Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => The Troubled Teen Industry => Topic started by: DKincaidCFS on October 15, 2010, 12:35:54 PM
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In your experience, how did the program staff achieve compliance from the kids? Please keep responses limited to those of you who attended a "troubled teen program."
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Threats...privileges...abusive punishments...the false sense of importance in going along with the "group"...
..i guess that about covers it.
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In the program I was in, complaince was achieved through a variety of means but the primary motivator was fear. Fear of confrontation. Fear of "consequences" like food/sleep deprivation. Fear of physical assault. Fear of never getting out at all.
Much much more could be said here.
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I'd like to hear more on this subject. With involuntary placements compliance is always an issue. I'm trying to figure out the methods that were used to gain compliance from kids who were not voluntarily participating in the program.
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I'd like to hear more on this subject. With involuntary placements compliance is always an issue. I'm trying to figure out the methods that were used to gain compliance from kids who were not voluntarily participating in the program.
If you take what I posted in your first question thread, put that together with what Frod and Shaggys have just said.....you get a pretty good idea. What more, specifically, would you like to know? We were scared to death of being "reported" for some ridiculously small infraction of a rule. Afraid of getting beaten, afraid of being ostricized from the 'group' we had now become dependent upon (Stockholm Syndrome), afraid of being 'confronted' (read, verbally attacked) by said group, afraid of being further denied sleep, food, water, seeing our parents, seeing the outside world at all etc.
It's easy to get them to comply under the conditions we were in, but is compliance really what's valued out of these places? Compliance is very different from real, true change.
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I agree absolutely. Compliance should never be the goal. When kids are placed involuntarily there must be some method to gain compliance with the rules of the facility. Teen "programs" are reportedly notorious for using violence and/or extreme stress in order to foster a compliant environment. I was looking for specific things the staff would do or say to insure compliance.
So far I have read sleep deprivation, food and water deprivation, confrontation, battery, threats of not being allowed to leave for longer periods of time, isolation from family and punishment.
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I agree absolutely. Compliance should never be the goal. When kids are placed involuntarily there must be some method to gain compliance with the rules of the facility. Teen "programs" are reportedly notorious for using violence and/or extreme stress in order to foster a compliant environment. I was looking for specific things the staff would do or say to insure compliance.
So far I have read sleep deprivation, food and water deprivation, confrontation, battery, threats of not being allowed to leave for longer periods of time, isolation from family and punishment.
Isolation from the entire outside world and anyone who thinks in a manner that's contrary to what "programs" teach. It really is thought reform, as the Senate found out about the Seed.
The sleep deprivation was extreme.....it wasn't like we were just being denied a little here and there. It was part and parcel of the process to 'break us down', thus making us more vulnerable to thought reform.
And Stockholm Syndrome is an important component as well. Since they ARE denied contact with anyone not program related, the program becomes everything to the child and fear of being ostricized from that which they've grown to depend on is a powerful thing. That's why the "positive peer pressure" line is such crap. There's nothing positive about it.
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So you're saying that the program staff would foster a dependent relationship between the child and the program and then threaten to abandon the child that has become physically and psychologically dependent upon the program and its staff?
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So you're saying that the program staff would foster a dependent relationship between the child and the program and then threaten to abandon the child that has become physically and psychologically dependent upon the program and its staff?
More so the 'group', but yes. And by fostering a dependent relationship - I mean complete isolation from the outside world, the extreme 'confrontation' combined with the 'love-bombing' when the child says the 'right' thing in addition to the sleep deprivation etc. It's not like the staff fosters the relationship by being a true counselor or providing anything close to what could be described as therapy. It's thought reform.
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So you're saying that the program staff would foster a dependent relationship between the child and the program and then threaten to abandon the child that has become physically and psychologically dependent upon the program and its staff?
Not abandon the child. Turn on the child. Whip the group up against them and then let the group rip into them. This is now the only family the child has and the staff has the ability to turn that family into a hatefest focused on the child.
I will never understand how anyone can think this is not abusive.
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Not abandon the child. Turn on the child. Whip the group up against them and then let the group rip into them. This is now the only family the child has and the staff has the ability to turn that family into a hatefest focused on the child.
I will never understand how anyone can think this is not abusive.
Fucking sadistic old creeps, they wanted to have a platform from which they could crucify "druggies," no holds barred...
This is the "program" they sold to the nazi straightling youth, the ones who became staff and perpetuated this agenda.
You had to stand there, motionless, and listen to them rip you a new one...
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Not abandon the child. Turn on the child. Whip the group up against them and then let the group rip into them. This is now the only family the child has and the staff has the ability to turn that family into a hatefest focused on the child.
I will never understand how anyone can think this is not abusive.
Fucking sadistic old creeps, they wanted to have a platform from which they could crucify "druggies," no holds barred...
This is the "program" they sold to the nazi straightling youth, the ones who became staff and perpetuated this agenda.
You had to stand there, motionless, and listen to them rip you a new one...
And if you even blinked in a way that they thought was 'rebelling', you'd be plastered on the ground with 5 people sitting on top of you, allthewhile telling you that they "love you" and that it's "for your own good". ::)
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Not abandon the child. Turn on the child. Whip the group up against them and then let the group rip into them. This is now the only family the child has and the staff has the ability to turn that family into a hatefest focused on the child.
I will never understand how anyone can think this is not abusive.
Fucking sadistic old creeps, they wanted to have a platform from which they could crucify "druggies," no holds barred...
This is the "program" they sold to the nazi straightling youth, the ones who became staff and perpetuated this agenda.
You had to stand there, motionless, and listen to them rip you a new one...
And the slightest movement was taken as resistance, so the person would be slammed to the floor and sat on.
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Not abandon the child. Turn on the child. Whip the group up against them and then let the group rip into them. This is now the only family the child has and the staff has the ability to turn that family into a hatefest focused on the child.
I will never understand how anyone can think this is not abusive.
Fucking sadistic old creeps, they wanted to have a platform from which they could crucify "druggies," no holds barred...
This is the "program" they sold to the nazi straightling youth, the ones who became staff and perpetuated this agenda.
You had to stand there, motionless, and listen to them rip you a new one...
And the slightest movement was taken as resistance, so the person would be slammed to the floor and sat on.
:cheers: Simulpost! :seg:
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All of you were at "Straight" then? I have also heard many stories of the exact same methods being used at newer programs as well. Do we have anyone from newer programs that can share with us about how compliance was gained/maintained at those facilities?
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All of you were at "Straight" then?
I know Frod and I were at the same time, but different states. I think Shaggys was in the same state as me, but possibly a different time.
I have also heard many stories of the exact same methods being used at newer programs as well.
That's what keeps me coming back here after all this time.
Do we have anyone from newer programs that can share with us about how compliance was gained/maintained at those facilities?
Yes, but quite frankly.....a lot of them have been run off by a few pro-program people here who are far more adept at discussion boards. Kids who are recently out of a program are usually pretty skiddish and run from any argument/confrontation. They're also kids trying to 'debate' (for lack of a better term) adults who are experienced at marketing. One of the reasons I was skeptical of you is because of the way that many of us and the recent kids have been either fooled by program employees posing as parents or 'students' or journalists, or parents that have been so brainwashed by programs that they still support them even after it's been pretty evident that the program did their child no good and most probably exacerbated any problems there may have been.
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I understand the skepticism and I have been told that before from other groups of people who were in programs, too. Thank you for relating your experiences.
Hopefully we can widen the sample to other programs over time.
That's an interesting comment about people posting here that work for programs. In a sense, they never allow these children to "leave the program" by stifling their dialogue here. Fascinating, really.
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I was in a WWASP program a few years ago. I haven't read the others posts here yet.
