Dr. Marla Craig, Dr. Diana Damer, And Keith Arrington, Client mobbing, violation of confidentiality, duplicitious, and unprofessionalism. Austin Texas

I think it is fair to explicate with details on how I felt discriminated against and received a lack of due care as a minority and client during my counseling sessions.   In my previous report on here, I simply explained in a general and somewhat vague manner about my terrible experiences and I gave a brief explanation on cognitive-behavioral therapy but I didn't go into detail about how Dr. Damer didn't follow the structure of a typical cognitive therapy session which I believe is a lack of due care and is malpractice (negligence).  Cognitive behavior sessions always involve this particular structure, pioneered by Aaron T. Beck and J.E. Young in The Cognitive Therapy Scales (1980) in order for it to be ethically considered Cognitive therapy.  Otherwise what Dr. Damer did was false advertising because I did not experience cognitive therapy in her therapy session and that is what I expected as a consumer.  The proper session structure offers this guideline: Therapist worked with patient to set an appropriate agenda with target problems, suitable for the available time. Established priorities and then followed agenda. Therapist was especially adept at eliciting and responding to verbal and non-verbal feedback throughout the session (e.g., elicited reactions to session, regularly checked for understanding, helped summarize main points at end of session. Therapist seemed to understand the patients internal reality thoroughly and was adept at communicating this understanding through appropriate verbal and non-verbal responses to the patient (e.g., the tone of the therapists response conveyed a sympathetic understanding of the patients message). Excellent listening and empathic skills. Therapist displayed optimal levels of warmth, concern, confidence, genuineness, and professionalism, appropriate for this particular patient in this session. Collaboration seemed excellent; therapist encouraged patient as much as possible to take an active role during the session (e.g., by offering choices) so they could function as a team. Therapist was especially adept at using guided discovery during the session to explore problems and help patient draw his/her own conclusions. Achieved an excellent balance between skillful questioning and other modes of intervention. Therapist very skillfully focused on key thoughts, assumptions, behaviors, etc. that were most relevant to the problem area and offered considerable promise for progress. Therapist followed a consistent strategy for change that seemed very promising and incorporated the most appropriate cognitive-behavioral techniques. Therapist very skillfully and resourcefully employed cognitive-behavioral techniques. Therapist reviewed previous homework and carefully assigned homework drawn from cognitive therapy for the coming week. Assignment seemed custom tailored to help patient incorporate new perspectives, test hypotheses, experiment with new behaviors discussed during session, etc. (Beck and Young, 1980)  It is also incredibly important to review the Cognitive Therapy Scale Manual (Beck, and Young, 1980) which you can find online in order for you to ensure that you are getting legitimate services.  Dont get cheated out of services like I did.  Last time I checked none of the counselors at the university of Texas at Austin are accredited cognitive therapists.  You have to view the academy of cognitive therapy website's database for check for accredited therapists.  Also cut and paste this to review a manuel on cognitive therapy. http://www.academyofct.org/upload/documents/CTRS_Manual.pdf.  Also keep in mind that no diagnostics were used nor was a diagnosis made by any counselor.

