Author Topic: Elan School  (Read 11802 times)

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Offline Kathy

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Elan School
« on: December 30, 2001, 03:07:00 PM »
Is Elan School still operating?  What state is it in? Or was it in?
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Offline Anonymous

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Elan School
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2001, 07:57:00 PM »
I don't know if they're still operating but I think it's in Poland Spring, Maine
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Offline Antigen

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Elan School
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2001, 11:35:00 PM »
Yeah, Scott was just saying he heard them announced as special guestes at some ball game or other. Check Anonanon for their survivors and alumni websites.
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Offline Matt C. Hoffman

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Elan School
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2002, 11:56:00 AM »
Elan is still in business.They are located in Poland Springs ,Maine (administration office ) I do not know when they became a school,when I was there it was known as the Elan One Corp.When I left there (from '74 to '76) I recieved a piece of paper (quasi diploma) stating that I graduated from the Elan Two Corp. of Waterford Maine.

Gerald E. Davidson signed it as the Medical Director and Joe Ricci signed it as the Therapeutic Director. I still have this piece of paper.

Elan was in my opinion a very brutal and sick place that mixed hardcore heroin addicts and alcoholics with physically and emotionally abused children . A very bazarre and twisted place.
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Offline Kathy

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Elan School
« Reply #4 on: January 13, 2002, 12:00:00 AM »
We are working on finding and/or creating treatment abuse treatment.  Don't give up yet.  Keep us posted, and we will keep you posted.  Take good care of yourself.
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Offline Antigen

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Elan School
« Reply #5 on: January 13, 2002, 01:18:00 PM »
Quote
On 2002-01-12 16:15:00, Eliscu2 wrote:
Is there any treatment for treatment abuse?? just wondering before I am locked up forever. http://www.kabbalart.com


I dunno. I'm afraid to say what I really think, but I think maybe I'll say it anyway.


One difference between the Elan and Straight models is that at Elan, you never went home till you were done, graduated.... whatever. In some ways, I can see where that would be harder on you guys than the way things were with us. But on the other hand, I think there was some benefit. See, in our programs, our parents, families and homes all became part of it.


On higher phases of the Program, you'd live with your own parents if they were within about a two hour drive of the building. You might be sleeping in your own bed, but there were group members living there with you, watching your every move and motion detectors or dead bolts on the doors; austensibly to keep the newcomers from escaping, but we all knew as oldcomers we were just as locked in as they were.


You might go to school or to a job, but your life still revolved around staying out of trouble with Group. Even if you didn't have any group members in your daily routine, a well intended teacher or employer might just report you for some trivial infraction not knowing the hell that might result.


Just trying to visualize your situation and it seems an awful lot like being on 3rd phase in the Program. You're not physically in jail, but in your own home. But you're still under constant scrutiny and threat of consequences.


I'd like to say I can't even imagine walking a mile in your shoes, but unfortunately I can. That you're holding it together at all, I think, shows you're pretty damned tough.


I dunno how you wound up in this situation. And I'm not asking you to tell as it's really none of my business. And it's taboo in our culture to suggest that someone is not crazy after the authorities have declared it so. But my strongest impulse is that you've had just about all the help you can stand. I don't think depression is an un-natural or inappropriate response to what's going on. I think I'd be out of my freakin' mind if I were in your shoes, just knowing what little I do about the situation.


Maybe the thing to do is to devote as much time and attention as you can to just living the life you want for yourself in spite of whatevery anyone else might think about your ability to do so.


On that note, I got a really interesting book from a friend for Christmas. It's about a Libertarian multi-millionaire professor who, through a series of tragic events, winds up being president. It's a light fantasy, really. Junk food for though, not intended to represent any plausible scenario. But just sort of outrageously ballsey in it's premises.


And, now get this, it's put out by an organization called Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. http://jpfo.org if you want to take a look. I wish my dad were still around, he'd never believe such an organization could exist. What do you think of it?



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Read a good book lately?

[ This Message was edited by: Antigen on 2002-01-13 10:20 ]

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Offline Matt C. Hoffman

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« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2002, 11:12:00 PM »
Eliscu2 When Elan resurfaced in my life (I had put the whole 9 yards in some dark recess of my mind and I thought sealed it never to have to think or deal with it again ) in 1-20-2000 due to an item on national evening news .I had a flood of memories that started due to that trigger that I could not stop.





I mean i was reliving experiences and things that took about 2 months  before they actually subsided to a trickle .I was a complete wreck.Lost 20 pounds and i was in pure hell.





Called up everyone and their mother and babbled like a blithering idiot.I lost it so to speak .The strangers that I talked to were sympathetic yet had no clue about Elan.





I coud not get closure so to speak .I needed help .





