Day 409. Survivors found: 8
In case you haven’t already done so, please read Charly D. Miller’s incisive paper on Federici’s lethal methods of child restraint:
Ronald Federici; The Egregious Emperor of Child Endangerment
Self-proclaimed “Emporer” [sic] Federici has apparently been harassing Ms. Miller as well with all manner of pseudo-legal threats. Seeing as she is immune to his moronic bullying, perhaps she’s next on the AT $cientology smear campaign list?
It’s encouraging how even the most destructive bullies quickly reveal themselves to be nothing but boring idiots. We need not ever fear them.
Comments 9
I have some info that would bust an ATer. I need help with this because I cannot file the complaint myself. Anyone can file these facts which are public record. But the persona has to do it in writing. ATers stick together.
Posted 12 Apr 2009 at 11:31 ¶Tom — You can contact me at Advocates for Children in Therapy about this matter at:
linda.and.rosa@gmail.com
About Federici’s harassment of the Charly Miller: The heroic Ms. Miller is just applying the current guidelines regarding the use of restraint by the federal government, professional organizations, and JCAHO. (And she is familiar with the many needless deaths caused by restraint.) Today, the trend is for institutions to create “restraint free” environments, using other means to de-escalate situations where a patient might threaten to hurt himself or others. The use of restraint is now looked on as a failure of the staff to properly care for patients and anticipate their needs.
But of course, Attachment Therapists are miles away from current trends regarding restraint and science-based mental health care overall. Attachment Therapy/Parenting is undoubtedly the worst example of how extreme a practice can get when it considers itself unfettered by science.
Science is a process that insures *patient* safety and benefit. Without science, you get quackery which is always therapist-driven instead of patient-driven. Attachment Therapy is no exception. As a therapy cult, AT/P caters to the needs of its therapists (and those who pay them). So it is the AT/P therapists who need the coercive restraint, for a variety of reasons. The children certainly don’t want it; nor can it be defended by science. So instead of civil arguments about the science, we see harassing attacks against the critics of AT/P.
Posted 12 Apr 2009 at 21:24 ¶Please tell us more, Tom.
Posted 15 Apr 2009 at 22:34 ¶Jean,
I have info on a ATer that was practicing while the license was expired. The State said this is illegal and the money should be paid back. The licensing is public info. I cannot afford the risk of retaliation because I have a fiduciary relationship. And this has to be filed in writing AND NOT anonymously.
I know this is a bit petty. But something like this is how the Feds got Al Capone. But believe me this ATer has taken their clients to collection agencies to extract money for the therapy which they did not think was effective. No pro bono. Just take and take and bill and bill.
The State money is so, so easy to get. There is not even a reconcilation process
My overall point is that there needs to be a guerilla warfare against these people. They have a lot of money. But they can be worn down. I do not understand how they can lose cases criminally and no one goes after them civilly a la OJ.
Where is an ambitious, idealistic lawyer willing to make a class action suit or advertise like they do for asbestos etc?
I have read your studies and it is so obvious this AT stuff is bogus. The symptom list could apply to any kid. Yours and Linda’s efforts in this area have been heroic.
And there must be tens of thousands of kids who went through this. But where are they?
Posted 16 Apr 2009 at 10:58 ¶Tom, did the license just expire, or was it actually revoked or surrendered?
The most common reason for people not going after ATers, in my opinion, is that the parents, who are the “natural protectors” of the child, have made the AT choice themselves. Most cases I have seen where an adult (not a survivor) wanted to complain were ones where a step-parent or a custodial parent had chosen AT and a biological parent or a non-custodial parent objected. Some, but not many, parents realize after the fact that they made a mistake AND have the integrity to act on that realization.
Could you name the state you’re talking about, and then maybe we could hazard some guesses about the specific practitioner you mean?
Keep in mind, though, that there is no law against doing ineffective treatments. It’s not even fraud unless the practitioner knows it’s ineffective and intentionally deceives the client– and the treatment causes some harm (though that could be financial loss). Although some federal and state guidelines stress evidence-based practice, this concept has been diluted to unrecognizability. Besides, few practitioners and even fewer jury members have any idea how to assess the evidence for a treatment.
One possibility in some cases, is to use the False Claims Act (Wayward Radish describes it elsewhere on this site). That would require some use of federal or state money in payment. If private insurance paid part of the fees, that insurance company might be interested, but on the whole we have not been successful in communicating with insurance companies. If clients were paying privately,it’s much more difficult unless they will sue for reimbursement.
This ought to be easy, but so far it hasn’t been–
Posted 16 Apr 2009 at 11:55 ¶sigh!
The problem locally has been the government totally supporting these peple, even paying them while unlicensed, etc… and covering up for them…
the kids I know just want to put this behind them…
they will got to great lengths to prove the person questioning them insane, etc…
and any time they recommend something that breaches their ethical code is also is a something you are supposed to be able to sue on… like I don’t know, licking the kid, holding the kid down, holding the 14 year old in their lap…. recommending the parents put the kids in cages at night…
like I have said before… I know people who walked out on one of them… they were reported to DSS and investigated for child abuse, 2 foster parents who had kids removed, pre-adoptive parents who had children removed from their home when they refused to do RAD therapy, therapist who were new to one of the ATers who walked out and the jerk tried to get their licensed revoked… they tend to not be nice people…
I think a big part of it is the dehumanization of foster children in general and the belief of many social workers that no one wants these kids… but that is not true, the system is so messed up, and many of these kids could have been returned or should have never been removed from their parents… I mean even say the success story from RAD therapy that was posted in the paper here locally…. that woman was parenting two kids who had birth moms parenting other kids (that is wrong, if the people can parent kids, they should have all their kids, DSS should not remove some and pay someone els to raise them…. )
Posted 16 Apr 2009 at 23:24 ¶Rinda, I wish you would give some specifics about some of these things– though not necessarily right out here “in public”. For example, having the name of the person whose license was threatened could lead to having that person as an ally in this fight. As it is, he or she may not even know that other people are trying to work on this.
However, I know you’ve said your kids really just want to get on with their lives and not put their energy into it– can’t blame them a bit.
Posted 17 Apr 2009 at 00:37 ¶Linda and Jean,
Thanks for your responses. And your efforts in stopping this mess. I have found that the dept heads of the counties STILL believe in the effectiveness of AT. They believe that people like you have some sort of conspiracy theory going. That you are jealous of the success they are having and you are just trying to make a name for yourself and sell books. When I read the RAD symptoms and diagnosis I immediately said this is bull. ANY symptoms can be concluded to be RAD. How did they eventually stop lobotomies? This seems similar.
The AT therapists are like heroic pioneers to the county people. Some of these dept heads are making 50k per year full time and feel completely justified to give AT therapists 100k working part time for the ‘good work’ they are doing.
I am totally baffled on how this continues.
Posted 20 Apr 2009 at 11:42 ¶You forgot one thing they say about us, Tom– we have “attachment issues”. Any disagreement is obviously pathological in origin.
Any details you can pass on are valuable. We already have our heads stuck out, so we don’t mind making ourselves more conspicuous.
Posted 20 Apr 2009 at 12:22 ¶Post a Comment