In the documentary, a psychiatrist interviews Beth, but he’s one out of a whole team of therapists who guided Beth in her recovery. In 1989, Beth and her adoptive parents went to live with a woman named Connell Watkins, a therapist who practiced a type of “holding” therapy for children who are severely affected by RAD. That same year, a girl by the name of Candace Newmaker was born—but no one would guess that a little over a decade later, the 10-year-old would die in an accidental killing at the hands of Connell and another therapist, Julie Ponder. In that incident, they were conducting a “rebirthing” session in which they wrapped Candace in sheets and pillows to simulate a “womb connection” between Candace and her adoptive mother. Candace had been previously diagnosed with RAD after almost setting her house on fire, and years spent on medicine to keep her rage at bay—often biting or spitting at her therapists. Regardless, this session went terribly wrong. After an hour and ten minutes, the girl’s mother asked if she wanted to be born, and Candace quietly murmured “no”—her last word before dying there in that session. But this event hadn’t taken place yet, not back in 1989 when Beth was dancing the dangerous edge of child murderer and child rehabilitated. Could it be possible?...
Meanwhile in the Beth Thomas documentary, as she props her head up with her small hand, her eyes widen every once in a while as she explains in detail her desire to kill. Still, it’s obvious that by now in her real-life therapy, she has gone from deceptive to forthcoming, though her remorse is hard to locate from simply observing her. She only trips up once, about the baby birds she killed. The psychiatrist asks her if she thinks the birds could fly or run away from her—she seems confused and half states/half asks, “Yes?” He then asks if she remembers them dying, and she stumbles through an account of her mom telling her that one of them had died, yes. But the psychiatrist goes straight for it—telling Beth, “Your mom told me that you killed the baby birds, Beth.”
Suddenly Beth shows traces of sad emotion that the psychiatrist seems to draw out, coddling her: “That’s OK, that’s OK,” though I don’t know that this is a breakthrough, perhaps just a child whose red-handed admission is still proof she has a long road ahead. This single event was big for Beth; it was her one killing spree. She even admits to hocking a knife from the dishwasher and stashing it in her room. When asked what she wanted to do with the knife, she chirps back at the therapist, “Kill John. And Mommy and Daddy.” She then says, “They can’t see me, but they can feel me,” when she explains why she chooses to sneak about in the shadows while her parents sleep, unaware that their small child could be lurking their hallways yielding a knife.
It’s frightening to watch a child, a real life child, so small on the sofa that her legs barely skim over the side, speaking so candidly about life and death—not to mention her traumatic sexual abuse that no child (or adult, even) can make full sense of and process in a way that any of us should feel is simple...
There’s a lot of speculation over what happened to Beth Thomas after her intensive therapy with Connell Watkins. In the documentary, a woman in a bright track-suit with a cheery disposition talks with hope about Beth’s recovery, while we follow Beth on her chore run around the Attachment Center in Evergreen, Colorado, feeding goats and whatnot (no animals were harmed, seriously). Her name is Nancy Thomas, and she later adopted Beth. It’s rumored that the Tennants kept Jonathan. It’s a little disheartening to think that Beth has had not one, but three mothers. Nancy now owns and operates Families By Design, an organization that provides support for parents and children coping and suffering with RAD. Essentially, it’s become Nancy’s lifework.
Even Beth Thomas herself has participated in many of Nancy’s events, including writing a book that she and her mother wrote together, Dandelion on My Pillow, Butcher Knife Beneath. The book was released in 2010, following Nancy’s previous guide book five years earlier, When Love is Not Enough: A Guide to Parenting with RAD. What Cat displays in the film really illustrates best how easily young girls who are suffering with RAD can use their sexuality in ways that mirror what they’ve seen adults display, though the end result is obvious—that the behavior for how sexuality is displayed in adults is in sometimes lost in translation. How it’s modeled in children who are, as is, sexual beings, but confounded by past trauma in developmental years, can be disturbing and uninhibited. When Cat tells her grandpa that he can be her “sweet, sweet teddy bear,” we have to wonder if baby Cat was influenced by the language she heard from her biological father—the abused taking the abusive language and integrating that into their foundation for bonding, relating, receiving something she wants, gaining total affection and love...
