Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Aspen Education Group

Mount Bachelor Academy Shut Down

<< < (12/47) > >>

Troll Control:
I think it's more ignorance on the part of the staffers, but also you are correct in saying they were indoctrinated into the view that all kids are liars and manipulators.  The program directors hammer this point regularly to staff.  

A big part of the problem is that the staff are totally uneducated (most are HS grads only, sometimes GED or no diploma at all) and don't have any real-world knowledge or experience to which to compare Aspen's criminal organizational behavior.  Many of these people are not qualified to hold any type of professional job and work for $10/hour or even less.  What they see becomes the norm for them, even as experienced and educated people tell them it is child abuse.  

Fortunately, the educated, professional state regulators know better and they put the hammer down on Aspen's child abuse framework, the "program."

FreeOfCC:
Maia Szalavitz neuroscience journalist
Posted: November 4, 2009 12:21 PM
School Using Lap Dances to Treat ADD Closed, Your Tax $ Involved, But Will It Re-Open?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maia-szal ... 45477.html

Are lap dances an effective therapy for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or drug addiction? It doesn't seem like a question that should require a serious answer--but a state investigation of Oregon's Mount Bachelor Academy (MBA) has substantiated allegations made by students and staff that such "therapy" was part of the school's "emotional growth" curriculum and forced an emergency shutdown of the campus.

Just this June, the Supreme Court had decided in favor of a couple who sued for payment of MBA's tuition to treat their son's ADHD and marijuana problem. The Court determined [pdf] that parents of disabled children do have the right to seek such taxpayer support from a school district, even if they haven't tried public special education first.

While the decision didn't specify whether MBA itself was appropriate, some districts across the country are already reimbursing parents for its current $76,000 annual tuition, despite decades of allegations of similarly inappropriate and unproven practices. [Just one example is here [pdf]
http://www.cedargrove.k12.nj.us/jorge/B ... evised.pdf

These abusive practices aren't isolated. MBA is part of the largest chain of "troubled teen" programs in the industry, Aspen Education, serving hundreds of kids. Right now, another Aspen program in Oregon--best known for being featured in the reality TV series "Brat Camp"--is under criminal investigation.
http://www.bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.d ... RSSNEWSMAP

That investigation is related to the August death of a 16-year-old boy, which the sheriff's deputy in charge of the case has called a "homicide." As in several earlier deaths in such programs, the boy was made to hike in intense heat and is thought to have died of heat stroke after staff ignored his complaints. The state made Aspen shutter the program, known as Sagewalk, in September. Websites with urls like bratcamps.com still advertise it.

But look what's going on, even when these programs don't kill kids. On Monday, Oregon's Department of Human Services released a scathing report on Mount Bachelor, saying that its "emotional growth" curriculum is "harmful and damaging" and its "methods of emotional, behavioral and mental health intervention and daily interaction with students perpetuate an environment that poses a pervasive immediate threat which places all children at risk of harm."

The state ordered the school to shut down immediately and demanded numerous disciplinary, educational and staffing changes within 90 days or its license would be revoked.

The report confirmed eight allegations of abuse involving five students, but said that those students were actually "exemplars" whose experience is "substantially consistent with the experience of all children enrolled in the program." It specifically held Executive Director Sharon Bitz to account, saying that she "either knew of the abusive practices of the agency or should have known what was happening under her authority."

Incredibly, despite that $6,400 monthly tuition and advertising claims that MBA is appropriate for teens with conditions ranging from depression, ADHD and addiction to bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, the investigation found that "MBA has only one staff member who is an Oregon licensed mental health professional, however, that staff member reported that he does not meet with every student."
http://www.mtba.com/student.html

Not surprisingly, Bitz attacked the report in a statement released to the press by Aspen's parent company CRC Health. She said, "We vigorously disagree with the state's findings. This surprising action, following seven months of cooperative work by Mount Bachelor with the state since the allegations surfaced, is not only erroneous but also creates an unnecessary burden of distress and disruption for our students and their families. As a result, we are quickly and aggressively pursuing legal options."

