My bf was recruited and just did the NWTA. As soon as I got the information (which was after he went, of course, as we were all kept in the dark before hand) I knew right away if smelled like trouble, and then I found this site and other information. OMG!

Any immediate tips to get him thinking normally again would be appreciated.

I have a feeling that time is of the essence and that our actions over the next few weeks may make or break the rest of his life.

Have you read all of the threads here. There are quite a few of them. After posting ten times, you will be able to send and receive PM's.

Ask as many questions as you need. Some of us here will try to answer them for you.

Have you shared any of your knowledge with your boyfriend? If not, maybe you should.

Thanks. Yes, I've been reading a lot. There's just so much to take it all in.

I did share information with him. He agreed that they used LGAT techniques, but he's "not sure how it could be done any different"

Oh, also...

I emailed him some links showing pagan and wicca sites doing the same rituals. He didn't even comment on the pagan aspect!

Been talking to X?
According to him, going through MKP may be a mortal sin.

Funny, some members of the clergy recommend it... Wonder why that is?

MKP appears to be little more than a spin-off of other mass marathon training, such as Lifespring, EST, Landmark and Sterling.

See [www.culteducation.com]

These groups are a dime a dozen, also see NXIVM, Impact and Asiaworks.

The problem with large group awareness training is that the leaders are essentially doing group therapy without a license, proper training and credentials, or accountability.

Anyone would be better off seeking help through local lincensed services.

See [www.culteducation.com]

As stated before on this thread the above linked paper specifically points out potential problems.

Gottschalk and Pattison isolated 13 liabilities of encounter groups, some of which are similar to characteristics of most current mass marathon psychotherapy training sessions:

They lack adequate participant-selection criteria.


They lack reliable norms, supervision, and adequate training for leaders.


They lack clearly defined responsibility.


They sometimes foster pseudoauthenticity and pseudoreality.


They sometimes foster inappropriate patterns of relationships.


They sometimes ignore the necessity and utility of ego defenses.


They sometimes teach the covert value of total exposure instead of valuing personal differences.


They sometimes foster impulsive personality styles and behavioral strategies.


They sometimes devalue critical thinking in favor of "experiencing" without self-analysis or reflection.


They sometimes ignore stated goals, misrepresent their actual techniques, and obfuscate their real agenda.


They sometimes focus too much on structural self-awareness techniques and misplace the goal of democratic education; as a result participants may learn more about themselves and less about group process.


They pay inadequate attention to decisions regarding time limitations. This may lead to increased pressure on some participants to unconsciously "fabricate" a cure.


They fail to adequately consider the "psychonoxious" or deleterious effects of group participation (or] adverse countertransference reactions. (1969, p. 13)

As a result, participants and leaders may unconsciously distort their feelings and responses when reporting to researchers about the group or recruiting for future groups. This might result in a deceptive "oversell" that could undermine informed consent and lead to unrealistic regressive expectations in new recruits, the specific type of problems that have been found to lead to psychological casualties (see Yalom & Lieberman, 1972, below). Since these liabilities are so similar to the techniques used in some mass marathon training's, they may also cause psychological damage in that setting as well.

Much of what such "human potential groups" are about is attempting to persuade people to embrace a philosophy designed by the leader.

See [www.culteducation.com]

This is done frequently through the use of coercive persuasion techniques.

The reliance on intense interpersonal and psychological attack to destabilize an individual's sense of self to promote compliance


The use of an organized peer group


Applying interpersonal pressure to promote conformity


The manipulation of the totality of the person's social environment to stabilize behavior once modified

This is done at MKP.

Is it brainwashing?

Psychiatrist Robert Lifton labeled the extraordinarily high degree of social control characteristic of organizations that operate reform programs as their totalistic quality (Lifton 1961). This concept refers to the mobilization of the entirety of the person's social, and often physical, environment in support of the manipulative effort. Lifton identified eight themes or properties of reform environments that contribute to their totalistic quality:

Control of communication


Emotional and behavioral manipulation


Demands for absolute conformity to behavior prescriptions derived from the ideology


Obsessive demands for confession


Agreement that the ideology is faultless


Manipulation of language in which cliches substitute for analytic thought


Reinterpretation of human experience and emotion in terms of doctrine


Classification of those not sharing the ideology as inferior and not worthy of respect (Lifton 1961, pp. 419-437, 1987).

This is why MKP and other mass marathon training groups rely so much upon secrecy. That is, if people actually knew what they were signing up for they probably would not parcitipate.

What this thread has accomplished is a general service. People that read this entire thread may be able to make a more informed decision about MKP and what it actually offers.

The MKP process in my opinion is hightly manipulative and relies upon hypnosis, guided imagery techniques and other gimmicks to take control of participants minds and gain undue influence.

See [www.culteducation.com]

MKP employs what Cialdini has explained as the five basic rules or techniques to gain influence, which are the rule of reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking and scarcity.

Also note through this thread how the leaders are tacitly coached to gain the trust and confidence of participants to ultimately manipulate them.

This is not ethical or moral, but rather a form of trickery.

See [www.culteducation.com]

Note that there are gradations of inluence and persuasion. This includes, education, advertising, propaganda, indoctrination and thought reform.

IMO-- MKP is thought reform.

There is deliberate deception involved, both through the guise of confidentialiy preventing people from being fully informed about what they are signing up for and through the ongoing manipulation that is so carefully scripted during the weekend.

cb1000
Please, is that really the best endorsement you can come up with.

Quote

MKP appears to be little more than a spin-off of other mass marathon training, such as Lifespring, EST, Landmark and Sterling

good point rrmoderator tosi, kauth and herring students of steriling

sterling student of werner erhardt

erhardt student of ron hubbard

I notice that when you google cult and mkp, this is one of two rickross threads listed as a result. Because of this, I thought it might be important to note that a more extended discussion of mkp and its status as a LGAT vs. a cult can be found at [board.culteducation.com]

Just don't want googlers to miss such an interesting thread.