Author Topic: John's methods  (Read 2038 times)

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Offline katfish

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John's methods
« on: January 21, 2006, 02:51:00 PM »
Some of this sounds familiar- I wonder if John picked up a magazine and decided some of these techniques make sense to apply to mms girls

Be Wary of Attachment Therapy
Shannon-Bridget Maloney
An epidemic of unfounded, untested, and unregulated therapies is being foisted on the youngest members of our society. Children, most of them adopted, are being subjected to a form of "therapy" that several state licensing boards have deemed grossly negligent. Some states have had cases in criminal and civil courts against the practitioners. Therapists have been fined, sanctioned, and even sent to prison for their treatment of children. "Attachment therapy" (AT), as the practitioners call their trade, has a frightening history, a devastating present, and, if legislatures and mental health licensing boards don't get more involved, a deadly future.


Attachment Therapy

Attachment therapy has four core characteristics that clash with generally accepted principles of psychological practice.

The belief that the child must express rage that is within himself in order to improve. AT holds that the negative emotions of a child must be "released" in order for a child to function "normally." Gail Trenberth, founder of a national support group says, "They [children with RAD] won't learn to love until they can release that anger and helplessness and hopelessness that came from their early experiences." (Crowder, 2000) Interestingly, these same practitioners do not caution their patients against excessive happiness in fear that they may "run out" of joy. (Mercer, 2003)
Informed consent, as used in AT, is a mockery of the term as used elsewhere. Ordinarily, when patients consent to treatment they can stop it if they change their minds. But in AT circles, if the patient asks for the treatment to stop, the therapists interpret this as resistance for which the level of intervention must be increased.
While one could argue very persuasively that touch (such a hand on a shoulder, a brief hug) may be therapeutic, AT practitioners take the use of touch to new levels. In one case outlined in his book, Ken Magid tells of a young child being forced to undergo a three-and-one-half-hour session which included six "experienced body holders." (Magid, 1987)
AT practitioners regularly tell children what they are feeling, based on the therapist's beliefs rather than those of the child. Indeed, a parent whose child was treated at the Evergreen clinic of Foster Cline reported: "What we saw with Tina is they went to the rage, telling her why she was feeling the rage." (Oprah Winfrey, 1988)
AT practices have not varied much during the past 25 years. Its practitioners routinely use restraint and physical and psychological abuse to seek their desired results. Sessions of Z-process, holding therapy, and rage reduction have been noted to last as long as 12 hours per session. (Magid, 1987, State of California, 1973) In its most basic form, the child is placed lying across a couch on the therapist's lap with his right arm pinned behind the therapist and left arm held by a "holder." Additional holders restrict the child's legs. The child is then asked, "Who is the boss?" This is supposed to encourage the child to understand that he or she is not in control. The therapist then goes on to provoke the child to rage by using "rib cage stimulation" (e.g. tickling, pinching, knuckling). (Magid, 1987 and Cline, 1992) The child invariably demands and/or pleads for the treatment to end, which is interpreted as resistance. In one case, the therapist began by telling the client to resist and then harassed the client until the resistance stops. (Magid, 1987) The child is in a "catch 22," facing physical and/or mental pain no matter what he does.

The therapist continues the session by bringing up behavioral issues of the child. The therapist may refer to behavior the child denies, such as fire-setting. However, the child in these settings is always considered to be deceptive and manipulative. If the child denies the behavior, the therapist applies more physical and emotional stimuli, such as such as swearing, screaming in child's face, and grabbing child's jaw. (State of Colorado, 1995, State of California 1973, Lowe, 2001 a) If the child agrees to the behavior, he or she must do so in a way that "convinces" the therapist that the responses are honest. If the therapist is not convinced, the "stimulation" continues.

Ironically, the session ends with the therapist hugging the client and congratulating him or her on their "good work." (Magid, 1987, Cline, 1992) It is easy to see how such treatment could lead a child to develop not a healthy bond built on love and respect, but rather a fearful one built on pain and a desire to survive.

In addition to these practices, AT has rarely, if ever, been subjected to pure scientific evaluation and peer review. What little "research" is available on the subject is usually done "in house" and is scientifically questionable. (Mercer, 2003)
[ This Message was edited by: katfish on 2006-01-21 13:32 ]
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »
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Offline Anonymous

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John's methods
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2006, 02:13:00 AM »
Yap, heard about that. There's a program in Helena, Montana for kids as young as 4 - a NATSAP program, I've seen it on the Natsap list on their brochure. The governor's office in Helena claims this is a great program that is solid and has helped many children.

Intermountain is all about "attachment" therapy, from what I hear. Poor kids who suffer from the inability to "attach" to a parent, some, if not most, who were adopted, are taken thousands of miles away to learn to become attached. Makes sense to you? Nope, me neither.

Ah, here we go. Found this which is dated back to 1992 from our friends at Woodbury:

Intermountain Children's Home
Tina Johnson, Director of Social Services
Helena, Montana
406-442-7920

Founded in 1909 as an orphanage for children, the home became a specialized residential treatment home in 1980. They are now on a 40 acre location on the edge of Helena treating boys and girls between the ages of five and twelve at admission who are moderately and seriously emotionally disturbed. The current population is 24 students which will increase when new construction is completed. It is a private, non-profit organization, governed by a board of trustees, and is licensed as a child care agency for residential treatment by the state of Montana, and also operates under the auspices of the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ and the Glacier Presbytery. Over 50% of their income comes from private contributions. "The treatment model utilized...is the Attachment Model. We view children's pathology and attachment problems to be intertwined. For some children, there is an early failure to bond to parenting figures; for others, a disruption of the bonding process. In either case, over a period of time, the child develops a collection of learned behaviors to avoid and resist the demands of bonding. "Children with attachment difficulties do not trust adults or caregivers care, control, or incorporate the behaviors and values of their caregivers. They develop behaviors that control others, keep others at a distance, and they meet their needs through manipulation or withdrawal." "Each child lives in a small group setting of eight children who are under the care of at least two staff during waking hours and one awake staff at night. The task of the milieu is seen as the creation of an environment that facilitates close, intense personal relationships while confronting behaviors that interfere with that closeness. This milieu provides a caring environment focused on treatment incorporating family values and qualities. The process becomes a re-education in living."

Nonprofit organization - like WWASP?

Well, it's 2006 and they're still about attachment disorder and they have kids ranging from age 4-12. Very distrubing!

Here's something from their website - they're looking for families to take kids who can't return to their families:

Intermountain's treatment model asserts that trust, safety, and stability are central for therapy to be effective. As these children heal from their past traumas, they are prepared to move on with their lives and to thrive in a permanent family. We need parents willing to offer these children the security of a permanent, loving home.  PATH provides services to families within a 100+ mile radius of our office in Helena, Montana.  We are recruiting interested adults within this service area.

100+ miles. So, perhaps some of us should get in touch with them and see if they have any kids who need a home.

Here's their contact info:

Intermountain Children's Home and Services
500 South Lamborn
Helena, Montana 59601
800-200-9112
406-442-7920
406-442-7949 fax

Here's their website, if you're interested:
http://www.intermountain.org/index.html
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by Guest »