Carlbrook and therapeutic school bashing

[Anonymous]

I have been reading the Carlbrook thread for a while on and off.  I am a parent and a health professional. I also read with some clinical and research acumen the so-called research article about the Lifespring groups, so widely quoted by the adolescent moderator of this forum.  Firstly, it is based on adults (not adolescents) who already supposedly have their egos formed and are supposedly somewhat well-adjusted,  or at least functional enough to have $350 to spend on a workshop. Secondly, it is based on quasi-psychoanalytic research, about which I know quite a bit, and its methodology is faulty, and who pays attention to psychoanalytic research any more?  The group referred to in the article took place in 1981, this research is 25 years old!! How can you even bother to quote it?  From my perspective, the kids at Carlbrook took a wrong turn on their path and many got themselves into so much trouble and became so alienated from the outside world that they could no longer accept any help. Virtually all the ones I am familiar with had extensive therapy, other boarding schools, day programs and the like and parents who wanted to but could no longer communicate with the child they loved.  Wilderness and a therapeutic boarding school is a last resort, but when you have a kid who is running away, or staying out all night, or selling and using drugs, or is so promiscuous, or getting DUIs and might kill themselves and is not listening to any adult, what is a parent to do in the end? I don't think any of the people who bash therapeutic programs have any answers about what to do that are better than a school like Carlbrook from the posts I have read. Sometimes you have to tear the ego down in order to rebuild it - that is not the worst thing in the world.  Regression happens in psychotherapy ALL THE TIME in a therapist's office, then the person reorganizes and goes out into the world, back to work, back to their family.  The problem is when adolescents act out so much that they get into trouble that they cannot get out of and that's where places like Carlbrook come into play.  The school is young, so you are not going to find graduates from 5 years ago.  The owners/directors are heartfelt and if they are a little tough, believe me, most of the kids can handle it and they need that toughness sometimes. But there is also a lot of love there and moderator, if you are knocking love, you have a real problem. I won't post again. You can tear me down if you like. I don't care because whatever you say comes from you and has nothing to do with me, since you don't know me. I hope you find your way in life. I wish you well.

[try another castle]

Dude, give it up already. No matter how many people you pretend to be, it's pretty obvious that you are the same person who continuously does carlbrook damage control. I mean, you don't even bother to change your writing style from one persona to the next.
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"Learn from your mistakes so that one day you can repeat them precisely."
-Trevor Goodchild

[ This Message was edited by: sorry... try another castle on 2006-01-20 01:54 ]

[Troll Control]

On 2006-01-20 00:21:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I have been reading the Carlbrook thread for a while on and off.  I am a parent and a health professional. I also read with some clinical and research acumen the so-called research article about the Lifespring groups, so widely quoted by the adolescent moderator of this forum.  Firstly, it is based on adults (not adolescents) who already supposedly have their egos formed and are supposedly somewhat well-adjusted,  or at least functional enough to have $350 to spend on a workshop. Secondly, it is based on quasi-psychoanalytic research, about which I know quite a bit, and its methodology is faulty, and who pays attention to psychoanalytic research any more?  The group referred to in the article took place in 1981, this research is 25 years old!! How can you even bother to quote it?  From my perspective, the kids at Carlbrook took a wrong turn on their path and many got themselves into so much trouble and became so alienated from the outside world that they could no longer accept any help. Virtually all the ones I am familiar with had extensive therapy, other boarding schools, day programs and the like and parents who wanted to but could no longer communicate with the child they loved.  Wilderness and a therapeutic boarding school is a last resort, but when you have a kid who is running away, or staying out all night, or selling and using drugs, or is so promiscuous, or getting DUIs and might kill themselves and is not listening to any adult, what is a parent to do in the end? I don't think any of the people who bash therapeutic programs have any answers about what to do that are better than a school like Carlbrook from the posts I have read. Sometimes you have to tear the ego down in order to rebuild it - that is not the worst thing in the world.  Regression happens in psychotherapy ALL THE TIME in a therapist's office, then the person reorganizes and goes out into the world, back to work, back to their family.  The problem is when adolescents act out so much that they get into trouble that they cannot get out of and that's where places like Carlbrook come into play.  The school is young, so you are not going to find graduates from 5 years ago.  The owners/directors are heartfelt and if they are a little tough, believe me, most of the kids can handle it and they need that toughness sometimes. But there is also a lot of love there and moderator, if you are knocking love, you have a real problem. I won't post again. You can tear me down if you like. I don't care because whatever you say comes from you and has nothing to do with me, since you don't know me. I hope you find your way in life. I wish you well.

"

STFU already.  Anyone with ANY mental health training whatsoever can see very clearly that you are not any kind of therapist.

At least try reading a 101 textbook or something before you try to pose as an authority.  You quite obviously are no kind of professional.

[Anonymous]

This is a different poster and what he/she is saying is correct.  Carlbrook is the best choice for a certain kind of kid who has dug himself into a hole. It buys them time, if nothing else.
Show a little maturity in your responses and accept this truth.

[Troll Control]

On 2006-01-20 05:55:00, Anonymous wrote:

"This is a different poster and what he/she is saying is correct.  Carlbrook is the best choice for a certain kind of kid who has dug himself into a hole. It buys them time, if nothing else.

Show a little maturity in your responses and accept this truth."

Accept what truth?  Show the results of any clinical study that show the program does work.

I, for one, am certainly not going to take the word of some huckster who says in one one breath "psychoanalysis is dead" and then "sometimes we must break down the ego" in the next.  This person clearly has no education in this area and it's painfully obvious.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes you have to tear the ego down in order to rebuild it - that is not the worst thing in the world.