Soon after you first arrive you are shown a "Commitment letter" that your parents have signed stating they pledge to keep you in the program for 12 months to however long the staff deem necessary to complete the program. Communication was restricted to letters. The program told parents to write letters of encouragement to "work the program" and not even respond to anything negative as it was just "manipulation". Of course the first thing kids do when they realize what the program is really like is try to inform their parents of what a terrible place it is so convincing kids their parents don't care and will keep them there no matter what is the most important step in gaining compliance.
Students entered at "level 2" with something like 100 points. It was easy to keep those points if you decided to be compliant, and very easy to lose them if you decided to show any level of resistance. You could only talk to someone else if your points added up to 4 so level 1s could not talk to other level 1s or to level 2s without a level 3 or above present. This had the effect of completely isolating someone who had decided to resist from everyone except upper level students who had either decided to fake it or had bought into the program ( these kind could be really sadistic). Staying on level 1 for an extended period was asking to be harassed by upper levels & your family rep. So, you would have to become compliant to have any social contact at all. Your level and the number of consequences you got each week were what the family rep reported to your parents each week to show your "progress" so staying in a state of resistance was bad for them.
The official "consequence" at the time I was in the program usually meant going to "worksheets" and spending hours writing essays about what you did wrong and why, etc. before you could leave the building. I never had to do this so I can't tell you what that was like but it was time-consuming and even the most resistant kids never spent more than a few days at a time in that building.
Points and levels were tied in with program completion so dropping a few levels could mean several months added to your stay. "Consequences" could be really arbitrary and upper level students were allowed to give them out. Some times kids were dropped really obviously just to make them stay longer. This was probably the most effective "stick", though it only worked on kids who wouldn't turn 18 or whose parents promised to leave them with a bus ticket and $5 if they did not remain in the program after they reached the age of majority.
Lots of other stuff. Basically, not complying was asking for the world to close in on you. It just wasn't a viable option in the long term and I didn't know anyone who kept it up for more than a week.
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Oh, probably the most important: GROUP.
Every day we did group. Group was similar to the Synanon game. I'm pretty sure this is done in every program.
We would sit in a circle and the facilitator would pick a few people to put on the spot each day. They would then have to stand in the center of the circle in the "feedback position" (arms/shoulders open, palms outward) to receive "feedback" from other lower level students in the "family", upper level students who "worked" our "family" each day, and the family rep/facilitator. We were told the point of feedback was not to insult or hurt us but.. that's exactly what it was. Feedback had to begin with "My experience of you is.." because everyone's experience is valid and cannot be argued with. Of course "My experience of you is you're a little bitch who lies all the time." is perfectly acceptable during group. This is essentially what every group session turned into. Students the family rep decided were underperforming for any reason were put on the spot regularly in this way. Not giving good enough feedback was grounds for being put on the spot yourself so whenever someone was chosen kids would line up to be first to tear him up.
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I understand the skepticism and I have been told that before from other groups of people who were in programs, too. Thank you for relating your experiences.
Hopefully we can widen the sample to other programs over time.
I really hope so. I'd like you to have as much information as possible.
That's an interesting comment about people posting here that work for programs. In a sense, they never allow these children to "leave the program" by stifling their dialogue here. Fascinating, really.
OMG, you have no idea!
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I was in a WWASP program a few years ago. I haven't read the others posts here yet.
Soon after you first arrive you are shown a "Commitment letter" that your parents have signed stating they pledge to keep you in the program for 12 months to however long the staff deem necessary to complete the program. Communication was restricted to letters. The program told parents to write letters of encouragement to "work the program" and not even respond to anything negative as it was just "manipulation". Of course the first thing kids do when they realize what the program is really like is try to inform their parents of what a terrible place it is so convincing kids their parents don't care and will keep them there no matter what is the most important step in gaining compliance.
Same with Straight except it was achieved thru our intake (parents had been coached edited to add: weeks before[/b] on what to say when they dropped us off) and thru "open meetings", which were twice weekly meetings when parents came to "the building" (warehouse we were kept in for 12 - 18 hours a day) and sat in their own group directly across from the kids. We (newcomers on 1st phase) could not look at our parents and were required to give an "introduction" to both groups (if the introduction wasn't up to what staff thought was good enough, we got it horribly at "open meeting review", which was the kids' "rap" after the parents had been dismissed.). Then the microphone was passed from 1st phase parent to 1st phase parent. They would stand up, then their child would (all this in front of 350-400 kids, along with their parents) and the parent would tell the child how scared they were and how 'committed' they were to the program (again, more coaching from staff on what parents were to say to us) and that we weren't getting out no matter what.
Students entered at "level 2" with something like 100 points. It was easy to keep those points if you decided to be compliant, and very easy to lose them if you decided to show any level of resistance. You could only talk to someone else if your points added up to 4 so level 1s could not talk to other level 1s or to level 2s without a level 3 or above present. This had the effect of completely isolating someone who had decided to resist from everyone except upper level students who had either decided to fake it or had bought into the program ( these kind could be really sadistic). Staying on level 1 for an extended period was asking to be harassed by upper levels & your family rep. So, you would have to become compliant to have any social contact at all. Your level and the number of consequences you got each week were what the family rep reported to your parents each week to show your "progress" so staying in a state of resistance was bad for them.
The official "consequence" at the time I was in the program usually meant going to "worksheets" and spending hours writing essays about what you did wrong and why, etc. before you could leave the building. I never had to do this so I can't tell you what that was like but it was time-consuming and even the most resistant kids never spent more than a few days at a time in that building.
Points and levels were tied in with program completion so dropping a few levels could mean several months added to your stay. "Consequences" could be really arbitrary and upper level students were allowed to give them out. Some times kids were dropped really obviously just to make them stay longer. This was probably the most effective "stick", though it only worked on kids who wouldn't turn 18 or whose parents promised to leave them with a bus ticket and $5 if they did not remain in the program after they reached the age of majority.
Yup.....just like our 7 phases. First phase had 3 phases of its own. If our introductions jerked enough tears out of the parents, we ended up being able to have a 5 minute "talk" with our parents, but with either a staff member or higher phaser sitting with us. If we said anything contrary to what we were supposed to, we got it in "open meeting review", directly following "open meeting". Any slight infraction of even the most insane rule was grounds for dropping us a phase, or worse, starting us over. I finally "worked" my way up to 4th phase after something like 11 or 12 months and was started completely over.
Lots of other stuff. Basically, not complying was asking for the world to close in on you. It just wasn't a viable option in the long term and I didn't know anyone who kept it up for more than a week.
God, I can still hear the sounds of the chairs sliding across the floor as some poor kid was being 'taken down' and sat on as 'restraints' for not sitting up straight enough in their fucking chair. I can still see the beaten faces of the kids being taken to and from the time out rooms.
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Oh, probably the most important: GROUP.
Every day we did group. Group was similar to the Synanon game. I'm pretty sure this is done in every program.
We would sit in a circle and the facilitator would pick a few people to put on the spot each day. They would then have to stand in the center of the circle in the "feedback position" (arms/shoulders open, palms outward) to receive "feedback" from other lower level students in the "family", upper level students who "worked" our "family" each day, and the family rep/facilitator. We were told the point of feedback was not to insult or hurt us but.. that's exactly what it was. Feedback had to begin with "My experience of you is.." because everyone's experience is valid and cannot be argued with. Of course "My experience of you is you're a little bitch who lies all the time." is perfectly acceptable during group. This is essentially what every group session turned into. Students the family rep decided were underperforming for any reason were put on the spot regularly in this way. Not giving good enough feedback was grounds for being put on the spot yourself so whenever someone was chosen kids would line up to be first to tear him up.
Same as our "raps", almost exactly.
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viewtopic.php?f=11&t=31368 (http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=31368)
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Oh, probably the most important: GROUP.