Keith Arrington hasn't been mentioned too much in this complaint.  It is only fair to describe his lack of due care in what I consider a bizarre circumstance.  Keep in mind I saw Keith first, he failed to provide due care. I do not consider arguing and showing up late to sessions without explications due care.  I benchmarked the late behavior on the times that the other therapists approached their clients for session.  The other therapists were regularly on or near on time. Keith was usually more than 10 minutes late but without any reasonable explications.  During one session a co-worker of his burst into my counseling session and engaged in a conversation with Keith.  Keith had a nonchalant and apathetic attitude about the violation of privacy that occurred. Keith is a social worker hired by the university and one of his specialties is GLBTQ issues.  I felt that my ideas and area of concerns were not respected during my sessions.  When he asked me questions he would intentionally write down false information.  Such as "So tell me about your parents?"  I go on to describe that I have a pretty good relationship with my parents.  Then he writes down and talks out loud in a snarky manner "So you've never really known your dad".  Who knows what other incorrect information he wrote down.   I fail to understand how his presence has improved the GLBTQ population.  If anything he has furthered in oppressing the GLBTQ movement.  He mentioned internalized homophobia and internalized oppression were major issues with students.  Im assuming that this is a blind leading the blind type of problem.  In my opinion people have to feel good about who they are.  The university needs much better policies and much better trained professionals to help GLBTQ people and any other students.  He also argued with me that casual sex isn't bad.  Well, I don't really care what his opinion is on casual sex, because to me it leads to AIDS and other problems.  I care about myself.  He didn't want to hear about me and kept lecturing me in an angry and belligerent manner on how casual sex wasn't a "moral issue".  Keith also dropped spooky cryptic hints that I wouldn't like Austin, should stay in the closet, and would dislike the university.  Do you consider that a way to help somebody adapt to a new atmosphere?  That's just pathetic and unprofessional behavior in my opinion.  The best way to help somebody is to provide clear and concise description of the school system and culture and provide detailed suggestions so that a student can do better, that of course never happened.  Keith also claimed to practice cognitive therapy and claimed his supervisor Dr. Damer trained him.  After being fed up with him I changed counselors to somebody who was supposed to be proficient in cognitive therapy. 

On a very important side note when I brought up legitimate minority concerns and discrimination concerns in a peaceful manner I was shouted down, argued with, ignored, given the cold shoulder, or the topic of conversation was immediately altered by both Dr. Damer and Keith Arrington; however, Dr. Damer was more adamant about me joining a group, her behaviors bordered on coercion as she persisted angrily. I did not think it was a suitable idea for me.  She wanted me to join a group so I could know "reality".  She also stated "reality" in a very cutting and contemptuous tone and she gave me the evil eye to make me feel inferior and scared of her.  My rebuttal is since when is group think "reality?" Since when will a group of unqualified strangers empathize and understand my minority concerns? Why cant Dr. Damer just explicate what reality is, in her opinion? If Dr. Damer had no empathy, care, or professionalism why would I think she would be able to run a group effectively?  I am also somebody who wants to see prior results.  What were her results with other people that had anxiety or minority concerns?  Did they get better? Were they cured? Did they feel worse? What were the results? Again, she did not provide me with anything to go on, except for a very rude, disgruntled, and snarky demeanor.  Please research Sam Vaknins version of NPD.  Those types of aggressive people are very good at putting up a charming or wise facade; however, they usually fail to deliver the goods (interpersonally) and usually end up exploiting and harming people, those who are not harmed are controlled effectively like puppets.  This type of NPD persona is usually intelligent and end up in positions of power and will do anything to further their own selfish goals or in this case goals of fascist collectivism. A lot of this has to do with their traits of extreme egocentrism, inner-emptiness, and selfishness which seem to be somewhat common in UT's academic culture.  Im assuming these problems are generated from their academic culture too. You can view informational videos on youtube that are excellent documentaries on cult control: Mind Control Made Easy! Become a Cult Leader Today! by Rafaeldamian and Cult Tactics & Mind Control - B.I.T.E. inspired by author Steven Hassan.
 
Dr. Damer and Keith failed to provide due care.  It's my sense that they both were trying to discredit me in a team effort by ignoring all of my legitimate concerns and by asking me loaded questions that belittled and humiliated me and that never addressed any of my personal concerns.  Keep in mind that some of the questions were routine; however, Dr. Damer's contemptuous tone of voice and look of utter disgust on her face made me feel disgusted with her incompetence. I am also suspicious of the information she wrote down about me.  Her disgruntled body language sent off very distressing alarms and red flags.  Dr. Damer also refused to provide rationales on how her perfectionism model would resolve my anxiety concerns as well as my ethnic and sexual minority concerns.  I do not believe I have perfectionism and I also do not see how her perfectionism model could help most clients.  It wasn't helpful for me.  That is her fault for not providing an explication, history of results, nor rationales.  Remember results can always be manipulated, so they aren't always the best method to judge proficiency.  If you see a current photo of Dr. Damer on her professional website you will realize she has the ability to smile and appear pleasant; however, a photo is simply superficial.  Stalin and Pol Pot were often seen smiling.  Keeping up appearances is very important for fascists. 

