I went to Narconon Vista Bay and was kicked out AMA

[NarcononHater]

I went to Narconon Vista Bay and was kicked out, ask me anything.

[ethercat]

Welcome to Tipping Point, NarcononHater. 

Why did you get kicked out, and how long were you there before they did it?

[NarcononHater]

I was there for 2 months before they kicked me out.

I thought I was kicked out for supposedly "denouncing Scientology." My father later told me he thinks they kicked me out because he was insisting to come and visit the place. They wouldn't let him and it was getting really weird.

[ethercat]

Hahaha!  Probably for both.  They knew that was trouble, LOL.

When they kicked you out, did they drop you at a hotel or homeless shelter?  Or just call your dad to come get you?

[Mary_McConnell]

 !!

So glad you have come here to speak up. Anything you can share about your experience that won't give away your identity would be helpful.

Can you tell us what year you were there?


This video was leaked recently. It's a staff video, not meant for public. Someone got a hold of it and posted it on the internet. So glad they did.

I think you may find it cathartic in some way. These people are crazy and you will see here how they really feel about their jobs.

Narconon Vista Bay ED Video 2011 Excerpt
http://rutube.ru/video/4a540398e5981f6ef7d5d03116563b2d/

[NarcononHater]

When they kicked you out, did they drop you at a hotel or homeless shelter?  Or just call your dad to come get you?

- They drove me back to a house where a few staff members live. It was a really nice house. I spent the night there and was dropped off at a train station to go back home. I am scared of airplanes lol.

Can you tell us what year you were there?

- I would rather not say what year I was there b/c they threatened to sue me if I spoke out about my experience there. They even had me sign some papers about it when they issued a partial refund.

This video was leaked recently. It's a staff video, not meant for public. Someone got a hold of it and posted it on the internet. So glad they did. I think you may find it cathartic in some way. These people are crazy and you will see here how they really feel about their jobs.

- Thanks for sending me this. I saw a shorter version of this on youtube, it wasn't 20 minutes maybe 5 minutes at most. This video is disgusting. I know all of the people in the video. Every "staff" member that works there is so brainwashed its not even funny. No one can think for themselves. It really makes me sick seeing this video as I totally get everything they are saying and doing. I'm kinda surprised they would have made this video as they all are so fake and are scared of getting ratted out by each other. I showed the clip of the video I found on youtube to my parents and they were shocked. They were pretty mad about it. My parents really dont like to talk about it b/c they feel like they were conned. Both of my parents are super hard working people and $30,000 was a lot of money to just waste. My dad has actually sent letters to California schools telling them not to allow Narconon in their schools. I found out he did that after showing him this video. I was so surprised my dad did that as thats not something I can see him doing.


Keep the questions coming, even if its something personal or possibly revealing. If its revealing the worst I will do is explain why I won't answer the question.

[source]

1). Do you feel you were lied to?  If so, describe.
2) Were you informed about the scientology connection upfront.  How did they handle this?
3) Did you witness any unprofessional or unethical acts from staff? 
4) Your opinions on their advertised success rate.
5) What was the overall culture like there and what were the opinions of the fellow students?
6) Did you feel that it was a drug free facility?  Did you feel that the staff were drug and alcohol free?
7) How adequately did they separate the men from the women?

Welcome here, btw.  You'll probably find it quite therapeutic to talk/write/vent. You'll find that shifting from a victim to an advocate can be a rather empowering experience.

Just because you're an addict/alcoholic doesn't give someone the right to take advantage of you.  God knows most have done a pretty good job of doing that to themselves.

You'll find your experiences are the same as hundreds.  It's just that most are struggling with an untreated addiction after NARCONON failed to work, that coming here isn't exactly a priority.  It kind of sucks to realize that you got conned by something you thought was a legitimate treatment.  Many people give up trying after a bad experience like that.

Glad you're here.  A lot of people have died trying to believe in the lies NARCONON told them.  Wait til you've been out a year and reach out to the students you met at NARCONON, and realize that none of them stayed clean.

