Rebirth
CNN - Several jurors wiped tears and at least one cried openly as the video of a controversial "rebirthing" session that ended in death was played for the first time in a Colorado courtroom.
Two therapists are charged with child abuse in the death of their client, 10-year-old Candace Newmaker of Durham, North Carolina.
The two-hour video, shot April 18, 2000, first shows Candace drawing a picture on a wall board to be later analyzed as "art therapy." About 30 minutes later, therapist Julie Ponder, 40, tells Candace it is time to be "reborn."
Candace is wrapped in a blue flannel sheet and covered with pillows. Another therapist, Connell Watkins, 54, and two other adults come into the room and lean onto her covered body to simulate birth contractions. Candace is then instructed to "fight to live" -- struggle to emerge from the blanket and be "reborn" into the arms of her adoptive mother, who stood by.
Over the next 70 minutes Candace is first heard periodically struggling and screaming, "I can't do it"; "I can't breathe"; "I'm going to throw up"; "I'm going to poop."
Later she is heard breathing hard and softly whimpering. For the final 20 minutes nothing is heard from her.
The therapists press against the girl throughout and are heard telling Candace, "You have to fight to live"; "You're a quitter"; "If you don't have the courage to live, it's easier to die."
Ponder ultimately unwraps Candace. The girl is unconscious, not breathing, and without a pulse.
Ponder begins CPR. Candace's adoptive mother screams, "She's dead." Watkins calls out for someone to call 9-1-1.
The video ends.
Candace was airlifted to a hospital and the next morning was pronounced dead of asphyxiation.
Ponder and Watkins are charged with reckless child abuse leading to death and are now on trial.
The adoptive mother, Jeane Newmaker, 47, will face a lesser charge of negligent child abuse leading to death. The two therapy assistants also will face lesser charges.
Newmaker adopted Candace in 1996. She testified earlier this week that her daughter's behavior had become so outrageous that she flew from North Carolina to Colorado and paid $7,000 to obtain the controversial therapy treatment provided by Watkins and Ponder.
Rebirthing is considered an experimental treatment and is not recognized as legitimate by all health care professionals. In addition, prosecutors said Watkins and Ponder had performed only about five previous such treatments before their encounter with Candace. Each of those lasted no more than six minutes, they said
Neither Watkins nor Ponder is a licensed therapist. While Colorado does not require a license for practicing psycho-therapy, all individuals must register with the state. Both therapists' registrations had lapsed.
The trial is expected to continue through next week. If convicted, the two women could be sentenced to a maximum of 48 years in prison.
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I heard in horror about this piece of news that came about several years ago, and today i read about it again in a social work textbook about the importance of practicing therapies with the relevant experience and research to back up the therapy.
It seems as if the world of 'social work' gets more and more bizzare. From psychics claiming to be counselors, to therapists such as those mentioned in the article above and employing really weird techniques to help, seriously, i do wonder who's benefiting? The clients, or the pockets of these so-called therapists?
As I think more and more about this rebirthing therapy, where one is supposed to go through the birthing process again to help the kid to remove the inhibitions she had built up towards the mom over the course of the years, also known as an attachment disorder. Well, as I think about it, I can't help but wonder if it's the deep human need to kinda remove our past. I mean, there are just so many things in our past that we wished never ever happened, and I wonder if we would do anything to start anew again. The things we regret forever but we can't do anything about them. To be reborn, without the crap.
Without the emotional connections, without the entanglements of the repercussions of the wrong decisions we have made, without having to live with the consequences of hurting someone we love. I wonder if this mom felt that way. That there was too much history between herself and her adopted daughter (6 yrs old), that it seemed the only way out was to be, in a sense, born-again. Birth contractions included.
It seems to me a big part of this therapy would be the girl would have to be reborn again into the arms of this adoptive mother, and so her maternal relationship could start from a clean slate all over again. Would the therapy be significant if it wasn't into the arms of her adoptive mother? Perhaps not. It's a emotional connection, u see, more than anything else.
I'm sorry, don't mean to be preachy here. But this all really reminds me of Jesus who said that we each need to be re-born to enter the Kingdom of God. The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel said that God gives us a new heart, a heart of flesh and not of stone. I wonder if there are some parallels between Jesus' thoughts and the principles behind this very weird therapy.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I agree with this therapy that very sadly caused the death of a young girl. All I'm saying is that there's a deep human need to start again. We all need second chances. A chance to have a new heart that's good. A chance to be able to love again. A chance where we can erase all the crap of the past.
