her time in a CEDU program and actually says she was abused. She is trying to make a difference and provide a non-punitive option.

[try another castle]

On 2006-03-04 18:30:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Jackie's program is not at all abusive. Quite the opposite. She does not have many fond memories of her time in a CEDU program and actually says she was abused. She is trying to make a difference and provide a non-punitive option. "

I'm surprised to hear that. Jackie talks glowingly about Rocky Mountain Academy on the New Horizons site.

http://www.daughtersatrisk.com/dateline.html

"Jackie stayed for three years and credits the program with saving her life."

Maybe she has changed her mind since this 2002 interview.

And in her testimony:

Finally, at their wits' end, [my parents]sent me to an emotional growth/outdoor program much like  New Horizons.

That program changed my life. No, it wasn't a cure-all. But I turned a corner, started on a healthier path, and I  am now living a happy, successful life.

So here she is implying that her school model is actually based on the Rocky Mountain Academy model. (Also, I don't think it's any small accident that the name of the school, New Horizons, is the same name as one of the "families" [i.e. levels] from RMA.)

Another interesting little tidbit:

"I always have thought that if everybody else can do it, I can, too," she says. "I sat back, and I thought what would be the best business that I could run?"

Jackie had never run a business, but she did know how it was to be a mixed up teenager.

and...

Jane Pauley: "You didn?t have any experience running an organization, much less creating one from scratch. What in the world made you think that you had any expertise to make this happen?"

Jackie Danforth: "It?s one of those things where I jump in with two feet. And I ask a lot of questions. I am not a therapist. I don?t have any credentials, didn?t graduate college. But I hire people that are very qualified and that know what they?re doing.

Holy fucking crap! No credentials, no experience, not even a fucking college degree! And she is responsible for running a place for at-risk kids and choosing who takes care of them??? And she credits her experience at being a mixed-up teen as adequate qualifications to run such a program?

Well, the good news is that there is at least one staff there who is actually a lisenced therapist, and there is also one who is an EMT. In the employment section, they also require all staff to know CPR, which is nice. The other good news is that the kids stay there for only a few weeks.

However, Jackie doesn't have dick in terms of experience, and she states outright that she models New Horizons off of RMA. If I were a concerned parent, I wouldn't trust New Horizons.

Look, I knew Jackie briefly. (VERY briefly.) She seemed to be a very nice person, and I don't doubt for a minute that she genuinely cares for troubled youth. I really do believe that she believes in her work, loves the kids she works with, and is not simply out to make a quick buck or is power hungry. She is FAR from a Mel Sembler or a Mel Wasserman. But the fact of the matter is, she is just not qualified to be running this business.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the clarification. It is great to know.

[Antigen]

"If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities."--Voltaire

You know....if the Seed was in Utah, who knows how many "wives" the old bastard would have.
http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?topic=10274&forum=8&start=26#155924' target='_new'>Jupiter Survivor

[try another castle]

Yes, and it is certainly troubling that she believes she is capable of doing the job she is doing, based on her lack of experience. It makes me worry about who she believes is qualified to work with these children. (Especially since Caroline Wolf used to work there.)

[Anonymous]

Well, the whole Carolyn Wolf bit was a red flag. I didn't go to RMA but the plethora of specific complaints about her on this site are troubling. Jackie had to have known she was not exactly a pulled together role model for youths.  So many people seemed genuinely traumatized by her. Not to mention whether she gave up some of her vices when she made it to staff.  

Maybe to Jackie, RMA did save her life in a sense because she was living on the streets doing God knows what. Maybe, being RMA in spite of all its abuses and lack of real therapy literally saved her in that it took her out of an exposed environment where she could be physically harmed and gave her three hots and a cot so to speak.

[blownawaytheidahoway]

I read Help and am now halfway through a book I suggest for masochists. It is called "What it Takes to Pull me Through" "Why Teenagers get in trouble and how four of them got out". The author is David L. Marcus. It seems to be a postive account of the program at Academt at Swift River, in Massechusettslyvaniaokia.

Some staff/ex staff members that have been posted on this site have been mentioned (especially Rudy Bentz and his wife)  though the author has been plainly evasive in mentioning MANY people. I will post more about it when I've completed it.

[Boomerang]

I did read it. My interpretation was different than yours. I did not think that it was a "positive account" at all. I read that there was some positive things mentioned, but I think it painted a "real picture" of what you can expect from some of these programs. Get to the end... you may think differently, too. It is not a "happy ending" for all of those in that book.. certainly not for most that were in the peer group that was followed for the book.

[try another castle]

On 2006-03-20 07:27:00, blownawaytheidahoway wrote:

"I read Help and am now halfway through a book I suggest for masochists. It is called "What it Takes to Pull me Through" "Why Teenagers get in trouble and how four of them got out". The author is David L. Marcus. It seems to be a postive account of the program at Academt at Swift River, in Massechusettslyvaniaokia.



Some staff/ex staff members that have been posted on this site have been mentioned (especially Rudy Bentz and his wife)  though the author has been plainly evasive in mentioning MANY people. I will post more about it when I've completed it.  "

I think you read the wrong book. Help at any cost is by Maia Szalavitz, and it is a highly critical look at the industry.

[try another castle]

On 2006-03-20 08:27:00, Boomerang wrote:

"I did read it. My interpretation was different than yours. I did not think that it was a "positive account" at all. I read that there was some positive things mentioned, but I think it painted a "real picture" of what you can expect from some of these programs. Get to the end... you may think differently, too. It is not a "happy ending" for all of those in that book.. certainly not for most that were in the peer group that was followed for the book. "

Did you mean "help at any cost" (Maia Szalavitz's book) or the David L. Marcus book?

I haven't read the Marcus book, but I did read Maia's. I thought it was excellent, as well as frightening.

[Boomerang]

Castle: I have read "What it Takes to Pull me Through"... have not read "Help at Any Cost" yet.

The kids that are followed in the David Marcus book do not have "happy endings". In no way does it come across as the "magic pill" or whatever. There is a suicide, some drug over doses, etc... he does not tell the readers that these kids are "fixed" because they went to Swift River. Some of the kids were successful in their completion of the program and soon after. Some were not. I think that is true. He also discusses some of the abusive programs in the beginning of his book. He points out the horror stories.

IMO, I thought there was balance in this book. It was a bit haunting for me having been a graduate of a similiar program... so beware if you decide to read it. It is an easy read... could be done in a weekend.