Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Aspen Education Group
Mount Bachelor Academy Shut Down
AuntieEm2:
--- Quote from: "Dysfunction Junction" ---So, out of 500 programs (not sure if that's accurate at all), I'd estimate at least 100 have been proven unsafe (all Aspen programs built on the abusive Aspen model, e.g. MBA, ASR, etc) and ineffective and the rest are yet to be investigated.
Even if they weren't dangerous (which I believe they are) then we still have to consider the fact that they are totally ineffective and have no evidence to suggest they are otherwise. Until a clinical study is done and proves efficacy, we all have to assume inefficacy. No program has passed the scientific hurdle into credibility.
In contrast to this, there are tens of thousands of local schools and tens of thousands of local treatment centers which are not abusive or neglectful in any way. This is opposed to the Aspen model which is built upon abusive and humiliating principles, as described by Oregon watchdog officials.
--- End quote ---
Also important to note that the websites of these programs are designed to sell, not inform parents of the inherant risks to children.
Most parents are unaware that the staff they contact in "Admissions" are salespeople, with financial incentives to enroll as many children as possible, with little regard to need, local resources, or circumstances.
The online assessment forms include absurd questions such as "Has your child stopped following family rules and is he/she resistant to your parenting?" (DUH, these are teenagers, this is NORMAL behavior), and transparently greedy questions such as "Are you prepared for the financial commitment of a therapeutic school or program?" (Now that's a crucial assessment question!).
Auntie Em
Anonymous:
I'm still waiting for a link. Where the hell did this come from? It reads like it's real but Google isn't telling me shit.
And you've got the basics down good, Whooter! Even when the whole place is shut down you still keep going on about "most had a good experience", then when that inevitably fails you start whining about the public sector. Anything, anything at all, to deny and deflect.
Troll Control:
--- Quote from: "AuntieEm2" ---
--- Quote from: "Dysfunction Junction" ---So, out of 500 programs (not sure if that's accurate at all), I'd estimate at least 100 have been proven unsafe (all Aspen programs built on the abusive Aspen model, e.g. MBA, ASR, etc) and ineffective and the rest are yet to be investigated.
Even if they weren't dangerous (which I believe they are) then we still have to consider the fact that they are totally ineffective and have no evidence to suggest they are otherwise. Until a clinical study is done and proves efficacy, we all have to assume inefficacy. No program has passed the scientific hurdle into credibility.
In contrast to this, there are tens of thousands of local schools and tens of thousands of local treatment centers which are not abusive or neglectful in any way. This is opposed to the Aspen model which is built upon abusive and humiliating principles, as described by Oregon watchdog officials.
--- End quote ---
Also important to note that the websites of these programs are designed to sell, not inform parents of the inherant risks to children.
Most parents are unaware that the staff they contact in "Admissions" are salespeople, with financial incentives to enroll as many children as possible, with little regard to need, resources, or circumstances.
The online assessment forms include absurd questions such as "Has your child stopped following family rules and is he/she resistant to your parenting?" (DUH, these are teenagers, this is NORMAL behavior), and transparently greedy questions such as "Are you prepared for the financial commitment of a therapeutic school or program?" (Now that's a crucial assessment question!).
Auntie Em
--- End quote ---
I often wonder how oblivious these parents must be not to see what's obviously a non-medical, unscientific questionaire designed to sell a product rather than make a true assessment. How can people not notice this blatant sales pitch with no facts to back it up?
Anonymous:
--- Quote from: "Dysfunction Junction" ---How can people not notice this blatant sales pitch with no facts to back it up?
--- End quote ---
Because they want to believe. The whole concept of "will this actually work?" never enters their heads. They have a fantasy of their children that they can't let go of, and they'll accept anything at all that supports it, and deny anything at all that refutes it. We have somebody like that on this thread right now. They are The Parent so they cannot possibly be wrong about anything, ever. They need that. It's all some of them have left. To this mindset, "abuse" and "serious long-term emotional problems" are just words that get in their way. Sooner or later reality begins to intervene, but if they pay some goon at Aspen many thousands of dollars a month to get rid of their kids, they don't need to stop pretending. And that's worth any price.
AuntieEm2:
Have a look at this Aspen assessment questionnaire:
http://http://www.parentcheckin.com/contactform/profileWilderness.asp?prId=17&aff_id=191
"Assessing Your Commitment to a Therapeutic Program to Help Your Child" has its own section with 36% of the questions, including "Please rate your level of urgency in placing your child in a wilderness or other therapeutic program by indicating when you would like to enroll him or her."
This question is soooo important for assessing which potential customer should be called first by the sales staff. Remember, this is an $83,000 a year "intervention" we are talking about--more than twice the tuition at Harvard, or the cost of two beemers a year--the salespeople have to know how to manipulate their prospective buyers. These "commitment" questions are right out of a sales handbook.
Are parents really "oblivious"? I give them the benefit of the doubt when I say that I believe most parents who are seeking help for their teenagers are frightened, desperate and vulnerable, and easy prey for the "cure-all" pitch of for-profit programs.
Auntie Em
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version