After filing a grievance against Dr. Damer to the supervisors in which all I asked was that she be retrained (or let go) and to understand the importance of individualism and following protocol that she claims to practice.  That appeared to make the supervisors angry.  I believe her supervisors are a strong proponent of group think, Stalinism (cannot oppose the university or its staff with criticism) and collectivism (Everybody must be the same and contribute to a group whether you like it or not).  From what I see they like it if their clients have no independent thought or individualism so that they can be easily controlled. (This sounds like a cult).  To them it is also better if everybody is all the same.  That is why the supervisors didnt help me or see my point of view.  Also this is when I believe that my complaint report was disseminated so that I would be retaliated against by other people at the university.  It made studying and learning virtually impossible, since I was now bombarded with undue criticism and backhanded comments. Dr. Craig later informed me she let her supervisor and staff at the Dean of Student's know about my complaint.  Then after that she simply did not want to discuss the matter any further.  This set off red flags because she disseminated the information and she did not take action to help me neither did her supervisor or the Dean of Students.  Throughout the semester I noticed some student workers in the academic program I attended knew information about my complaints, they seemed very disgruntled and bitter and took it personally even though they had nothing to do with it, and they explained that You should not leave notes and Your communication skills arent good (undue criticism since I explicate in details at all times, as you can tell by my writings).  I believe a few other professionals at the campus made personal backhanded comments to me about knowing that I had criticized the university staff and policies.  They really had no business knowing my private information; however, at this campus that is run with Stalinism type management anything can be disseminated and used against any individual.  During one of my classes I was mobbed (discriminated against, ganged up and ousted out) of a team presentation and a class , instigated by a student worker, one of the students even told me Its better to not be who you are and "Your work ethics wasn't good enough for the group".  When I went to discuss this with Dr. Marla Craig, she was extremely defensive and said We will protect the students, if this goes to court. She also cursed me by saying Your problems will follow you.  The eerie sounding Dr. Craig did not provide any counseling services; she was simply defensive, inactive, eerie, and she tried to distract me with her inappropriate flirtatious behaviors. Before making my appointment with Dr. Craig she said something to the effect that she was going to challenge me and put me to work.  Im sorry about her ignorance, but she fails to realize that I am the consumer and that she partially works for me, I dont do any work for her.

These people are extremely cunning and hide behind the glorious UT brand name which is outright cowardice and pitiful.  My suggestions for improvement are anti-mobbing policies that are actively enforced, ethics training and ethics awareness for everybody, More GLBTQ events and classes that progress the minority group and any individual involved so that it is in a good light (too many bigots assume GLBTQ people are pedophiles, perverts, or dirty), they need a new management system that doesnt involve Stalinism (Dr. Hills behavior concerns advice line is unproductive and fascist and it needs to be eliminated now and so does all their trickery), and most important incorporate individualism and objectivism into the academic culture (Ayn Randism). Independent thought is simply fantastic especially in academics.  I doubt this university will do anything productive with my progressive suggestions. They will probably use it for window dressing and faade and then lash out at anybody that has independent thoughts or discrimination concerns; however, Im hoping they choose to be ethical, liberal-minded, and respectful in the near future.

Here is more information about mobbing: It creates Prejudice, withholds information in order for you not to complete your job, isolates you physically and socially, holds meetings about your work without your presence, changes rules frequently, portrays the victimized person as being at fault, engineered to discredit, confuse, intimidate, and force the person into submission, and committed with the intent to force the person out. (Davenport, Schwartz, and Elliott. 1999, 41-44).  Mobbing can be argued as conspiracy against rights which is a 2007 Federal law.

Reference:

Davenport, Schwartz, and Elliott. Mobbing: Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace. Civil Society Publishing. 1999.

