split off

[shady grove]

Anyone remember split offs? This was the major guilt-type brainwashing that affected me alot. "I'm scared for this group..." Blah Blah. When there were alot of misbehavers and start-overs, staff would separate the girls and guys physically in separate rooms. Upper phasers would cry about how scared they were that the group was declared unstable...and everyone had a general anxiety about either being caught, accused or abused. It occured like every 6 months so it really had an effect. Only singing "straight is it" or nine to nine, etc...not the cutsey songs. And we would sing them over and over. They really thrived on surprising us...catching us offguard. What a shitty therapeutic technique!

[Anonymous]

I was there for at least one of these split offs...

"Froderik"

[Carmel]

We were never "split-off" per se...but the whole "this group is going down" syndrome appeared frequently.  Staff remedied the "situation" by calling in all days off for 3, 4, and 5 phasers....and generally stripping all priviledges.  Once I made 3rd phase, I was just in time to lose any and all hope of ever doing anything above a 2nd phase level...until I reached 5th phase at least.  

Staff failed to realize that the sorry condition of the group, such as it was in their eyes, was due to the horrible overcrowding of clients.  We had ceased to be in therapy, and spent most of our time trying to handle the onslaught of newcomers.  Our group was pushing max density as it was, and when they transfered over the LA people....it went directly the fuck over the edge.  Not enough staff, and not nearly enough people getting promoted to handle the newcomers.  One or two kids made 2nd 3rd or 4th phase every three months or so and the rest were either newcomers, or nonexistent 5th phasers.  I would wager there were close to 200 kids in group BEFORE California came.  A good 80% of them newcomers.  I felt for those kids because it became so much more difficult to progress....Staff could give a shit where they were in their program, as long as they kept pouring in.  I was going home alone with 5-6 newcomers every single night...usually 2-3 of them misbehaving.  The times I had to make COC calls when they would go crazy, some staff guy would come over and just sit down and bullshit about stuff with the misbehavers while I continued to bust my ass.  I always wish I could go back and just fuck off like those kids did.

Their greed began to outweigh their capacity to function.  Of course, it was all OUR fault though.

 

The people's right to change what does not work is one of the greatest
principles in our system of government

--Richard M. Nixon

[RTP2003]

On 2004-09-16 07:01:00, Carmel wrote:

  We had ceased to be in therapy,

We were NEVER "in therapy" at Straight, Carmel.

It was abuse, plain and simple.  The overcrowding did not interfere with it, because it (therapy) was never being done in the first place.

[Carmel]

I understand that RTP.  I was merely using it as a reference, such as it is.

My perspective is that of the staff, in a way.  I suppose I meant it in a context of how it didnt even seem possible for staff to be able to justify to themselves any longer that what was occuring in group was "therapy" anymore.  We were very aware that what was hapening was not "therapy".  I was using the word as a tangible reference to what I condsider to be the beginning of the end, so to speak.

If you consider the rest of my post, you may get the impression that I was decidedly AGAINST what was happeneing.

Peace and abstinence from European interferences are our objects, and so will continue while the present order of things in America remain uninterrupted.
--Thomas Jefferson

[RTP2003]

You are correct--and I didn't think for a minute that you were referring to anything from Straight as being real therapy-- I just like to slam the program every chance I get.

 :wave:

[whiterabbit]

In Straight st Pete in the early 80's the terminology was slightly different.The term "split" referred to people who ran away or "split" the program."Cop outs" were people who withdrew themselves usually from  4th or 5th phase and "terminations" were those who had 7 stepped but refused to return for a refresher or be started over whichevr the staff thought they needed. At that point, unless the parents forcibly put them back in, their relationship with straight and everyone in it was severed and they were "terminated".Everyone still involved with the program had to act as if they died or never existed.