Perhaps such a chance can only be found on our insides, not with external birth contractions.
Where are we gonna find such a chance?
Two therapists are charged with child abuse in the death of their client, 10-year-old Candace Newmaker of Durham, North Carolina.
The two-hour video, shot April 18, 2000, first shows Candace drawing a picture on a wall board to be later analyzed as "art therapy." About 30 minutes later, therapist Julie Ponder, 40, tells Candace it is time to be "reborn."
Candace is wrapped in a blue flannel sheet and covered with pillows. Another therapist, Connell Watkins, 54, and two other adults come into the room and lean onto her covered body to simulate birth contractions. Candace is then instructed to "fight to live" -- struggle to emerge from the blanket and be "reborn" into the arms of her adoptive mother, who stood by.
Over the next 70 minutes Candace is first heard periodically struggling and screaming, "I can't do it"; "I can't breathe"; "I'm going to throw up"; "I'm going to poop."
Later she is heard breathing hard and softly whimpering. For the final 20 minutes nothing is heard from her.
The therapists press against the girl throughout and are heard telling Candace, "You have to fight to live"; "You're a quitter"; "If you don't have the courage to live, it's easier to die."
Ponder ultimately unwraps Candace. The girl is unconscious, not breathing, and without a pulse.
Ponder begins CPR. Candace's adoptive mother screams, "She's dead." Watkins calls out for someone to call 9-1-1.
The video ends.
Candace was airlifted to a hospital and the next morning was pronounced dead of asphyxiation.
Ponder and Watkins are charged with reckless child abuse leading to death and are now on trial.
The adoptive mother, Jeane Newmaker, 47, will face a lesser charge of negligent child abuse leading to death. The two therapy assistants also will face lesser charges.
Newmaker adopted Candace in 1996. She testified earlier this week that her daughter's behavior had become so outrageous that she flew from North Carolina to Colorado and paid $7,000 to obtain the controversial therapy treatment provided by Watkins and Ponder.
Rebirthing is considered an experimental treatment and is not recognized as legitimate by all health care professionals. In addition, prosecutors said Watkins and Ponder had performed only about five previous such treatments before their encounter with Candace. Each of those lasted no more than six minutes, they said
Neither Watkins nor Ponder is a licensed therapist. While Colorado does not require a license for practicing psycho-therapy, all individuals must register with the state. Both therapists' registrations had lapsed.
The trial is expected to continue through next week. If convicted, the two women could be sentenced to a maximum of 48 years in prison.
______________________________________________________________________
I heard in horror about this piece of news that came about several years ago, and today i read about it again in a social work textbook about the importance of practicing therapies with the relevant experience and research to back up the therapy.
It seems as if the world of 'social work' gets more and more bizzare. From psychics claiming to be counselors, to therapists such as those mentioned in the article above and employing really weird techniques to help, seriously, i do wonder who's benefiting? The clients, or the pockets of these so-called therapists?
As I think more and more about this rebirthing therapy, where one is supposed to go through the birthing process again to help the kid to remove the inhibitions she had built up towards the mom over the course of the years, also known as an attachment disorder. Well, as I think about it, I can't help but wonder if it's the deep human need to kinda remove our past. I mean, there are just so many things in our past that we wished never ever happened, and I wonder if we would do anything to start anew again. The things we regret forever but we can't do anything about them. To be reborn, without the crap.
Without the emotional connections, without the entanglements of the repercussions of the wrong decisions we have made, without having to live with the consequences of hurting someone we love. I wonder if this mom felt that way. That there was too much history between herself and her adopted daughter (6 yrs old), that it seemed the only way out was to be, in a sense, born-again. Birth contractions included.
It seems to me a big part of this therapy would be the girl would have to be reborn again into the arms of this adoptive mother, and so her maternal relationship could start from a clean slate all over again. Would the therapy be significant if it wasn't into the arms of her adoptive mother? Perhaps not. It's a emotional connection, u see, more than anything else.
I'm sorry, don't mean to be preachy here. But this all really reminds me of Jesus who said that we each need to be re-born to enter the Kingdom of God. The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel said that God gives us a new heart, a heart of flesh and not of stone. I wonder if there are some parallels between Jesus' thoughts and the principles behind this very weird therapy.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I agree with this therapy that very sadly caused the death of a young girl. All I'm saying is that there's a deep human need to start again. We all need second chances. A chance to have a new heart that's good. A chance to be able to love again. A chance where we can erase all the crap of the past.
Perhaps such a chance can only be found on our insides, not with external birth contractions.
Where are we gonna find such a chance?
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