Thank you for your concern. Regretfully, related places like Pathway and Straight have enticing the parents (and their $$) into their program down to a science. If you happen to work in the front room of one of these places, it is quite easy to grab that dough.
First, you automatically know that the parent has some concerns about their kid as most parents do, or the parent wouldn't be there in the first place, so why not play off of the parent's worst fears? Step one is to make the parent feel at ease. If the parent is partaking in the blame for family troubles, rush to erase that blame, make it the kid's fault and magnify the kids problem. This can be accomplished by using a 'questions' form that these boiler rooms need to bring in the money. Generally, the 'questions' form asks 15 to 20 "does your kid blah blah?" .. and if you answer even ONE question with a yes, that kid needs help.
Here is a questionnaire that Straight Inc. used during it's 17 year operation from 1976 to 1993 before it was shut down due to its mounting child abuse lawsuits, notice how it's always about "behavioral problems" in teens, like there are NO adolescents out there that DON'T act out from time to time:
"The organization Straight, Inc., has produced the following checklist of eighteen warning signs of alcohol or drug abuse:
School tardiness, truancy, declining grades
Less motivation, energy, self-discipline
Loss of interest in activities
Forgetfulness, short- or long-term
Short attention span, trouble concentrating
Aggressive anger, hostility, irritability
Sullen, uncaring attitudes and behavior
Family arguments, strife with family members
Disappearance of money, valuables
Changes in friends, evasiveness about new ones
Unhealthy appearance, bloodshot eyes
Changes in personal dress or grooming
Trouble with the law in or out of school
Unusually large appetite
Use of Visine, room deodorizers, incense
Rock group or drug-related graphics, slogans
Pipes, small boxes or containers, baggies, rolling papers or other unusual items
Peculiar odors or butts, seeds, leaves in ashtrays or clothing pockets. "
Source:
http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:-R ... n&ie=UTF-8All you have to do is answer just ONE of those questions and YOUR kid is now an automatic lifetime drug addict. They make it a point to blame your kid for everything that was ever 'wrong' in your family. They dismiss any of the parent's guilt or responsibility of their kid's issues whether or not those issues are valid. They are at that point very eager to know what kind of health care coverage that parent has and if they could just run their policy number. while all that is going on, the staff are bringing "happy parents" to talk to that parent still questioning themselves if they are in the right place..These "happy parents" tell of how won-der-ful their lives are since they placed their little Johnny or Suzie in " ** " and that they are no longer dealing with a "rebellious" teenager, and how the parent could have a wonderful kid like THEIRS if they just signed the papers.
Here is the PFC (a Straight Inc. spin-off) questionnaire, do you see any similarities?
http://www.pfcenter.org/warnings.htmlHere is the 'Kids Helping Kids' (another Straight Inc. spin-off) questionnaire, how about here? Any similar patterns?
http://www.kidshelpingkids.com/warningsigns.htmlMost people I know have some of these traits once in a while. It doesn't make them users though, it makes them about human. Teenagers Have been "rebelling" since the beginning of time. Expressing independence is a must if the individual ever is going to have any hope into growing into adulthood. If that process is interrupted by using these twisted forms of "behavioral modification" such as PFC and Straight Inc. uses, then you run assured risk of permanently damaging that individual's mind for life. You turn their personality into mush, and if they are lucky, they don't kill themselves, they learn to find their way despite what happened to them in their mind rape mill. Now of days they find support though websites like these.
Thanks for your post.......