What worked for me was that I went to a consuler and just let it go .I also took as many articles that I could find to show them that this was not a figment of my own imaginings.





The one consulor that I spoke with really helped me by sharing her outrage not only at Elan but also at the State of Maine for having allowed and for allowing Elan to continue .I took this woman a copy of The Duck wore A Raincoat by Maura Curley.





I mean this woman was furious and made no bones about it .She also probed gently for the details and explained to me what some of their techniques were about .The fact that this woman was so gastly appalled by Elan helped me feel not as much as a freak and also enabled me to speak to other people about this ,Folks with Phd'after there names and this was where the real healing began.





I have accepted that I will always carry these memories with me for ever.Though as sick as some of these memories are they do not rule me like they did 2 years ago.





I hope that this will help you ,and stay strong ,you will make it through this nightmare.





Matthiam

[ This Message was edited by: Matt C. Hoffman on 2002-01-16 20:15 ]

[ This Message was edited by: Matt C. Hoffman on 2002-01-16 20:17 ]
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Offline Matt C. Hoffman

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« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2002, 07:58:00 PM »
Hmm it seems that we have more in common than just Elan .My father disowned me when I was 9 years old .For my 7th christmas he gave me sticks and stones in my stocking for christmas (for being an evil kid) and no presents, nothing else. He shaved my head when I was 10 (just in time for 4th grade to begin ) and I can tell you kids are pretty cruel at that age .The beatings that I recieved(from my dad) were from another planet . The emotional abuse was equally on par with the beatings .



You would think that my father was a ditch digger ,yet he was a highly trained Doctor whose speciality was ob/gyn. He speaks 5 languages fluently and came to this country from South Africa .(a racist like nobodies business ). It use to blow my mind that women actually went to him ,then again they didn't know .



When my father came to this country in the early 50's he was a homosexual (he still is ) yet he felt that in order to suceed as a doctor he had to have the image of a hetrosexual .The family image ,we,  were simply personal effects just like a watch or stethoscope .



I believe that he was so brutal a human being because he was living the ultimate lie .Yet I aslo know that he really enjoyed hurting me,and that makes him a sadist.



The only good thing out of this was that he taught me how not to be a Father .You see I have a son and well the things that my son is teaching me is simply amazing .I think my dad really missed out



In march of 2000 I called him up after not having talked to him for 21+years .I t was a a very empowering phonecall because I forgave him .You see deep down in my heart I realize that even though dad speaks 5 languages and helped pioneer laprascopic surgery  in the early 70's is that he is a very sick man .I just happened to draw him out of the deck of father cards .



He had to lie to elan to get me in there in 1974 and it really is a shame on elan for not realizing that something was very rotten and it was not me .



At a confrence concerning abusive therapuetic communities someone made the comment that my father prepared me for the really sick crap that went down as therapy

at elan .Even though it is sorta funny they really have no idea how true it was .



There was 2 other kids that i felt had it worse, that I met at elan .1 was raped repeated by their father and the other kid 's mother use to tie him to a heating radiator and beat him .



Elan told me that I had it good .And that i should respect my father because he was so smart .



It is true that there were a lot of Doctors that did horrible things to people in the concentration camps in germany .Yet when these men came home to their families they were loving fathers . It was reversed in my house .



Sorry you all have to read this ,and remember I have really survived certain pains of hell .



I wonder though is it because of me or is it because the human being is a very adaptable creature ? Or if there really is a God .



It was't easy after leaving elan because of the things that went down there . And I really do not know how I have managed to not commit suicide lord knows i tried during elan and after elan (3 times )I can certainly tell you suicide is not the answer . If you suceed then Elan wins again and there is one less voice to stand up and say that that place was wrong with what they did to people



Matthiam







[ This Message was edited by: Matt C. Hoffman on 2002-01-19 17:10 ]
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #8 on: March 02, 2002, 01:11:00 AM »
I knwo everyone will FREAK OUT, but.... it's seems like the chicken and the egg here.....

I attended Elan too... and graduated.

I can't say I LOVED IT! I couldn't wait to get the @#$# outta there.... BUT

EVEN FOR THE WORST THINGS thatI went thru there... they made me stronger... even if what was done was WRONg... I can handle things that some other people just can't.  ANd I have some tools that others do not.

I came home from ELAN and jumped into my old habits DOUBLE TIMES OVER... I almost died again... I went thru 2 years of hell... AND cultrure shock... it was hard to go home after ELAN... to feel NORMAL... to feel like the same as everyone... I felt DIFFERENT than everyone all of a sudden.. and out of the loop too.. and it was STRESSFUL.... so I got into trouble and did really stupid crap....

I am now an adult... married to a good man... and I have a child. I run my own small business  and have a drink or 2 a couple of times a year- IF THAT!

