A Complicated Cookie w/ Beth Matenaer

IndoctriNation

Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 566 Ratings

🗓️ 22 September 2021

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Our guest this week, Beth Matenaer, is a licensed professional counselor and trauma therapist living in South Carolina, who has worked with adults, children, adolescents, and families for more than 25 years. As a survivor of the Troubled Teen Industry, she has devoted her decades-long career to treating clients who exhibit the complexity of post-traumatic stress (PTSD) and other victims of high-conflict systems. Additionally, she is the co-creator and Clinical Director of the innovative Think Boxing program. As an adolescent, she was sent to a program heavily modeled after the Synanon cult. This self-help style school used attack therapy, loss of personal agency, physical labor, and isolation from friends and family as a way to tear down “troubled” teenagers in order to reform them. Throughout their conversation, Beth shares with Rachel both her clinical expertise and personal experience, she sheds light on complex trauma or (CPTSD) and how it often goes unrecognized or mistreated. Beth also tells the story of her traumatic time at a "Troubled Teen" program, where she was subjected to unhealthy “cultic” and exploitative relationships with staff members. She goes on to explain what happened when she ran away from the program and how her experiences inspired her to become a therapist focusing largely on misunderstood youth, traumatized children and adults, and highly dysfunctional family systems. Before You Go: Rachel emphasizes the importance of conducting research into any program before becoming involved, especially for parents who are often deceived by programs in the "Troubled Teen" industry. Rachel gives some tips on what parents should look out for when scouting programs and offers some advice on how to maintain a trusting relationship with their children. More info about Beth here: http://www.bethmatenaer.com More info on Beth's therapeutic boxing program here: www.Thinkboxing.co Thanks to our newest Patreon supporter "Free from RF"!! You can help the show for free by leaving a review on Apple/ iTunes. It really helps the visibility of the show! To help support the show monthly and sign up for cool Indoctrination stickers and tote bags, please visit: www.patreon.com/indoctrination Want to support the IndoctriNation show with a one-time donation? Use this link! www.paypal.me/indoctriNATION Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to indoctrination, a weekly conversation series about protecting yourself from systems of control.
0:11.1	I'm your host, Rachel Bernstein.
0:13.4	Hi, everybody. Today on the show, we have Beth Mataner, and I'm very happy you're going to have a chance to hear her story.
0:22.0	A couple of other guests on the show have talked about similar issues with being sent
0:28.0	to teen treatment programs, and I, again, hate to use the word treatment in these programs.
0:34.4	It should be teen traumatizing programs where there was so much abuse and so
0:41.2	much that was put into play without any oversight, without any safety measures, emotional or
0:49.9	physical. And there's so much post-traumatic stress that comes from these experiences. And the
0:57.0	reason it's important to talk about these is because they still exist. They still exist in large
1:03.2	numbers. There are many that are actually run by people within the same family who don't have a background in mental health or working
1:14.1	with adolescents, young adults, and some of whom are downright sadists who just enjoy the power.
1:23.9	And like most kind of cultic groups and dangerous situations, they get away with it by staying under the
1:30.1	radar. And one of the reasons that I put this show together originally a few years ago was to shine a light
1:37.5	on different programs and different things, different groups, different people who have been able to remain
1:44.0	in the shadows and then are able to still get away with their abuse and their neglect and their endangerment of others.
1:53.0	So Beth also has become a licensed professional so that she can help people who have been through trauma themselves,
2:01.1	which is really a wonderful turn of events for her.
2:05.2	Here's a bit about her before you get to hear from her.
2:09.8	She writes,
2:10.9	As an adolescent, I was sent to a program heavily modeled after the Synanon cult.
2:16.8	This self-help style school used attack therapy,
2:21.4	loss of personal agency, physical labor, and isolation from friends and family as a way to
	...

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