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"Large Group Awareness Training": A touchy label after the Sedona sweat-lodge deaths
11/03/2009 04:11 PM Tim Steller
The place near Sedona where a training event went severely wrong. / Arizona Republic photo via AP
I’ve been contacting people in Tucson and elsewhere about Large Group Awareness Training,the label some use to describe James Arthur Ray’s Harmonic Wealthprogram and many others that have cropped up over the last 40 years or so. I guess I should have realized this before, but this is a very sensitive subject after the deaths of three people and injuries of many more (including a Patagonia woman) as a result of the sweat-lodge that Ray led.
What characterizes Large Group Awareness Training? According to some people I’ve spoken to, these are typically high-priced seminars in which leaders — sometimes quite charismatic — use psychological techniques and insights, along with group dynamics, to try to raise people to a higher level of self awareness and therefore improve their experience and performance in life. In some cases, the techniques have been quite coercive, and sometimes the seminars can be quite expensive, both of which are reasons (I suspect) for the sensitivity of the label.
A couple of local followers of the Harmonic Wealth program have spoken with me, but several have been hesitant. I understand that they fear being labeled dupes or spendthrifts for following Ray. Maybe some of them are questioning the program after the Sedona deaths. I’d like to know.
Another sign of people’s skittishness came from this query, which I submitted to the online service ProfNetMonday: I am seeking to interview a psychologist, sociologist or other expert on Large Group Awareness Training — that is, the mass-psychology seminars that people pay for in order to enhance their financial and personal lives. James Arthur Ray is an example, as have been many others, including Landmark Forum, Est, Impact Training and Lifespring. Contact: Tim Steller, tsteller@azstarnet.com
Today a spokeswoman and a publicist for Landmark Education,which runs the Landmark Forum,called to tell me that their program is not an example of Large Group Awareness Training. In fact, they consider the term a pejorative.
“It’s not a story that we have any place in,” Landmark communications director Deborah Beroset told me.
In a follow-up email, Beroset said: “As I said during our conversation a bit ago, Landmark really has no place in a story about LGATs. To characterize Landmark Education as a LGAT would not only be inaccurate, it would also damage the reputation of the company, its programs, and the approximately 1.2 million customers who have participated in Landmark Education’s programs and derived value from them. I trust that once you’ve had the opportunity to examine the material I’ve sent and familiarize yourself with our company and programs, you will agree.”
Those words “damage the reputation” kind of jump out, don’t they?
Anyway, I am interested in hearing from those of you who live in Southern Arizona and have participated in any of these programs or possibly similar ones: Harmonic Wealth (James Arthur Ray), Lifespring,Impact Trainings,and, yes, Landmark Forum. I’m not prejudging you or your experience; I just want to know more.
I am not surprised that Landmark is distancing from Ray’s type of group, but that is exactly what they are. They promise some nebuous change, tell you how different they are, then load you into a room and insult you. When I attended, before I became a psychologist and knew about group think and the hostage mentality that happens during these LGATs, I attended the Forum. I was told that I might lose the benefit if I went to the bathroom during the session instead of waiting for the breaks. Who are they kidding?
And to say that all those people who took the course got benefit?
Bullshit! You are hearing from somene who thought the whole thing was ridiculous narcissistic hype. They call it technology, but have no research to back it but the endorsement of their brainwashed attendees who wander around saying “I got it.” What they got is that you shouldn’t let past stuff limit you in the future. How original!
Ultimately, LGATs such as Landmark Education are examples of what boils down to large group brainwashing. The experience of “getting it” or “snapping” is the point where the brainwashing effort wins over.
To learn more, see the France 3 documentary “Journey to the Land of the New Gurus” at http://tinyurl.com/france3-landmark
I don’t know anything about “Large Group Awareness Trainings”, but I did the Landmark Forum and found it to be a valuable, straightforward course where I looked honestly at my life’s direction. It was a professionally run seminar in an office environment which seems to have nothing in common with the lurid tales I’ve read of James Ray and his Sweat Lodge of Doom.
I understand why it is a touchy subject. The term LGAT is used pejoratively by people who have an extreme point of view about any of these kinds of courses. It is used to lump unlike programs together. Not surprisingly some these hysterical people have arrived early on your article to throw up links to their favorite “sky is falling” websites. I am not defending what happened in Sedona and like most everyone else, find it tragic and deeply negligent. I am however willing to defend the personal development industry. There are many highly reputable companies who operate very professionally, Landmark Education, Tony Robbins and Ken Blanchard being some that I am familiar with.