Wait til you realize how many overdosed after NARCONON. 

[NarcononHater]

1). Do you feel you were lied to?  If so, describe.
Holy shit thats what started my distrust with the place in the beginning. Wow where to begin?! They told me I would be detoxed with medication and there would be a highly trained medical staff on site. When I got there that changed and I had to sit in this cabin detoxing with no medical supervision whatsoever. I never once saw a doctor. I couldn't fall asleep for 8 days straight. I had restless leg syndrome the whole entire time, it was insane. So the lieing about the medical detox was the first thing.

One night in the detox cabin the cook came up to cabin to just chill. We got to talking and he told me  how they (narconon) told a client he could bring his surfboard to go surfing and all this different stuff. I guess the client shows up with all of this stuff he wasnt allowed to use. Basically they told him a bunch of lies to get him there. And I remembered they did the same to me. B/c before I even got there they told me great stuff about this place. We could go to the beach, go into town and go shopping, movies, etc. None of that was allowed. So I was like wtf? They told my parents we could get reimbursed by our insurance company for the treatment, that was a lie. They would tell my parents things I never said. They would tell them how fine and happy I was, which obviously I wasn't. They would call me into a room and interrogate me, telling me I said stuff I never said. They said if I leave there was no way I could get a refund b/c of the papers I signed (not true got 10,000 back but still a ripoff). There are probably so many lies I can't remember right now. Its finals week and I'm pulling an all nighter studying so when I remember more I will come back and post them.
2) Were you informed about the scientology connection upfront.  How did they handle this?

My parents nor me were ever informed about the Scientology connection. I went to a private school and senior year we learned about all different religions. One of them was Scientology. So the last day I was in detox they hand me this book and say this is the next part of the program, read this and practice. I was thinking practice what? I opened it up and saw L RON HUBBARD. I was like wtf Scientology? I get out of the detox cabin and integrate into where everyone is. I walk into the place and see a huge picture of L RON HUBBARD. So at this point I'm starting to think wtf is this place but I'm really not to worried as everyone was super friendly and having fun. Then I had to start doing these classes, these drills. L Ron Hubbard books filled with crazy weird shit. After the first 3 hours of reading the book and doing the drills I just walked out of the room. For 4 days they kept trying to get me to do these drills but I wouldn't go to the class. They had people constantly bugging me, talking to me. They were telling my parents this whole time that I wanted to leave and go use drugs, that I actually said that. They were telling my parents all sorts of lies (I didn't know this at the time). I eventually ended up finishing the drills b/c I didn't want to hurt/stress my parents out, b/c they wouldn't believe me. I had to finish these drills to get into the sauna program. Everyone was raving about, how they could sleep, and they felt so much better. I get to the sauna program and after the first week I feel like they are trying to torture me. They tried to force me to drink this vinegar, magnesium, drink that instantly made me throw up. I tried but I couldnt down it. I soon realized they weren't going to let me pass the sauna program until I complied with all their bullshit. One day I was in the sauna for so long that I got extremely light headed, like i was worried for my safety. So I went outside to cool off and gather myself, they started yelling at me to get back inside the sauna, I told them my condition and they said you'll push through it get back in there. Thats another polarizing moment when I was like wtf, these people dont have my interests at heart. They sent me to the ethics place for not going back into the sauna and talking back to the sauna baby sitter. I explained myself and was still penalized. Thats when I called a friend from back home whos a computer nerd and told him to look this place up on the internet. I talk to him the next day and he tells me all kinds of shit. He asked me if I knew who Daniel Manson(?) was, and he was the main guy in charge of the facility. He was charged with raping a girl!
3) Did you witness any unprofessional or unethical acts from staff?

