anyone know about "The Forum"?

[maggrwaggr]

This friend of mine has been to this thing called "The Forum" and swears it's the greatest thing. He's urging me to go to it. It's totally word of mouth, they don't advertise. It's some sort of self-help group catharsis seminar. <br><br>I wondered if anyone hear knew anything about it or had tried it. <br><br> <p></p><i></i>

[Ted the dog]

I know a little bit about it. it came out of EST after the 70's and 80's. My old landlords got into it and loved it. My ex-girlfriend actually has to attend Forum seminars twice a year...it's required by her job.<br><br>I went to one of the "graduation" ceremonies. I didn't see anything going on that seemed strange or controlling.....there were all kinds of differnet people there, kids, men, women, gay, straight, all ethnicities....basically the process works along the lines of, take personal responsibilty for your problems and learn to "get it"...they use that phrase quite a bit..."I get that.", as opposed to "I understand."...I really can't remember too much more...I tried to read a book on EST a few years back, but I got too annoyed and dropped it.<br><br>I'll ask around and see what the people I know that have done it have to say specifically.<br><br><br>one thing, if you give them your name and number, they WILL call, and they WILL hassle you. it's also expensive...IMO, anyway. <p></p><i></i>

[Ted the dog]

one additional thing...i've met and heard about people who claim EST and the Forum literally changed their lives...made them happier, more at peace with themselves, more confident....and then I've also met people that claim all that, yet seem pretty miserable still. <p></p><i></i>

[anonymoose]

<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.rickross.com/groups/forum.html">www.rickross.com/groups/forum.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>A friend of a friend went to one of these a few years ago and said that it helped her. I only met her once and she seemed normal .. a single writer with a couple of pets, in Arizona. <p></p><i></i>

[snowlion2]

My brother-in-law got involved with this group in the Washington DC area a few years ago. His subsequent personality change, sudden avoidance of family, and questionable and atypical financial decisions led to a successful intervention/deprogramming. There are numerous web resources available. I can't judge the group...only it's effects...which were significant and damaging. <p></p><i></i>

[Dreams End]

My mom has fallen out of the habit and I'm glad as it is expensive. <br><br>The brilliance of charging so much (besides getting $$$) is that people will talk themselves into thinking it helped them whether it did or not.<br><br>On one of her last trips, she called me up, tearfully, and wanted me to come up right away to chicago. It was hard to say no, but no is what I said. I think it's bs...lots of jargon and confrontation...sound and fury signifying nothing, but I did not assume I was somehow immune, so I didn't go.<br><br>It's an intense weekend. You stay up very late....limits on when you can leave the room, etc. Not nearly as harsh as EST used to be. As "cults" go (note the quotes) I think it is not too harmful and may even help some people, though I think that help comes not from any specifics of the Forum but more from the person's desire to change their lives so much they are willing to go thru it!<br><br>And now that she doesn't seem to be attending (I can't say for sure, b/c she has to go thru Chicago to visit my sister a couple times a year) I don't think she's been hassled. It's more Amway than Scientology, I think.<br> <p></p><i></i>

[proldic]

He he. <br><br>Also:<br>Check out all the various est-spin offs - Landmark is huge on the east coast, and sucking in alot of otherwise intelligent and polictical alt-types. <br><br>Erhard (I mean Joe Smith or whatever his real name is), is a CENTRAL character in the spook-cult game, and worthy of his own data dump. <br><br>Although I do think some of us could benefit from some political "rolfing"... <p></p><i></i>

[Dreams End]

I suggested that my Mom was not harmed and made the more generalized statemtent that the Forum didn't seem TOO harmful. I think that was disrespectful of your post...though unintentional. I should have said that her experience wasn't too harmful. I don't want to come across as suggesting that your take on them wasn't valid.<br><br>Perhaps my mom is rather insulated from the more harmful effects because she lives so far from anyplace one can attend their "workshops" or whatever. They have a lot less access to her and a lot less realistic expectation that she can come to too many workshops. Now, if they start operating much closer to home, I worry.<br> <p></p><i></i>

[maggrwaggr]

I'm curious how it differs from yer basic psychotherapy techniques.<br><br>My friend says it changed his life, and he seems to be doing pretty well, actually.<br><br>I just have this instinctive distrust of big groups where everybody gets together and goes into some kind of mob psychological state. Crowd fever, or whatever.<br><br>I tend to shy away from such things. But I'm open-minded.<br><br>I guess my main question is whether they have something really unique going on, or if it's your basic psychotherapy techniques, as in letting go of the past, taking responsibility, etc. etc. None of that is new. <p></p><i></i>

[snowlion2]

I am so in awe of your writing and thoughtful discourse in other forums on this board, you would have had to have been much more "in my face" for me to have taken offence. "The Forum" has different effects on different folks...depending. <p></p><i></i>