Every day we did group. Group was similar to the Synanon game. I'm pretty sure this is done in every program.
We would sit in a circle and the facilitator would pick a few people to put on the spot each day. They would then have to stand in the center of the circle in the "feedback position" (arms/shoulders open, palms outward) to receive "feedback" from other lower level students in the "family", upper level students who "worked" our "family" each day, and the family rep/facilitator. We were told the point of feedback was not to insult or hurt us but.. that's exactly what it was. Feedback had to begin with "My experience of you is.." because everyone's experience is valid and cannot be argued with. Of course "My experience of you is you're a little bitch who lies all the time." is perfectly acceptable during group. This is essentially what every group session turned into. Students the family rep decided were underperforming for any reason were put on the spot regularly in this way. Not giving good enough feedback was grounds for being put on the spot yourself so whenever someone was chosen kids would line up to be first to tear him up.
Same as our "raps", almost exactly.
Yup, ditto to everything Anne just said. I was not in Straight Inc. though. When Straight Inc. began to implode under widespread allegations of abuse, some of their staff left to found LIFE, the program I was in. They fed my mom a bunch of crap that amounted to; "We're just like Straight Inc., but without the abuse!" More lies from professional liars.
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Oh, probably the most important: GROUP.
Every day we did group. Group was similar to the Synanon game. I'm pretty sure this is done in every program.
We would sit in a circle and the facilitator would pick a few people to put on the spot each day. They would then have to stand in the center of the circle in the "feedback position" (arms/shoulders open, palms outward) to receive "feedback" from other lower level students in the "family", upper level students who "worked" our "family" each day, and the family rep/facilitator. We were told the point of feedback was not to insult or hurt us but.. that's exactly what it was. Feedback had to begin with "My experience of you is.." because everyone's experience is valid and cannot be argued with. Of course "My experience of you is you're a little bitch who lies all the time." is perfectly acceptable during group. This is essentially what every group session turned into. Students the family rep decided were underperforming for any reason were put on the spot regularly in this way. Not giving good enough feedback was grounds for being put on the spot yourself so whenever someone was chosen kids would line up to be first to tear him up.
Same as our "raps", almost exactly.
Yup, ditto to everything Anne just said. I was not in Straight Inc. though. When Straight Inc. began to implode under widespread allegations of abuse, some of their staff left to found LIFE, the program I was in. They fed my mom a bunch of crap that amounted to; "We're just like Straight Inc., but without the abuse!" More lies from professional liars.
And Straight said.."We're just like The Seed, but without the abuse!" Round and round it goes.
I gotta get outta here.
DKincaidCFS, welcome and stick around....you'll get a much wider sample, but damn....this sure is stirring up shit.
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Not abandon the child. Turn on the child. Whip the group up against them and then let the group rip into them. This is now the only family the child has and the staff has the ability to turn that family into a hatefest focused on the child.
I will never understand how anyone can think this is not abusive.
Fucking sadistic old creeps, they wanted to have a platform from which they could crucify "druggies," no holds barred...
This is the "program" they sold to the nazi straightling youth, the ones who became staff and perpetuated this agenda.
You had to stand there, motionless, and listen to them rip you a new one...
And if you even blinked in a way that they thought was 'rebelling', you'd be plastered on the ground with 5 people sitting on top of you, allthewhile telling you that they "love you" and that it's "for your own good". ::)
Just reading this makes me get chills down my spine and laugh at the same time. You know what I mean, I'm not laughing at you, but the idea of five people pile driving someone into the floor while saying they love you is a bit of dark comedy.
I wrote an article about my time at 3 springs and it is posted up in the three springs catergory. That more or less explains how compliance was gained by myself and others when I worked there.
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In your experience, how did the program staff achieve compliance from the kids? Please keep responses limited to those of you who attended a "troubled teen program."
Two Words: Thought Reform
If you want a more complete explanation, read some Robert J Lifton or Margaret Thaler Singer.
It's not just one thing. It's a barrage of simultaneous tactics designed to change a person without their knowledge or consent.
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The idea is to limit the range of potential actions to those which are acceptable to the program. Do that long enough and it becomes hard to remember it being any other way. I had a hard time adjusting to freedom ( and still do ). Remember, these people are mostly in the business of scamming parents out of money and NOT in it to actually help teens. They only need to create the superficial compliance required to graduate from the program and fool parents into thinking they have performed some kind of miracle. What this does to the child is of absolutely no concern to them.
Their methods are good at gaining compliance within the structure of the program (and the pseudo-program they teach parents to implement once the child returns) and not much else. My program even had a warranty. If you were unsatisfied with your teen up to a year after they returned home you could send them back and get 3 more months free of charge. They approach teen behavior modification as if they were baking a pizza. You wouldn't want to take it out before it's done, would you? After 18 months of being conditioned to do nothing but follow orders and do what is expected kids come out as the perfect, obedient children their parents always dreamed of.
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Or, as Psy stated: This exactly. (http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_Reform_and_the_Psychology_of_Totalism)
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I'm putting this up for posterity. LIFE fit this whole list, EXACTLY, with brutality and neglect thrown in for good measure;
Lifton outlines the "Eight Criteria for Thought Reform":
Milieu Control. This involves the control of information and communication both within the environment and, ultimately, within the individual, resulting in a significant degree of isolation from society at large.
Mystical Manipulation. The manipulation of experiences that appears spontaneous but is, in fact, planned and orchestrated by the group or its leaders in order to demonstrate divine authority, spiritual advancement, or some exceptional talent or insight that sets the leader and/or group apart from humanity, and that allows reinterpretation of historical events, scripture, and other experiences.
Demand for Purity. The world is viewed as black and white and the members are constantly exhorted to conform to the ideology of the group and strive for perfection. The induction of guilt and/or shame is a powerful control device used here.
Confession. Sins, as defined by the group, are to be confessed either to a personal monitor or publicly to the group. There is no confidentiality; members' "sins," "attitudes," and "faults" are discussed and exploited by the leaders.
Sacred Science. The group's doctrine or ideology is considered to be the ultimate Truth, beyond all questioning or dispute. Truth is not to be found outside the group. The leader, as the spokesperson for God or for all humanity, is likewise above criticism.
Loading the Language. The group interprets or uses words and phrases in new ways so that often the outside world does not understand. This jargon consists of thought-terminating clichés, which serve to alter members' thought processes to conform to the group's way of thinking.
Doctrine over person. Member's personal experiences are subordinated to the sacred science and any contrary experiences must be denied or reinterpreted to fit the ideology of the group.
Dispensing of existence. The group has the prerogative to decide who has the right to exist and who does not. This is usually not literal but means that those in the outside world are not saved, unenlightened, unconscious and they must be converted to the group's ideology. If they do not join the group or are critical of the group, then they must be rejected by the members. Thus, the outside world loses all credibility. In conjunction, should any member leave the group, he or she must be rejected also.
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That's an interesting comment about people posting here that work for programs. In a sense, they never allow these children to "leave the program" by stifling their dialogue here. Fascinating, really.
Abnormally perceptive. Good job.
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My program even had a warranty.
That is bizarre, to say the least. Do you have any documentation that shows this in the program's literature? I would really like to have a source document like that.
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I'm putting this up for posterity. LIFE fit this whole list, EXACTLY, with brutality and neglect thrown in for good measure;
Lifton outlines the "Eight Criteria for Thought Reform":
Milieu Control. This involves the control of information and communication both within the environment and, ultimately, within the individual, resulting in a significant degree of isolation from society at large.
Mystical Manipulation. The manipulation of experiences that appears spontaneous but is, in fact, planned and orchestrated by the group or its leaders in order to demonstrate divine authority, spiritual advancement, or some exceptional talent or insight that sets the leader and/or group apart from humanity, and that allows reinterpretation of historical events, scripture, and other experiences.