I finally found something.... deep inside that I had all along.  MY BEST FRIEND. It was me all along!

I first met her.... in ELAN... when I felt Isolated & new... and she kept me going thru that strange and different ordeal.  When I left Elan I lost her for a while... but she is with me now & I don't intend to lose her again....

CHICKEN AND THE EGG: I was Fxxxxd up before I got to ELAN, Elan didnt make me a drup addict or a bitch and a hard ass... I was like that BEFORE.... I cant blame the addictions and the bad decisions on ELAN... If they sent me to Elan for leaving the cap off the toothpaste and I came home from ELAN and was a drup addict and a murderer--- then I could see that....

BUt to Blame ELAN for mental illness and drug addictions... yo umust have been a mistake to send there in the first place... nothing was wrong with you until you left there...

When we take responsibility for ourselves and recognize our own weaknesses and try to make life a little better... AND NOT BLAME EVERYONE ELSE!!!!  THen we can grow up and become adults.

:smile:
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #9 on: March 15, 2002, 10:41:00 AM »
My name is Michael Pelella. I attended Elan from 3-16-1999 until 8-11-2000. I am more then willing to talk to any one about Elan (cause god knows we all have our own opinions on that place.) and I love hearing from Elan students. Here is my e-mail - [email protected] Hope to talk to you ALL soon!
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Offline Pete

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Elan School
« Reply #10 on: March 18, 2002, 05:41:00 PM »
Elan is, at most, today, a watered-down version of a true therapeutic community, more psychologically irresponsible than abusive. While it helps many people, it can also hurt some psychologically.  It is run largely by people who don't know what they're doing -- with SOME exceptions: Clare Woodman, Marc Rosenberg and Jeff Gottlieb among them.

My educated guess from research, conversations with many former residents from different eras and my own experience as a resident in the 1990s,is that the philosophy of a therapeutic community has almost never been completely correctly interpreted by Elan, with the possible exception of the early 1970s, when it first opened.

In my opinion, Elan today, while it helps some, is largely a good place for rich parents to get rid of their adolescents.

By the way, Elan did me more good than harm.  I'm just relaying my opinion.
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #11 on: March 19, 2002, 09:28:00 PM »
Hey just want to  get something stright NOT EVERYONE WHO WENT TO ELAN WERE RICH!!!!!!! You know there were us southsiders too lol! Loved your post Pete Hey weres that tape? LOL
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Offline ladyjerrico

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Elan School
« Reply #12 on: March 20, 2002, 09:08:00 AM »
Not everyone who went to Straight Inc. were rich either.. many families had to get 2nd or 3rd jobs just to pay for their kids to be there..
My parents had to get a 2nd mortgage out on their home and my mom needed a 2nd job just to pay it off!
Times were not easy being there for either parent or kid.. I hear ya there!

[ This Message was edited by: ladyjerrico on 2002-03-20 06:10 ]
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usan Minns

Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #13 on: March 23, 2002, 09:41:00 PM »
You know what i'm tired of hearing all this about elan, I went there, and i graduated, I hear people saying how abusive it was and how it made them worse, but quite honestly you have no one to blane buy yourselfs and those on you're peer, I graduated in april 2000 i was there for 3 years, and i learned more about myself and how the world works than most people of my age. Tho it wasn't the best time of my life, it did impact me in a good way. I really began to live with my soul. I made the best of friends there where we still talk tho we are seprated by miles, and my goal in life is to return to elan as a staff, so i can change someone's life. Listening to all this pesimism on this forum makes me wonder, what made you this way, and why didn't you learn what is needed? why didn't you begin to live? elan is not about fixing the problems in your life, they can't do it, nobody can but you. it's all about learning, it's up to you to decide to use what you've learned.
  Also i hear about people complaining on how you were mixed with drug addicts, alcholics and those of mental problems, you all say how turbulant this made life. but what about the similarities between them. Did it ever occur to anyone that the useage of drugs can be directly related to mental problems, not mental problems that can't be changed, but those we choose to use as an excuse in life? those of you who claim it didn't help you, well it's you're fault, it's you're fault that you didn't make the right friends, and that you chose not to help yourself. It's you're fault you choose to fail. Don't blame elan, don't blame you're family, blame your self. people come from really messed up famillys but they can sucseed, it's all though out history. what gives you the right to use it as an excuse, when so many others have used that to make them stronger. I am proud to have gone to elan, and i tell everyone that i know. I announce it as a gift from god to awaken me and guide me, as a place of rebirth. I am proud. if you have a problem with that you can email me at [email protected]
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Offline Anonymous

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« Reply #14 on: March 24, 2002, 11:15:00 AM »
CLUELESS! GRAD FOR 2000 WITHOUT A DOUT! SORRY BUT YA JUST DONT KNOW
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