I went to one of these places in the early 2000's. It's difficult to wrap your mind around it. it was most definitely a cult
Some thoughts
- archive.org has most of fornits
- hashtag breakingcodesilence on pretty much any social media platform. tiktok has quite abit
- a SURPRISING amount of 'counselors' account for their time at these schools on linkedin. some are even licensed now (bravo?).
- this individual who has since passed away did a great job at documenting CEDU - https://survivingcedu.wordpress.com/cedu-documentary/
- at a high level there was a literal cult known as the Church of Synanon which was disbanded in the 70's by the federal government. This cult's purpose/mission was to save people from addiction by brainwashing/abuse/prophets. These principles then created the concept of 'theraputic boarding schools'. It has since hydra'd as it is an unaccountable industry and certain states have laws create conditions for less oversight.
- The school I attended, the headmaster was from a cedu school that was shuttered, his qualifications was a degree in creative writing. There were maybe 6-10 counselors from other schools who then taught the hired 'uninitiated' counselors who themselves were typically 18-25 years old, without any college education. Students that excelled at these schools sometimes became counselors themselves.
Some thoughts - archive.org has most of fornits - hashtag breakingcodesilence on pretty much any social media platform. tiktok has quite abit - a SURPRISING amount of 'counselors' account for their time at these schools on linkedin. some are even licensed now (bravo?). - this individual who has since passed away did a great job at documenting CEDU - https://survivingcedu.wordpress.com/cedu-documentary/ - at a high level there was a literal cult known as the Church of Synanon which was disbanded in the 70's by the federal government. This cult's purpose/mission was to save people from addiction by brainwashing/abuse/prophets. These principles then created the concept of 'theraputic boarding schools'. It has since hydra'd as it is an unaccountable industry and certain states have laws create conditions for less oversight. - The school I attended, the headmaster was from a cedu school that was shuttered, his qualifications was a degree in creative writing. There were maybe 6-10 counselors from other schools who then taught the hired 'uninitiated' counselors who themselves were typically 18-25 years old, without any college education. Students that excelled at these schools sometimes became counselors themselves.