Demand for Purity. The world is viewed as black and white and the members are constantly exhorted to conform to the ideology of the group and strive for perfection. The induction of guilt and/or shame is a powerful control device used here.
Confession. Sins, as defined by the group, are to be confessed either to a personal monitor or publicly to the group. There is no confidentiality; members' "sins," "attitudes," and "faults" are discussed and exploited by the leaders.
Sacred Science. The group's doctrine or ideology is considered to be the ultimate Truth, beyond all questioning or dispute. Truth is not to be found outside the group. The leader, as the spokesperson for God or for all humanity, is likewise above criticism.
Loading the Language. The group interprets or uses words and phrases in new ways so that often the outside world does not understand. This jargon consists of thought-terminating clichés, which serve to alter members' thought processes to conform to the group's way of thinking.
Doctrine over person. Member's personal experiences are subordinated to the sacred science and any contrary experiences must be denied or reinterpreted to fit the ideology of the group.
Dispensing of existence. The group has the prerogative to decide who has the right to exist and who does not. This is usually not literal but means that those in the outside world are not saved, unenlightened, unconscious and they must be converted to the group's ideology. If they do not join the group or are critical of the group, then they must be rejected by the members. Thus, the outside world loses all credibility. In conjunction, should any member leave the group, he or she must be rejected also.
I'm quite familiar with this work. It's very interesting that many of you see the same tactics used by teen programs. I'm interested in the specifics of the staff actions that would facilitate these criteria.
Do you think it would be appropriate to open a thread about how each of these criteria are created/reinforced by programs? I'd like to hear the "things that were said and done" for the purpose of creating and maintaining the environment surrounding those eight criteria listed above.
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http://http://www.teenswithproblems.com/treatment.html#warranty
If I find a document with this on it I will scan it for you. This is from one of their (many) marketing websites.
If you would like a glimpse of the 'loaded language' and 'doctrine over person' check out this detailed account of one of the WWASP parent seminars: http://http://www.wwaspsinfo.net/wwasps/krbean.pdf
Here is the introduction to the parent manual, describing how to ignore your child's complaints. This probably serves as a decent example of how parents are convinced not to trust their children's letters. I'm sure I said nearly all of these things at one point.
Dear Parents:
Let me introduce myself. My name is Cameron Pullan. I started working with teens eight years
ago with the YMCA Program. Five years ago, I continued this line of work as a Residential
Manager for Spring Creek Lodge, LaVerkin, Utah, in addition to Psych-Technician work at
Brightway Adolescent Hospital. I then accepted the position of Director of Spring Creek Lodge
in November of 1996. I am excited about our Program. The setting is ideal for teens needing a
change in their lives. We have an excellent process for growth and we, as a staff, are committed
to your child's success. Let me outline what you can expect over the next few months.
When your child first comes to Spring Creek, there is usually a “honeymoon” period. The scenery
is beautiful; breathtaking mountains and rivers. However, when your child sees that the Program
has high attitude/behavior expectations, a firm set of rules and an insistence that he make
appropriate changes, the “honeymoon” is over. While no two situations are the same, the Student
will then usually go through several phases. Let me outline some of them:
Denial Phase - This is typified by statements like:
“I can’t believe you did this to me”
“I don’t belong here”
“I’m not learning anything, all they do is babysit me”
“The kids here have problems much worse than mine”
“They have criminals, kooks, and drug addicts here”
Guilt Trip Phase - This is typified by statements like:
“If you really loved me, you would bring me home”
“You don’t know how terrible it is here, or you would get me out”
"I'm going to starve, the food is disgusting"
“No one cares about me, the staff do whatever they want to me”
“I’m treated like a prisoner”
“You can’t believe the staff, they will say anything to keep me here”
“The others here are a totally bad influence on me, you should hear what they talk
about”
Anger Phase - This is typified by statements like:
“If you ever want to see me again, you had better get me out of here”
“You’ll wish you had never done this to me”
“I don’t want to be your child anymore”
Negotiation Phase - This is typified by statements like:
“If you bring me home, I promise there won’t be anymore problems”
“We can work out our problems better at home as a
family, we can all go to therapy together”
"If I work hard, will you take me home by_______________"
“I’m willing to work on my problems but can’t I do it at a different Program, one that will help me.”
The agenda in each of these phases is to work on your emotions in hopes that you will take your
child out of the Program, this way he doesn’t have to go through the long hard process of making
changes. We can certainly all understand why a Student will try any or all of these manipulations
first. This is a tough Program, the food isn't as good as the "home cooked" meals you have
provided them, the accommodations aren't nearly as comfortable as your home, the setting is rustic
and isolated; yet, these are some of the very reasons that the Program is impacting enough to be
effective. We have found that if the Parents and the Program remain strong in their resolve that the
student must make changes, the student will finally reach the Acceptance Phase.
The Acceptance Phase is where the Student finally realizes and accepts that he is here until he
makes the necessary changes. Then and only then will the Program begin to work for your child.
Let’s work together to that end!
Sincerely,
CAMERON PULLAN
Director
Notice how they mix some very serious allegations in with complaining about the food, equating them.
I will work through each of Lifton's criteria in another post.
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That's an interesting comment about people posting here that work for programs. In a sense, they never allow these children to "leave the program" by stifling their dialogue here. Fascinating, really.
Abnormally perceptive. Good job.
Except for that here, the motherfuckers will NEVER win. :twofinger:
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You asked about how communication was restricted in another thread. This also comes from the parent manual, which I will attach.
Kids could go several months with their only link to the outside world being letters mailed to their parents. All phone calls were made with a staff member present listening to both sides on speakerphone. They would be disconnected immediately if anything considered "manipulation" was said. Kids did not make this mistake twice.
COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR CHILD
Your child and you may correspond by mail as often as you each desire. Phone calls, as stated in the Enrollment Agreement (see Item #13), are a privilege that your child must earn by attaining Level 3 status. This usually takes 1- 3 months, but is an important and necessary process. Your child will appreciate phone calls to you much more, when your adolescent has to work hard to earn them. Phone calls any earlier in your child’s progress would be destructive as the student then becomes more preoccupied with trying to convince parents that he or she should be taken out of the Program rather than focusing on working the Program. Even when phone calls are permitted they are short and not too frequent (once or twice a month). This helps keep the cost down for the parents, as all calls, as stated in the enrollment agreement, are on a collect basis, plus, all phone calls require a substantial amount of effort and logistics to complete. Again, it is critical that your child earn the phone privilege, otherwise we are all short changing progress. Please do not ask us to make an exception!!! This is totally unfair to the other students and their parents. You can imagine all of the students asking “why does Tom get to make a phone call and I don’t” or “don’t my parents want to talk to me on the phone as badly as Tom’s parents want to talk to him on the phone”. This creates such a problem that we put right in the enrollment agreement (see Item #13) that no phone calls are allowed before the student earns Level 3 and have graduated Focus. Once the student has earned the phone privilege, the student is not allowed to call anyone other than his or her parents unless specific permission is requested by the parents, and granted by the Program.
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Someone else should probably do this for their program.
Milieu Control. - Doors to our cabins locked from the outside. We could only leave the cabin with the rest of our group or for special purposes like seeing a nurse. Traveling anywhere (like to the cafeteria or school building) required linig up heel-toe and counting off, marching in formation to the destination, and counting off again. Communication was restricted to letters which could only be sent to our parents' address. Phone calls were rare, monitored, and could only be made to parents. Communication within the facility was limited to those who had earned the privelege. Writing notes or speaking in a foreign language were severe offenses.
Mystical Manipulation. - Many (all) of the games and activities in the LGATs were rigged to prove some kind of point to us. Not sure if this quite counts as 'mystical' but it was certainly manipulative.
