For instance... was the restarting of the program done because staff just had this instinctive feeling? Or was it based on tangible measured observed data?
Data? No. Observations yes. I sort of replied to your question above.
Unfortunately, and even MHP's will agree, there is no science to therapy. (By science I mean formula. I guess I should have said math.) It's very hard to quantify behavior. Statistical data doesn't really help on a day to day basis that much. I'm sure from your experience at Three Springs, you understand where I'm coming from.
Regardless of what it was called.. "emotional growth" is is not therapy. It's pseudoscience with a smattering of pop psychology and a heavy dose of new-age philosophy. And that's the kind description. Even programs supporters advertise it as "behavior modification" and sing the praises of it's origins in well known cults. (See the prior "out of the sixties" article)
See chart
hereTo change a person without consent is not ethical. You admitted that people had to at least pretend to follow the program in order to suceed... Karen's son did not suceed becuase he refused to compromise his values. Essentially... What this means, is that a person has to compromise his values (conform to the group) in order to suceed in program.
Moreover, you are forced, at the very least, to re-evaluate your self image (you said you were fake)... Attacks on self identity... workshops are loaded with examples of that. It's not blatant. It's subtle, and it's done in such a manner as to make you think you are guiding the changes. Yet... you admitted that staff did "guide" your "growth"... Of course they don't blatantly say "you will be this"... It doesn't work.. it backfires.
Think about this... If they had nothign to hide, why did they forbid you from telling your parents (they did this where I was as well).
At Benchmark... You were allowed to discuss the workshops in general with those who had been through (eg... i liked this exercise)... But mentioning the contents of the workshop to an outsider (such as a parent) was seen as probably the most severe crime you could commit in program. If my parents had been around for the parent workshop, my mother would probably have caused a huge scene after realizing it's repackaged est... She has a degree in psychology... she knows it's a cult. She would most definitely not have approved.
Why do they use these techniques? Because they produce "results"... They make the participants think they're learning something... when in reality, it's not only bullshit, but has little or no basis in accepted psychology. You don't know what you're in for until you get into the workshop. That, in itself is unethical. Therapy, in any legitimate form, has no "secrets" kept from the patient. Furthermore... in order to suceed in the workshop, you were forced to disclose things that you most likely felt uncomfortable with. Yes.. Forced. Group pressure combined with the need to comply to proceed in program. This builds an artificial sense of trust with those around you. Is this learning to trust others? No. It's fake. It's completely fake. Its' coerced. That is not right. Dragging painful memories out of a person, when they are not ready, can, and does cause serious trauma. This isn't even to mention the guided imagery, regression, and hypnosis used (on the topic of traumatic childhood experiences)...
No psychologist in the world (except maybe one I can think of) would dare use such techniques on patients. Their license would be yanked so fast... And Yet... Unqualified personnel, use such techniques on not just kids, but kids known to already be (and this is their term)... "troubled".
The only way they get away with it, legally, is by not calling it "therapy". And even then, they often forget that, unless it's in writing. That is why these schools are known as "Emotional Growth" boarding schools. They used to be more commonly known as "Behavior Modification Programs"... but as with most cults, change names and terminology often to avoid being pinned down.
