Getting IT: The Psychology of Est - Contents

Contents

The book is divided into two sections. The first section describes Fenwick's own experiences of the training; the second analyzes the est program's methodology and effects. In her description of the course, Fenwick highlights the program rules, referred to by the trainers as "agreements", which include not going to the bathroom, eating, smoking, or talking during the sessions, and analyzes jargon used by course instructors.

In the latter portion of the book Fenwick discusses comparisons of the est training to brainwashing and psychotherapy, potential harmful effects of the course, and the extent that positive benefit from the course may be attributed to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Fenwick sees est as a form of psychotherapy that utilizes "in" therapies, and questions its suitability for certain individuals. Fenwick writes that the est training draws influences from Synanon, gestalt therapy, encounter groups, and Scientology. She discusses the potential positive and negative psychological effects that can occur subsequent to taking the est training. She analyzes the rules of the training, and the behavioral tools used by the trainers, and points out that the est personnel are not qualified to assess psychopathology. Fenwick asserts that tactics including sensory deprivation and the large group setting of 250 people at a time help to make the training "work". She describes this as a "compression chamber effect", and asserts that it leads to the "hysterical confessions and the euphoric testimonials" she observed in the course.

Fenwick also questions Erhard's background, including his previous history as Jack Rosenberg and Jack Frost. Fenwick cites the secrecy of the est organization as an impediment to meaningful study, and states that the studies cited by est itself are inadequate and inconclusive. Although Fenwick falls short of characterizing the training as "brainwashing", she writes that she is disturbed by the lack of "sophisticated research designs" that could properly determine long-term benefit or harm caused by the course, and notes: "est uses techniques indiscriminately which, in a certain proportion of the population, are known to be harmful and potentially quite dangerous". She concludes that it is difficult to determine whether est "produces any more than a superficial catharsis, or whether it might be harmful to certain people", and states that the long-range effects of the training are unknown.