Have you experienced it? I have, and yes I consider it terrible and abusive to do this to kids without their foreknowledge of what is going on.


BTW - welcome to FORNITS, Chairman Mao. :eek:

[Anonymous]

I am a parent and a health professional.

Exactly what mental health qualifications and eductation do you have?

[Anonymous]

You can tear me down if you like. I don't care because whatever you say comes from you and has nothing to do with me, since you don't know me.

We have to TEAR YOU DOWN before we can BUILD YOU BACK UP.

Try being a kid and having NO CHOICE and being PHYSICALLY FORCED to get TORN DOWN. You have no idea and the ideas you are spouting here come straight from the mouth of this centuries evil dictators. This is way over the top unbelievable. My guess is it's just a troll, the same troll who is here everyday talking about Carlbrook.

[Troll Control]

On 2006-01-20 07:36:00, Anonymous wrote:

"You can tear me down if you like. I don't care because whatever you say comes from you and has nothing to do with me, since you don't know me."

We have to TEAR YOU DOWN before we can BUILD YOU BACK UP.

Outstanding point.  Well said.

[Nihilanthic]

The teardown/build up bullshit wears out when they're removed from the environment that does so - generally within 3-5 years.

But yeah, best way to shut someone up... give them a taste of their own medicine!  :roll:

In the 60's people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
--Unknown

[Anonymous]

Well, the poster who started this topic isn't me.  I'm the person who was first accused of being a CB staffer in disguise, and then got upgraded to "selfish parent" because I mentioned the cost of short-notice airline tickets.  There are at least two posters here who have had kids asked to leave CB.  Me and one other person.  Both of us still think that overall the school helped.  My kid has posted here too.  It would probably help if people had to register before posting.  There are too many anonymous posters and it makes it difficult to figure out who's legit, who's trolling and who's trying to do damage control.  I keep thinking I'm not going to check this board, or post anymore, so I don't register.  Then a CB topic comes up, and I'm back on it.   Carlbrook parents and former parents generally have email addresses for many other parents.  I have occasionally discussed this board with other CB parents, so please don't think it's just one person doing all the posting.  As for the similar writing style, most of us are college graduates, and remember some of what we learned in English 101.  As a group, CB parents may appear pretty similar, especially to posters on this board.  I'm just very happy this board was here when we were looking for a school.  It has probably kept kids out of Provo, Bethel, Island View, Tranquility Bay and other places like that.  Postings of news items relating to fatalities are the most valuable because educational consultants don't give you that info.  Postings of first hand experiences are great and allow you to look beyond the school's glossy brochure and smooth website. After reading this board for a while, you can generally figure out who to ignore (happy belated 21st birthday!) and whose input to consider.

[Anonymous]

And I'm one of the other parents whose kid did not complete the program. I'm the anti-Bender person.  I have tried on a number of occasions to engage in rational discussions on this forum, to no avail.  I know of at least two other parents who had kids at Carlbrook in my son's peer group who have posted on here.

[YuckFou]

Get a name, most people just skip over anon posts.

[Anonymous]

On 2006-01-20 00:21:00, Anonymous wrote:

" Sometimes you have to tear the ego down in order to rebuild it - that is not the worst thing in the world.  Regression happens in psychotherapy ALL THE TIME in a therapist's office, then the person reorganizes and goes out into the world, back to work, back to their family.  
"

You may be a "health professional" (ie: a home health aide, medical billing, receptionist, etc.). But you are clearly not educated about sound clinical mental health treatment.

"Tearing the ego down" and "regression" can be damaging to an individual who has experienced any kind of trauma or behavioral health issues. In the case of someone with a history of abuse, anxiety, depression, PTSD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder etc., this type of therapy can inspire increased disorganization and psychiatric symptoms. If someone feels broken, this type of therapy can enhance feelings of low self worth and anxiety. Regression should not be a part of therapy "all the time." This is an unsafe and clinically unaware perspective. Have you heard about the repressed memory lawsuits? If someone with minimal training (ie Carlbrook staff) dabbles with regressive therapy techniques, they are playing Russian roulette with the patients. And they open themselves to massive malpractice lawsuit.

[Helena Handbasket]

" Sometimes you have to tear the ego down in order to rebuild it - that is not the worst thing in the world.  Regression happens in psychotherapy ALL THE TIME in a therapist's office, then the person reorganizes and goes out into the world, back to work, back to their family.  
"

"All the time", huh?

You may be a "health professional" (ie: a home health aide, medical billing, receptionist, etc.). But you are clearly not educated about sound clinical mental health treatment.

I'll second that.  "Regression" is an overused term that has been bastardized and used in everything from psychic encounters ("Regressions to a past life") to your friendly neighborhood unlicensed behavior mod "Professionals"

The only time "Regression" is used in real psychiatry is in the case of severe disorders, such as multiple personalities, and the clinical term for that is "Dissociative Disorder".  


This I learned during my undergraduate work in Psychology.  I took a different road and am persuing a different type of graduate work - so you notice I don't pass myself off as a "Professional"

On the other hand, I too, am a "Health Professional" - I've been a certified nurses aide for 20 years.  I haven't used it for many years, but the states of Massachusetts and Florida still recognize me as a CNA.  Big deal.  :grin:

It's still astounding to me the type of help parents choose for their children.  A cardiologist and a pediatrician are both Medical Doctors, but you don't take your kid to a cardiologist for a snotty nose, do you?

"Now, I'm a walking dead man," ... "And what bothers me is that I'm dead because I tried to help the kids. And it's all the fault of all those people over there at the DEA." [Dead Man Talking]


--Ben Guillory

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Where are we going, and what are we doing in this handbasket??
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[ This Message was edited by: Helena Handbasket on 2006-01-21 09:32 ]