The investigators interviewed 65 witnesses over the course of the seven month investigation, including students, staff and the ex-employee whistleblower who first made public the allegations. They determined that MBA violated at least eleven Oregon licensing rules and was "punitive, humiliating, degrading and traumatizing."

According to their report, the school's Lifesteps seminars and other tactics involved "sexualized role play in front of staff and students," and required "students to reenact past physical abuse in front of staff and peers." Allegations of sleep deprivation were also substantiated.

Students who spoke with me for a Time Magazine online story in April--which helped spur the investigation--were stunned by the announcement. "I'm so happy now I can't even explain," said Jane* (a pseudonym).
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,881 ... 82,00.html

Before being sent to MBA, Jane had been raped. At one of the Lifesteps seminars, the 18-year-old was forced to dress as a "French maid" and perform lap dances while Kelis' sexually suggestive song "Milkshake" and similar music was played. "I was freaked out and traumatized and I couldn't do anything about it," she says.

Her friend Adam--who asked that only his first name be used--said he witnessed at least four girls and one boy who had identified himself as bisexual being made to do this "exercise." He said that when the girls performed the lap dance on him, "They were just crying." The bisexual boy had to give lap dances to both males and females.

Amber Ozier, now 24, attended MBA in 2002 and 2003. At the school, she was made to repeatedly re-enact her 10-year-old sister's accidental drowning death, which occurred at Amber's 12th birthday party.

"I feel like bricks have been lifted off me, like other kids won't have to go through the things I went though," Ozier says, "I'm glad they can't hurt any more kids or mentally torture them. That's what I feel like they were doing and I'm glad I'm not being called a liar anymore because the things I said were true."

Melissa Maisa attended MBA from 1992-1994. When I spoke to her for Time, she described having been made to do a bizarre and obscene ritual, for which she had to lie on the floor "in the sluttiest way possible" in front of male staff members and students. Through numerous repetitions, she had to put one foot on a guy's knee and say, "This foot is Christmas." Then, she'd place the other foot, saying "This foot is New Year's. Would you like to meet me between the holidays?"

Maisa said she encouraged the state investigator who interviewed her to get into the positions that she had been made to take. "It's one thing to hear the stories, but another thing entirely to put yourself in that position mentally and physically, to think about being a teenage girl far from friends and family, feeling like no one loves you and then you have to act out no one loving you."

Maisa, who had organized other former students online and urged them to share their stories with investigators added, "Everyone has their jaw on the floor right now. As a group, we're so used to being the bad kids that we can't believe that anyone finally took us seriously."

But the state indeed substantiated allegations that teens were denied necessary access to bathrooms and found that they were sometimes punished by being sent to camp alone on an island in "inclement weather," or by "strenuous" work projects. Alternatively, some were not permitted to "talk, touch or look at others and face the wall during meal time" for a week or longer.

Communication with parents was censored and restricted--and those who tried to report abuse were immediately punished or cut off from further communication. Teens were also denied legally required access to education during punishments.

During the course of the investigation, the school was aware that the Lifesteps program was under particular scrutiny. Nonetheless, according to the report after the state rejected a proposed revised program called "Transitions" because it "too closely mirrored the prohibited Lifesteps program. MBA proceeded to offer the Transitions program knowing that such choice could result in further investigation."

Failure to report a rape disclosed by a student to child welfare authorities and police as required by law and regulatory violations involving mismanagement or denial of access to medications were also found.

Given the massive number of expensive changes-- such as hiring qualified staff-- that the state requires in 90 days, it may be difficult for MBA to comply successfully in time to retain its license.

Could this be the beginning of the end for the billion dollar troubled teen industry? It's already facing severe economic challenges because of the credit crisis-- parents had paid to send their kids by mortgaging their houses to pay the over-inflated tuition.

