Look, psy, I have seen the phone banks. I made some calls using them. Unless the child is screaming on the phone there is little chance that anyone can hear what the kids are saying, especially with multiple conversations going on simultaneously. But I do understand that if there was that lone last child calling home and they were in the room alone with a staffer and the room was quiet for that period of time then his/her conversation could be overheard. So I see how some kids could say that their calls were being monitored.
From what I recall at Hyde, the phones were always located in areas that were relatively populated (e.g., in the hallways, near the central activity areas). In the dorms, it seemed like the higher up kids were housed in the rooms closest to the phones, but maybe that was just coincidence.
Given the way the peer culture is inculcated there, you'd have to be insane to complain or to convey too much negative information to your parents on the phone given that, in all likelihood, you'd be reamed a new asshole for your "bad attitude" during the next seminar if not that very evening by your dorm head (as well as during the next seminar). I can't speak for how things are now, but I can't imagine that they're much different.
The phones at Hyde may not have been physically monitored as in something analogous to a wiretap. But... that's because the psychological environment there created a self-censorship far more effective.
:shamrock: :shamrock:
Peer pressure @ 14,15 or 16 yrs of age is very persuasive, if not said to you verbally then in conjecture from others. Whooter lets not rule out that element, especially being insecure and confused at first being in a treatment center.
Now I will say this the programs I have visited along with a staff members, while they were on duty at night showed very little supervision concerning phone calls. Probably because there was nothing to whine about. I will not rule out peer pressure being used as a tool to silence descent.
While I was staff phone calls were aloud and were monitored not because of what one might say about the program but to make sure you were calling your parents and not your lovers, friends, someone to come get you out of there, or calling the pizza man, (like someone did while I was there and had ordered 20 pizzas), very funny at the time. The pizza guy showed up with the pizzas during group time, I think during a primal scream check this out, "I want my Pizzzzzzzaaaaaaaaa" boom it's there. Seriously this happened, our Director at the time used to always order pizza for staff and himself and of course it would come to the door and we would deliver it upstairs to his office. That smell of pizza as a kid was overwhelming, so much that one resident (never found out) tried to get us all pizza but our Director would not pay for them and refused the order. Damn Ed Freidman.
Anyway so it is not always to make sure little Tommy is not bad-rapping the program it is for many reasons. I am sure Mom and Dad are expecting you to say bad things about a school/program they just hired to kidnap you, blindfold you and cart you off 1000 miles away.......DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What do you expect little Tommy to say, hey I am having a great time hauling rocks around and telling folks how I feel.
Danny