"Dangerous Persuaders" by Louise Samways
Posted by:
Wiser Aussie
()
Date: December 19, 2005 01:24PM
More quotes,
[b:b0b7709d89][u:b0b7709d89]Groups That Can Harm[/u:b0b7709d89][/b:b0b7709d89]
Many people who attend a personal development group say it was a wonderful experience that changed their lives for the better; others say it had no real effect except to empty their wallet. I fully accept that the psychological techniques they use are so powerful they can cause dramatic shifts in beliefs and attitudes within hours, and that [i:b0b7709d89][b:b0b7709d89]sometimes[/b:b0b7709d89][/i:b0b7709d89] this can be an improvement for the participants. My concerns are that people attending maverick courses are not adequately screened before attending, do not participate with informed consent about the possible dangers, the group or leader has no accountability for their actions and leaders are inappropriately or inadequately trained for what they are doing. This makes the outcome for the participants totally unpredictable, and puts them at great risk. [b:b0b7709d89]It is not acceptable to say the risk of damage to some people is justified by the dubious possibility of benefits to others.[/b:b0b7709d89]
There are much safer, kinder and more respectful ways of helping people change and reassess their beliefs, values and priorities than implanting ideas from an external source while deliberately inhibiting their ability to think clearly and critically. ........
Regresssional hypnosis is a technique by which a personal can be taken back in time to various ages, in order to recall events that consciously may have been either partially or fully repressed. These are generally extremely unhappy experiences, such as sexual abuse in childhood or veterans' war experiences. Regressional hypnosis is only used therapeutically by psychiatrists or psychologists under strict safeguards and with extreme caution. [b:b0b7709d89]It is not necessarily beneficial for someone to remember very traumatic events consciously, and doing so in fact can cause them to become quite psychotic[/b:b0b7709d89]. During rebirthing (also known as 'breath of life'), people with no formal training in psychology act as 'rebirthers'; they use breathing techniques to induce trancelike states in their subjects and expose emotional issues and memories they claim are blocking the subjects' full potential. ....
(page 40)
A person with excellent training as a yoga teacher would be an ideal choice for leading a yoga course. However many people are now dabbling in areas they don't fully understand. They are running courses involving psychological techniques without any appropriate background or training. The first rule in running any personal development course should be for the leader to know their limitations and do no harm. Just because someone appears to be the kindest, most caring, loveliest person you - the potential customer - have ever met does not mean he or she can do no harm. Sadly, such people can and they do.
(page 41)
I am seeing more and more people who have attended personal development courses run by naturopaths, yoga teachers, meditation teachers, GPs, dentists and physiotherapists, as well as people calling themselves masters and gurus. The attendees are in serious psychological crises directly [b:b0b7709d89]due[/b:b0b7709d89] to the ignorant abuse of extremely powerful psychological techniques. Just as I am not appropriately qualified to run an aerobics class, an ex-PE teacher or a physiotherapist is not qualified to run a psychotherapy group.
We are also seeing 'flying squads' of trainers arriving from overseas, doing their 'shows' and disappearing again. They do not have to register with anyone, or gain any official approval for what they are doing. They cannot be held accountable for the devastation they may leave behind.
(pages 42, 43)