Young, Jeffrey, and Beck, Aaron.  Cognitive Therapy Scale Rating Manual. University of Pennsylvania. 1980

My final comments are meant for educational purposes, in the mental health and academic settings especially in this case, I have observed the tendency for the organization, supervisors, and staff to embrace and create fascist collectivism, statism, and induce impeding fear of potential mobbing or other realistic anxieties in others in order to establish control, reduce individualism and independent thought. In a form it is brainwashing which is completely unethical and can be argued in a court of law as unconstitutional if it violates rights, privileges, and codes. In an academic or mental health culture dominated by statism, independent thought and individualism are some of the first things targeted to destroy. Statism and fascism is the extreme antithesis to true academia and mental health counseling services; however, it seems to be prevalent in some areas of academia and in the culture. Most people would agree that individuation and differentiation are healthy goals for human development; however, you will not experience that in an academic society that embraces statism and radical belief systems (in this case most likely radical/extreme feminism). Radical/extreme feminism and statism have no place in academia or mental health services.


A growing body of research suggests that the source of ethical problems in business is the organization's culture, especially when the culture intersects with manager's values. (Frederick 1988, 46)
Frederick, William. The Culprit is Culture: Management Review. 1988. 77(8): 48-55.


The book, The Shadow University The betrayal of liberty on America's campuses published by The Free Press authored by Alan Charles Kors and Harvey A. Silverglate state "There is a moral crisis in higher education. It will not be resolved unless we choose and act to resolve it." (Kors and Silverglate 1998, 372) "At the practical and humane level, the assignment of official group identity has been a dysfunctional approach that has worsened, not bettered, human relations on campuses, creating institutional and personal walls." (Kors and Silverglate 1998, 193). Other parts of the book that I could relate to are Part 1: The assault on liberty, Part 2 The assault on free speech, Part 3 The assault on the individual, and Part 4 The assault on due process (Kors and silverglate 1998, table of contents).

Dr. Heinz Leymann coined the term mobbing, it is a dysfunctional group behavior problem that occurs in workplace and academic environments due to very poor management and dysfunctional work habits. Those targeted by the mob for torment are usually different, average, above average, or below average in ways that threaten the group collectivism, it may also be done out of envy or some petty incident; however, development, training, and performance management are all key to fostering excellent work and academic behaviors, mobbing doesn't seem to accomplish anything related to performance management or development.

Researchers are listed here: Mobbing: Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace by Dr. Noa Davenport, Ruth Distler Schwartz, and Gail Pursell Elliott. In the article The Unkindly Art of Mobbing published in Academic Matters, the author states "The more clever and effective strategy is to wear the target down emotionally by shunning, gossip, ridicule, and bureaucratic hassles, and withholding of deserved rewards. Death by silence describes the initial informal stage of workplace mobbing." (Ken Westhues 2006,18-19) Ken Westhues is a professor of sociology. To think that highly educated professionals actually behave this way is completely disgusting and disgraceful on their part, it shows how rotten and low-class they truly are when they engage in mobbing or brainwashing.

An online source called The Chronicle of Higher Education offers more articles and much more insight on mobbing, the array of mobbings, and the purposes of mobbing behavior, and although the target may not be perfect, he or she doesn't deserve inhumane and cruel treatment.

Faculty Incivility: The Rise of the Academic Bully Culture and What to Do About It by Darla J. Twale and Barbara M. De Luca (2008) is a highly recommended read.


Senior officials need to acknowledge and affirm the vital role they play in shaping their organization's overall integrity. (Doig, Phillips, and Manson 1990, 295). Doig, Jameson W., Phillips, Douglas E. & Manson, Tycho. Placing the Burden Where It Belongs in Combating Corruption/Encouraging Ethics. 1990. 292-296.


Find a Certified Cognitive Therapist in the general info section at this website, www.academyofct.org. No professional listed in this complaint is a certified cognitive therapist although they claim to practice it.

