I know a girl that is set to fly out in about 3 days to OI to volunteer. I never heard of OI so I did some simple online searches out of curiosity. I was shocked to find such bad reviews, and very few good reviews that weren't OI affiliated. What do you know about this place? Is it a shaddy money grubbing operation or is it a legit oasis to improve oneself? http://www.option.org/index.php

Sounds like BS to me.

After doing a quick Google search, it looks like the founder of OI became rich by selling a "cure" for autism to desperate parents. He's now expanded into the Happiness business for adults.

http://web.archive.org/web/200503090...statements.htm

Option Institute is a destructive cult.

retting,

do you have personal experience with them? i only ask because it was your first post on this site and you joined in 2011 so it seems you've got a pretty strong opinion of them

Yes, I have personal experience. They are a very destructive cult.

Two very similar posts in the same thread, the only two posts you have, and you revived a thread that was untouched for about three months. Will you be back again in another few months to do this again?

I'm kinda curious to what happened to the girl mentioned in the OP. I guess we'll never know.

If there is a story it would be interesting to have some background on this.

From looking at the site it is interesting that they are advertised as a "non profit" org. which I find hard to believe.

seems sketchy to me.

I believe Option Institute is federally registered as a religious organization but does not make that fact public. Often people who have been involved in destructive cults are extremely fearful and rightly so.

What was your personal experience with Option Inst.?

+1

I think a few of us are interested in hearing more of your experiences, hopefully you can share some of your insights with us.

Destructive cults can pose a real threat to ex-members. Few feel safe to publicly tell their story. Steve Hassan has a great website regarding cults: "Freedom of Mind". Being a member of a cult can be terrifying and leave the individual quite debilitated. When you are in a cult, it becomes your entire universe. The main objective of the cult is to essentially cut you off from the rest of the world (mentally, emotionally, spiritually, sometimes even physically). Brain washing is an effective method to control members during and after their indoctrination. Many ex-members and participants find it nearly impossible to admit that they were ever duped; esp. after "investing" months, years and possibly the individual's and/or their family's life's savings.

Is this your experience or are you just speaking generally? Were you a part of Option Inst.?

If you look at any of their reviews, they are all suspiciously excellent, or absolutely terrible, and nothing in between. That always smells of self-written reviews to me. From the little I've read, they are dubious at best, claiming to "heal" autism.

I just copied this from a site called "Glass Door". I agree w/ this statement completely. This person is spot on.

"Cons – I would not recommend working for this company. Essentially, the founders and family are making out financially (and through people's misery) while everyone else is hardly paid (and continually made to feel bad that they are not working hard enough). Unless you agree with all the teachings, you are on the outside and will never be accepted. The teaching roster consists mainly of the Kaufman family without any outside sources coming in to teach. Because of this, they are considered a cult and I would agree with this statement. Barry Neil 'Bears' Kaufman wants to be venerated and worshipped - you practically have to eat out of his hand when he enters the room (or be treated cruelly by him for the rest of your time there). He uses his power to tear people down only to build people back up the way he wants to. He incarcerates and ensnares the weak with his manipulative tactics and narcissistic antics. His wife is not much better. They are sham artists who clearly don't care about people as they treat their employees horribly (hardly paying them, asking them to work continuously, making them feel bad about themselves by verbally attacking them), while by comparison the guests and participants are treated very well. These are not do-gooders, rather they are powermongers who just want to be idolized and venerated.

I have personally encountered Bears Kaufman calling people morbidly obese (fat-shaming is one of his favorites), stupid, and lazy, for all intensive purposes. He says it all under the guise of 'wanting to help them and love them by speaking from an authentic place.' I really do not know how this guy does not get sued every day.

They are constantly attempting to downplay their 'cult' reputation by spinning damage control. Even if you look at the reviews on this site, you will see that clearly that employees were told to write good reviews at a certain period in time. They were contracted in January of 2014. It is obvious. The reviews are mostly from current employees and are flowery in description. In my mind, this is not professional in the slightest. If you treat your employees well, clearly you would not have to do co-erce employees to show their respect for your company online and contract them to do so.

Not a place I recommend to work. I wish I could say the opposite was true.

Advice to Senior Management – Interdepartmental communication and ability to access feedback from employees. Departments do not communicate well and are fragmented."

But how serious can you take a reviewer who writes "for all intensive purposes"?!?

I realize this forum is old. I also have questions about OI. A little background. I read Barry Neal Kaufman's first book, "Love is to Be Happy With" way back in 1978. I have been following this guy ever since. Fascinating story. Some things I know.

1. The "option process" that BNK teaches was really invented by a guy named Bruce Di Marsico. BNK has never publicly acknowledged this to my knowledge.

2. He is not on speaking terms--last time I spoke with her--with the widow of Bruce, Debbie Mendel.

3. There is no wiki entry on BNK, despite the fact that he has written several books and founded two fairly well known organizations. How does he manage to control that?

4. He does not appear to be on speaking terms with many of his brothers or sisters or other extended family.

5. He has had public "breaks" with several "friends" who once worked closely with him at OI.

6.Check out the story of his youngest daughter, Thea Kaufman, who now goes by the name of Rythea Lee. She has written a book the "Trauma of Truth" where she talks about suffering very traumatic childhood abuse. She has broken off all contact with her parents.

7. There are many, many highly negative reviews from former employees of OI on Glassdoor.

I have always found the work interesting. I have read every book he has ever written. But the work was developed by BDM and not BNK. But I have always... for 37 years... been at least slightly creeped out by BNK.

My impression is that BNK is a highly narcissistic control freak, highly litigious, who is not to be messed with. After 37 years I would love to get to the bottom of this story, but nobody will publicly say anything.

JSW

Contact Steve Hassan at Freedom of Mind website. Destructive cults like Option Institute will litigate over negative comments made by former employees/victims. Learn about destructive cults and understand how mind control instills long term terror into their prey. Clients who spend (tens of) thousands of $ don't want to admit they've been scammed.

Two Plus Two is the wrong place to ask.

That's because in Two Plus Two, all life coaches, self help gurus, and seminar leaders are cult leaders. Negreanu and Esfandiari aren't cult followers yet the nerds here believe that they are.

I feel it's time to revive something a few years old just for this juncture point. Inflective intensive w/e.

Wouldn't you agree, Dan?


93 seconds of NicholsonDamon The Departed distilled. Get this undead pom a star in front of Mann already.

Hello Option Institute...

Natch and le Flambeur have a bowl of stew between them. Human, evidently.

Stick to cannabis, would you? We square, liver eater.

Rest of ya, go **** yourself.

What's more curious why is professional, trendy urban liberal types are drawn to cults and different "spiritual" movements.

Is it a fad? Flavor of the month type of thing?

Y

I've wondered some about how one goes about faking self-help when they know some people are selling fake self help? Clearly it's helping yourself or it's not and helping someone else.

Counterfeit anything.