Demand for Purity - Working/not working, Accountable/victim. In agreement/out of agreement. We had hundreds of petty rules that had to be followed at all times.
Confession. - Every day. You must confess all of your rule violations. Are you out of agreement? Better 'fess up now (or someone else will do it for you, and there are even harsher consequences) Confess your sins in the program, confess your sins BEFORE the program. Just how much of a terrible son/parent were you? Tell us all about it!
Sacred Science. They held themselves out as the ONLY people with the answers to self improvement/enlightenment. Without them, we'd be dead or in jail! Disagreement in the LGATs/seminars was not tolerated and was grounds for "Choosing out" which is how they described being kicked out. "Choosing" is "accountable" language.
Loading the Language. - "There is no such thing as right and wrong - only what works and doesn't work." "Based on your results you have exactly what you intended." "Nothing can change when you are comfortable." "What you create in the seminar is a mirror of your life." "Victims feel trapped and powerless. Victims are at effect. Accountable people are free and empowered. Accountable people are at cause." "There are no large or small agreements, only large and small consequences."
Doctrine over person. - One of the first exercises the LGAT facilitator did was ask us to raise our hands if we believed that we would have been able to get into college had we not gone to thr program. Anyone who raised their hand was browbeaten and many of these kids were forced to tears. The program was the one solution to everyone's problems and everybody had those problems.
Dispensing of existence. - This is something that was done more heavily on the parents. They were told how important it was to complete all of the seminars and keep their cihldren in the program until they 'graduated'. People who decided to pull their children out early were mocked and marginalized by the staff and facilitators. There were plenty of Newspeak pejoratives for people who disagreed with any element of their doctrine or did not believe any portion of it applied to them.
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Lifton's list as applied by the LIFE program, Sarasota FL, where I was a resident from October '85 to March '86. I escaped as soon as I made it to phase 2 and was allowed to move back into my mothers house. I am sure that I have forgotten a lot of this garbage in the last 25 years, but I hope this helps. I will update as and if anything else comes back to me.
Lifton outlines the "Eight Criteria for Thought Reform":
Milieu Control. This involves the control of information and communication both within the environment and, ultimately, within the individual, resulting in a significant degree of isolation from society at large.
No radio, no TV, no reading at all. Lower level residents were not allowed to talk to each other. Boys and girls were not allowed to talk to each other. Once the kids got on phase 3 they could go back to school, where they were not allowed to talk to the other students. If they were seen talking to non-program kids they would be in big trouble and at risk of starting over again from phase 1.
Mystical Manipulation. The manipulation of experiences that appears spontaneous but is, in fact, planned and orchestrated by the group or its leaders in order to demonstrate divine authority, spiritual advancement, or some exceptional talent or insight that sets the leader and/or group apart from humanity, and that allows reinterpretation of historical events, scripture, and other experiences.
All the group sessions, or ‘raps’ had this goal at their heart, to show us how worthless and contemptible we had been in our “past lives” and how much better our lives will be once we surrender and start “working our program”. It was very common to hear the opinion expressed that we now have a big advantage over non-program people, who do not have such a rigid guide on how to run their lives.
Demand for Purity. The world is viewed as black and white and the members are constantly exhorted to conform to the ideology of the group and strive for perfection. The induction of guilt and/or shame is a powerful control device used here.
We were expected to purge ourselves of all kinds of “druggie behaviors”, like parting our hair in the middle (for boys), wearing T shirts, listening to, well, ANY music made after 1960 (unless it is Christian). Any behavior the staff disapproved of was labelled “druggie behavior”. The end goal seemed to be to turn all of us into Wally Cleaver.
Confession. Sins, as defined by the group, are to be confessed either to a personal monitor or publicly to the group. There is no confidentiality; members' "sins," "attitudes," and "faults" are discussed and exploited by the leaders.
This is how progress is judged, the staff, and the group, decides whether or not your confessions are genuine. Generally they have to be pretty outrageous or the group would tell us that we still need to “get honest”. Once we had confessed to all the horrible things we usually hadn’t done, then the staff would use that as leverage against us, and our parents, as proof of how screwed we would be if we ever left the program. Any criticism of the program was seen as a “druggie attitude”. Also, we were expected to inform on each other, to confess other peoples sins if we knew about them.
Sacred Science. The group's doctrine or ideology is considered to be the ultimate Truth, beyond all questioning or dispute. Truth is not to be found outside the group. The leader, as the spokesperson for God or for all humanity, is likewise above criticism.
The ONLY route to happiness and success is to ‘work your program”;
“Without this program I would be dead, insane or in jail.”
Loading the Language. The group interprets or uses words and phrases in new ways so that often the outside world does not understand. This jargon consists of thought-terminating clichés, which serve to alter members' thought processes to conform to the group's way of thinking.
Any behavior they approve of is “working your program”, any behavior they do not approve of is “druggie behavior”. If you said a persons name while they were not in the room it was considered “talking behind backs”, which seriously limited conversations about what went on in group. If you were in a bad mood you were “in your shit” or “on the pity pot”, both of which caused the other kids to view you with contempt.
Doctrine over person. Member's personal experiences are subordinated to the sacred science and any contrary experiences must be denied or reinterpreted to fit the ideology of the group.
This was a constant issue, I think because of the sheer incompatibility of the program with real life. Some higher phaser was always wanting to do something the staff had told them is a “tie” to their “druggie past”. Like play football, or music, or even go to a certain movie. This was treated as a test, if the kid agreed and put all thoughts of playing football, or seeing Rocky V, or whatever, out of their minds forever then they were “working their program”. If not, they were “backsliding”.
Dispensing of existence. The group has the prerogative to decide who has the right to exist and who does not. This is usually not literal but means that those in the outside world are not saved, unenlightened, unconscious and they must be converted to the group's ideology. If they do not join the group or are critical of the group, then they must be rejected by the members. Thus, the outside world loses all credibility. In conjunction, should any member leave the group, he or she must be rejected also.
The group, and the staff, decides who is worthy for advancement and who is not. Who can start working their way back to being a person, and who has to continue to rot on those wooden benches for 12 hours a day. All non program people are seen as some kind of walking dead zombies who are dead already, they just don’t know it. There is no truth outside of the program. When somebody seven stepped but there were no staff positions for them to fill they almost always got ostracized from the program, I guess because they were living proof that the program DID NOT prepare them for life in the real world.
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I’m not sure how this relates to Lifton’s list but one of the things that stand out in my mind is the utter humiliation of being beltlooped everywhere, even to the bathroom, where the oldcomers would WATCH us “do our business” (speaking of utter humiliation). There was a definite feeling that somehow we had stopped being human, no longer deserved basic human rights, and if we ever wanted to be a real person with rights then we had to “work our program”.
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At my program it was all the same kind of stuff as well.
Coercion through rationing of food, sleep deprivation, forcing you to remain in the same position indefinitely, forced labor, forced PT, coercion therapy, restricted communication et cet. The list goes on and on.
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Do you think it would be appropriate to open a thread about how each of these criteria are created/reinforced by programs?
I've created a Thought Reform Forum (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=81). It might be useful to start a thread for each of Lifton's criteria as they relate to tactics in programs. I'll sticky an index thread linking to each of the criteria threads. We could start a series for Singer's 6 conditions as well.
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At my program it was all the same kind of stuff as well.
Coercion through rationing of food, sleep deprivation, forcing you to remain in the same position indefinitely, forced labor, forced PT, coercion therapy, restricted communication et cet. The list goes on and on.