So many I can't even count. The female staff members would have sex with multiple male staff members. There was a lot of drama like that. Lots of sex, lots. The whole place was unprofessional I can't even begin where to start there, all the staff members are only 90 days clean. The staff would go out drinking and I'd hear stories about it.
Narconon doesn't believe in prescription medicine. There were old people there and they would take them off of all their heart medications, etc, without a doctor. I realized really quickly that most of the people there would act really nice and be pretty cool but they weren't concerned for anyones health. Everyone was totally brainwashed.
I remember I would think of little theories about what this whole Narconon place is and what their motives were. When I finally got home I searched the internet and all the theories I came up with when I was there were true! I was 100% correct but when I was there I sometimes would doubt myself, I would say to myself your just conspiracing.
Basically everything was unprofessional and there was so much unethical stuff I can't even remember it all. The only professional part was how they get you there. They are insanely good at recruiting people to come there, I will give them credit for that. They also are insanely good at brainwashing people. I still haven't figured the psychology around how they do it, but its genius. No one there could think for themselves.
 
4) Your opinions on their advertised success rate.

LOOOOOL. 85%-90%! So many staff members have quit working there since I was there. I have reached out and contacted them to talk. They all finally admitted to me that everything there is bullshit. They would admit to me that I was right the whole time! I would ask them if they were ever recruited to offically join scientology and i heard those stories. sadly, a ton of the ex-employees are using drugs. I can see it in on their social media accounts as well as they will admit.

As for other "students" pretty much every person I was there with, except 1 person relapsed. One guy my age, 22, quit his $200k per year job to work there. He was brainwashed. He relapsed, was sent back to narconon, and ended up converting. Most people end up staying and working for them. A lot of older people just walk out and quit.
5) What was the overall culture like there and what were the opinions of the fellow students?

The culture was like a sober party. Lots of joking and messing around. Lots of truth or dare with the girls. Lots of sex. Everyones really nice and talkative. And then everyone figures out the truth, we are at a scientology center. everyone is hush hush about it b/c they intimidate you. they interview people and try to get people to rat each other out. they turn students into "informants." I found out they brought a staff member from another center to pose as a "student" from my hometown to see what i would say.

the drills would cause people to go crazy. one guy took off all of his clothes, and was butt naked from doing those drills for 6 hours straight.

some people are gun-ho about it. thinking what they are doing is actually good. for a few days i was like this b/c i kept telling myself all of this was good, i was literally fighting my conscious.

6) Did you feel that it was a drug free facility?  Did you feel that the staff were drug and alcohol free?

The staff were 100% not drug and alcohol free, FACT.

When I was there, living at the facility, the students for the most part were clean. There was a girl that got kicked out, or shipped to another facility, b/c she smuggled drugs through the mail and someone ratted her out.

Later on in the program you can move into an apartment, off site, in the city, with other students and staff members. this is where most of the drug use would go down. i didn't make it that far.

7) How adequately did they separate the men from the women?

There was no seperation whatsoever.
We all did the sauna together in the same saunas.
We took our 5 minute sauna breaks together.
The girls rooms were easy to get to. Narconon Vista Bay is just a ranch-style mansion. Its huge. Its open air.
One of my thoughts when I was there, is they want you to get hooked up with a girl when your there so you'll stay in the program together. All the girl staff members date guy staff members.


I know I went off topic a lot! Theres so much I wish I could remember. I will elaborate on anything, just ask if you are curious about something just ask.

[mefree]

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply here during finals. Unfortunately, your story is ver familiar and similar to many others.

Do you feel like you were harmed by your experience there? Physically or emotionally?

Thanks, again.

[Escapee]

it surprises me how similar my experiences were and the centers are thousands of miles away...just reinforces why they should be closed everywhere around the world, I'm interested in the field of recovery and have done a little research on different drug rehabs and none have a network of people out there trying to shut them down like narconon!

[source]

I've heard from a handful of people who got into real treatment as a profession, that their experiences at NARCONON did help them because they learned so much of what not to do.

For example, there is a reason they separate the sexes, don't hire newly sober people to run the place, don't allow dating of clients, etc.

