In Lieu of Therapists, Benchmark Opts for "Coaches"

[psy]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cedu/
This is my website...

I was there 89-91 at Cedu RS.

Some of the people in my pictures below were in Discovery in 91. So it's possible they might have been in Source in 93.

91-93 marks a CRITICAL time at Cedu RS.

A few points of interest.

- Tim brace leaves and Bill Valentine takes over. (Very different leadership styles and directions, not to mention Bill was a raging alcoholic!

source: http://fornits.com/wwf/viewtopic.php?p=283120#283120

Given they were both there at the same time, it sounds like Jayne and Bill Valentine would likely have known each other.

[psy]

Fake Ph.Ds abound - one, Rich Geiger, (PhD in theology - previous experience as a mental health technician) - (you don't even need at BA for that). He used to run clinical services for CEDU in the Northwest and the current CEDU National Director of Family Services has one. Ever heard of Bill Valentine and California Coast College. They no longer offer PhDs at CCC, but lots of CEDU managers have them still. Many got them with no previous degrees and with qualification based almost completely upon work experience at CEDU rather than academics.

source: http://wwf.fornits.com/viewtopic.php?p=92156#92156

[psy]

Apparantly bill is also executive director of the "Pretty Shield Foundation", a 501c "non-profit":

Pretty Shield, a highly respected medicine woman of the Crow Nation, had visions of the future and of the trials that her posterity would face.
Her insight has inspired the establishment of the Pretty Shield Foundation, dedicated to helping youth and families overcome the challenges that today's society presents.

The Pretty Shield Foundation (PSF) administers programs so powerful that they define a whole new level of results in the transformation of troubled youth, their families and their communities.

PSF is a 501(C)3 organization comprised of three divisions: American Indian Division, General Services Division, and the Fund Development Division.

PSF offers wilderness treatment programs, emotional-growth boarding schools, equine therapy, and residential treatment centers for at-risk youth and adults of any ethnicity, dedicating proceeds to Native American causes, scholarships, and other worthy foundations.

source: http://www.prettyshield.com/home.htm

OOH... and Listen to this blurb on one of the schools of this "non-profit":

Spring Mountain Academy

Spring Mountain Academy is Pretty Shield Foundation's emotional growth boarding school. Located in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains overlooking Mount Pleasant, Utah.

The 12 to 18 month curriculum provides accredited secondary and college prep academics.

Equine Therapy is central to the emotional growth portion of the academy, with each student training their own horse under the direction of master horsemen and the nations only Ph.D. in Equine Therapy. ::roflmao::

Other experiential therapies include ropes courses, high adventure activities, community service, art and music.

Traditional therapy at Spring Mountain Academy makes cognative the lessons learned through experiential therapies and academics, weaving them together into real-life applications.

From their "Fund Development" Division:

The Pretty Shield Foundation is funded through private donations and grants.

Start-up capital is used to purchase the land and build the emotional-growth boarding school campus in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, and the family therapy campus in Torrey, Utah, also to fulfill the contract to acquire a highly reputable and successful wilderness program. Construction of the campuses is slated for completion in the summer of 2005.

The ensuing revenue from program operations allows for reciprocal donations* on behalf of contributing parties who assist in the start-up phase of the Pretty Shield project.

*maybe this has something to do with all those donations the IECA pays out to programs (remember that pie chart).  Do any of these "reciprocal donations" end up in the hands of ed-cons?  Because "reciprocal donations" sounds a little like what Sue Scheff had going on with her generous program friends.

As an IRS designated 501(c)3 organization, all contributions to the Pretty Shield Foundation qualify for all of the tax benefits of charitable contributions.

Individuals and organizations that provide funding, are participating in the noblest of causes::unhappy::, for they are empowering Pretty Shield Foundation to boldly confront and successfully fulfill the needs of at-risk youth across the nation. As these youth emerge from the revolutionary PSF program as healthy, productive leaders, they will over time, positively affect the life quality of millions of people for generations to come.

An Executive Summary and detailed Business Plan are available for interested parties.

501c, heh...  Well.  I'm not a financial person so there is probably somebody better to look into whether they deserve their non-profit status...  HEY... I got an idea.  Let's play the IRS game.  The first person to find proof of tax fraud gets a free coffee mug!

[hanzomon4]

Bump

[psy]

BUMP

[TheWho]

If you read the original post you will see that this thread is built on a misconception.  There is no intention on the part of Benchmark to replace Therapists with coaches.  What Benchmark has done is taken their existing employee base and sent them out for training.

They sent their primary counselors out for training and also their resident counselors.  There was no replacement of personnel done.  Corporations typically send their employees out for training, 40 hours typically being a good intensive course.



...

[Lain the Odd]

That implies that they had any accredited therapists to switch out in the first place.

[psy]

If you read the original post you will see that this thread is built on a misconception.  There is no intention on the part of Benchmark to replace Therapists with coaches.  What Benchmark has done is taken their existing employee base and sent them out for

cult indoctrination.

Oh wow.. a 36 hour marathon workshop and a certificate from people who worked for CEDU and openly thank Mel Wasserman as a source of their inspiration...  I'm sure their coulselors....  er... i mean "coaches" are now far more confident in their ability to "help" people...  Whether they actually learned anything useful is another story entirely...

This is simply an attempt to ignore licensing requirements for "counselors" as the heat starts to build.

[TheWho]

If you read the original post you will see that this thread is built on a misconception.  There is no intention on the part of Benchmark to replace Therapists with coaches.  What Benchmark has done is taken their existing employee base and sent them out for

cult indoctrination.