Lawsuits could well follow the MBA shutdown and the Sagewalk death-- and school systems are likely to start looking more closely at what they are getting for the hundreds of millions spent nationally to send disabled students to these often-unregulated and rarely scrutinized facilities.

"I feel great, I'm shocked," says Susan Dowren, the whistleblower, who kept pushing investigators to look more closely. She adds, "There were more employees who wanted to speak out but felt that they couldn't jeopardize their jobs and income. I really think others wanted to, but you can't let that stand in your way, I just wanted everybody to tell the truth."

Whether that truth leads to larger and lasting changes and prompts more humane and effective treatment of teens is now up to you.


Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maia-szal ... 45477.html

FreeOfCC:
Will any of these abusers loose their licenses and go to jail? Don't they have a duty to report abuse? Are they all guilty of being implicit with the "treatment". Will they/ Can they plead ignorance?

Our Methods
Our methods emphasize acquisition of self-awareness and self-esteem, and the development of problem-solving and decision-making skills through experiential learning. Students deal with situational living, as well as personal issues in communication skills groups two to three times weekly.
Students learn to address issues that have prevented them from achieving academic and personal success in a highly structured, nurturing, healthy peer environment. The Academy's highly skilled teaching faculty and staff members have proven records in working with children who may have displayed behavior that is symptomatic of low self-esteem and self-concept.
http://www.mtba.com/

Clinical Services
?Our Clinical Oversight Counselor is a Licensed Professional Counselor, and holds certifications in CPC, EMDRC, and CBTC.
?Our Program Director is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.
?Our Chemical Dependency Counselor is licensed and certified.
?Our Phase II Leader holds a Masters in Counseling with a CHSC certification.
?Mount Bachelor Academy employs 11 counselors or program managers with Master’s Degrees.
In addition, Mount Bachelor Academy has on-campus medical oversight, specialized therapeutic services, and psycho-educational testing. Our testing is done by Psychological Solutions, and you may visit their website here to learn more about the staff and the type of testing they do.
Learn more about our Faculty and Staff here.

Faculty and staff at Mount Bachelor Academy consist of credentialed and master's degreed secondary level teachers, a full time certified learning needs specialist, bachelor's and master's degreed mentors (each team of mentors includes a licensed or certified clinician), clinically licensed Program Director and Clinical Oversight Counselor, wilderness first responder or EMT credentialed wilderness instructors, two full time licensed nurses, a full time Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor, and consulting medication management oversight. Staff members receive training in Crisis Prevention and Intervention, Suicide Prevention and Intervention, Wilderness First Responder, CPR and First Aid among other specializations. Teachers also receive special in-service trainings on brain based learning, ADD & ADHD, learning styles, among other specialized modes of teaching. Mount Bachelor Academy staff members are certified in Adoption Clinical Training through the Kinship Center which qualifies them in the areas of grief and loss and maladaptive attachment issues. Team MBA

Mount Bachelor Academy's success as an ideal learning environment and a place where students can safely develop their own identities lies in the dedication and commitment of its staff members. Each MBA staff member considers himself a mentor to students in all that they do. Teaching takes place not only in the classroom, but also at mealtime, during group sessions, in the evening during activities, and in the dorms. We consider it our responsibility to be purposeful and provide opportunities for learning in all that we do with students.

Teachers and mentors strive to integrate students' academic studies with their lessons in personal growth. Consistency and teamwork provide a supportive path on which students can confidently travel. These staff members go beyond their job description requirements to provide the kind of personal relationships that students can trust. For Mount Bachelor Academy staff members, assisting students in their journey of self discovery and aiding their arrival to a productive adulthood is more than a job worth doing, it's their mission.