Yep, very small portions of very bad food. Very late nights and very early mornings. Those goddamned benches! No slouching, no stretching, no "clicking" (sharing looks with others across the room), no carving on your arms (WTF!?!). The fifth phasers alongside the benches ready to sweep us onto the floor and into a five point restraint at the slightest provocation. We did not have forced labor, we had "motivating", if you wanted to talk in the group (which is the very first step in "working your program") then you had to feverishly flap your arms in the air, almost as if you were (a) trying to take flight, or (b) masturbating two horses from a sitting position. Every rap could be considered coercion therapy, staff sanctioned groupthink.
The list does indeed go on and on, every time I try to quantify all the abuse and neglect I find that my mind is not big enough to hold it all at the same time and I invariably end up leaving stuff out.
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Looks like that one hit a little too close to home.
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Do you think it would be appropriate to open a thread about how each of these criteria are created/reinforced by programs?
I've created a Thought Reform Forum (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=81). It might be useful to start a thread for each of Lifton's criteria as they relate to tactics in programs. I'll sticky an index thread linking to each of the criteria threads. We could start a series for Singer's 6 conditions as well.
viewtopic.php?f=81&t=31261 (http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=31261)
This was one of the things that helped me recover from what was done to me at Straight. It helped me to understand how they did what they did, which is what I needed to 'connect the dots'. I was amazed and a little overwhelmed at first, at how closely 'thought reform' mirrored what Straight ultimately was.
Singer's Conditions for Mind Control is a good place to start.
http://www.ex-cult.org/General/singer-conditions (http://www.ex-cult.org/General/singer-conditions)
CONDITIONS FOR MIND CONTROL
DR. MARGARET SINGER
(Margaret T. Singer, Ph.D., Emeritus Prof. of Psychology, Univ. of CA,
Berkeley)
THOUGHT REFORM = LANGUAGE + SOCIAL & PSYCHOLOGICAL INFLUENCE
In a thought reform program:
the self concept is destabilized
the group/leaders attack one's evaluation of self
SELF: 2 Elements in one's self-concept
Peripheral Sense: adequacy of public & judgmental aspects, social
status, role performance, conformity to social norms
Central Sense of Self: adequacy of intimate life, confidence in
perception of reality, relations w/family, goals, sexual
experiences, traumatic life events, religious beliefs, basic
consciousness and emotional control
When you attack a person's self-concept, aversive emotional
arousal is created
6 CONDITIONS THAT NEED TO BE PRESENT IN ORDER TO CONSTITUTE MIND
CONTROL:
1. CONTROL OVER TIME
Especially thinking time
Use techniques to get a person to think about:
. the group
. beliefs of the group
as much of their waking time as possible
2. CREATE A SENSE OF POWERLESSNESS
Get people away from normal support systems for a period of time
Provide models of behavior (cult members)
Use in-group language
Use of songs, games, stories the person is unfamiliar with or they are
modified so that they're unfamiliar
New people tend to want to be like others (acceptance, feeling part
of a group)
3. MANIPULATE REWARDS, PUNISHMENTS, EXPERIENCES IN ORDER TO
SUPPRESS OLD SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Manipulate: social rewards
intellectual rewards
REWARDS: support positive self-concept for conformity to new
thought system
PUNISHMENTS: attack person's self-concept for non-conformity
Effects of behavioral modification (reward/punishment):
DEPLOYABLE AGENT:
1. accept a particular world view
2. procedures for peer monitoring w/feedback to group
3. psychological, social & material sanctions to influence the
target's behavior
When there is control of external feedback, the group becomes the
only source
-- there are no reality checks
BEHAVIORS REWARDED: participation, conformity to ideas/behavior,
zeal, personal changes
BEHAVIORS PUNISHED: criticalness, independent thinking,
non-conformity to ideas/behavior
PUNISHMENTS: peer/group criticism, withdrawal of support/affection,
isolation, negative feedback
THE PERSON IS DEPENDENT UPON THE GROUP FOR EXTERNAL
VALIDATION OF SOCIAL IDENTITY
RESULTS: confusion, disorientation, psychological disturbances
Manipulate experience:
altered states of consciousness (trance)
hypnosis
Hypnosis: (see Ericksonian hypnosis)
speaking patterns
guided imagery
pacing of voice to breathing patterns
parables, stories with imbedded messages
repetition
boredom
stop paying attention to distractions, focus
inwardly to what's going on inside you
the use of one's voice to get people's attention
focused
Chanting, Meditation
Teach thought-stopping techniques
Work them up emotionally to a negative state:
re-experience past painful events
recall negative actions/sin in past life
Then rescue them from negative emotion by giving them a new
way to live
4. MANIPULATE REWARDS, PUNISHMENTS, EXPERIENCES IN ORDER TO
ELICIT NEW BEHAVIOR
Models will demonstrate new behavior
Conformity: dress, language, behavior
Using group language will eventually still the thinking mind
5. MUST BE A TIGHTLY CONTROLLED SYSTEM OF LOGIC
No complaints from the floor
Pyramid shaped operation with leader at the top
Top leaders must maintain absolute control/authority
Persons in charge must have verbal ways of never losing
Anyone who questions is made to think there is something
inherently wrong with them to even question
Phobia induction:
something bad will happen if you leave the group
if you leave this group, you're leaving God
Guilt manipulation
6. PERSONS BEING THOUGHT REFORMED MUST BE UNAWARE THAT THEY
ARE BEING MOVED THROUGH A PROGRAM TO MAKE THEM DEPLOYABLE
AGENTS, TO BUY MORE COURSES, SIGN UP FOR THE DURATION, ETC.
You can't be thought reformed with full capacity, informed
consent
You don't know the agenda of the group at the beginning or the
full content of the ideology
THOUGHT REFORM SYSTEM:
Coordinated programs of coercive influence and behavior
control
Use of pop psychology techniques found in sensitivity training
and encounters groups
2nd Generation Thought Reform Systems (attacks on central elements of
self):
1. enlist recruit's cooperation, offer something they want (personal
growth, salvation, etc.)
2. obtain psychological dominace by making the target's continuing
relations contingent upon continuing membership
3. use seduction by developing bonds and encouraging targets to
believe the group can provide something
4. develop dependency by direct social pressure to influence a
decision that the group has special power or knowledge or
can solve a problem; the people in the group are made to seem
interested in what is best for the target -- then they "up
the commitment level"
5. shift the target's social and emotional attachments to individuals
who have already accepted high commitment and are conforming to
the behavior
WHILE
decreasing the target's outside relationships
6. increase the CHANGES in the target's:
income
employment
personal friends/social life
finances
sexuality
THIS INCREASES THE THREAT TO THE PERSON IF THEY WANT TO
LEAVE
THREATS: ARE TO THE INDIVIDUAL'S
stability of identity
emotional well-being
7. the community standards become the ONLY standards available for
self-evaluation
CULTS AND CULTIC RELATIONSHIPS
CULT - the political and power STRUCTURE of a group
CULTIC RELATIONSHIP - those relationships in which a person intentionally
induces others to become totally or nearly totally dependent on him/her for
almost all major life decisions and inculcates in these followers a belief
that he has some special talent, gift or knowledge
PRIMARY IN OUR DISCUSSION OF CULTS IS THE PRACTICE AND CONDUCT OF
THE GROUP, NOT ITS BELIEFS
Further references:
Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism. Robert J. Lifton, M.D.,
University of N.C., Chapel Hill, 1989 Chapter 22
"Attacks on Peripheral versus Central Elements of Self and the Impact of
Thought Reforming Techniques" Richard Ofshe and Margaret T. Singer, The Cultic
Studies Journal, Vol. 3 #1, Spring/Summer 1986; American Family Foundation, P.O. Box
1232, Gracie Station, New York, NY 10028 (212) 533-0538
"The Utilization of Hypnotic Techniques in Religious Conversion" Jesse S.
Miller, The Cultic Studies Journal,Vol. 3 #2, Fall/Winter 1986
Recovery from Cults. ed. Michael Langone, Ph.D., W.W. Norton, 1994
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I'm continuing to gather information on this topic, so if you have more to add, please do so.