In an article called The Academy of Cognitive Therapy: Purpose, History, and Future Prospects by pioneer psychologists Aaron Back, Judith Beck, and Keith Dobson states:

"Many therapists had begun to identify themselves as
cognitive therapists, when their overall practice does
not reflect such an orientation. Consumers, agencies,
insurance companies, and researchers may be
misled by erroneous self-labeling." (Dobson, beck, beck 2005, 263)

"ACT was established as a nonprofit organization, which has two major missions: to benefit consumers through education, and to identify
health professionals who have been awarded ACT credentialing
in recognition of their demonstration of a sound knowledge of the theory of cognitive therapy and competence in its practice." (Dobson, beck, beck 2005, 263-264)

This article also explicates the importance of structured cognitive therapy technique and professionalism in order for it to be productive: http://www.academyofct.org/Upload/Documents/CTRS.pdf

Dr. Damer's specialty to use nothing but exposure based interventions through group in order to establish habituation isn't very productive because habituation doesn't work wonders for every person, it doesn't promise prolonged results, results can be manipulated by the therapist, and every intervention has contraindications and exposure based interventions have more bad side effects and are far less practical for college settings in my opinion (contraindications). That is why ethical intake data, baseline data, validity and reliability testing is incredibly important for assessing the proper intervention first; however, Dr. Damer seems to be a one trick pony, and her trick certainly didn't help me or do me any favors at all, in fact like I said earlier I believe she and her colleagues use the trick to further the organization goals of brutal statism and possible radical/extreme feminism. These days I expect no apology from her, as that would be too much to ask, I'm also too educated and too intelligent to be holding onto negativity that she and her colleagues created first.

On a side note I wanted to mention that Dr. Diana Damer used an exposure-based intervention on me without my permission and used the technique on me in one of my courses after I had terminated her services (I believe my confidential information was shared with professors, an adviser, and students to participate in the so-called exposure-based intervention). What she did is illegal. It goes against my rights. It caused a lot of long lasting damages. It is also considered mobbing. Mobbing is a form of group harassment that is considered extremely unethical and damaging. I am an extremely assertive and upfront person, nobody had any right to treat me poorly. I made boundaries clear to each and every person I knew. None of the people including Dr. Craig, Dr. Diana Damer, and Keith Arrington had any business doing what they did to me. My personal boundaries were violated and so were my rights. What they did was underhanded and with intent to cause harm because very little of what they did was ever discussed with me.

What Diana Damer refused to account for was minority discrimination, harassment laws, violation of civil rights, federal civil rights laws, psychological damage, and other problems that you cannot eradicate with exposure-based interventions. Exposure-based interventions are similar to extreme forms of punishment and elimination on all positive reinforcement. An elimination of positive reinforcement called extinction almost always causes an extinction burst. An extinction burst can cause a lot of chaos and problems that Dr. Diana Damer and her superiors did not responsibility for.

Avoidance and escape is often the best technique if that person is surrounded by people that are ruthless, narcissistic, and sadistic. Dr. Diana Damer would not be able to understand or sympathize with that considering she falls under the narcissistic and sadistic personality spectrum in my opinion. She needs to apologize to me and make up for the long lasting damages that she created.

There is information in a professional psychology book referenced at the bottom that warns against using the technique first because the stimuli utilized is highly offensive and aversive to the person. Other cognitive and behavioral techniques are suggested to be used first, also every intervention is collaborative with the client. Using the intervention could cause damages to others involved too. I would especially advise that it not be used in college settings. It is incredibly irresponsible and malicious of Dr. Damer to even specialize in that intervention when she knows the bad consequences extinction bursts. She is just asking for problems and chaos by doing what she does. (273 Handbook of research in emotional and behavioral disorders By Robert Bruce Rutherford, Mary M. Quinn, Sarup R. Mathur )

Other anxiety and anger reducing cognitive-behavioral interventions that are superior to exposure-based intervention that also have far less aversive results and consequences are: relaxation intervention (involving visualization), cognitive restructuring, skill-based intervention, and instruction/differential reinforcement based intervention. All interventions are explicated to the client, the client has the right to choose what intervention is used, not the therapist.