Executive Director | Admissions | Clinical Services | Academics | Health Services
Residential | Alumni and Parent Outreach Services | Administration | Contract Services

Executive Director
Sharon Bitz, M.S.
Executive Director
Sharon has a Masters degree in Family Therapy and a Bachelors in International Business from University of Oregon. Sharon has over 19 years of experience working with youth at risk and began working at MBA in 1990. She has been the Executive Director at Mount Bachelor since 1997. In a former career, she was a Financial Consultant for Shearson Lehman Bros. and a volunteer worker on Child Abuse Hotline in Portland, Oregon. Recently, Sharon presented at the national NATSAP conference on the topic of Working with Adoptive Families in Residential Placement and has written several articles related to adoption and loss. She is proud of keeping Mount Bachelor fresh and cutting edge by integrating research from the field of neuro-science into the school through mindfulness, yoga, and non-verbal therapies; raising the level of clinical oversight and therapy available to families enrolled at MBA, and working to integrate evidence based practice into all areas of the school. In her personal time she enjoys gardening and writing.

Admissions
Kelli Hoffman
Admissions Director
Kelli Hoffman has worked at Mount Bachelor Academy since 1990. She has over 21 years of experience working with youth and families. She is passionate about her job as Admissions Director. She comes to work each day with a desire to help families through a difficult time in their lives and rejoices with students and their parents at their successes.
Kelli is married to Bill Hoffman, our Residential Director. In her spare time, Kelli enjoys time with her husband, four children and grandson. She also enjoys gardening and antiquing.

Krimsen Bauman
Admissions Counselor
Krimsen is the Admissions Counselor at Mount Bachelor Academy. She has worked at the school since October of 2006. Krimsen brings experience working with special needs children to her position at Mount Bachelor Academy. Krimsen's favorite part of her job is seeing the growth in students and their families from enrollment to graduation. In her spare time she loves to spend time doing recreational activities such as camping, boating, and hiking with her family.

Clinical Services
Matthew Lovell, LMFT
Program Director
Matthew Lovell has over 20 years of clinical counseling experience in acute-care, residential treatment centers, therapeutic schools and private practice, working with children, adolescents, and their families. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley, and his Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from John F. Kennedy University. He became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California in 1998, and Virginia in 2007. He is license eligible as an LPC in Oregon.
As an Adjunct Professor at National University, Matthew has taught courses in child development and family therapy. His former positions include being a founding member of the clinical treatment team at Saint Vincent's Hospital in New York, Program Director at Cascade School, and private practice Family Therapist and most recently Dean of Advising at Carlbrook School. Matthew is married and has two adolescent children of his own.

Jim Clark, LPC, CBT, EMDR
Clinical Oversight Counselor
Jim has a Masters in Guidance and Counseling from California Lutheran University. He is an LPC in the State of Oregon as well as a National Certified Counselor. Jim holds certifications in EMDR and CBT.
Jim has over 23 years of experience working with youth, and 18 of those years, he focused on youth at-risk. Previously, Jim was the Director of Residence of Happy Valley School for 17 years.

Jackie Thompson, M.S.
Substance Abuse Counselor
Jackie joined the team at Mount Bachelor Academy in September 2009. She was born and raised in west central Wisconsin. Jackie received her Masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an emphasis in Alcohol and Other Drug Counseling and a Masters in Secondary Counseling from the University of Wisconsin - Stout. She also holds a Bachelors in Family Life Education with a Minor in Nutrition from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point.
Jackie began her career working in a community setting with children and adolescents as well as adults diagnosed with sever cognitive disabilities and co-occurring mental health disorders. Jackie has counseling experience in elementary, middle and high school settings and worked as a career counselor at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Jackie also has clinical counseling experience working in residential treatment with juvenile delinquents diagnosed with mental health disorders, substance abuse, and other addictive behaviors.
Jackie enjoys helping others, hiking, biking, running, and rock climbing. She also enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, drawing, and learning on a daily basis.