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Lifton's list as applied by the LIFE program, Sarasota FL, where I was a resident from October '85 to March '86. I escaped as soon as I made it to phase 2 and was allowed to move back into my mothers house. I am sure that I have forgotten a lot of this garbage in the last 25 years, but I hope this helps. I will update as and if anything else comes back to me.
Lifton outlines the "Eight Criteria for Thought Reform":
Milieu Control. This involves the control of information and communication both within the environment and, ultimately, within the individual, resulting in a significant degree of isolation from society at large.
No radio, no TV, no reading at all. Lower level residents were not allowed to talk to each other. Boys and girls were not allowed to talk to each other. Once the kids got on phase 3 they could go back to school, where they were not allowed to talk to the other students. If they were seen talking to non-program kids they would be in big trouble and at risk of starting over again from phase 1.
This included reading the back of a cereal box or glancing at a billboard on the way to the 'host-home'. We were told that even that was a "sign of druggie behavior". Going back to school was a nightmare, especially if you were an "in town" person who had to go back to the same school you used to attend. We'd end up a year behind our former classmates, hadn't seen them in months, sometimes a full year and of course they wanted to talk to us. But, as Shady said, if we were seen saying anything other than "I don't want to talk to you, I'm straight now" (and it had to be "want", not "I can't talk to you" because that would imply that we'd like to talk to them), we were in for a huge confrontation by the full group when we got back and usually either dropped a phase or outright started over.
Even on higher phases, we were not allowed contact with anyone, including close family such as grandparents, that wasn't "checked out" by staff. There were only certain radio stations we were allowed to listen to. If we read the paper, our parents were told to monitor what we were reading and to report to staff anything 'unapproved', but this was discretionary so it was wide open to interpretation of the parents/staff and staff's interpretations were so unrealistic that it just wasn't even worth it to open the paper up. I remember them bringing in the Peters Brothers ( http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Rock- ... 0764220535 (http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Rock-Steve-Peters/dp/0764220535) ) to scold us for even wanting to listen to 'rock music'.
The basic premise of this was to not allow us any contact with anyone or anything that would in the slightest or most benign way conflict with Straight's rigid way of life, which was so completely unrealistic...which is one of the many reasons why so many of us had a hard time when we did get out. What they had taught us did not match reality.
Mystical Manipulation. The manipulation of experiences that appears spontaneous but is, in fact, planned and orchestrated by the group or its leaders in order to demonstrate divine authority, spiritual advancement, or some exceptional talent or insight that sets the leader and/or group apart from humanity, and that allows reinterpretation of historical events, scripture, and other experiences.
All the group sessions, or ‘raps’ had this goal at their heart, to show us how worthless and contemptible we had been in our “past lives” and how much better our lives will be once we surrender and start “working our program”. It was very common to hear the opinion expressed that we now have a big advantage over non-program people, who do not have such a rigid guide on how to run their lives.
That was a big part of the "break 'em down" portion of the theory of "break 'em down to build 'em up" in Straight's mold. As we've said before, these "confessionals" needed to be 'up to par' with what Straight thought. If what we were talking about was the truth but not 'bad enough' for what Straight thought we did, we were confronted (we really need to define 'confrontation' too) for not "being honest". If we didn't cry enough tears, they'd turn "group" loose on us and the confrontation would begin and sometimes last for hours. In my time, there were anywhere from 200 - 350 kids or more in 'group'. "Raps" were group sessions, as described above by Shady and we had to "motivate" to show how badly we wanted to get called on, which supposedly showed how badly we wanted to get straight. Then they'd call on people to come right up to our face, sometimes inches away, and called horrible things (well, screamed really....to the point of literally being spit on and as stated before - girls were always called 'sluts, whores' etc. - guys got "faggot" etc.). If someone in group wasn't motivating hard enough to confront the person, according to staff's perception, they themselves were at risk of being stood up and confronted as to "what's going on with them" that they didn't want to "help" their fellow group member realize how awful they were "in their past". We learned to verbally eviscerate each other and the worse you ripped someone, the "stronger" you were referred to by staff and the quicker you advanced. It created an extremely emotionally and physically violent atmosphere and an equally violent outburst of 250 - 300 kids or more.
Demand for Purity. The world is viewed as black and white and the members are constantly exhorted to conform to the ideology of the group and strive for perfection. The induction of guilt and/or shame is a powerful control device used here.
We were expected to purge ourselves of all kinds of “druggie behaviors”, like parting our hair in the middle (for boys), wearing T shirts, listening to, well, ANY music made after 1960 (unless it is Christian). Any behavior the staff disapproved of was labelled “druggie behavior”. The end goal seemed to be to turn all of us into Wally Cleaver.
Jeeez, I'd forgotten about the parting the hair in the middle for the guys. ::) Girls hair was immediately cut upon intake and the front was plastered down with those gawd-awful snap barrettes. No looking at the opposite sex. Rules were to be absolutely adhered to and could be interpreted differently at any time by different staff members, so it was impossible to not commit some slight infraction, which would again bring the wrath of the group down upon us.
Confession. Sins, as defined by the group, are to be confessed either to a personal monitor or publicly to the group. There is no confidentiality; members' "sins," "attitudes," and "faults" are discussed and exploited by the leaders.
This is how progress is judged, the staff, and the group, decides whether or not your confessions are genuine. Generally they have to be pretty outrageous or the group would tell us that we still need to “get honest”. Once we had confessed to all the horrible things we usually hadn’t done, then the staff would use that as leverage against us, and our parents, as proof of how screwed we would be if we ever left the program. Any criticism of the program was seen as a “druggie attitude”. Also, we were expected to inform on each other, to confess other peoples sins if we knew about them.
Yup....so, even though most of us really were normal teens, we were turned into these fire-breathing, needle in the arm druggies by the whole process and it "proved" to our parents that we "needed to be there".
Sacred Science. The group's doctrine or ideology is considered to be the ultimate Truth, beyond all questioning or dispute. Truth is not to be found outside the group. The leader, as the spokesperson for God or for all humanity, is likewise above criticism.
The ONLY route to happiness and success is to ‘work your program”;
“Without this program I would be dead, insane or in jail.”
The red, bolded quote is pretty much exactly how it was. In my case, Newton was God.
Loading the Language. The group interprets or uses words and phrases in new ways so that often the outside world does not understand. This jargon consists of thought-terminating clichés, which serve to alter members' thought processes to conform to the group's way of thinking.
Any behavior they approve of is “working your program”, any behavior they do not approve of is “druggie behavior”. If you said a persons name while they were not in the room it was considered “talking behind backs”, which seriously limited conversations about what went on in group. If you were in a bad mood you were “in your shit” or “on the pity pot”, both of which caused the other kids to view you with contempt.
Oh god....there's so many. Stinkin' Thinkin', internalizing your program, druggie attitude/tendencies, in your head, that's too "pat" (usually used if the confessions weren't tear jerking enough), let go and let God, attitude of gratitude, dime therapy, sick and tired of being sick and tired, easy does it, first things first, the whole Serenity Prayer, gift of awareness, dead, insane or in jail. The list goes on and on.
Doctrine over person. Member's personal experiences are subordinated to the sacred science and any contrary experiences must be denied or reinterpreted to fit the ideology of the group.
This was a constant issue, I think because of the sheer incompatibility of the program with real life.[/color] Some higher phaser was always wanting to do something the staff had told them is a “tie” to their “druggie past”. Like play football, or music, or even go to a certain movie. This was treated as a test, if the kid agreed and put all thoughts of playing football, or seeing Rocky V, or whatever, out of their minds forever then they were “working their program”. If not, they were “backsliding”.
Yup. That bolded part above can't be stated enough.