All of the mistakes the early treatment centers made and then introduced policy to handle, NARCONON is doing.  They are about 50 years behind the field.  And they don't take well to change.

So, I hope you find your goals and get into the field.  Narconon makes it attractive because they feel like you can take a one month course and be a counselor.  It takes a lot more than that in the real world, but you'll understand why.  Many people ended up working at NARCONON thinking it could get them into the field.  Later they discover that their training is ridiculous, ineffective, harmful, etc.  And they can't even put it on their resume.

Glad you didn't get sucked into that trap.  You've been saved from the following uncomfortable moment during a job interview at a real rehab:

"So, according to your resume here, I see that you are able to sit in a chair with your eyes closed for hours at a time and can even compel ashtrays to move with your mind.  Tell me a little more about the time you spent 20 hours picking up a book and a bottle answering the question 'what is its weight?' about a thousand times.  And explain further about this idea that the sauna can remove radiation and that drugs are stored in your fatty tissues for years.  And I'm a little unclear about your philosophy to tell people in rehab to only drink in moderation.  Ahem."

[NarcononHater]

Do you feel like you were harmed by your experience there? Physically or emotionally?

I feel like I was put in harms way when I was there. Thank God nothing happened to me. I was really worried for the old people there who were taken off of their important medications. Besides the time when they tried to force me to get back into the sauna, when I was about to faint, I would say no physical harm.

I can say I was harmed emotionally. After my Narconon experience I no longer had trust in rehab centers or doctors. I constantly felt like I let my parents down, that I wasted $30,000 of their money. Luckily my parents finally realized how bad this place was and anytime the subject is brought up they apologize for ever sending me there. I try to stress to them its not their fault. Narconon runs the PERFECT scam. They are so good at getting you to come there its mind blowing. Its really hard to explain the emotional damage that was done. When I got home I saw a psychologist just to talk about the Narconon experience. Luckily I have stayed clean on my own, no NA/AA. I have 1 more semester of university. I graduate this  coming May. I'm thankful I stayed true to myself and didn't fall for their "recruitment and brainwashing." A lot of people that go there do fall for it, and I totally see how. I hope the people that stay at Narconon make it out of there without wasting years and years of their life.

[NarcononHater]

Narconon makes it attractive because they feel like you can take a one month course and be a counselor.  It takes a lot more than that in the real world, but you'll understand why.  Many people ended up working at NARCONON thinking it could get them into the field.  Later they discover that their training is ridiculous, ineffective, harmful, etc.  And they can't even put it on their resume.


When I was in the detox cabin, this is one of the first red flags. They would accept anyone who graduated the program to work and live there. I remember thinking that is strange.


I want to add one thing about the emotional harm that was done. My parents went through a ton of emotional distress. They felt so bad for sending me there. They felt conned. They felt really stupid that fell for their marketing. My parents were just trying to get me help as quick as possible and never considered that such a place could exist. I feel really bad for putting my family into that position.

[Escapee]

So, I hope you find your goals and get into the field.  Narconon makes it attractive because they feel like you can take a one month course and be a counselor.  It
"So, according to your resume here, I see that you are able to sit in a chair with your eyes closed for hours at a time and can even compel ashtrays to move with your mind.  Tell me a little more about the time you spent 20 hours picking up a book and a bottle answering the question 'what is its weight?' about a thousand times.  And explain further about this idea that the sauna can remove radiation and that drugs are stored in your fatty tissues for years.  And I'm a little unclear about your philosophy to tell people in rehab to only drink in moderation.  Ahem."
[/quote
Man obj 11 lol bringing back some crazy memories lol also obj 8 ha ha thanks for those words of encouragement

[NarcononHater]

You make a good point. I'm going to ask some former Narconon employees if they put their work experience on job resumes. A lot of them worked their for years and years.

Narconon wouldn't let me bring home the course books we used to do those crazy drills. When I got out of Narconon I did a search on a popular torrent website and found a PDF file that contained all of the books. I downloaded it and saved it but I lost the thumb drive I put the files on. Would anyone happen to have them?

