practice driving theory – rather than the reverse (theory driving practice)
This will be a web site that explores the Hx and practices of facilities meant to contain the most marginal members of society. They include, but are not “confined” (no pun intended) to prisons, reform schools, mental hospitals, etc – all of a genre that is created (often in anger or retribution – with little or no basis in fact or in empirical research. The theories that justify these entities appear after the fact – virtually never before they happen or become policy.
~ by augustus3 on June 13, 2011.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags: 4-point restraint, alternatives to, “holes, ” isolation, boys institutions, bread & water, cattle-prods, double door, girls institutions, group homes, handcuffed, hog-tied, Institutionsetc.com (tags: prisons, looney-bins, maximum security, mug shots, nursing homes, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest, padded cells, padded rooms, paper gowns, prison swat teams, private residential programs, private treatment programs, protective custody) the devil’s chair, razor wire, reform schools, reformatories, restraint chairs, shakedowns, straight-jackets, supermax, Tazers, training schools, walled facilities, youth authority
Add to these the DSM fantasies that over simplify the wide range of human pain, in order to access funding, and all the non-evidence based psychological tests, and certification modalities for shrinks, psychologists, social workers etc., who under the guise of science continue to experiment on our most vulnerable citizens, both in and out of residential facilities.
Human services, like religion, is faith based with no empirical support for what works, and no likelyhood that we will ever control enough variables to actually determine empirically what works, other than the absolute truth that vulnerable folks sure do provide some decent livings for all of us in the biz. We continue to promote an excessive dependence on labeling and categorizing folks rather than humanizing and normalizing interactions in the environment (home & home community) where they must learn to cope.
Fortunately a Jerry Miller, comes along periodically to wake a few folks up, and loosen the compulsive professional shackles – thanks again, Jerry, for your insights, your courage, and your perspective that continues to energize all of us that have benefited from your efforts.