Look anywhere: The reviews on Amazon, web forums, personal websites, reviewers—there is an obvious split among people in support of Nancy Thomas and the practice of Attachment Therapy, and people who, as a result of the Candace Newmark case, find AT and this version of therapy to be abusive and inconclusive—even some adults who underwent said therapy have stepped out over the years to express their concerns over the therapy they were subjected to as children, but, therein lies the toughness with accurately, tangibly calculating whether or not a type of therapy that is aimed at manipulative, violent, disturbed, abused children has: long-term positive effects, or deepens PTSD because of its method...
Today, Beth works as a nurse, and continues to support her mom Nancy’s organization in Colorado, speaking out about her recovery, and even coming to the defense of Connell Watkins on the witness stand back in 2000. (Watkins served seven years of her 16-year sentence.) Beth professed she wouldn’t be here without Connell. By all accounts, those closest to Beth will attest to her dramatic change and healing. But Attachment Therapy remains the seesaw on the playground when it comes to understanding how to properly heal traumatized children. The Beth Thomas story is a reality—it’s not an afterschool special. For all we know, Beth may very well still have issues—with men, with father figures, with forgiving herself for the acts she committed on her brother, and it may be confounded by the fact that she’s a woman who hadn’t yet grown up and very well had to all at the same time. There was adolescence, teen years, periods, relationships—all of which presents foreign emotion for any girl. Imagine being Beth Thomas, having her childhood, and then facing life head-on. I want to believe in Nancy Thomas, in AT, and in little girls like Beth who “beat the odds” and reclaim life. Again, I ask: Is it possible? Or will she always just be the little child of rage?
http://www.btchflcks.com/2014/11/the-beth-thomas-story-how-a-tv-film-and-documentary-captured-a-child-enraged.html#.VtX6T_kwiUk
Full documentary at link above or at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9GYExnh1yU
Prior to the film's release, a 1990 documentary entitled Child of Rage: A Story of Abuse was produced by Gaby Monet based on interviews conducted with the film's real-life inspiration, Beth Thomas. It aired on HBO as part of their America Undercover series. The film consists of interviews with Beth Thomas by a therapist (Ken Magid), followed by footage of her treatment and partial recovery at a treatment center for children. The documentary was released shortly after Magid's book High Risk: Children Without A Conscience , which portrays children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (as Thomas is labelled in the film) as "murderous psychopaths",[3] contrary to its actual definition in the DSM-IV but in accordance with the fictional diagnosis of "Attachment Disorder".
ReplyDeleteBeth Thomas's adopted mother Nancy Thomas has been a leading proponent of "Attachment Therapy" (originally known as "Rage reduction therapy", thus the title) since the documentary was made, a highly controversial form of psychotherapy regarded by the American Medical Association as pseudoscientific and abusive. Beth Thomas, a former patient of the "Attachment therapist" Connell Watkins, would later - as a freshman - testify during on Watkin's behalf in the Candace Newmaker trial, where Watkins was convicted of child abuse for administering "rebirthing" therapy which caused the asphyxiation of her "patient". Thomas has since graduated from the University of Colorado with a bachelor's degree in Nursing and became an award-winning Flagstaff Medical Center Registered Nurse.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_of_Rage
Candace Elizabeth Newmaker (born Candace Tiara Elmore, November 19, 1989 – April 18, 2000) was a victim of child abuse, killed during a 70-minute attachment therapy session purported to treat reactive attachment disorder. The treatment used that day included a rebirthing script, during which Candace was suffocated. The story had international coverage...
ReplyDeleteNewmaker was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, to Angela and Todd Elmore. She and her younger brother and sister were removed from the home for neglect and separated by social services. When she was five, her parents' parental rights were terminated. Two years later she was adopted by Jeane Elizabeth Newmaker, a single woman and pediatric nurse practitioner in Durham, North Carolina.
