By Ember Herrick
?Come Learn The Truth? flyers are popping up around town, inviting the general public to come hear support for coercive restraint therapy, a psychotherapy practice currently being investigated in Utah.
A petition filed last month by the Department of Occupational and Professional Licensing through the Attorney General?s Office has left two therapists practicing coercive restraint therapy with their licenses in limbo and their practice on the line.
Controversy over restraint therapy is not new, but the death of two Cascade patients, Crystal Tibetts in 1995 and Cassandra Killpack in June 2002, has given restraint opponents momentum in their efforts to ban the practice from Utah.
?We are trying to protect children ? and not just children, but we are trying to protect parents from those who I would say have undue authority over them,? Representative Mike Thompson, R-Orem, said. ?You are teaching children that a violent practice upon them solves their problems. Do we want people in our society to think that they can solve their problems with violence??
Thompson is sponsoring a bill to ban the use of coercive restraint therapy in Utah.
DOPL?s petition charges Larry VanBloem and Jennie Gwilliam from the Cascade Center for Family Growth in Orem of 14 ethical and professional violations. The petition is based on complaints by five former patients from 1994-2001 and specifically addresses alleged improprieties performed during treatment. Coercive restraint, or holding therapy, is used by therapists at Cascade to treat children suffering from a variety of problems, most notably reactive attachment disorder (RAD).
According to the American Psychiatric Association, some children develop RAD if they have experienced severe disruptions in their early relationships or physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Furthermore, episodes of neglect, traumatic losses or changes in a primary caregiver can cause some children to have trouble bonding or trusting adult figures, one of the primary symptoms of RAD.
Coercive restraint therapy originally involved the therapist physically restraining the child, often with blankets or sheets to produce a ?swaddling effect.? While under the restraint, the therapist revisits the earlier traumas experienced and encourages the child to vocalize their fears and emotional pain. Coercive restraint therapy was brought to Utah in the early 1990s to help children address repressed feelings and trauma, while fostering the formation of trusting adult-child attachments.
?The only reason I do restraint therapy is because I know that is what that kid needs and I know they will keep acting out the horror unless we are able to help them open it up, show it. ? That is the kind of thing they need ? acceptance and love in the face of what they feel so horribly about,? VanBloem said.
VanBloem said Cascade does not use blankets or sheets anymore to restrain children. Often, patients lie on mats or on the therapist?s lap during a session.
Thompson, who disagrees with the therapy, said that therapists performing restraint therapy are financially motivated.
?I think they are making a good living out of it,? Thompson said.
But Gwilliams said treatment at Cascade is a lot cheaper than in a state institution.
?It costs over $1,000 a day just to stay in the hospital,? said Rebekah Bustamante, a Utah County registered nurse. ?And that doesn?t include the cost of medication, doctors or therapy.?
In response to DOPL?s allegations, the Division of Children and Family Services has cancelled its contract with Cascade to provide counseling for children adopted through the state.
Originally, DCFS said they would not pay for any new clients to receive treatment from Cascade.
However, later on DCFS sent out letters to all existing clients, informing them that in addition, the state would no longer pay for any treatment performed at the center.
Charly Risenmay, a mother of several children diagnosed with RAD, said the lack of prior notification of the withdrawal of state financial support is forcing her to make a difficult choice. As the state will no longer support Cascade?s programs, Risenmay said that her only option is to turn one of her adopted daughters over to the state. Risenmay?s daughter?s condition requires that she be professionally supervised 24 hours a day.
?We are moms and we are not going to walk away from our kids,? Risenmay said. ?It would have been a lot easier to say, ?Oh, there is nothing we can do, let?s put the child into the state hospital or let?s put the child into a residential center and turn them back over to the state. This is not easy. If we were going to walk away we would have walked away a long time ago.?
Thompson said he, too, will not walk away from the issue, by continuing to take a stand against the therapy.
?I think they are good people and they are trying to do the best they can, and I respect them for that, but I disagree with their stand,? Thompson said. ?This is a dangerous practice that needs to be stopped.?
With both sides actively seeking support for their respective causes, the public debate promises to heat up in the months preceding the beginning of the 2003 Legislative session.