Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Aspen Education Group
Parents testimonials from the soon to close Aspen Ranch
Ursus:
--- Quote from: "NIGEL" ---I feel for these parents (I am one of them). Our kids go to Aspen Ranch in terrible shape and we all hope for the best. I sent my son there with hopes that he would have some time to figure out that the path he was on was one of self distruction and to figure out a new direction. We all hope that we will see miracles. Since we took him out just over a year ago, he has had his ups and downs. He is in a better emotional and psycholigical state, but I think that is mostly due to him maturing rather than anything he learned at Aspen Ranch (this is obviously not a scientific study, just my gut feeling). He isn't doing too well in school, but he does have plans on moving out and going to community college (my wife and I are helping him out financially). When things are going good, he is a pleasure to have around and we have great discussions and debates. We go to concerts and discuss music (we are heading out next Sunday to see System of a Down and Gogol Bordello). We went to Hawaii for a week and things couldn't have been better. When things are going bad, I am a terrible person who has ruined his life and he will never forgive me. I love my son and will do whatever I can to help him.
--- End quote ---
Nigel, at this juncture (which is still quite early in the game), do you think that sending your son to Aspen Ranch was worth it?
NIGEL:
--- Quote from: "Ursus" ---Nigel, at this juncture (which is still quite early in the game), do you think that sending your son to Aspen Ranch was worth it?
--- End quote ---
Good question, but I don't have a great answer. In hindsight, I wouldn't send him there again. The question that I can't answer is "what would have happened if I hadn't sent him?" No one knows the answer to that question. If faced with the same situation today (knowing what I know), I would probably search for more help and try to keep him at home.
Ursus:
--- Quote from: "NIGEL" ---
--- Quote from: "Ursus" ---Nigel, at this juncture (which is still quite early in the game), do you think that sending your son to Aspen Ranch was worth it?
--- End quote ---
Good question, but I don't have a great answer. In hindsight, I wouldn't send him there again. The question that I can't answer is "what would have happened if I hadn't sent him?" No one knows the answer to that question. If faced with the same situation today (knowing what I know), I would probably search for more help and try to keep him at home.
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What part of "knowing what you now know," to paraphrase you, do you think is most relevant to your family's situation?
Do you remember which elements of Aspen's marketing (overt as well as covert or implicit) proved to be most persuasive for you in deciding to send your son to Aspen Ranch?
NIGEL:
--- Quote from: "Ursus" ---What part of "knowing what you now know," to paraphrase you, do you think is most relevant to your family's situation?
Do you remember which elements of Aspen's marketing (overt as well as covert or implicit) proved to be most persuasive for you in deciding to send your son to Aspen Ranch?
--- End quote ---
The main reason I wouldn't send my son to Aspen Ranch again is because of the "prison like" atmosphere. I was hoping it was going to be more therapeutic and encouraging. I was hoping that my son would find counselors to talk to that would be good role models for him. We were happy with his primary therapist and also one of the nighttime counselors, but not so happy with many of the others that seemed to not be positive leaders. We were very happy with the equine therapy counselor and my son now has a love for horses. While there were positive elements, Aspen Ranch is a pretty depressing place overall.
As far as the marketing goes, they do have a solid webpage. We were in desperate shape when we sent our son there and didn't do all the research we should have done before sending him there, so I place all the blame on myself rather than Aspen's marketing team. That being said, while I am not a fan of Aspen Ranch, I don't know where we would be today if we had not sent my son away (no-one knows for sure). While we are all in a better place in our lives right now, we still have a long way to go.
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