Within months of the adoption, Jeane began taking Candace to a psychiatrist, complaining about her behavior and attitude at home. Though Candace was treated with medications, Jeane reported that Candace's behaviors got worse during the ensuing two years, including supposedly playing with matches and killing goldfish...(continued)
(continued)Candace died during the second week of the intensive sessions with Watkins during what has been called a "rebirthing" session. Participating in the fatal session as therapists were Watkins and Julie Ponder, along with Candace's "therapeutic foster parents", Brita St Clair and Jack McDaniel, and Jeane Newmaker.
ReplyDeleteFollowing the script for that day's treatment, Candace was wrapped in a flannel sheet to simulate a womb and told to extricate herself from it, with the apparent expectation that the experience would help her "attach" to her adoptive mother. Four of the adults used their hands, feet, and large pillows to resist all her attempts to free herself, while she complained, pleaded, and even screamed for help and air. Candace stated several times during the session that she was dying, to which Ponder responded, "You want to die? OK, then die. Go ahead, die right now". Twenty minutes into the session, Candace had vomited and excreted inside of the sheet; she was nonetheless kept restrained.
Forty minutes into the session, Jeane asked Candace "Baby, do you want to be born?" Candace faintly responded "no"; this would ultimately be her last word. To this, Ponder replied, "Quitter, quitter, quitter, quitter! Quit, quit, quit, quit. She's a quitter!". Jeane Newmaker, who said later she felt rejected by Candace's inability to be reborn, was asked by Watkins to leave the room, in order that Candace would not "pick up on (Jeane's) sorrow". Soon thereafter, Watkins requested the same of McDaniel and Brita St. Clair, leaving only herself and Ponder in the room with Candace. After talking for five minutes, the two unwrapped Candace and found that she was motionless, blue on the fingertips and lips, and not breathing. Upon seeing this, Watkins declared, "Oh there she is, she's sleeping in her vomit." Whereupon the mother, who had been watching on a monitor in another room, rushed into the room, remarked on Candace's color, and began CPR while Watkins called 9-1-1. When paramedics arrived ten minutes later, McDaniel told them that Candace had been left alone for five minutes during a rebirthing session and was not breathing. The paramedics surmised that Candace had been unconscious and possibly not breathing for some time. Paramedics were able to restore the girl's pulse and she was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Denver; she was declared brain-dead the next day, the consequence of asphyxia...
A year later, Watkins and Ponder were tried and convicted of reckless child abuse resulting in death and received 16-year prison sentences. Brita St. Clair and Jack McDaniel, the therapeutic foster parents, pleaded guilty to criminally negligent child abuse and were given ten years' probation and 1000 hours of community service in a plea bargain. The adoptive mother, Jeanne Newmaker, a nurse practitioner, pleaded guilty to neglect and abuse charges and was given a four-year suspended sentence, after which the charges were expunged from her record. An appeal by Watkins against conviction and sentence failed. Watkins was paroled in June 2008, under "intense supervision" with restrictions on contact with children or counseling work, having served approximately 7 years of her 16-year sentence.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candace_Newmaker
Although I stated at the beginning of this post, that I would not state an opinion on the pros and cons of attachment therapy, after reading about Candace Newmaker’s tragic demise, it’s hard not to. Please keep in mind that Nancy Thomas is Beth Thomas’s second adoptive mother, having replaced the church people, Tim and Julie, sometime after Beth’s recovery.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn writes in her blogpost, Beth Thomas, Candace Newmaker and Attachment Therapy Controversy (https://jl10ll.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/beth-thomas-candace-newmaker-and-attachment-therapy-controversy/):
It is Nancy Thomas’s association with Watkins and Ponder that I find worrisome in her work with Beth (Thomas). Nancy worked with Watkins and Ponder during the Newmaker murder. (It’s not clear what Nancy Thomas did during the death of Candace Newmaker. I see no evidence she was in the room at that time and she certainly was not charged with anything.)