The pejorative use of the term should rightly be a sensitive topic. It is most often used to forward the hysterical propaganda of people who feel it is an abomination to engage in any kind of personal development outside of your relationship with a therapist or a minister. (I am not attacking the most honorable professions of therapists or ministers. They do good and needed work.)
All I am really saying is beware of people trying to make you afraid of other people.
While I respect everyone’s opinions, as a licensed therapist and psychologist, I have to point out that the term “LGAT” isn’t an official psychological term, and furthermore, that what’s being implied by the term – namely, that courses use psychological techniques and tricks to manipulate participants, isn’t true about the Landmark course. I have taken part in this program, and though I could see how an uniformed observer could compare it to psychology or therapy, in my professional opinion, it’s neither, and nor does it attempt to be.
Interesting that in Landmark’s feels lumping them with other LGATs will damage their reputation, since “1.2 million people have benefitted” from their program. Their PR rep did not mention the number of people who felt it was a total waste of time. Lets have a little balance in Landmark’s statistics here…not that it matters. In graduate school we were taught you can make anything true by selectively choosing statistics…or just making them up for that matter.
It is a psychological phenomena that once you make a decision to put money toward something you will tend to only notice information that supports your decision. People who pay this money and spend the time would be likely to see positive things, particularly if all their friends agreed with it.
I was never surveyed about my satisfaction so my suspicion is that this PR rep is just adding up the total number of participants and assuming they all loved it. I would like to see some research references which they fail to supply.
By the way, the EST training morphed into the Forum and then into Landmark Education. I think that the organization’s numerous name changes suggest something isn’t right. Who would attend if they called it the EST training? They want to convince you that now they have “new technology.”
If you want to go be with a bunch of 200 idiots in a hotel ballroom holding your pee for hours because you are told that leaving before breaks may not allow you to get the benefit then go. Maybe you will “get it.”
Their graduates do an incredibly hard sell on their friends and family. I get calls all the time “come check out this new idea!”
Unhappy people are a huge market. They will be preyed upon by all of these groups that hold the promise of a life that spares you the suffering that all of us must live through. No one gets out alive, but you can hasten your demise by being gullible.
I was the only hold out for my friend’s request that I attend a landmark forum. It was creepy the way she starting talking with the lingo but wouldn’t explain to me in normal terms what “the weekend” was all about. I felt that it sounded like a waste of money and was simply to cheap to go! I do not regret my decision.
I’m not surprised that an attendee at a Landmark course should claim that the term ‘LGAT’ is not somehow official. What does surprise me is that she claims to be a psychologist. Speaking as someone who trained in psychology in the UK, I can indeed confirm that the term LGAT is entirely valid when speaking of problematic groups such as Landmark, EST and James Ray’s setup. All of these groups use extreme psychological manipulation and techniques designed to wear down the psyche’s of large groups of people and all are about money, not about helping anyone. Keep up the good work in exposing these groups Tim and in bringing to light the nonsense so called therapies that are about fleecing the gullible rather than treating genuine conditions.
I am not surprised that Landmark is distancing from Ray’s type of group, but that is exactly what they are. They promise some nebuous change, tell you how different they are, then load you into a room and insult you. When I attended, before I became a psychologist and knew about group think and the hostage mentality that happens during these LGATs, I attended the Forum. I was told that I might lose the benefit if I went to the bathroom during the session instead of waiting for the breaks. Who are they kidding?
And to say that all those people who took the course got benefit?
Bullshit! You are hearing from somene who thought the whole thing was ridiculous narcissistic hype. They call it technology, but have no research to back it but the endorsement of their brainwashed attendees who wander around saying “I got it.” What they got is that you shouldn’t let past stuff limit you in the future. How original!
— Beth Wheeling 11/03/2009 08:20 PM #
Ultimately, LGATs such as Landmark Education are examples of what boils down to large group brainwashing. The experience of “getting it” or “snapping” is the point where the brainwashing effort wins over.