Oh wow.. a 36 hour marathon workshop and a certificate from people who worked for CEDU and openly thank Mel Wasserman as a source of their inspiration...  I'm sure their coulselors....  er... i mean "coaches" are now far more confident in their ability to "help" people...  Whether they actually learned anything useful is another story entirely...

This is simply an attempt to ignore licensing requirements for "counselors" as the heat starts to build.

I am not arguing on how effective the training is because I am not familiar with it.  But it was stated that the coaches were going to replace therapists and this is inaccurate information.  All the existing staff is being trained... many training courses typically are 40 hours.  Any longer and it would not be cost effective to have staff out that long.  Any shorter and it becomes LGAT type training which many people do not like.  So the 40 hours is a good balance.....



...

[Ursus]

36-40 hours is LGAT training, btw... And it is my understanding that Benchmark is philosophically aligned with LGAT methodology.  Correct me if I am wrong here, I obviously did not attend.

Coaching is the new name for "providing therapy at a cheaper rate and with no responsibility whatsoever for what might happen to the client down the road in time."

This may also be strictly a liability issue for Benchmark.  The next time they get their asses hauled into court, or someone effects another George-maneuver, they have a piece of paper with everyone's signature on it signifying that they attended "Life Coach Training," or whatever bullshit name they have for it.  So Benchmark has proof that they did their part, and "provided training" for their employees.  Must be the defective client's fault.

[Oz girl]

If you read the original post you will see that this thread is built on a misconception.  There is no intention on the part of Benchmark to replace Therapists with coaches.  What Benchmark has done is taken their existing employee base and sent them out for training.

They sent their primary counselors out for training and also their resident counselors.  There was no replacement of personnel done.  Corporations typically send their employees out for training, 40 hours typically being a good intensive course.



...

Once again you missed the point. Benchmark were calling ppl without adequate training therapists. This was illegal as they did not have enough qualification. So they gave them a fancy new title to make their unprofessional tactics legal. It is like money laundering with ppl

[Ursus]

To summarize:

THE MISCONCEPTION:

There is no intention on the part of Benchmark to replace Therapists with coaches. What Benchmark has done is taken their existing employee base and sent them out for training.

They sent their primary counselors out for training and also their resident counselors. There was no replacement of personnel done.

THE REBUTTAL, aka CLARIFICATION:

That implies that they had any accredited therapists to switch out in the first place.

This is simply an attempt to ignore licensing requirements for "counselors" as the heat starts to build.

Coaching is the new name for "providing therapy at a cheaper rate and with no responsibility whatsoever for what might happen to the client down the road in time."

Benchmark were calling ppl without adequate training therapists. This was illegal as they did not have enough qualification. So they gave them a fancy new title to make their unprofessional tactics legal. It is like money laundering with ppl

[TheWho]

If you read the original post you will see that this thread is built on a misconception.  There is no intention on the part of Benchmark to replace Therapists with coaches.  What Benchmark has done is taken their existing employee base and sent them out for training.

They sent their primary counselors out for training and also their resident counselors.  There was no replacement of personnel done.  Corporations typically send their employees out for training, 40 hours typically being a good intensive course.



...

Once again you missed the point. Benchmark were calling ppl without adequate training therapists. This was illegal as they did not have enough qualification. So they gave them a fancy new title to make their unprofessional tactics legal. It is like money laundering with ppl

So they were calling people without adequate training "Therapists" and then sending them out for training and renaming them "Coaches"?  Is there someplace where it says this?  I haven’t read that on this thread.  

In the report they mentioned they were sending "Primaryâ€

[Nihilanthic]

[psy]

If you read the original post you will see that this thread is built on a misconception.  There is no intention on the part of Benchmark to replace Therapists with coaches.  What Benchmark has done is taken their existing employee base and sent them out for

cult indoctrination.

Oh wow.. a 36 hour marathon workshop and a certificate from people who worked for CEDU and openly thank Mel Wasserman as a source of their inspiration...  I'm sure their coulselors....  er... i mean "coaches" are now far more confident in their ability to "help" people...  Whether they actually learned anything useful is another story entirely...

This is simply an attempt to ignore licensing requirements for "counselors" as the heat starts to build.

I am not arguing on how effective the training is because I am not familiar with it.  But it was stated that the coaches were going to replace therapists and this is inaccurate information.

You're right.  They only state that they have therapists to prospective parents.  On their website they used to claim they were "counselors" so if you want to split hairs that it would be "benchmark replaces 'counselors' with 'coaches"

All the existing staff is being trained... many training courses typically are 40 hours.

Yes... in things other than medicine/psychology, like flipping burgers.  There's a reason why it takes a very long time to get a PHD, Doctorate, or any type of qualification to be able to practice psychology or counseling.  Practicing medicine without a license is dangerous...  Now that they're not called "counselors" any more you're probably going to tell me that somehow this is safer...

Any longer and it would not be cost effective to have staff out that long.

Well.. why not hire staff that ALREADY HAVE DEGREES rather than giving them "on the job" training.  This isn't McDonalds.

Any shorter and it becomes LGAT type training which many people do not like.  So the 40 hours is a good balance.....

40 hours is about the length of a good LGAT, but it depends.

Riddle me this: what were they trained in? What exactly did they learn? Other than making grandiose claims of what "Next Step" can do, I don't see any specific examples of what exactly is taught...

Is this "coaching comporable to psychology"... When I interviewed Jayne Longnecker she told me psychologists were "in their heads"...  Given that there is an actual science behind psychology, there is accountability, requirements to practice, etc... I don't see what it is that makes this "coaching" in any degree equivalent..  I see it as reckless.

A recent testimony on Benchmark's newsletter (a "success story") by Laura Ballou stated

“I’ve been in my head for a
long time,â€