I have been spending time trying to make sense of my LGAT experience (mine was New Era Trainings in Concord California, a offspring of Lifespring [
forum.culteducation.com])
I have learned a lot from this forum, but something I have not read a lot about is about "coaching" .
It sounds like LGATS use unpaid volunteer "graduates" to do the dirty work of dealing with new recruits. A big part of the LGAT mind control is keeping track of recruits to make sure they are "with the program" and continuing to break you down mentally and keep you under LGAT control. The LGAT leader cannot deal with all recruits at all times, so these volunteer graduate "coaches" do their "coaching" with the recruits. In New Era Trainings, you are spending many hours a day on the phone getting "coached"
Now that I have had time to think about about, my "coach" was really sadistic. It was like being under a drill sergant. I could never do anything right, so I was always getting being talked down and made to feel bad about myself. But now that I think about it, I think my "coach" would intentionally look for things or probably make something up or lie to me to get started so they could open me up and rip me. I think my "coach" enjoyed doing that to people to feel powerful. I have thought about the phone calls, and they always started with a little mind game to break me down and get me emotional - to "tag" me. It always was about doing something wrong - "not being my word" or something about not following the training exactly.
Now that I think about it, none of that "coaching" ever helped me. It did not help me with my LGAT "enrollment" goals, that I could care less about now. More importantly, it did not help me with my real life goals, so the LGAT was a complete waste of time and money.
And some of that "coaching" was pretty vicious. When people criticize LGATS for not being licensed therapy this is very true. Especially when a lot of that "coaching" is being done by unpaid volunteer LGAT "graduates" who have taken the questionable LGAT program for only a few months, and now think they know everything there is to know about helping people.
For my unpaid volunteer coach in New Era Trainings, I really just think they got a massive power trip off of being able to make people feel bad and mess with their heads. Which is what the owners liked to do too, but at least they are making lots of money doing it.
I am curious to hear the experience of other people being "coached" or if you are a recovering "coach" how were you taught to mess with the minds of recruits?
-wamback