To learn more, see the France 3 documentary “Journey to the Land of the New Gurus” at http://tinyurl.com/france3-landmark
John
— John 11/04/2009 05:17 AM #
Here’s more insight into just what Landmark was trying to do:
http://forum.rickross.com/read.php?12,77450,78348#msg-78348
— larry 11/04/2009 01:28 PM #
I don’t know anything about “Large Group Awareness Trainings”, but I did the Landmark Forum and found it to be a valuable, straightforward course where I looked honestly at my life’s direction. It was a professionally run seminar in an office environment which seems to have nothing in common with the lurid tales I’ve read of James Ray and his Sweat Lodge of Doom.
— David Fenton 11/04/2009 02:35 PM #
I understand why it is a touchy subject. The term LGAT is used pejoratively by people who have an extreme point of view about any of these kinds of courses. It is used to lump unlike programs together. Not surprisingly some these hysterical people have arrived early on your article to throw up links to their favorite “sky is falling” websites. I am not defending what happened in Sedona and like most everyone else, find it tragic and deeply negligent. I am however willing to defend the personal development industry. There are many highly reputable companies who operate very professionally, Landmark Education, Tony Robbins and Ken Blanchard being some that I am familiar with.
The pejorative use of the term should rightly be a sensitive topic. It is most often used to forward the hysterical propaganda of people who feel it is an abomination to engage in any kind of personal development outside of your relationship with a therapist or a minister. (I am not attacking the most honorable professions of therapists or ministers. They do good and needed work.)
All I am really saying is beware of people trying to make you afraid of other people.
— Chuck Berkowitz 11/04/2009 03:25 PM #
While I respect everyone’s opinions, as a licensed therapist and psychologist, I have to point out that the term “LGAT” isn’t an official psychological term, and furthermore, that what’s being implied by the term – namely, that courses use psychological techniques and tricks to manipulate participants, isn’t true about the Landmark course. I have taken part in this program, and though I could see how an uniformed observer could compare it to psychology or therapy, in my professional opinion, it’s neither, and nor does it attempt to be.
— Rosalyn Shapiro,M.A.,L.P.C 11/04/2009 09:13 PM #
Interesting that in Landmark’s feels lumping them with other LGATs will damage their reputation, since “1.2 million people have benefitted” from their program. Their PR rep did not mention the number of people who felt it was a total waste of time. Lets have a little balance in Landmark’s statistics here…not that it matters. In graduate school we were taught you can make anything true by selectively choosing statistics…or just making them up for that matter.
It is a psychological phenomena that once you make a decision to put money toward something you will tend to only notice information that supports your decision. People who pay this money and spend the time would be likely to see positive things, particularly if all their friends agreed with it.
I was never surveyed about my satisfaction so my suspicion is that this PR rep is just adding up the total number of participants and assuming they all loved it. I would like to see some research references which they fail to supply.
By the way, the EST training morphed into the Forum and then into Landmark Education. I think that the organization’s numerous name changes suggest something isn’t right. Who would attend if they called it the EST training? They want to convince you that now they have “new technology.”
If you want to go be with a bunch of 200 idiots in a hotel ballroom holding your pee for hours because you are told that leaving before breaks may not allow you to get the benefit then go. Maybe you will “get it.”
Their graduates do an incredibly hard sell on their friends and family. I get calls all the time “come check out this new idea!”
Unhappy people are a huge market. They will be preyed upon by all of these groups that hold the promise of a life that spares you the suffering that all of us must live through. No one gets out alive, but you can hasten your demise by being gullible.
— Beth Wheeling 11/04/2009 10:00 PM #
I was the only hold out for my friend’s request that I attend a landmark forum. It was creepy the way she starting talking with the lingo but wouldn’t explain to me in normal terms what “the weekend” was all about. I felt that it sounded like a waste of money and was simply to cheap to go! I do not regret my decision.
— rebecca l'bahy 11/05/2009 01:12 PM #
I’m not surprised that an attendee at a Landmark course should claim that the term ‘LGAT’ is not somehow official. What does surprise me is that she claims to be a psychologist. Speaking as someone who trained in psychology in the UK, I can indeed confirm that the term LGAT is entirely valid when speaking of problematic groups such as Landmark, EST and James Ray’s setup. All of these groups use extreme psychological manipulation and techniques designed to wear down the psyche’s of large groups of people and all are about money, not about helping anyone. Keep up the good work in exposing these groups Tim and in bringing to light the nonsense so called therapies that are about fleecing the gullible rather than treating genuine conditions.
— john A 11/10/2009 01:06 PM #