Academics
Glenn Austin, M.A.
Academics Director
Glenn joined the MBA team in July 2001. He carries Bachelors in English and Music and a Masters in Music from Azusa Pacific University. He also has done graduate work in Musicology (music history) from Claremont Graduate University. The best part about working at MBA for Glenn is connecting with students. He has an open door policy, and even though he is in a management position, he has opportunities to teach through La Mancha or Shakespeare Classroom.
Glen enjoys seeing students catch up with their schooling, graduating high school or getting accepted into college. In his spare time, Glenn enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with his wife, Nancy. They like to garden and travel together. Also, he enjoys classical music and good drama—stage and screen both.

Lisa Fairman, M.S.
Special Education Director
Lisa earned her undergraduate degree in English at the University of Pittsburgh, and a Master of Science in Education at Duquesne University. Lisa is an Oregon licensed teacher with endorsements in Language Arts and Special Education. In the summer of 2009, she obtained her continuing teaching license in these specialized areas. Lisa is also considered “highly qualified” as a teacher of Language Arts according to No Child Left Behind standards. She came to MBA in 1999 from the Pressley Ridge Schools in Pittsburgh, PA. At Pressley Ridge, Lisa was a teacher/counselor in a residential treatment facility, and then started a therapeutic foster care program. Lisa's goal at MBA is for students to rediscover their passion for learning and to become self-advocates. She believes that everyone naturally loves to learn, and through positive classroom experiences students can regain this. She tells her students that she is at MBA because she doesn't want students to hate high school as much as she did! A true life-long learner, Lisa's latest venture is in flower and vegetable gardening.

Ashlee Johnson, M.A.
Guidance Counselor
Ashlee is excited about the opportunity to positively impact youth as a new member of Mount Bachelor Academy. Ashlee graduated from Texas State University in 2006 with a Bachelors in Communications and Business as well as a teaching certification. After teaching high school speech and debate in Texas for two years, her craving for adventure and the great outdoors led her to Phoenix where she taught at a charter school, worked as a guide in the Grand Canyon, and began her Masters in Counseling. She enjoys connecting with students, pushing them to reach their highest potential and creating positive experiences. In her spare time, Ashlee enjoys everything life and the outdoors has to offer. She loves hiking, camping, rock climbing, cycling, running, scuba diving, sky diving, and traveling.

Terrie Richards
Registrar
Terrie came to MBA in September 2009. She is Northern Idaho born and raised and moved to Central Oregon in November 2007. Terrie brings administrative and customer service strength to our school through her previous jobs.
Terrie enjoys working at Mount Bachelor Academy because she likes to be a part of the students' lives. She appreciates seeing them work towards their dreams and making good decisions for themselves.
In her free time, Terrie enjoys bow hunting, camping and spending time with her friends and family in the outdoors.

Health Services
Susie Fisher, L.P.N.
Student Health Services Manager
Susie joined the MBA team in 2008. She holds a LPN from Portland Adventist Hospital School of Practical Nursing and has a long history working in the medical field. She worked as an LPN for 19 years at the Canby Medical Clinic in Canby, Oregon. After that, she was the Nursing Coordinator at Prineville Medical Clinic. In her spare time, Susie enjoys spending time with her family on their ranch.

Residential
Bill Hoffman, B.S.
Residential Director
Bill has been working with MBA since July 1990. During his two decades of dedication to the school, Bill has worn many different hats. Bill currently is serving as the Residential Director, which involves hands-on, front-line work with our students. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Recreation Management with an emphasis in Youth and Family Agency Leadership from San Diego State University. Bill is also a certified staff trainer in Residential Child and Youth and helped Aspen Education Group establish and set guidelines for the Residential Best Practices Committee.. Outside of MBA, Bill has taught Parent Education classes through the local community college.
Bill loves the challenge of seeing a young person struggle to find their true self identity and assisting them on their journey. He loves helping kids take on leadership roles on campus and setting up fun, recreational activities that build social skills and self esteem. In his spare time, Bill also enjoys everything football, gardening, hiking, being physically active and spending time with his family.

