Re-birthing Technique

You really do learn something new everyday. I must say, learning about the above was horrifying, to put it mildly. In my Social Work Research class, we started off the class identifying the exact reason why social workers should stay abreast of research in the field: because the interventions may just be downright crazy ridiculous!

I don't remember hearing about this, although that doesn't say much b/c I really don't pay attention to the news much. However, in 2000, the Rebithing technique was used on a 10-year old girl because she had an Attachment Disorder, where she was having problems 'attaching' to her new caregiver - most likely b/c of problems that happened when she was younger. Somehow, this 'rebirth' was supposed to help the young girl bond with her adoptive mother.

Anywho, the new caregiver somehow found the idiots that ran this circus show, and agreed to try this technique. The young girl laid in the fetal position and was wrapped in blankets to simulate the womb, then covered with pillows. The therapists (ha!) then pushed on the pillows to stimulate birthing contractions. In the first 16 minutes, the child said SIX TIMES that she was going to die. She begged to be let out because she was going to vomit. The therapists responded with "You want to die? Ok, then die. Go ahead, die right now." She was like that for 1 hour and 10 minutes! When they unwrapped her, she was unconscious in a pool of vomit and died a day later in the hospital.

Many things can be said about this, as I am sure all of you are thinking the same thoughts I am. However, this is why it is very important to stay on top of techniques that do and DO NOT work. In short, you can not believe everything you hear. If you want to be an effective social worker, you must take the time to be 100% sure that you methods are HELPING your clients, not hindering their progress - or worse, KILLING THEM.

This dude summed it up best: "I don't know anything about rebirthing," said Forrest Lien, Director of Clinical Services at the Attachment Center at Evergreen, a pioneer agency for treating children with attachment disorder. "We really only want to use techniques that have been used and are researched and have proven outcomes." DING DING DING! Good thinking, Forrest.

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a39254c2414a8.htm