Dispensing of existence. The group has the prerogative to decide who has the right to exist and who does not. This is usually not literal but means that those in the outside world are not saved, unenlightened, unconscious and they must be converted to the group's ideology. If they do not join the group or are critical of the group, then they must be rejected by the members. Thus, the outside world loses all credibility. In conjunction, should any member leave the group, he or she must be rejected also.
The group, and the staff, decides who is worthy for advancement and who is not. Who can start working their way back to being a person, and who has to continue to rot on those wooden benches for 12 hours a day. All non program people are seen as some kind of walking dead zombies who are dead already, they just don’t know it. There is no truth outside of the program. When somebody seven stepped but there were no staff positions for them to fill they almost always got ostracized from the program, I guess because they were living proof that the program DID NOT prepare them for life in the real world.
Even people outside the program who had no addictions or substance problems were considered inferior or not as "fortunate" as we were because they weren't "blessed" with the "gift of awareness" and "tools for life" that we were. If a kid was pulled out of the program by their parents and we happened to see them at school, they were to be shunned. If someone graduated (7 stepped) but was listening to the "wrong" music, wearing the "wrong" clothes etc., they were to be shunned.
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Ditto for Cedu and offshoots. Very similar.
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At my program it was all the same kind of stuff as well.
Coercion through rationing of food, sleep deprivation, forcing you to remain in the same position indefinitely, forced labor, forced PT, coercion therapy, restricted communication et cet. The list goes on and on.
This is terrible, but seems par for the course in these programs. Which program did this to you, RobertBruce?
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Violence. All these "programs" use violence to force victims to submit (with the exception of the programs aimed at those post 18, and even then, a more subtle form of violence is used; refusal of access to phone, or seizure and refusal of return of property that is necessary for survival )
All these "programs" are incarnations of the Synanon cult
http://motherjones.com/politics/2007/08 ... n-industry (http://motherjones.com/politics/2007/08/cult-spawned-tough-love-teen-industry)
These programs force submission as concentration camps or prisons force submission: through the force of violence or through the threat of violence.
The only difference between the programs is how fast violence is used to force submission. That is to say, some will use violence immediately in response to defiance, some will use the threat b4 using reactive violence, some will repeat the threat multiple times b4 using domination intended violence...but violence is the foundation and means of control in all programs.
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Violence. All these "programs" use violence to force victims to submit (with the exception of the programs aimed at those post 18, and even then, a more subtle form of violence is used; refusal of access to phone, or seizure and refusal of return of property that is necessary for survival )
All these "programs" are incarnations of the Synanon cult
http://motherjones.com/politics/2007/08 ... n-industry (http://motherjones.com/politics/2007/08/cult-spawned-tough-love-teen-industry)
These programs force submission as concentration camps or prisons force submission: through the force of violence or through the threat of violence.
The only difference between the programs is how fast violence is used to force submission. That is to say, some will use violence immediately in response to defiance, some will use the threat b4 using reactive violence, some will repeat the threat multiple times b4 using domination intended violence...but violence is the foundation and means of control in all programs.
I strongly disagree. Physical violence is only used in a minority of programs (mainly WWAPSs). It's usually counterproductive to the thought reform goal anyway. Most programs use a thought reform regimen closer to those seen in China's rehabilitation facilities or during the Korean war. Despite popular misconception, most of their methods were comprised of social pressures and encounter groups. (See Robert J Lifton's writing for more information).
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I was abused by threat of violence and was not imprisoned at wwasp.
The thought reform prisons lifton studied, including those at N.K. and China, all used violence as their basis of gaining compliance and applying thought reform, and they were the organizations studied to draw those conclusions described in the paper you link to.
Violence to force compliance is indeed the means by which compliance is gained.
For example, we prisoners could not simply walk away because violence would be used to prevent our escape and force punishment upon us. For example, we could not simply say “no, I refuse to do such and such” because violence would be used as a punishment, or a means to force punishment on us and compel us to do such and such.
Violence was not we were afraid of, precisely, necessarily, but violence was the means by which what we were afraid of was forced upon us.
So, for example, we could be afraid of the insanity generated by sleep deprivation, peer denunciation, constant movement restriction / restraint, force feeding, forced labor, and continued imprisonment, BUT force of violence was the method that we were compelled to suffer what we feared.
Therefore, at bottom, violence was what compelled our submission, even when violence wasn't the most commonly used or most feared punishment, or even the reason "why" on some level we submitted at any given moment.
Does that make sense?
As an adult oriented program survivor—basically a survivor of a semi -traditional cult--- I suspect your experience was a bit different. For me, and the teens of the cultic torture prisons (cults, yes, but not traditional cults, more like the thought reform prisons of China or north korea) if I could have left, or not participated, I would have! Alas, violence would have compelled my participation and continued incarceration.
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I was abused by threat of violence and was not imprisoned at wwasp.
The thought reform prisons lifton studied, including those at N.K. and China, all used violence as their basis of gaining compliance and applying thought reform, and they were the organizations studied to draw those conclusions described in the paper you link to.
Violence to force compliance is indeed the means by which compliance is gained.
For example, we prisoners could not simply walk away because violence would be used to prevent our escape and force punishment upon us. For example, we could not simply say “no, I refuse to do such and such” because violence would be used as a punishment, or a means to force punishment on us and compel us to do such and such.
Violence was not we were afraid of, precisely, necessarily, but violence was the means by which what we were afraid of was forced upon us.
So, for example, we could be afraid of the insanity generated by sleep deprivation, peer denunciation, constant movement restriction / restraint, force feeding, forced labor, and continued imprisonment, BUT force of violence was the method that we were compelled to suffer what we feared.
Therefore, at bottom, violence was what compelled our submission, even when violence wasn't the most commonly used or most feared punishment, or even the reason "why" on some level we submitted at any given moment.
Does that make sense?
As an adult oriented program survivor—basically a survivor of a semi -traditional cult--- I suspect your experience was a bit different. For me, and the teens of the cultic torture prisons (cults, yes, but not traditional cults, more like the thought reform prisons of China or north korea) if I could have left, or not participated, I would have! Alas, violence would have compelled my participation and continued incarceration.
Yes, unfortunately it makes perfect sense. Violence is what they used to insure our adherence to their mostly non-violent thought reform process. Only they did not call it violence, they called it "restraint". As if they were protecting others from you, which, to be honest, may be the case because every kid in there is effectively your jailer. Love and violence go hand in hand for these people, they yell "I love you" in your ear even as they are seemingly trying to break your arm, or ribs, or whatever.
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Gatekeeper's description is actually mild. It was four hours of intense, brutal, boundary-less, bully fests. The confrontations could be because you wore pink barrettes. (No shit.) You were expected to participate both in humiliating others and yourself. You were forced to either divulge, concoct or exaggerrate the most personal details of your life and then either get attacked for hours or cry and scream primally in an environment that was emotionally unsafe and unworthy of trust. When you get out, you take these brutal, boundary-less interative styles with you and then you accuse of others of not being real or honest when they don't concede.
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Gatekeeper's description is actually mild. It was four hours of intense, brutal, boundary-less, bully fests. The confrontations could be because you wore pink barrettes. (No shit.) You were expected to participate both in humiliating others and yourself. You were forced to either divulge, concoct or exaggerrate the most personal details of your life and then either get attacked for hours or cry and scream primally in an environment that was emotionally unsafe and unworthy of trust. When you get out, you take these brutal, boundary-less interative styles with you and then you accuse of others of not being real or honest when they don't concede.
:nods:
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Can you believe we actually got academic credit for "Communications" for these raps? All part of the fraudulent accreditation system. Of course, no teachers taught this "course" and the only learning was how to verbally abuse, intimidate, and humiliate people into anxiety laden submission, but whatever.