Fornits

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An open discussion about the troubled parent industry

I'm just amazed... her spending so much time in these threads bashing people and working hard to convince all of us that she is superior. I recall her saying that she doesn't spend much time here. Right.

There's something very wrong with that person.

Hey FCT!  Nice to see you again.

YES, Anne IS posting, and quite heavily.  However, she's doing her victim-bashing and head-hunting in the HLA threads mostly.

Jesus, man. I am astonished at what you write here. I'm very glad I never was in a profeet. It sounds very, very sick. The kind of thing that makes a kid lose sight of himself - his true self.

Sick bastards.

You are a gifted writer. I hope you pursue writing.

Geez - what a great question. I don't have any idea if they had them in Running Springs. But what I gathered about raps was that they were intense, abusive, hurtful, blaming/shaming events. Hmmm... I can think of a few staff I knew whom I would LIKE to have to go through something like that...

The descriptions of the raps that I heard were that they were the exact opposite of therapy. That kind of stuff certainly isn't therapeutic, and I think it can become a lingering, painful part of a person.

I'm wondering... having gone through a lot of "raps" (I always thought the name was stupid, as well), do former CEDU victims have difficulty with meetings in the workplace? I'm imagining - a big meeting and the CEO is unhappy... would these people be more nervous because they were subjected to raps?

On 2004-08-01 17:19:00, shanlea wrote:

"One thing I always wanted to know was if teh staff had raps amongst themselves and if they were as crazy as the house raps. Were they the same? Different?"

Thank you, Serb. I'm sick of this guy. I thought you might gallop in.

I'll post about this - but in brief, you cannot develop bipolar disorder from any experience - it's strictly genetic. I did see kids who came in with that diagnosis, but it was incorrect.

PTSD is a different creature altogether. I've heard STAFF say they had it.

Here are a couple of websites:

http://www.isaccorp.org/cults.html
http://www.thestraights.com/page2/page2.htm

I don't have the time right now to respond as I would like to. But that first one - isaccorp.org is great. Look at that and click on the like to Rick Ross.

I'll post later... perhaps this weekend. I appreciate an opportunity to lend any insight I might have. I'm not the smartest person and I certainly have my limits... including a short time there a long time ago. There is a lot I don't know. But I'll do my best.

I do know that it's hard, after an experience like this, to know how you would feel had you not had it. This is a real quandry - what does one attribute these feelings to? Would I feel like this anyway? Was it CEDU that did this? Did CEDU just make things worse... so I might have these feelings but not as intensely? As one of you posted - maybe you were "odd ducks" to begin with. It's true that some of the kids I saw were exceptional. Truly. Brilliant, creative... outside the box. Some parents could not handle this. And kids who used drugs... parents were worried they would hurt themselves and didn't know what to do. And I did see kids who had permanent brain damage... but most of them were just fine.

I would tell the parents that I really wasn't worried about their kid. That the kid would be fine in the long run. They were so happy to hear this, of course. Some said, "thank you for believing in my child." How sad!

I do want to give you a thoughtful response. So I'll come back to this. I've never heard of PTCD - it's not a diagnosis at this time... but that does not mean it doesn't exist. Certainly, there are worse cults. Much worse. But yes, I do see a lot of traits of a cult in CEDU.

I'll get back you you guys. I do hope you have a happy and safe New Year. And I do wish to thank you for your kindness. That person with me in his/her crosshairs was just too weird.

Is anyone else having trouble with punctuation showing up as Greek characters? I can go back and edit and correct them, but who needs to do that? Anybody having this trouble? Maybe it's my computer.[ This Message was edited by: former CEDU therapist on 2005-12-30 19:35 ]

HA HA HA!!! Oh, my GOD!!! I despise CEDU - you can't imagine how much! Geez - have I ever said ANYTHING here that indicated I'm pro-CEDU?!?!?! Geez, Louise. This is funny!

I am a real person. I never was a CEDU employee. I was a therapist for a very brief period and VERY QUICKLY started looking for a job so I could leave that hell hole.