Alumni and Parent Outreach Services
Alex Bitz
Alumni Services and Parent Outreach Director
Educated in Film and theatre arts in Romania, Alex Bitz became a political refugee and came to the USA in 1984. He is a founding staff member of MBA. Since 1988 he has brought his creativity and passion to every aspect of the school (workshops, training, mentoring, arts, etc.). After more than 20 years of successfully working with children and families, Alex is as consumed with the work as he was his first day. Presently, he still wears several hats within our community: Outreach Director, Staff Trainer, and Phase IV Leader, just to name a few.

Mina Steen, M.S.
Parent Services Liaison
Mina brings to this field a 25-year history of professional and volunteer work, focused on the physical and emotional development of children and adolescents. Since 2001, Mina has devoted herself to gaining the specific education and experience necessary to be of significant help to struggling youth and their families. In early 2008, Mina completed a Masters degree in Human Services from Capella University. Mina has also attended trainings and conferences in related fields. She has completed the Professionals In Residence Program at the Hazelden Foundation's Center for Youth and Families. She has toured over 80 therapeutic schools and programs across the United States. In her personal life, Mina is married and the mother of two children, ages 24 and 27. She is a Board member of St. Luke's Hospital, in Kansas City and serves on the Emergency Room, Graduate Medical Education, Medical Research, and End Of Life committees. Past volunteer activities include: President of the Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri, Chairman of the Shawnee Mission Education Foundation, Shawnee Mission East PTA, and Chairman of the Children's TLC Groundhog Run and Chairman of the Children's Mercy Hospital Golf Classic.

Administration
Bill Gowen
Director of Operations
Bill Gowen joined the MBA team in 1995. As Director of Operations, he oversees the management of food services, the business office, facilities maintenance, transportation, safety, security and health services. Prior to MBA, Bill worked in the aerospace industry for 28 years. He has a Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto. Bill thrives on the variety and diversity in his job.

Kathy Carter
Human Resources Manager
Kathy holds a Bachelors in Psychology from San Diego State University, where she graduated Magna cum laude. She also has graduate level work in Education Administration. She joined the MBA staff in 1988, two weeks before our first students arrived. Kathy hopes, for each student at MBA, that they have a job in their life that is as exciting and evolving as hers at MBA. She likes her job because she feels like her job has always had purpose, that of contributing to the success of our students.

Susie Carroll
Finance Manager
Susie holds a Bachelors in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from Washington State University. Susie has been at MBA since the beginning in 1988, when there were only 7 students on campus and no computers. Today, she lives on a small ranch 11 miles from campus and raises farm animals.

Contract Services
Deborah Coehlo, C-PNP, PhD
Medication Oversight Coordinator
Deborah, representing Juniper Ridge Clinic, is certified as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner with a Doctoral Degree in Family Sciences and Human Development. She, with her husband, Thomas, oversee student medications on our campus. She specializes in behavioral and developmental pediatrics, combining medical, physiological, sociological, and developmental approaches to solving complex needs of today's adolescents. In her position, Deborah hopes to promote the highest quality interdisciplinary approach to assessment, diagnosis and planning for care that minimizes an adolescent's abilities and functioning, connecting them and their family to optimal care. Deborah believes that each child is an individual, and deserves individual care and experiences that led to a fulfilling life.

Thomas Coehlo, C-FNP
Medication Oversight Coordinator
Thomas, representing Juniper Ridge Clinic, is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner specializing in the care of children and adults across the life span. He, with his wife, Deborah oversee student medications on our campus. He specializes in mental health, ADD, and bipolar disorders, combining medical and social factors to provide optimal care for those challenged with learning, biochemical and social challenges. In his position, Thomas desires to advocate for and teach families best practices to help their child grow, learn, behave and communicate well. Thomas believes that the best care comes from families working with specialists to enhance functioning, communication, and success across the lifespan.

