Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Aspen Education Group
Another death last week at an Aspen program
Ursus:
--- Quote from: "Guest" ---...As noted in the Surgeon General's report in the other thread, admissions to RTC's need to be closely monitored - pigs like Aspen take anyone who can afford the tuition, and the proof is in the deaths.
--- End quote ---
Excerpt re. long term efficacy of RTCs from Surgeon General David Satcher's report.
Troll Control:
--- Quote from: "Guest" ---We all agree that ASPEN programs negligently kill many kids every year. All programs, but specifically ASPEN, should be strictly avoided. They already argued in court that they provide no treatment, so why would anyone send their kid there? Just to roll the dice on your little one being snuffed? Makes no sense to me.
--- End quote ---
Me neither. What's wrong with these parents? They can't READ?? Aspen is piling up kiddie carcasses at several of it's facilities and the parents just step over the bodies without noticing? That's crazy.
ASPEN: Stacking Dead Kids Like Cordwood.
Anonymous:
James Ray uses teen wilderness program techniques on adults: Interview with Brett Merle
October 20, 6:40 PMPhiladelphia Speculative Fiction ExaminerCassandra
The participants in the James Ray sweat lodge tragedy are intelligent, rational, strong and powerful people. Every time I see someone call them “weak-minded” or some such nonsense I start flipping the bird and swearing like a sailor. Today I interviewed Brett Merle, also known as Sagewalker. He is the former owner of Sagewalk School for Troubled Teens (no longer affiliated), licensed PCS instructor (Positive Control Systems), instructor in verbal de-escalation and non-violent physical intervention and is certified in NLP (Nuero-linguistic programming). He has been espousing both the benefits and dangers of unregulated programs similar to James Ray’s sweat lodge for over a decade.
I contacted Brett because I thought it might be nice if we had some professionals on record talking about this stuff since wilderness programs have a lot in common with James Ray’s teachings.
One major similarity is in the use of NLP. Now, scientists are still not in agreement about NLP, but it is a concept that makes sense when you think about it. Brett describes, “It's the relation between how we speak, how we hear, and how we process that information. The way that I say something might not be the way you hear it and the way you hear it might not be the way you process it.” Now, that is clearly a highly subjective experience based on each individual which would explain why it’s hard to pin down scientifically.
NLP, at its heart, is a highly effective communication technique based on the different styles of learning. People learn visually, through auditory listening, and kinesthetically but everyone is more receptive to one particular type. James Ray and other experts trained in this can maximize results by using all three methods and continually judging what is working best for which individuals and then reinforcing that learning. This is why it is so important to pay attention to the individual person using these techniques; it places masters of NLP in a conversational position of power that can be used to great benefit or great harm. Brett explains it as “People tend to speak the way they think, and you change the way you’re speaking to gain rapport with them.”
NLP is a valued technique in wilderness programs for its effectiveness in behavior modification of Troubled Teens. As early as 2000 Brett is on record speaking out about the dangerous lack of accountability in these fields, "We don't have to answer to anybody, and that scares the hell out of me. Oregon needs some (regulation) before children die." In wilderness programs there are two main dangers that need to be constantly guarded against – physical and mental.
The very process of behavior modification can leave participants vulnerable psychologically at the point of transformational shift, even when they themselves are leading the change within. It is very important to ensure the person leading these modifications is not abusing that temporary vulnerability, whether it’s physical abuse or psychologically adding their own agenda.
Wilderness programs can use these techniques to great effect on some of the most difficult teen cases because the unpredictability in nature resembles the natural flow of life in any community. This very unpredictability can lead to emergencies – even if well prepared. James Ray tried to duplicate some of these techniques to gain greater sway over the most financially capable, intelligent, powerful, and transformative people he could find. It’s not just that he failed to safe-guard them in any capacity (although he did, I will address that as well), but that James Ray twisted and warped valid techniques and amazing experiences with his own subtle messages. Well, they were subtle, until he used his technique to cook people to death. It’s kind of hard not to notice now, huh?
I asked Brett what kind of safety nets he used while running his own wilderness program, because (as far as I know) he has never had any accusations brought against him. When I asked him about that he informed me that the current owners of Sagewalk are working to reduce coverage of a recent suspicious death of one of their students. This highlights Oprah’s problem right now perfectly – I can say Brett ran Sagewalk with every safety measure in mind, but that does not mean it will continue. These programs are effective or dangerous depending on who’s in charge.
Brett set up several levels of accountability for the well-being of his charges. First, all the field staff were trained in CPR/ basic first aid, as well as the head instructor being either a Wilderness EMT or Wilderness First Responder. They were also given warning signs to look for – physical and psychological signs that something is amiss. Every student was also under the overall care of licensed doctors. For the most part this included people with PhD’s in Psychology, but there were also several Master’s level people working at the direction of the doctors to contribute to the accountability and hands on understanding that is needed in this work because of the highly individualized nature of it.
Sounds expensive right? The numbers are surprising. James Ray Spiritual Warriors paid $10,000.00 to attend the five day retreat and $5,000.00 or so in additional expenses (flight, room and board, preparatory materials, etc). For $13,000 they could have participated in Brett’s program which was 45+ days and also included things like vision quests. Of course, Brett doesn’t live in a Beverly Hills mansion either.
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In case the FTC is wondering, I do not endorse James Ray and he has never compensated me in any way. Nor Have I been compensated by Sagewalk, although they did send me some information about their company once.
http://www.examiner.com/x-11245-Philade ... rett-Merle
Ursus:
--- Quote ---James Ray uses teen wilderness program techniques on adults: Interview with Brett Merle
October 20, 6:40 PMPhiladelphia Speculative Fiction ExaminerCassandra
--- End quote ---
Full name of the author of that piece is Cassandra Yorgey (it got cut off).
Ursus:
SageWalk responds re. the above posted article, "Investigator calls wilderness school reckless in teen's death":
-------------- • -------------- • -------------- • -------------- • --------------
Breaking News
Posted: Oct 29, 2009
Sagewalk Wilderness School
Bend, OR
Sagewalk Responds to Posted Article
Contact:
Michael Bednarz, MS, MBA
Executive Director
541-316-4800
http://www.sagewalk.com
October 22, 2009
The below is a statement from SageWalk in response to a posting of the article titled "Investigator calls wilderness school reckless in teen's death" on strugglingteens.com yesterday:
The circumstances surrounding the death of one of our students on August 28 are part of an ongoing investigation. We maintain that we took every step possible to ensure the safety of this student, as we have every student over the course of our 12 year history, and disagree with the Lake County Sheriff's Deputy's view of the events. We expect that, once all the facts are known, they will show us to have acted carefully and responsibly, and we will be fully vindicated.
We do not have further details of the investigation but remain confident in our reputation and adherence to the highest standards of care. Should more information become available, we will update you.
Copyright © 2009, Woodbury Reports, Inc.
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