I was FIRED b.c. they thought I was telling parents to pull their kids! I reported CEDU to a personal friend who worked at CPS. I also reported to County of San Bernardino Behavioral Health (they couldn't do anything, but they told me they hated CEDU), and I reported to the sheriff's dept. They could not do anything, either! NO ONE could do ANYTHING if no law was being broken. HOWEVER, there was a deputy who had an ongoing CEDU file.

The hospital "up the hill" - Mountain Hospital - hated CEDU. Loma Linda hated CEDU. Good GOD - what have I ever said here to make you think that?!?! WRITING STYLES??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

That's what Ottawa used to do. She analyzed writing styles and tried to figure out who was whom. Oh, boy - I have to tell you - you gave me a BIG laugh.

I've revealed myself to a couple of people here whom I trust. Oh, this is too funny - sad, but funny.

I even had to ask Ginger to delete some of my posts because I had revealed a lot of what I had seen in my time there - and what I saw was VERY limited because I was not an employee and I wasn't there long. I never, ever went to a Profeet because I knew that would be inappropriate. I posted some things and then Ottawa started talking about printing posts and calling lawyers and I confess - I got nervous. BUT I called the deputy and let him know what was up. He said that she could not hurt me if I was telling the truth. But he's not an attorney - I trust him, but I still was nervous. I have a family I am responsible for.

One of the CEDU victims had a lawsuit going. He posted here giving the attorney's name and inviting people to call. I called the attorney TWICE and left messages - he never called back. I think I just didn't have enough to be of interest to him.

I'm just astonished at this. Don't I get to have some anonymity? Hey, we're all on the same side here. Years later, I still am haunted by what I saw there. I never, ever expected anything like that. I didn't even know what an "emotional growth school" was. When I first got there, it looked just wonderful... as it does to parents, I'm sure. They were scared and felt completey helpless... here were these wonderful and caring people and fresh-faced kids... I completely understand the appeal! I thought it was GREAT

...for a while. And then I saw a staff member being an asshole to a kid. So I spoke with administration about him. They said he was one of their best. I thought it was me - maybe he was having a bad day.

Then I saw another "counselor" being a jerk. I was confused. Then I saw a kid in the dining area "journaling." Only this wasn't any kind of journaling I had ever seen. She was writing about what a bad kid she was. So I asked about this - "well you have to tear them down and then rebuild them." Words from a "counselor" who was ONLY a high school graduate - and then I learned that later she earned her bachelor's at a fake school - a diploma mill. It's called California Coast College. And if you look at the CVs of a lot of CEDU administrators, you'll see that school. Interesting. Gee, I went to a REAL college for 13 years to learn REAL stuff and paid lots and lots of REAL money... little did I know I could have actually earned A LOT more money in my job by getting a mail-order "degree." The administrators and school directors made way more money than I did. Missed out on that one.

Then I was told that I should go to a Profeet. I asked what it was - "It's where you 'get all your dirt out' with the kids." WHAT?!?!?!?! This is VERY inappropriate! Those kids were NOT my therapist! And frankly, I wondered if I did spill my "dirt" I would be accused of dishonesty - I don't HAVE that much dirt. Kids started telling me that if they didn't come up with big stuff, they were accused of lying and holding off. I have forgotten the term they used.

Then I had a kid who was floridly psychotic. I felt he was a danger to himself and to others. He was PSYCHOTIC. The bogus psychiatrist said it might be because of his heart condition. RIGHT. So that's what I reported. I knew that would be of interest. But it's not against the law for a licensed facility to have psychotic kids - it was INAPPROPRIATE for CEDU to have him, but no laws were broken.

Then I had a kid a mild form of autism. But a school director said that he was bulemic. This was a school director with the high school diploma and who had worked as a secretary in a real estate office prior to CEDU. She said, "I can tell he's bulemic because I see it in his eyes and that's the same blank look I saw in the mirror when I was bulemic." I told her that that "blank look" was because he was AUTISTIC!!! They can look weird!!! Again, I'm kicking myself... I could have saved SO MUCH time and money not going to a REAL school. I did not know that real estate secretarial jobs were so good at preparing a person to be an expert diagnostician.

SO - this school director put that kid on bathroom escort after meals. Again, I made phone calls. This was the OPPOSITE of what you should do with someone who has autism. It was torment for that kid. But again - no laws broken. By then, I was ACTIVELY looking for another job.

