Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Aspen Education Group
How it Works
Anonymous:
The thread where this was posted got painseries'd and square wave'd, so repost.
--- Quote from: ""Ursus"" ---You can expend a great deal of energy bickering about whether physical conditions can be deemed abusive or not. The physical conditions are, when all is said and done, merely symptoms and crude barometers of where the true, diabolical abuse often lies: deep in the psyche of the kids that go to these places.
I can think of camping experiences I've had where the physical conditions might meet the criteria of conditions that some might deem "abusive," but I did not consider them abusive. Why? I wasn't being brainwashed. It was summer camp, not reprogramming.
On the other hand, there are places like ASR where some of the kids experience conditions that can be deemed physically abusive, but some do not. Depends on the kid and the particular dynamic with personnel that are there at that given point in time, etc. etc. Something might be said about what kind of number gets done on a kid's head seeing that shit go on around you, whether you, yourself, have to jump through those hoops or not. 'Cuz real point of places like ASR is reprogramming, and the way that it gets done is psychologically abusive, whether you can put your finger on specific "evidence" or not. Much of the damage done does not surface right away, might even take years to surface for some kids.
There is also something else I should say about places like this. There is such a power trip mentality going on amongst many of the staff (they get psyched into this by the program), and such a degradation of respect for other people's autonomy (inherent to the reprogramming), that these conditions often end up translating into sexual abuse of the minors who get sent here to get "fixed" and "straightened out." Again, it can take years before those truths see the light of day. Those kids are informed that they are "special," that other people "wouldn't understand," blah blah blah... Just a heads up for you, for what it's worth...
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Anne Bonney:
Nice catch. Nice post.
:tup:
TheWho:
--- Quote from: ""Guest"" ---The thread where this was posted got painseries'd and square wave'd, so repost.
--- Quote from: ""Ursus"" ---You can expend a great deal of energy bickering about whether physical conditions can be deemed abusive or not. The physical conditions are, when all is said and done, merely symptoms and crude barometers of where the true, diabolical abuse often lies: deep in the psyche of the kids that go to these places.
I can think of camping experiences I've had where the physical conditions might meet the criteria of conditions that some might deem "abusive," but I did not consider them abusive. Why? I wasn't being brainwashed. It was summer camp, not reprogramming.
On the other hand, there are places like ASR where some of the kids experience conditions that can be deemed physically abusive, but some do not. Depends on the kid and the particular dynamic with personnel that are there at that given point in time, etc. etc. Something might be said about what kind of number gets done on a kid's head seeing that shit go on around you, whether you, yourself, have to jump through those hoops or not. 'Cuz real point of places like ASR is reprogramming, and the way that it gets done is psychologically abusive, whether you can put your finger on specific "evidence" or not. Much of the damage done does not surface right away, might even take years to surface for some kids.
There is also something else I should say about places like this. There is such a power trip mentality going on amongst many of the staff (they get psyched into this by the program), and such a degradation of respect for other people's autonomy (inherent to the reprogramming), that these conditions often end up translating into sexual abuse of the minors who get sent here to get "fixed" and "straightened out." Again, it can take years before those truths see the light of day. Those kids are informed that they are "special," that other people "wouldn't understand," blah blah blah... Just a heads up for you, for what it's worth...
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A better place for this post, I agree.
Hmmm..Urus, we almost agree on some points. I have been chasing some of this here on fornits for some time. Abuse is a personal and relative term. Not having 24/7 access to a phone is not considered abusive to most people. Some kids feel the few times they do get to phone home is abusive and others wish they could talk more often, so no matter how you structure the rules there will be those who feel it to be unfair (abusive).
Any unhealthy external stimuli the children are exposed to can be considered psychological abuse, if kids are exposed to abuse around them, fist fights, drug overdoses, road rage, controlling relationships etc. even if it isn’t being done to them it can be just as damaging in most cases and the effects may not be immediately evident or come to the surface.
The environment at ASR, and schools like them, are free from these types of outside stresses that are harmful to kids. The environment allows the kids to get back to a healthy life style thru structure, nurturing, peer support and adult modeling. It’s modifying a child’s behavior by providing them with a safe place to grow and get back on track, giving them healthy choices, not brain washing. Many people posting here are basing their views on phased out programs which didn’t work over 30 years ago. Its frustrating watching peoples outdated information being misapplied to some of these better schools which are constantly evolving and improving as new studies emerge.
As far as staff abusing the children, I would have to say that anytime you put people in charge of kids there is a risk of those people in charge to abuse their power, whether it be in your local school system, summer camp counselor or staff at a boarding school. But the boarding school staff work with at-risk youths full time and are trained in this area, most are working towards higher degrees in the mental health field and are gaining experience working with children. This isn’t just a summer job for them to make money, most are on a well defined and determined path towards a long career in the industry. Schools like ASR also do further screening and training, staff rotations etc. to ensure this doesn’t occur.
Okay, I'll step off my soapbox, just my 2 cents.
Anne Bonney:
--- Quote from: ""TheWho"" --- Not having 24/7 access to a phone is not considered abusive to most people. Some kids feel the few times they do get to phone home is abusive and others wish they could talk more often, so no matter how you structure the rules there will be those who feel it to be unfair (abusive).
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No, its the context in which the calls are either prohibited or monitored. There is no reason in the world why a kid shouldn't be able to speak to their parents on request with no interference from the staff. The reason programs prevent private conversations is to maintain the isolation and control over the child. Its like the "talk "privilege" at Straight. Once we "earned the right" to speak to our own parents, it was under the strict supervision of staff and any mention of criticism or complaint and the talk was immediately halted and the parents were told that we were lying to manipulate them into pulling us out.
Its all about thought, environment and information control.
--- Quote ---Any unhealthy external stimuli the children are exposed to can be considered psychological abuse, if kids are exposed to abuse around them, fist fights, drug overdoses, road rage, controlling relationships etc. even if it isn’t being done to them it can be just as damaging in most cases and the effects may not be immediately evident or come to the surface.
The environment at ASR, and schools like them, are free from these types of outside stresses that are harmful to kids. The environment allows the kids to get back to a healthy life style thru structure, nurturing, peer support and adult modeling. It’s modifying a child’s behavior by providing them with a safe place to grow and get back on track, giving them healthy choices, not brain washing. Many people posting here are basing their views on phased out programs which didn’t work over 30 years ago. Its frustrating watching peoples outdated information being misapplied to some of these better schools which are constantly evolving and improving as new studies emerge.
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Because its based on and using the same methodologies, techniques and approaches as what Straight and the rest are.
--- Quote ---As far as staff abusing the children, I would have to say that anytime you put people in charge of kids there is a risk of those people in charge to abuse their power, whether it be in your local school system, summer camp counselor or staff at a boarding school. But the boarding school staff work with at-risk youths full time and are trained in this area, most are working towards higher degrees in the mental health field and are gaining experience working with children. This isn’t just a summer job for them to make money, most are on a well defined and determined path towards a long career in the industry. Schools like ASR also do further screening and training, staff rotations etc. to ensure this doesn’t occur.
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Nope. Stanford Prison Study is all you need to know. Especially because these places are largely staffed by former clients/patients (inmates) who have been spoonfed the same bullshit that's been passed down for oh, what? 40 years now? They're not exactly the healthiest of subjects to begin with and putting them in a position of such absolute power over vulnerable teenagers is insane.
http://www.prisonexp.org/
Anonymous:
Just in case everyone forgot what we're actually talking about here, here's one of your previous posts, Anne.
http://wwf.fornits.com/viewtopic.php?p=244399#244399
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