Even though they didn't refer to it as split offs, we also had the group is't doing well phenomena. I agree Carmel, that it had everything to do with capacity. In 1980 and most of 81 none of the other programs had opened yet except for Sarasota. The group was massive.Before Sarasota left there was something like 400 kids in group. Sarasota took 140 or so when they left in 80 but by the summer of 81 the group had swollen up to around 300 again. It was so brutally hot and nearly impossible to called on. Kids were just giving up, running away or misbehaving left and right. I remember sitting in the building with the walls sweating just watching dozens of people carve on themselves. One day like a dozen people guys and girls made a break for the doors at the same time. Only two actually got away. We were sleeping 6 to a room at most homes because there were so many people from out of town.People were just too hot, too exhausted and too distracted to "make progress" in a group of that size.

I never had a single day off on 4th phase and had exactly 2 on 5th. It was "days in" all the f@#*g time because the group wasn't doing well. All the rip raps, exercise raps and lethargic  renditions of "Rainbow made of children" didn't help one bit.

Wicked men obey from fear, good men from love.
--Aristotle

[PerfectStraightling]

Let's see...when I was there in Dallas in 89, we had copping out which was running away. Getting pulled if your parents took you. Walked if you walked yourself out. This reminds me of a story. There was one guy I remember, he came in and immediately told the group and everyone he could that he was turning 18 in 2 weeks, and that he wanted to leave then. We spent 2 weeks talking to him about it, people were trying their hardest to talk him out of it, and then the day came...and he left. Well, then in group we were told that it actually hadn't been his 18th B-day, and he had made it all up, and the host home parents didn't know and let him walk out. I thought he was the smartest guy ever. But now that I think about it, I wonder if the story was even true.
Anyways, we had probably 150 kids, almost all guys. Almost everyone was under 4th phase. There were only about 15 girls so I think it was easier for us to get called on than for the guys.

[PerfectStraightling]

Also I remember we'd get the no days off thing, esp. I think for probably a couple of months while I was there, it seemed to be like that all the time. And it seemed like during that time there were constant restraints and screaming. I think all the focus of "the group being in a bad place" just made people completely freaking hysterical.

[gduncan]

Ah, yes the ?no days off when the group was in a bad place? technique ?I remember it well.  In hindsight it seems to imply that it was the 4th and 5th phaser?s fault and having them in group was going to make everything better.  So, why was the group is such a bad place to begin with?   Hmmm?let me think?could it be that the staff was not doing their job?!  And where was staff when 4th and 5th phaser?s were in group?  Enjoying their days off?

[Antigen]

On the eve of my final exit, we had one of those raps. All days and permissions called in, up to and including standing school bus permissions ... My split plan absolutely depended on my getting on that damned bus the next afternoon ... for 3rd and 4th phasers.... I was on 5th... even better, no wittnesses! I almost couldn't contain my excitement! My plan dashed and then pulled out of the shitter, all within a couple of sylables! I almost fainted.

How's it goin, dude, long time no hear from ha.

The hypothalamus is one of the most important parts of the brain, involved in many kinds of motivation, among other functions.  The hypothalamus controls the "Four F's": 1. fighting;  2. fleeing;  3.feeding; and  4. mating.
-- Psychology professor in neuropsychology intro course

[Don Smith]

In Cincinnati I don't recall "split off's"

We had:
Cop Outs (Ran away)
Withdrawn (Usually the parents pulled them)
Pull's (adult signing themselves out)
Terminated (Usually adults)

I do remember the "Groups not doing well" gig too.  I also remember people standing up in tears scared for the group.  Like WTH? What were they going to do close up shop?  Terminate everyone?  It was stupid.  

I only remember having my days off called in twice.  Both times it was because I was "irresponsible" with different things like not getting a permission signed correctly or coming in late from work.

Don

[linchpin]

Persist for...resistance
Resist their insolence
You are a dissident
Burn away conformity

[linchpin]

Im fucking glad I got pulled in 1/89..But yah the richardson building had alot of kids too..
 But was always the same people getting ripped daily
..me , Carmen Y, Everett..
 Oh well thats neither here nor there..

[shady grove]

Don I think I remember them also saying "the group is called in" or "4th and 5th pahsers are called in". Does that ring a bell in Cincinatti?

We didn't have pull's, but had every other term you mentioned.