Won’t Get Fooled Again

Last week I described my visit to an introductory evening at the London HQ of Landmark Education.  I could have said a lot more, but I like to keep my posts fairly short.  So this is the next instalment.

If you read my previous post to the end you won’t be surprised to learn that I have decided not to go ahead with the Landmark Forum.  I would like to give some of my reasons for this decision, which I hope will help others who are thinking about this to make up their own minds.  My thanks to those who took the trouble to comment on my previous post - I will try to address some of the points you raised.

There is no doubt that the Landmark Forum applies psychological pressure on its participants.  The sessions go on from early in the morning until late at night, with restricted opportunities for breaks or refreshment, even visits to the bathroom, and participants are asked to do overnight “homework”, leaving very little time for rest.  It would not be surprising if many people find this a disorienting experience.

The Landmark Forum process involves participants making public confessions of traumatic events in their lives (I saw a little of this in the introductory session).  While such confessions may be valuable in a private, therapeutic context, sharing your deepest secrets with a large number of strangers in an emotionally charged situation, while your basic needs for rest and refreshment are limited, is a highly risky undertaking.  It’s worth bearing in mind that Landmark does not claim to provide “therapy”, and that the course leaders are not (as far as I know) trained psychiatrists or counsellors.  So why are they encouraging people to expose their vulnerability?

There are numerous allegations that Landmark Forum course leaders have engaged in psychological abuse of participants.  A French TV documentary, using cameras smuggled into a Landmark Forum session, shows a participant being harangued and insulted in front of 80 others for almost an hour, until she breaks down in tears.  Shortly after this documentary was broadcast, and a French government investigation was announced, Landmark closed down its French operations.  Landmark has attempted to prevent this documentary from being published over the internet, and I believe it was pulled from YouTube, but I was able to find it here (with English subtitles, by the way).  I strongly recommend it to anyone who is considering attending the Landmark Forum.

There are also many accounts of people who have suffered psychological damage after attending the Landmark Forum, which you can find on the sites listed in my previous post.

One of the comments on my last post acknowledges that it’s “not for everyone” and says that many people find it helpful, but I think that is missing the point.  It seems that some people find out too late that it’s not for them, after the damage has been done. 

I simply don’t want to take the risk, and I certainly don’t want to be associated with an organisation that treats people in this way, even if I were to benefit from it myself.