Beyond Consequesnces author Bryan Post under scrutiny.

State board investigates social worker Techniques, academic credentials under review. By Randy Ellis Staff Writer ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- Monday, September 25, 2006 Edition: CITY, Section: NEWS, Page 1A ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- A southeast Oklahoma City social worker who describes himself as having a worldwide clientele is under investigation by the state Board of Licensed Social Workers for questionable academic credentials and his alleged use of odd treatment methods. The state social workers' board wrote Bryan Post a letter on Aug. 29, ordering him to stop claiming on his Web site that he has a doctorate in social work. Post contends his doctorate is a legitimate degree from a distance learning institution and has defied the order so far. The board also asked him to respond by the end of September to an allegation that he was using unorthodox treatment techniques - including telling parents to "lick their children in the face in a large group for bonding." Post called the allegations "ridiculous." "We do not utilize any of the alleged techniques described in that letter, nor do I or our institute endorse those techniques," Post said. Post said he is convinced the complaint came from "someone from outside the state who has never even attended one of my therapy sessions or one of my lectures." Post said his attorney is working on a response to the board. If the board is not satisfied by his explanations, a hearing could be held to determine whether he has violated the social workers' code of professional conduct. The board can suspend or revoke licenses or take lesser action if it finds someone to be in violation. Post is founder of the Post Institute for Family-Centered Therapy at 5700 SE 89 in Oklahoma City. His Web site describes him as an internationally recognized specialist in the treatment of emotional and behavioral disturbance in children and families. An author of several books and creator of numerous videos, Post said he is much more involved in lecturing and producing educational books and videos than he is in practicing social work therapy. He said his family-centered principles and concepts have been taught to more than 15,000 parents and professionals worldwide. Post is referred to as Dr. Post on his Web site, which says he has a doctorate in social work from Columbus University School of Public Administration in New Orleans. In its Aug. 29 letter to Post, the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Social Workers said its liaison from the state attorney general's office had checked out the university and found "it has never been licensed by the state of Louisiana and the entity which accredits it is not recognized by the federal education department as an accrediting organization." "These are some indications it may be a 'diploma mill,'" the board said. Kevin Hardy, communications director for the Louisiana Board of Regents, said at one time Columbus had tax-exempt status in Louisiana, but "they never were able to be accredited" by a U.S. government-recognized accrediting agency. Columbus is no longer a going concern in Louisiana," he said. Columbus now operates out of Mississippi and says on its Web site that it has "global accreditation" from the World Association of Universities and Colleges. The World Association of Universities and Colleges has its own Web site which mentions "powerful influences in Washington, D.C., who represent universities with high tuition fees." The association contends that during the past five years, those influences have "operated internationally to abolish accreditation associations whose schools charge low fees." Post said obtaining his doctorate involved course work, two years of study with a psychiatrist from Columbia University in New York, and a 200-page dissertation. The social workers' board said its complaint committee was issuing a "cease and desist" order to Post. "You are to remove all reference from your Web site regarding the doctorate in social work and Ph.D. designation," the board said. "Failure to do so could result in a formal hearing before the board." Post said he and his attorney "completely disagree" with the request and don't feel the board has any grounds to make the demand. In addition to the allegation that parents were being told to lick their children's faces, there is a complaint of "parents being held down on air mats to cry about whatever insane problem they have that caused they(sic) to want to adopt anyway because normal people wouldn't want to adopt," the board said. Post said he found that complaint particularly offensive. "I am an adopted child myself and I find any allegation that I am in any way anti-adoption absolutely ridiculous and absolutely unfounded," he said. "I am the biggest advocate for adoptive parents and in fact, that is what my whole work is based around. "That one comment alone tells me that this individual who filed the complaint and the board's action since then are completely unfounded and without merit." ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- Two clients surprised by allegations Mothers say alleged techniques seem contrary to philosophy. By Randy Ellis Staff Writer ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- Monday, September 25, 2006 Edition: CITY, Section: NEWS, Page 3A ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- Client Ronda Evans of Chico, Calif., describes Oklahoma City social worker Bryan Post as a miracle worker. O, executive director of a Midwest City adoption agency, said she was so impressed with the way Post helped her family that she now refers other adoptive parents to him. Both said they were surprised to hear Post is under investigation by a state licensing board for questionable academic credentials and his alleged unorthodox treatment. The alleged treatment techniques include having parents lick their children in the face to promote bonding and "parents being held down on air mats to cry about whatever insane problem they have" that caused them to want to adopt. "I have never seen him use any of the treatment methods discussed in this letter," Orr said of the Aug. 29 complaint letter from the state Board of Licensed Social Workers. O and Evans said they do not have direct knowledge of how Post treated other clients but would be surprised if he used those techniques because they seem contrary to his treatment philosophy. Post says the allegations are false. He selected certain clients and arranged for them to be interviewed by The Oklahoman to support his position. Post specializes in the treatment of children with attachment disorders. These are children who have experienced significant trauma in their early lives, often involving separation from their natural parents. Symptoms can include violence, cruelty to animals, lying, stealing and other socially unacceptable behaviors. Post's Web site describes him as "an adopted, and well-known disruptive child himself," who has learned from personal experience. "I've set fires, killed animals and stolen compulsively," Post says of his childhood. Post said his treatment philosophy is based on the premise that fear is what drives the behaviors of children with attachment disorders. To help them get better, parents need to respond with empathy and love rather than traditional punishment, he contends. Evans, who has two birth children and two adopted children, said her adopted son exhibited disruptive behaviors that included lying, stealing, fighting and running away for about six years after coming to the family through foster care at age 5. He was diagnosed with many different disorders and the family spent more than $100,000 trying to help. During one year-and-a-half period, the boy was on 11 different psychotropic drugs, including as many as three at once, she said. Nothing worked. "We were ready to put our son in long-term placement and out-of-home care," she said. Evans said that's when she and her husband heard about Post, and they flew to Florida to attend a four-day parent workshop. Evans said it was "mat work" during that workshop that finally made a difference, but she was not held down and it was not done in the manner described in the complaint. "My husband held me while I cried," she said. "I let myself feel, probably for the first time in my life, what it was like to have kid who didn't want to receive love or didn't know how to receive love." Evans said she was able to acknowledge the fears she had about parenting her son and think about how much greater his fears must be. "It was at that moment that I was able to learn how to have empathy and compassion for my son again," she said. "My perception had always been that he was someone who was scary instead of someone who was scared. That was huge for me." Six months later, the whole family traveled to Oklahoma for three or four days of one-on-one sessions with Post, she said. Evans said her son is now 13, no longer is on any psychotropic drugs and no longer is diagnosed with any clinical disorders. "The therapy works," she said. "It changed our lives. ... It's a total miracle." O, executive director of XX International, said Post helped her through problems with a rebellious teen age daughter and her adoption agency uses his videos to help educate parents who adopt international children. She said Post didn't use any therapy techniques that she would describe as unorthodox. "The most off-the-wall thing, which I don't consider off-the-wall, was to have my teenager - who is at a very rebellious stage in her life, sit on the couch and I had to put my head in her lap." While that's a role reversal for most parents and children, it was just done to promote a sense of closeness, she said. "I recommend him for almost everybody," said O, who is the mother of 11 children, including 10 who are adopted. "I can't imagine anybody saying he was anti-adoption, particularly since he is adopted."