Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Facility Question and Answers
shortridge academy
Michael William:
It makes me upset to see the kinds of things people are writing about Short ridge academy as I am an alumni and graduate myself. Let me begin by saying every person/teen has their own process of healing; healing from whatever deep hurtful things happened in the past. The point where short ridge is most effective, or not, in helping teens heal, ultimately comes down to how willing said teen is to take their issues seriously. If the person cant take responsibility for themself and stop blaming others, then SRA wont work.
To clear the fog... There is absolutely no violence used to reprimand students. I was also taken in the middle of the night by strangers, who based on what I was doing at that time in my life I thought were taking me somewhere to kill me. That obviously ended up not being the case.
For all parents considering sending their children to this place, I say do it. But dont change your mind three months later. That shows a lack of commitment to the teen. However it is very important that you(as the parent) think seriously about how your issues have impacted the baggage your child carries, AND BE WILLING TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT while you child is at SRA. Many parents send their children to SRA thinking its going to fix them. I think we can all agree Healing is a collaborative effort. Shortridge staff will do a lot of prodding at issues and many times will get to the bottom of some very hurtful things. But for people looking to be emotionally healthy, taking these issues head on early is pivotal to being an emotionally healthy adult and not continuing to run from it. Shortridge specializes in this healing process, but again, healing is a collaborative effort, is a process and takes 100% comittment. You cant force someone to look at their issues.
Teens may say how bad the place is, how bad thier parents are for doing it, but they are teens and thats what teens say. It will make scene to them later why they went to shortride. and down the road, if they still dont agree, then said individual was lazy and didn't do any emotional work on themselves.
I want to clear-up a couple of other things too. Adam Rainer and Bruce Wilson are great individuals and personally helped me become the person I am today.
I was very troubled before I arrived at short ridge. I come from a large intercity in the US and experienced very intense, and psychologically scaring things at a young age. Shortridge turned that around for me, but more importantly gave me the tools I needed to maintain when things got tough after I graduated. I went from high school dropout to the top five percent of my graduating university class. I now have experience working for companies across the US and have worked abroad since I left shortridge. The reality is, the reason that was possible was because I, and my parents, with the help of SRA were willing to put in the work necessary to change.
Please feel free to ask any questions. I'd be glad to clear up any stigma that still exists.
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE BLASTING THIS SCHOOL, go check it out (im positive they will let you) before you write anything else that compromises SRA's integrity. Thank you
Michael William:
Thanks for that Whooter.
Back to my original point. You have to be willing to look at the issues to change. If you call looking at issues brainwashing then you are subject to the same mental conditioning that creates social problems in the first place.
For everyone reading this blog, the most important thing Shortridge taught me is the difference between reacting and responding and the social awareness to know the difference. If anything I say or anything SRA does makes someone mad or upset to the point where they take it out over a blog, you yourself probably have a difficult time understanding the difference between the two.
Ursus:
--- Quote from: "Michael William" ---The point where short ridge is most effective, or not, in helping teens heal, ultimately comes down to how willing said teen is to take their issues seriously. If the person cant take responsibility for themself and stop blaming others, then SRA wont work.
--- End quote ---
Thanks for sharing your story, Michael. I have a coupla quick questions for you, if you don't mind...
Who gets to decide what a given teen's "issues" are? Shortridge Academy? The parents? The teen in question?
Also, why is there so much focus on the concept of "blame?" This seems to be a common theme in many programs, if not all of them.
Michael William:
Sure...
I'm obviously not a therapist so you need to consult a professional for how it ideally should be practiced.
There is a process of healing, one of the preliminary stages being denial. In this stage many people feel more comfortable taking a victim role and looking at the world with anger as if everyone is out to get them (which I think it is to a certain extent). The thing is many people react, as opposed to respond, when they get these feelings of being not good enough, worthless etc. and they blame other for feeling the way they do instead of being proactive. Some issues are very hard to deal with even with SA to help BUT Its even harder to deal with unless you have an avenue (like SRA).
SRA tries to help identify the issues, sometimes even labeling them for a student. I would say, for me at least, SA established more of a framework to enable me to look at the issues. They gave me ideas and passed along critical feedback in the process. Again, the process is never perfect, and again said person has to be willing to grow-up emotionally otherwise it won't work. There has to be an inner commitment and a desire for improvement, which is why wilderness programs are recommended before entering shortridge.
The blame concept is perhaps mis-phrased/misunderstood. What it means is not taking responsibility for ones reactions that are based on personal insecurities and denial of ones ownership of the issue.
Hope this clarifies...
Michael William:
--- Quote from: "went to shortridge" ---shortridge was a horrible expierience, and while i was there one of the counselors who was leading the group therapy and advising us why not to engage in bad behavior was accused of having sex and giving alcohol and ciggerettes to some of the students, and was then fired. theres an idea of what a great place shortridge academy was
--- End quote ---
thats too bad, and if it damaged your experience thats sad. But ultimately your growth was your own responsibility not only one staff member. There are over 20 other staff members that are supportive and willing to help. What you have posted above is a cop-out.
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