Rebecca Herreman, Psy.D.
Licensed Psychologist
Rebecca J Herreman, a licensed psychologist, grew up in Indiana, earned her Doctor of Psychology in 2006 from the University of Denver, and is now a resident of Portland, Oregon. She has worked clinically with children, adolescents, and their families for eight years in a number of settings and capacities including schools, wilderness programs, private practice, and social skills groups. Her areas of interest and training include: trauma, attachment issues, learning disabilities, ADHD, autistic spectrum disorders, group therapy, and multicultural issues. Rebecca is also passionate about international work and using her mental health training she has volunteered internationally in both Bosnia and on the Thai/Burma border. She spends most of her free time in Oregon fixing up an old house or relaxing with friends on the river or a trail.

To learn more about Psychological Solutions, click here.
Many "Mentors" for different levels
http://www.mtba.com/team.html

FreeOfCC:
So, this was just lip service to address their critics and appease parents? They know what they're doing. est/Lifespring is the foundation this industry was built upon.

Posted: Oct 25, 2006
15:12  
ACADEMY AT SWIFT RIVER
Cummington, Massachusetts

Swift River Team To Discuss New Developments And Applications
Of Psychodrama At Miami IECA Workshop Entitled: "Lifesteps or Mis-steps?"
Contact:
Paul Ravenscraft
800-258-1770 (206)
www.swiftriver.com

October 24, 2006

The emotional growth schools that emerged in the 1960's incorporated a number of expressive therapy techniques and experiential methods that were "popular" in the 1960's and 70's such as marathon, encounter groups, and psychodrama. Emotional growth schools recognize the role of feeling and powerful, here-and-now experiences for adolescents.

Advances, however, in our understanding of trauma, the adolescent brain and disorders of affect regulation have correspondingly led to more judicious applications of expressive therapies. These understandings have played a key role in Swift River's implementation of an evidenced based clinical model.

This workshop, hosted by Director of Counseling, Frank Bartolomeo, M.S.W., A.B.D. and Ed Schreiber M.Ed., T.E.P., Director of Moreno Institute East, will focus on psychodramatic techniques and especially the role of catharsis. Psychodramatic methods can be very powerful, however, when misapplied can create the risk of harm especially for certain adolescent populations. This workshop will address these misapplications and offer guidelines for safe, competent application of psychodramatic work.

Frank Bartolomeo, M.S.W, A.B.D.: Since January 2005, Frank Bartolomeo has been the Director of Counseling at Academy at Swift River in Cummington, Massachusetts. Prior to Swift River, Frank practiced in the Boston area and served as clinical director of a specialized trauma clinic, Children's Charter, Inc., and as director of the child and adolescent outpatient group therapy program at McLean Hospital. Frank was also an assistant clinical professor at the Boston University School of Social Work.

Edward Schreiber M.Ed., T.E.P., is a Trainer, Educator, Practitioner of Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy. He is Director of the Moreno Institute East, a training center located in Western Massachusetts. Mr. Schreiber is co-editor, along with Toni Horvatin, of a recently published book on psychodrama: "The Quintessential Zerka: Writings by Zerka Toeman Moreno on Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy" by Routledge Press

FreeOfCC:
OUT OF THE SIXTIES
By: Lon Woodbury

Those of us old enough to remember the 1960s will recall a decade of tremendous change, creativity and turmoil. It was a turning point decade, a time when many of the old attitudes were cast off and new directions taken. At least one national social critic has asserted that when you look at the things going wrong in this country today, they all came out of the 1960s. On the other hand, many of our most respected contemporary values were products of the 1960s.

In education and personal growth, a tremendous amount of creativity and new thinking began during the 1960s. Traditional public and private education thinking was widely challenged. The traditional interventions for emotional and behavioral problems of juvenile detention or hospitalization were criticized as harmful all too often.