Yeah, at first it looked sooooo good. Then reality hit. And it hit hard. And here I am, years later, still haunted... wondering how the kids I saw are doing... and that brought me here. And I can't help but think - if I have these feelings so many years later, what must it be like for the kids?

Listen, making reports or making information calls to CPS or any other governing body doesn't guarantee anything at all. I've also reported a person named Barbara Lamb to state licensing. She's a licensed marriage and family therapist (a master's level license) who conducts "therapy" for friggin' SPACE ALIEN ABDUCTINS!!! She's a nut job! I saw her on Penn and Teller's show on Showtime. What a crock! I looked at the website of this idiot and pasted it into an email to her state licensing body. They wrote back and said that if I had not personally been hurt by her, they couldn't do anything! Check it out - you won't believe this. Crop circles and past lives and all manner of rubbish - she is HURTING people. And the state can do NOTHING: http://www.blambms.com

The only reason for anyone here to be unhappy with me is if that person is a CEDUite. I'm just amazed that anyone would wonder...

On 2005-12-24 13:07:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I can't make up my mind.



I've heard it said that he (or she) is not a real person, just a playful or sarcastic identity taken on by someone else who posts here.  



And it's true, a lot of the stock phrases and ways of speaking in FormerCT's posts do sound like a caricature of a therapist or couselor ("I'm feeling...", "It is what it is.", and so on).  



But also heard it said by someone who worked at CEDU that this is indeed a real ex-employee, the style of writing is pretty identifiable, who did in fact leave under a cloud of disagreement with the CEDU philosophy.  "Not the sharpest tool in the shed, a bit naive, but well meaning" was the description given



So which is true do you think" is Former CEDU therapist a real person in disguise? Or a joke masquerading as a real person?"

[ This Message was edited by: former CEDU therapist on 2005-12-30 16:28 ][ This Message was edited by: former CEDU therapist on 2005-12-30 16:31 ]

Oh, well - I'm no expert on this stuff. I am not in that business anymore. Not at all. And my time there was short, so I really don't know much.

1) I felt it was a cult.
2) I recognized it as using what I knews of synanon from reading about it.
3) I would say they used shunning, social pressure, shaming, blaming, histrionics, sleep deprivation, and it almost seemed that there was some Stockholm Syndrome going on.
4) I saw kids who were floridly psychogic there and that was a real issue. I put it into writing on a daily basis. I sent these letters to all of the administrators as well as the owner of the private practice I worked for there. These letters said that it was my legal and ethical duty to report to them that the kid was psychotic and it was an inappropriate placement. I also hunted down the main administrator of my campus and told him EVERY DAY that so-and-so was psychotic and inappropriately placed. He would say, "okay, thank you - you told me." They did not give a damn. It was all about the money.
5) I certainly would NEVER participate in a Profeet. That would be inappropriate.
6) I don't know how to stop any industry.
7) The best revenge is living well. I would recommend that anyone harmed by CEDU go live their life with passion and vigor. If a person is injured by it, they should talk to an attorney and sue Brown Schools. They are rich. Sue them. You would have to prove it, and proving psychological injury is difficult.

I did not feel attacked by anyone. I was thinking about the teacher.

On 2005-12-21 12:30:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Okay not attacking you personally (no disrespect here, just curious) but:

As a therapist how did you see Cedu's practices categorized?  What form of psychological practices were they teaching and did you ever attend a rap?  Did you realize that it was a cult?  As a therapist, how can you help other students that still have problems after many years of leaving the school?  Any advice on why so many students are traumatized and most are diagnosed with PTSD?  What was the biggest psychological damage that you saw there?  Do you know that there are hundreds of programs that are still going on and just spring up under different names (just like the straight programs). Because it is a greedy multi-billion dollar industry, how can it be stopped?  What happened to america's dream of the free when these children had less rights then someone sent to prison for horrific crimes, and then treated worst then a prisoner on death row?  I say in this case of Bush's new initiative EVERY CHILD GETS A WARPED MIND because they are all left behind with the joke of the educational system in these WWASP schools. And lastly what can we do collectively to stop it?"