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     thefivequestionsyoumustaskyourtherapistcom New member Username: thefivequestionsyoumustaskyourtherapistcom Post Number: 1 Registered: 5-2007 Posted From: 72.229.148.195 |
“Emotional exercises and mind altering techniques can cause a negative emotional state and a negative thinking pattern which keep people dependant and paying extortionate amounts of money. But not only that, if a therapist or workshop leader deliberately affects the individual’s state of mind negatively it’s likely to affect the way that individual feels, it’s a downward negative spiral, if they then make decisions about any aspect of their lives based on how they are thinking or feeling, it means their entire lives have been influenced negatively.” Says Gena Dry “While considering making a formal complaint against my therapist I discovered from the professional therapy organizations and cult centers that I spoke to that the experience of bad therapy is all too common but what is more alarming is that my ‘therapist’ isn’t simply not very good at his job, he uses techniques to deliberately harm his clients, he is running what is becoming known as a psychotherapy cult. He recruits people through advertising as a therapist and running self development type workshops. He’s affiliated to a professional organization and has certificates on his wall. There are no obvious signs, he appears to be a professional with training and experience. It took many years to recognize that his clients never got ‘cured’ and left because he uses techniques to deliberately harm his clients so they believe they have problems and are ‘choosing’ to continue their self development and stay in ‘therapy’. He is running what is becoming known as a psychotherapy cult. Most people think of cults as religious groups but nowadays the term applies to a growing number of psychotherapy and self development workshops, whose influence is extremely negative and harmful.” "If you have had an experience yourself please will you consider signing the list. This is a list of people who have been affected negatively themselves or have been affected by members of their family or partners who have suffered from any kind of therapy or self development workshop. This includes spiritual healing or alternative health type ‘gurus’, any situation where the practitioner or leaders are seen as professionals with training and experience which means they are in a position to influence their client’s emotional state and thinking.” Gena Dry http://www.thefivequestionsyoumustaskyourtherapist.com/sign_the_list.html “We take an action because alone it’s hard to make a difference but together we can take the steps that lead to change. We take an action because it is possible that we may help someone else and if someone helps us it becomes a chain reaction. We hold out our idea on our hand and trust that somewhere, someone else will believe in our dreams and our vision enough to join hands and become an ally because they understand the power that OUR contribution can make and that each individual decision is where change begins. Something has got to change. To be honest, I don’t know how but I do know that if I do nothing, nothing can change and if I take one small action, somehow, somewhere, some time, with someone else's help, I can make a difference. Together we CAN make a difference.” Gena Dry “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.” Margaret Mead http://www.TheFiveQuestionsYouMustAskYourTherapist.com has a resource page which aims to publicize the excellent resources and information that is available on where people can go to get help if they think they or someone they know is being affected by bad therapy or psychotherapy cults. Contributions to resources of help currently available are welcome. Thank you | ||
| thefivequestionsyoumustaskyourtherapistcom New member Username: thefivequestionsyoumustaskyourtherapistcom Post Number: 2 Registered: 5-2007 Posted From: 72.229.148.195 |
My experience of being a Psychotherapy Cult part 1 - continued in next post “In my early twenties, I went to a self development workshop because I lacked the confidence to sing and I wanted to be a singer. The workshop leader was apparently also a psychotherapist and during the workshop he made the participants take part in an emotional exercise during which I got extremely upset. The workshop leader who is known for ‘pushing’ his clients, pushed me too hard and then told me that I was upset because I had deep emotional issues which could only be resolved by having therapy and he was in fact a therapist and could help me but I needed to sign up for a number of sessions as it was a procedure that would take a while before I noticed any improvement. There was always another ‘issue’ that needed his help and ‘a number of sessions’ turned into many years. I wasn’t even looking for therapy, I simply had questions about my life that I wanted answered and yet I was drawn into a psychotherapy cult which had an extreme negative influence not only over my state of mind but my partner, family, career, finances, and my whole life was affected negatively for many years. My therapist used techniques to keep his clients in a constant state of anger and blaming their parents and childhoods. It was awful, constant screaming, shouting, swearing, beating cushions with sticks and crying put his clients into a permanent negative emotional state and created a depression which made us think there was something wrong with us and we needed more of his therapy. He used techniques to make his clients recover memories