Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Aspen Education Group
ASR
nalex18:
--- Quote from: ""Three Springs Waygookin"" ---So tell us about typical consquences?
--- End quote ---
Doing dishes
Losing school store
Losing movie night
Losing right to go off campus (which had to be earned in a specific fashion anyway)
work projects (forced labor, such as scrubbing floors, shoveling snow, clearing brush, etc)
being put on "bans"
for people on "challenges" or "self studies" you had to spend all your free time at a table facing the wall doing writing assignments. This included during meals.
Self studies had to stand during all meetings
For those who did extremely bad things (had sex, did a lot of drugs on home visit, were not "improving") you could be dropped peer groups, which added months to your stay.
At base camp consequences were physical, such as being forced to do push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, etc.
nalex18:
--- Quote from: ""nalex18"" ---
--- Quote from: ""Oz girl"" ---what would happen to a kid who did not want to talk during group therapy?
Did they still use Bans to prevent some kids from forming friendships?
Did any kid ever refuse to send the letter home outlining their sins?
--- End quote ---
1) If someone refused to talk in group they would often be placed on a Reflection, the lightest of the consequences. You would receive a folder with a "truth list" and writing assignments to do things like "Why I feel I don't have to talk in group".
2) Bans were used to prohibit relationships being formed that the school thought to be "unhealthy". Bans included simply looking at another person. Bans could span from one person, one sex, a portion of the school (ie lower school), or the entire school.
3) I'm sure that some did, however you could not move forward in the program without doing so, so I think that most kids gave in and did it.
--- End quote ---
Sorry, forgot the last. I believe your counselors approved level changes, you had to be in a certain stage of the program to move on. Some people never made it to the highest level, which allowed you to stay up til 11 and watch approved TV in the great room after everyone else had to go to sleep. It basically meant that you were "trusted"
nalex18:
--- Quote from: ""Three Springs Waygookin"" ---Oh yeah watchin' TV till 11 you in the big time now!
1) What are peer groups?
2) Did anyone ever loose the right to their phone calls?
3) Was mail screened?
--- End quote ---
1) Peer groups were a group of about 15 kids who you went through the entire program with, from base camp to costa rica. You had group therapy together, sat together during all meetings and did "life steps" together.
2) I don't know if anyone ever got their phone call completely taken away. I got my right to "private" phone calls (a counselor was always in the room monitoring anyway) taken away. I had to have conference calls for a few weeks.
3) All mail was screened. Only approved friends could write, and they could only begin sending you mail after you were pretty far into the program. All mail was opened, read and searched.If a counselor thought something was innapropriate you did't get the mail.
nalex18:
--- Quote from: ""Three Springs Waygookin"" ---ASR runs on an entirely different principle than I am familiar with. Or it is just the differences in terminology.
1) How prevalent was lying in group? By this I mean making up stuff to just get ahead and bluff your way out of the program?
2) Who facilitated your group sessions?
3) How often did you visit a licensed psychologist or mental therapist of any sort?
--- End quote ---
I am not sure if it is entirely different from what you know.
1) I think everyone to some extent lied to get out of the program. Some people went through the program having done drugs, had sex, etc but would never admit to it and were never caught. You learned to be compliant and really just to say whatever they wanted you to.
2) Two counselors (either your assigned peer group counselors or, when in mixed group, other peer group's counselors). If someone was in a lot of trouble they would bring in the "big guns", I forget their titles but I think some where directors.
3) I saw a psychologist about every 2 weeks or so. Summaries of these sessions where sent to parents. Some things I NEVER would have wanted my parents to know or hear about were included in these reports.
Anonymous:
As the parent of a recent graduate, I can answer most of your questions.
As for meds, they were prescribed by a licensed psychiatrist (they have 2). My son determined what he wanted to take and opted to discontinue his ADD meds (samller classes, he didn't feel the need) and antidepressant that he came in on.
HE chose to try a med to help manage his anger better and address his depression, which he was monitored carefully on. We are in the medical field and were updated on what ,meds were started and stopped (per our son's decision).
There are full-time RN's and LPN from 7am-10pm who dole out meds (and address any other medical issues). Our son was taken into town if he had anything that couldn't be handled there.
Med use in our case was decided by our son (as it would be in our state after age 14). Kids were not forced to take meds and I can't speak for others directly, but I think it was a joint decision between the kids,parents and psychiatrist on staff as to recommendations.
We did not feel the need to get overly involved in those decisions.
His mental health issues responded better to the therapy than meds. Meds (and therapy) here at home did nothing before ASR.
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