Marilyn points out that Thomas owns two clinics “Families by Design” and “Stop America’s Violent Youth“. As an advocate and practitioner of Attachment Therapy (AT), she allegedly engages in techniques that include “screaming in the child’s face, shaking the child’s head violently, forcing the child to perform-type military exercise, isolation, food deprivation, taunting, rebirthing, and humiliation.”
This is some scary stuff, particularly considering what happened to Candace Newmaker. The fact that Beth Thomas works with Nancy Thomas is also worrisome and perhaps suggests that Beth has never truly moved beyond her own intense childhood trauma and re-visits it — in a sense — each time she and Nancy Thomas engage in questionable therapeutic techniques with a client. But keep in mind, I am only speculating and I invite you to do the same.
http://www.allthingscrimeblog.com/2014/12/04/children-of-rage-the-strange-case-of-rad-victim-beth-thomas-and-her-re-birthing-benefactor-connell-watkins-2/
On April 20, 2001, in Golden, Colorado, Connell Watkins, 54, and her associate, Julie Ponder, 40, were found guilty of reckless child abuse resulting in death. In addition, Watkins was convicted of a second felony, criminal impersonation, and of two misdemeanors -- obtaining a signature by deception and unlawful practice of psychotherapy. On June 18, both were sentenced to 16 years in Colorado state prison. Although this is the minimum sentence required for their offenses, the judge noted that "a 16-year sentence is a very strong statement to other mental-health professionals not to do what these defendants have done." What they did, of course, was not merely to kill an innocent and helpless child. They also tortured her for eight days while pursuing a baseless therapy for a bogus diagnosis. Christopher Barden, PhD, JD, LP, president of the National Association for Consumer Protection in Mental Health Practices and an expert witness in the case, believes that the convictions are the first for a psychotherapy-related crime other than sexual abuse of a patient...
ReplyDeleteThat was only the fourth day of the 14-day trial. Much more came that was, in some ways, even worse. We saw ten more hours of videotapes of this child enduring unimaginably cruel, degrading, and frankly disgusting practices in what were called "holding" sessions. During one two-hour session, Candace had her face grabbed, with enforced eye contact, 90 times; had her head violently shaken 309 times; and was screamed at just inches away from her face 68 times.
Other "therapy" sessions we watched were similar. During one, Candace's mother laid on her for an hour and 42 minutes, and Candace's face was licked about 21 times. In another session, she had her treasured long hair hacked off into a short, ragged mop. In others, she was required to kick her legs in scissors fashion unto the point of exhaustion. There were many periods in which this naturally energetic 10-year-old was required to sit absolutely motionless for 10, 20, or 30 minutes at a time. Indeed, the last image of Candace we were shown was of her sitting cross-legged, staring blankly at the camera, her face, though still lovely, showing nothing of the smiling, apparently confident girl seen in her fourth-grade class photo. At the last, hers was the face of a torture victim. That image, too, haunts me daily.(continued)
(continued)Testimony given by the defense, including that of the defendants themselves, indicates that such holding "therapy" has been going on for a decade or more and will undoubtedly continue by others. It has taken an actual death for these culprits to be subject to the criminal penalties they now face, but they deserve the maximum prison sentence for the abuse and indignity they heaped on hundreds of children before Candace.
ReplyDeleteThe testimony in this case has revealed much about the quackery related to Candace's torture:
The case began with fear-mongering, a phony diagnosis of "attachment disorder," and the unrealistic worries and hopes of adoptive parents.
Then there are the hopelessly unscientific, intellectually vacuous, ethically bankrupt, and pervertedly sadistic beliefs and practices collectively called "attachment therapies."
Next there is the motley collection of egomaniacs, sociopaths, charlatans, wannabees, failures, and hangers-on that comprise the community of "attachment therapists."
Finally, there is the network of public and private social agencies, licensed and unlicensed social workers, self-promotional workshops and conferences, pseudo-professional cross-referrals, private clinics and residential facilities that uses scare tactics and false hope to recruit desperate (or unrealistic) parents and children to use their services. The evidence in this case revealed a pipeline feeding North Carolina children to Evergreen, Colorado, for victimization. Our independent investigation suggests that there are other pipelines with different intakes and outlets.