Storefront schools and other experimental and experiential forms of education flourished, as they tried to break away from the traditional model of education founded on the concept of the factory in the early years of the 20th century. In personal growth, we saw est, lifespring, synanon, a variety of eastern mystic ideas brought to this country, and a host of other movements with new visions of how to increase human potential. In addition, the concept of individual therapy provided by credentialed therapists, rooted in at least the trappings of science and credentials, finally became accepted legally and culturally. This was marked by the legal acceptance of alcoholism as a disease in 1962, rather than the old view of it being only a moral problem. The 1960s was a cornucopia of new ideas and experimentation, starting a process of developing, interacting, and evolving to find better ways to educate and help young people.

The network of emotional growth/therapeutic schools and programs this newsletter focuses on evolved directly out of the experimentation going on in the 1960s. Part of this experimentation was to establish schools for at-risk adolescents as private alternatives, with parental choice driving enrollment decisions. These influences are still evident, it is these roots in the experimentation of the sixties that make this network unique from other education and mental health associations and networks. Many of the people and schools who started working with struggling teens during the creativity of the 1960s, are still around.

Larry Dean Olson, founder of Anasazi Foundation, discovered that students at Brigham Young University did better academically after going on one of his wilderness experiences in the late sixties, and Larry Wells, Founder of Wilderness Quest, found that taking young Idaho prisoners into the wilderness in the early 1970s reduced recidivism rates drastically. In addition, many of the programs in Montana were founded by people who had worked at, or been inspired by, Spring Creek Community School, a backwoods alternative school founded by Steve Cawdry in the late sixties or early 70s. Cawdry closed the school down several years ago, but its influence remains.

The late Mel Wasserman founded the CEDU School in 1967, and CEDU probably had the most widespread influence on this network. Originally, Wasserman saw how many of the young people he met around his hometown of Palm Springs, California in the mid-sixties were living in total chaos. They had real problems with drugs, relationships and parents, and from the standard institutions and interventions of the time, there was nothing available to effectively help them. He decided to go into the school business. He founded CEDU specifically as an alternative school, designed to provide what these confused young people desperately needed. His genius was in selecting from the currents of experimentation floating around the sixties, those elements that created a whole child education system by addressing their physical, mental and emotional growth. The term Emotional Growth education came out of the CEDU approach. CEDU became extremely successful in helping young people as an alternative to therapeutic institutions. CEDU expanded to establish several north Idaho schools by the 1990s and added the two schools currently in California. More importantly, many people who worked at CEDU left to establish their own schools, or took key positions in other schools, adding their own personal ideas to what they had learned at CEDU. A significant number of the schools in the Emotional Growth/Therapeutic schools and programs network were developed or strongly influenced by people who were originally inspired by their CEDU experience.

Another early school was Elan, in Poland Springs, Maine. Established in 1970, Elan was strongly influenced by the behavioral concepts prevalent at the time, developing into an extremely tightly structured behavioral modification school. Although Elan itself has not grown to beyond the one school, I have met several people elsewhere in the Northeast who had once worked at Elan. It seems Elan?s approach differed from the norm, and it opened people up to the idea that there were ways beyond the traditional to construct a school or program for struggling teens, and they proceeded to act on that insight.

Provo Canyon School, in Provo Utah, was founded in 1971. Although a secure treatment center, they employed several new ideas, including thinking of themselves as a school, and referring to their residents as students instead of patients. Today, there are many schools and programs in Utah that were either founded by people who had once worked for Provo Canyon School, or learned the business from an ex-employee of Provo Canyon School.

Other important influences were Campbell Loughmiller, and his book Wilderness Road, published 1965, from his work with the Salesmanship Club near Dallas. This book, and the Salesmanship Club, found a kid?s behavior gets better after camping out. Primarily influential in the Southeast, this concept of long term camping inspired the Three Springs programs and the Eckerd Programs, along with a number of other smaller programs.

So, what's my point? First, if you start tracing the history of influences on many of the schools in the network of Emotional Growth/ Therapeutic schools and programs, you usually wind up back to just a handful of early founders. Also, much of what is most successful and creative in the schools and programs in this network came directly out of the creative thinking and experimenting that occurred in the 1960s.
http://www.strugglingteens.com/archives ... s0404.html

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page