You might be surprised to learn that 12-step religious coercion is actually a very common contractual extortion method.
Veterans with trauma, PTSD, might find themselves forced into a program telling them to contemplate their defective character, selfishness, powerlessness, dishonesty, etc. It seems very wrong to me.
This Invitational Intervention (ARISE) basically attempts to solve the treatment industry’s problem of families not being comfortable with the coercion and civil liberties violations of a traditional Johnson intervention (to get more people into treatment which is $$$), instead of the real problem: that the expensive ‘religious’ treatment doesn’t work and is often counterproductive and deeply insulting to people who are not actually pathological liars.
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Name: Juliet Abram
I’m interested in: General Inquiry
If general inquiry, please specify.: I have a few quick questions. On this page: https://premo-castelli.squarespace.com/arise-intervention/
Shouldn’t ARISE also include SMART Recovery, SOS, LifeRing, Women for Sobriety, Moderation Management, HAMS or some other supports instead of just the 12 Step programs? If ARISE can help 61% stay clean for a year and 10% use less— wouldn’t those numbers improve by applying more support group options?
Last question: It’s written on the same page- “The addicted individual is invited to join the process right from the beginning with no surprises, no secrets, no coercion, and absolute respect and love.” — And it’s also written: “At this meeting serious consequences are put in place if the addicted individual does not enter treatment.”
Isn’t that essentially “coercion” to demand anyone to participate in highly religious 12 Step programs? If 83% go to the treatment, maybe the other 17% aren’t refusing help but they’re refusing 12 Step programs? I’m sure ARISE is familiar enough with the 12 Steps to understand those steps don’t treat the addict with love and respect at all— in fact, those 12 Steps say they’re powerless and blame them for being addicts. They must list all of their defects of character and accept blame even in situations where they are not wrong (like if they’ve been robbed or raped.) The AA literature is sexist and demeans women. On top of all that, none of the 12 Step programs have rules against sexual harassment so “13 Stepping” happens, which means the older members make unwanted sexual advancements on new members. And if the new member criticizes the person hurting them, they’re told to “take their own inventory.:
The other programs I’ve listed treat each addict with dignity and respect, and many also use evidence based practices like CBT.
I urge this business to edit the intervention page and include the other forms of help that are out there. Because ARISE is supposed to bring the best standard of care to the addict, not just a partial list of options.
Thanks for your time,
Juliet Abram
This is what David Olsen Executive Director of the non-profit Samaritan Counseling Center of the Capital Region makes as a sex therapist. He can’t be bothered to discuss his use of 12-step coercion to silence complaints, though; in fact, this is strictly forbidden.
Yes, that’s $193K/year, and he as a state-licensed therapist, can’t address a complaint with anything other than “we have a right to our preferred mode of treatment”. Actually, I should say that he said my therapist had the right to HER preferred mode of treatment. But she seemed, to me, to be required to enforce 12-step treatment as part of her job. She and the Clinical Director Jenness Clairmont both privately told me they didn’t like 12-steps.
I suspect that Samaritan Counseling of the Capital Region is “under the influence” of a religious zealot.
It was like he was passing off the responsibility to others, after directing them. I have records showing this “under the direction of David Olsen”.
It’s like I’m talking to Kim Davis or something, except with sadistic 12-step sex therapists.
I had a WTF moment when I realized I was in Alcoholics Anonymous-only therapy at Samaritan Counseling. Basically, if you don’t think 12-step religion saved your life, you are dead to these people. I don’t think they should be licensed to practice by New York State. I am never allowed to speak to anyone at Samaritan Counseling Center ever again because I suggested Alcoholics Anonymous was not helpful to me. Something is a little weird here. I was denied my FOIL request and appeal about the investigation.
I’ve been asking to speak with Samaritan Counseling about this since December 2013, and they are refusing to speak with me because I made it clear that I don’t believe in God.
This is the sketchy industry that Samaritan Counseling Center chooses to affiliate with. My rehab wasn’t like this 
A photo of Kurt Cobain‘s arm revealing his medical bracelet from a drug rehab center in LA that he checked out of days before returning to Seattle, where the Seattle Police Department says, he committed suicide.
After rehab, he thought of himself as ‘a heroin addict’.
These places are nothing but AA indoctrination, teaching coerced people to praise them so the rehabs can scam Medicaid, while this kind of story, where someone escapes to commit suicide, is not uncommon.
I did appeal and never got any response from Mary Ellen Elia.
Check this out. I found 12-step extortion written into NYS Law on professional licensing.
§6510-b Temporary surrender of licenses during treatment for drug or alcohol abuse.
There is a section that enables 12-step professional extortion, point for point [my interpretations]
1. Your license can be voluntarily surrendered when someone alleges (or you feel) that you are incapacitated. (You can do this without ‘getting into trouble’…don’t worry…). Your license shall be restored when you satisfy the Department’s ‘reasonable conditions’.
2. There will be a committee with ‘expertise in problems of drug and alcohol abuse’.
3. A treatment or rehab program will be identified. Don’t worry, this will all be done without anyone knowing about it… “Approval of a treatment or rehabilitation program by the committee shall not constitute a representation as to the probability of success of the program or any assumption of financial responsibility for its costs.”
4. “The immunity from disciplinary action conferred by this section may be revoked by the committee upon a finding that the licensee has failed to successfully complete the program or that the incapacity to practice has not been eliminated. ”
6. Exemption of any liability for people involved in the intervention.
This is how many state-licensed professionals in NY have an AA gun behind their backs.
Interesting fact: Jenness Clairmont, the former Clinical Director of Samaritan Counseling who banned me from ‘any further contact‘ with employees or Samaritan Counseling offices ‘under any circumstances’ directly after I complained about 12-step coercion and emotional extortion via the ARISE Intervention (the creator of which was at the time charged with five felonies for fraud)…she is ON the Office of Professions board (the licensing board whose ‘investigator’ told me ‘nothing you are saying makes any sense’. You can see in the video above this Office of Professions is not averse to extorting its licensees into 12-step treatment. She’s also an NASW member, and a consultant for the 12-step group New York Council on Problem Gambling, which is PAID by OASAS (illegally it seems) and who’ve introduced inpatient gambling rehab and GA meetings to OASAS rehabs (also illegally). This idea of ‘boundaries’ against people who are not engaged in 12-step programs is also called ‘cult shunning‘, and even though the Executive Director David Olsen of Samaritan Counseling recommends these boundaries ‘to help the ministry flourish‘ and to avoid ‘scapegoating’ pastors (he’s a sex therapist/pastor who makes nearly 200K/year at his non-profit), I find it very odd that Samaritan Counseling has effectively shunned me or anyone representing me from any communication with state licensed ‘social workers’ who are supposedly interested in helping resolve social problems.
Watch Jenness Clairmont talk about ‘male depression’ and ‘not wanting to talk about it’. LOL.