Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Daytop Village
Dr. Dan Casriel “A scream away from happiness”
Matt C. Hoffman:
Hey Felice,
Encounter groups yep I certianly remember them. Group leader would say this is group and all hell would break loose . People got spanked in those also. They were out of control, group confrontation , oh the healing therapy of those groups.
A person could really be made to feel hated , great for the self esteem.
I reckon it was one of elans way to teach us to be angry . And that it was good to be angry. yep dropping the slip.
They were crazy when the group was bigger than 25 people, and themarathon encounter groups, "Ode to Joy"
You learned some swear words thats for sure.
I didn't like those groups either. then not much to like about elan.
Anonymous:
--- Quote from: "Eliscu2" ---I do not remember primal groups when I was there.
I remember Encounter groups for when someone "dropped a slip" on you.
It was somewhere between a Haircut and a General Meeting.
It was "Group Confrontation"
--- End quote ---
They started to end towards the later part of 78 when someone threw themselves out of a window due to a recollection of them witnessing all over again their father killing their mother. Alan Frey, Jeff Gottlieb and Peter McCann all said go the Primal Scream and Marty, Larry Smaller, Rick Rosenhaus and myself said not too because we didn't know what would happen after. Peter went to Joe got permission and well I told you the rest. He broke both his arms, his cheek bone, cuts from glass on his arms and head. It was a fucking mess. On top of all of this this particular resident had a mental condition we hadn't even found out about yet. There was something clearly wrong with him before this episode.
There was a time early on only Joe and Dr. Davidson was running the primal therapy but you know what happens when you start making money you rationalize and say everybody can do it. Assholes!!!!!!!!!
This is a big reason why I left because you couldn't have a decent meeting without someone changing the decisions you made to suit there fucking fancy usually at the cost of a residents security. WE WERE ALL A BUNCH OF UNTRAINED, UNQUALIFIED WANNABEES TRYING TO ACT LIKE GURUS, FUCKING KILLING PEOPLE JUST BULLSHIT....... :-[
:shamrock: :shamrock: :shamrock: ......DANNY
Inculcated:
^Much of the above would be great discussion for the Élan forum. Maybe somebody wants to start a fresh thread in Élan Forum or excavate a decent old one to discuss the different group venues employed there, the experiences and consequences of them.
“Kul wahid yihtaljeh galub memdeshen” > “Every person you listen to requires a brand new heart.”
Inculcated:
In answer to the question posed by Mr. Hoffman. No, Daytop did not ever have a group they actually called “Primal Scream Group”.
Yes, much of Casriel’s influence played out in Daytop settings in other ways. Witness the abreactions forced and feigned displayed in more intensive venues within the Daytop program and there you have it. These were elicited by relentless facilitators bent on bending participants to induced transformations. The effects of rousing participants to a state of hyperarousal (states of increased psychological and physiological tension) resulted in what some would call catharsis and some may indeed have experienced as such, but ultimately the means were executed to the end of having the group go through inauthentic recklessly intense experiences together. The release of these tense sessions IMO had more to do with being exhausted for having been brought to an often collective emotional overwhelm and then…relieved that it was over.
For me it's more difficult to articulate what the non-assailing-rage groups were like to be immersed in at Daytop. I found the following commonalities summed up in so many words so well in an old thread of discussion from contributors out of various programs describing their respective group experiences:
--- Quote from: "psy" ---They create pain to comfort it... to build artificial trust...
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: "Ursus" ---I believe the inherent theory is that they break you down before they build you up. Of course, the corollary that you are so malformed and hence not worth the time to "fine-tune" or just "repair," is inescapable.
--- End quote ---
From remembering myself thread
Anonymous:
--- Quote from: "Inculcated" ---^Much of the above would be great discussion for the Élan forum. Maybe somebody wants to start a fresh thread in Élan Forum or excavate a decent old one to discuss the different group venues employed there, the experiences and consequences of them.
“Kul wahid yihtaljeh galub memdeshen” > “Every person you listen to requires a brand new heart.”
--- End quote ---
Good idea..... :shamrock:
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