Some commentators have noted the arrogance of the two defendants, particularly during their own testimony. They "knew" what Candace's real problem was. They just "knew" what treatment she needed to get better. They "knew" her cries were lies or manipulation. They just "knew" she had enough air to breathe. The following exchange occurred several times:
Defendant: I use this because it works.
Prosecutor: How do you know it works?
Defendant: Because I've seen it work.
In other words, there's no need to use science to think it through or to go through the hard work of collecting good evidence. They thought it up, tried it, have seen what they think are positive results -- and that's that.
http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/News/rebirthing.html
Beth and her brother Jonathan, who was also taken in by Tim and Julie, were adopted from a situation of severe neglect. Their mother died when Beth was just one and Jonathan had a strangely shaped head due to being left on his back in his cot all day. It emerged that Beth had been sexually abused by her biological father until she was 19 months old, causing her to develop what is known as ‘reactive attachment disorder’ (RAD).
ReplyDeleteThis condition means the sufferer is unable to make healthy attachments and relationships with parents or guardians due to extreme abuse. Unable to cope, they end up having violent outbursts.
As you can see in the footage, the adoptive parents were starting to lose hope, which is when Beth’s therapist Connell Watkins stepped in and offered to take Beth home and give her intensive behavioural modification therapy.
He started by giving Beth extreme restrictions, making her ask permission for everything and locking her in her room at night. This started to work and within a year she showed signs of empathy, stopped self-harming and felt remorseful for the way she had treated her brother.
This unbelievable turnaround meant that Beth could finally start enjoying a normal life and today, she works as a nurse after studying for a degree. She’s also written a book called ‘More Than A Thread Of Hope’ with her second adoptive mother, Nancy.
I’m sure many of you have seen the documentary on YouTube called ‘Child Of Rage’, but let’s go over it to refresh your memory.
This documentary looks at Beth Thomas – a little girl who suffered severe behavioural problems as a result of being sexually abused as a child.
The documentary shows footage of her interviews with her therapist, where she speaks of such shocking abuse and psychopathic urges that we can’t even quote them (it’s all outlined in the video below). It also features interviews with her adoptive parents Tim and Julie, who explain how they had to lock her in her room at night to stop her from stabbing them to death. It truly is one of the worst cases of abuse that the world has ever seen and most of you who have watched it will agree that it seemed like this poor little girl was damaged beyond repair.
Beth and her brother Jonathan, who was also taken in by Tim and Julie, were adopted from a situation of severe neglect. Their mother died when Beth was just one and Jonathan had a strangely shaped head due to being left on his back in his cot all day. It emerged that Beth had been sexually abused by her biological father until she was 19 months old, causing her to develop what is known as ‘reactive attachment disorder’ (RAD).
This condition means the sufferer is unable to make healthy attachments and relationships with parents or guardians due to extreme abuse. Unable to cope, they end up having violent outbursts.
As you can see in the footage, the adoptive parents were starting to lose hope, which is when Beth’s therapist Connell Watkins stepped in and offered to take Beth home and give her intensive behavioural modification therapy.
He started by giving Beth extreme restrictions, making her ask permission for everything and locking her in her room at night. This started to work and within a year she showed signs of empathy, stopped self-harming and felt remorseful for the way she had treated her brother.
This unbelievable turnaround meant that Beth could finally start enjoying a normal life and today, she works as a nurse after studying for a degree. She’s also written a book called ‘More Than A Thread Of Hope’ with her second adoptive mother, Nancy.
The pair even have a business together called ‘Families By Design’ which helps other families to cope with children who suffer from RAD. It would be easy for someone who had suffered so much in life to just give up, but Beth has done the opposite, instead fighting through and using her experience to help others who are suffering in the same way that she did. Beth is a true hero and an inspiration to us all.
http://www.sickchirpse.com/child-of-rage-girl-now/