[Mary_McConnell]

Sorry I have not been able to come back and thoughtfully reply to you NarcononHater. Give me until tomorrow evening, Eastern Standard time. I've just have too much on my plate this weekend.

Mary

[mefree]

NarcononHater, you mention at least two harms that I find particularly disturbing. 1) being turned-off to the idea of ever returning to rehab, and 2) the guilt your parents are left with by sending you to Narconon.

It sounds like you are doing very well, but most people are going to need help to get clean. There are good, honest reputable programs available.

It is so very unfair that parents should suffer from the guilt of sending their kids to Rehab when they were simply trying to help their kids. Their trust was betrayed by Narconon.

Thanks for answering my questions.

[Escapee]

You make a good point. I'm going to ask some former Narconon employees if they put their work experience on job resumes. A lot of them worked their for years and years.

Narconon wouldn't let me bring home the course books we used to do those crazy drills. When I got out of Narconon I did a search on a popular torrent website and found a PDF file that contained all of the books. I downloaded it and saved it but I lost the thumb drive I put the files on. Would anyone happen to have them?

I have every course book even the workbook for the sauna they just aren't on PDF they Are physical books

[10oriocookies]

You make a good point. I'm going to ask some former Narconon employees if they put their work experience on job resumes. A lot of them worked their for years and years.

Narconon wouldn't let me bring home the course books we used to do those crazy drills. When I got out of Narconon I did a search on a popular torrent website and found a PDF file that contained all of the books. I downloaded it and saved it but I lost the thumb drive I put the files on. Would anyone happen to have them?

I worked there for over a decade and was recently hired at a new job.  One of the things that got me hired, I believe, was the fact that I did and am doing something about the abuses.  I told them up front that they could contact NarCONon to verify employment and told them what they would say and why.  I directed them to the internet to verify my story and the website the "church" created to discredit me.  Apparently courage and honesty are more important than the fact that I was in a cult run drug rehab position.  Honesty is always the best policy and you can turn this "negative" experience into a positive.  I am living proof.  I am getting paid to help people again, something I would gladly do for free and Im doing it in a legitimate place.

[10oriocookies]

Do you feel like you were harmed by your experience there? Physically or emotionally?

I feel like I was put in harms way when I was there. Thank God nothing happened to me. I was really worried for the old people there who were taken off of their important medications. Besides the time when they tried to force me to get back into the sauna, when I was about to faint, I would say no physical harm.

I can say I was harmed emotionally. After my Narconon experience I no longer had trust in rehab centers or doctors. I constantly felt like I let my parents down, that I wasted $30,000 of their money. Luckily my parents finally realized how bad this place was and anytime the subject is brought up they apologize for ever sending me there. I try to stress to them its not their fault. Narconon runs the PERFECT scam. They are so good at getting you to come there its mind blowing. Its really hard to explain the emotional damage that was done. When I got home I saw a psychologist just to talk about the Narconon experience. Luckily I have stayed clean on my own, no NA/AA. I have 1 more semester of university. I graduate this  coming May. I'm thankful I stayed true to myself and didn't fall for their "recruitment and brainwashing." A lot of people that go there do fall for it, and I totally see how. I hope the people that stay at Narconon make it out of there without wasting years and years of their life.

Please dont be turned off by your experience at NN.  Although you may be doing well now, your addiction can come back with a vengeance.  The bottom comes much quicker when you relapse, even faster as the false security of being "cured" by NN puts you at a higher risk of going even lower than you ever have.  Its either death, jail or institutions.  Trust me on this, go get some real help.  There are lots of resources on this site you can use.  Just ask and we will all help you.

Dont feel guilty for your parents being scammed.  This is the cults operating basis.  They are very good at it.  Its nothing to be ashamed of.  The most important thing in my opinion is that people who have gone through the program need to get real help, even if they are doing "good".