of sexual abuse and we didn’t actually know if it had happened or not but experiencing the memories I can only describe as terrifying. I spent years wondering had I or hadn’t I been sexually abused. He used his therapy group as a press gang, similar to interrogation techniques that are used in the army, I’ve discovered since leaving. It meant his clients were bullied not only by the therapist but by each other in their desperate attempts to gain the approval of the ‘professional’ under his instruction, they were learning to express their real emotions and say what they really thought. If a client didn’t do what he wanted, he could manipulate the other clients into sending them Coventry and the fear of that kept us singing and dancing to his tune. This level of extreme manipulation and control doesn’t happen overnight. The therapist broke down his clients self esteem when they first went to him, by making out he knew THE answer to their problem and had superior knowledge due to his professional training and experience and the client knew nothing or they were nothing because they were so ‘messed up’ he was a professional and he could tell, they’d had the most dreadful childhood he’d ever heard of. Think of the power of the situation. The client had to at least question his professional opinion. But actually because of the power imbalance in the relationship to start with compounded by his using his professional training and experience to impart a very strong opinion about what was ‘really going on with his client’ and the constant hammering home of his ‘knowing our minds better than we did’, he forced his clients not only to question themselves but to doubt themselves. He only had to disagree with his clients and they doubted themselves more. Because he ‘knew’ his opinion was ‘right’ and he was in a position of authority in his clients life, that made his clients wrong and they had no choice but to question their own opinion which filled their minds with doubt. A mind full of doubt is a painful place to be. The therapist’s self righteousness and arrogance generated an extreme lack of self belief as his clients own picture of what they thought, was repeatedly called into question by the professional who ‘knew better than they did’. | ||
| thefivequestionsyoumustaskyourtherapistcom New member Username: thefivequestionsyoumustaskyourtherapistcom Post Number: 3 Registered: 5-2007 Posted From: 72.229.148.195 |
My experience of being a Psychotherapy Cult part 2 continued from above The intense doubting made his clients depressed and the lack of self belief affected his client’s life choices significantly. His clients made changes in their lives and made their ‘therapy’ a priority because they were so terrified that they would not be able to cope with the intense anger, pain and depression his therapy instilled if they didn’t do what he told them and the fear it would get worse if they left, kept them from leaving. The power balance was tipped so far, they became dependant on him and ‘needed’ his approval so desperately, they believed him when he told them they were selfish, manipulative or mad, they had problems and he was cured, instead of recognising that he was seriously bullying and abusing them. He didn’t even have to tell his clients what to do in so many words, the overwhelming doubt and lack of self believe he caused on purpose by disagreeing with his client’s life choices and warnings that their choices would not be good for them and would only make them miserable, compounded by his shouting and anger and the fear of a press gang session, put his clients into a negative thinking pattern and they reacted by giving up their dreams, careers and even relationships. None of his clients noticed that he was influencing their whole entire lives negatively and the influence continued to affect their lives after they left ‘therapy’. This ‘therapist’ was very skilled at manipulation and control. He managed to get himself into a position where he became the centre of his client’s lives, using the line that they had to be committed to themselves if they wanted to change, it was a very powerful hook. He demanded that his clients spend most of their free time outside of their work in sessions or workshops or socialising with other clients of his, most of them cut off from their own families and didn’t have time for a life outside of their work and his ‘therapy’. It meant he could use the ‘friendships’ his clients had with other clients to manipulate them and his socializing with his clients meant his ‘friendship’ became another powerful hook to manipulate his clients. He got away with it by telling everyone he was a maverick and misunderstood by the establishment. And everyone was fooled into thinking it was simply an ‘alternative’ self development centre. My ‘therapist’ was very skilled at putting his clients into a negative emotional state and a negative thinking pattern and it kept his clients from leaving for up to twenty years. The negative influence he had on my life was severe, it’s hard to summarise. I can only describe it as a living hell from beginning to end. People ask why I didn’t just walk away. I can only tell you that on top of the fear that controlled us, extreme overpowering obligation made it seem impossible. He told us all over and over that he’d ‘helped’ us so much, we owed him. Our lives would have been a complete disaster if we hadn’t had the good sense to go to him. I only was able to leave because I had help. People can’t avoid the dangers if they don’t know what they are. I want to do what I can to raise public awareness.” Gena Dry |
