What is training and why attend training? The office falls into nirvana. Do we need trainings.

Trainings personal growth more and more adepts are lured into their networks. They promise to teach everyone to be leaders, effectively cope with everyday adversities and achieve their goals. But in fact, with their not always constructive methods, they cause serious harm to the psyche of people.

The Investigation Department for the Leninsky District of Astrakhan began an investigation against head of the training center "Game of Life" Konstantin Ektov.

Investigators found that the Game of Life training center conducted classes to improve leadership skills, taking as a basis the American Lifespring system, recognized not only in the United States, but also in many European countries as a destructive psychocult.

As a result of attending such trainings, a resident of Astrakhan ended up in a psychiatric hospital, where she was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, manic type.

AiF.ru told about how to distinguish high-quality training from a destructive psychocult, and most importantly, how to help loved ones caught in its network. psychologist, head of the SoDystvie psychological counseling center Anna Khnykina.

- Now a lot different courses, some position themselves as programs or trainings for personal growth. Do they carry some kind of danger?

- It would be worth mentioning first of all that group work is psychotherapeutic. That is, only a person with a psychologist or psychiatrist diploma, as well as with additional education in psychotherapy, preferably a psychoanalytic direction and always with clinical practice, can and should carry out group work with a change in consciousness, methods of influencing the psyche! The presence of leadership qualities and reading literature in any volume does not give the right to teach anything in principle, especially to lead a psycho-group, if a person has not specially studied this.

The most dangerous are the leaders of such "courses". Having no experience in clinical practice and supervision (when your work is supervised by more experienced senior colleagues), without understanding how a person's mental defenses are arranged, such a facilitator risks putting the participant into a psychotic seizure. Moreover, this can happen even with a person who has not experienced this before.

- By what signs can a person understand that he is facing destructive training, a psychocult?

- In the environment of professional psychologists, in principle, there is no such thing as “personal growth training”. What I want to say is that well-educated real psychologists are unlikely to sell their services under that name. It has already established itself as "pirate", "bad taste".

Among the main signs of destructive training are the following:

• Dubious advertising

Courses with a dubious reputation are often called out with appeals and promises of concrete material results, referring to the success already achieved by the trainer personally or by his already "trained" wards. In the traditional psychotherapeutic environment, sales in the form in which we are accustomed are not accepted. Nobody is “measured” by the results and achievements. It is also important that the specialist himself does not boast of his achievements. There is even a saying: "You don't need to be schizophrenic to treat schizophrenia."

• Involvement

The requirement to bring other people with you is also a sign of interest not in your result. In general, it should be noted that real psychological groups are held in a very small number, no more than 20 people, usually up to 10.

In real psychotherapy there is always a rule "STOP!" - any member at any time has the right to leave the group. Anyone and anybody!

• Psychological pressure

And, of course, any form of pressure is categorically unacceptable. Any form of humiliation, coercion, insult is categorically unacceptable. Remember that in the psychotherapeutic environment there is always a welcoming atmosphere - there are no good and bad, there are no diagnoses and evaluations. There is no specific result that someone owes someone else. Any result is your inner result. It is always about internal processes, about feelings and experiences for which no one has the right to blame you or adjust them to some kind of "should be."

Psychological pressure is applied to the training participants, forcing, for example, to change into homeless people and prostitutes. Photo.

Trainings are increasingly included in corporate culture... If initially it was something like fashion and companies invited trainers from other cities and countries, it was more like exotic, but today coaching is an established system of work and personnel training. Simultaneously with the development of the training culture, the number of myths both about the trainings themselves and about the trainers who conduct them is growing.

Training myths can be divided into two large groups. The first is the myths of those who conduct trainings, the second is the myths of those who participate in them. Let's start with the second one.

The first myth. "After completing the training, I will become a wizard"

The most frequently exploited myth, especially by companies claiming to be carriers of some unique ultra-modern technique, most often denoted by a foreign abbreviation. The essence of the myth is that after completing a training or a series of trainings, you get "unique knowledge" with which you can freely manage people, time, goals, etc. In other words, you can sell, manipulate consciousness, shape circumstances for yourself. This myth most often comes across insecure psychasthenics and neurotics. This is confirmed by the statement of the famous psychotherapist, founder of gestalt psychotherapy F. Perls: "I call anyone neurotic who uses his talent not to develop himself, but to manipulate others." This category of people, as a rule, does not live up to their expectations in view of their intrapersonal characteristics, which, in fact, is the reason for the birth of the next myth.

The second myth. "All trainings are complete nonsense and a waste of time and money."

This myth is widespread on the Internet. Although, if you want to know something bad about someone or about something, then look in the "News" or on the forums. Such is the peculiarity of our psyche. The bad evokes a greater emotional response than the good. In addition, this myth is actively fueled by psychotherapists of the analytical and psychodynamic directions. The myth is actively supported by the conservative part of the population, a certain part of the staff in a number of companies, where they do not want to go to training, especially when it takes place outside of working hours.

The third myth. "Training is an opportunity to have fun and play, especially at the expense of the company"

The reason for the emergence of this myth was the so-called out-of-town seminars, which, in fact, represented a variant of corporate recreation with drunkenness and binge outside the city or at some inexpensive resort. A certain part of the coaches actively support this myth, seeing in its existence significant advantages for their activities, and are actively promoting it to a number of heads of various companies.

The fourth myth. “All coaches are sick people and losers. They cannot teach anything "

The myth of people limited in their thinking, looking at the world through the prism of material wealth. Although it must be admitted that, like all other myths, it has quite real ground. It is difficult to logically explain the fact that a person who has a small income can teach how to make big money, which is especially striking at the trainings "How to become rich". This myth has taken root very well among psychiatrists and a certain part of managers.

The fifth myth. “Trainings are certain kind totalitarian sect "

A fairly widespread myth among religious people of various denominations, as well as those whose loved ones like to attend, as if possessed, various trainings and seminars. One of my patients said so bluntly that his wife constantly attends various trainings, abandoned the children and he does not know what to do, any attempts to talk on this topic come down to phrases: “You still don’t understand, you have a microscopic personal growth is your problem. " “These trainings are a terrible sect,” he told me.

Sixth myth. "Trainings are needed by the management for the report and the opportunity to receive kickbacks from the training company"

It can be attributed to the next group of myths, which, as mentioned above, refers to the myths of those who conduct trainings. Unfortunately, corruption affects not only government agencies, but also top management a number of companies. And the most successful in material terms are not those who really work professionally, but those who professionally know how to offer bribes. The next category of myths exists among those who design and conduct trainings. This category is the most dangerous for the consumer of this type of service, since a person who is at the mercy of a myth is able not only to draw false conclusions himself, but also to mislead other people who trust him as a specialist, professional.

The seventh myth. "Any person with a psychological education can conduct trainings."

In theory, this is how it should be. But, unfortunately, the abundance in Lately psychological faculties of various universities and a relatively small number of qualified teachers have generated great amount amateurs in the market of psychological services. The lack of schools and bases for the practical development of the material has led to the fact that the bulk of psychologists receive, in fact, only theoretical knowledge and does not have practical experience... Training is, first of all, group work. And the overwhelming majority of coaches have no idea about the so-called group dynamics. And when she encounters it in the course of her work, she is forced to engage in individual correction in a group of problems of individuals, which sometimes completely negates the declared topic of the training.

The eighth myth. "To be eligible to conduct trainings, you must obtain a special certificate"

It is diametrically opposite to the first, but served in a slightly different way. The myth is actively exploited by a certain group of teachers of several universities, who thus earn a certain increase to their modest salary. Its essence is that students are intimidated by the lack of legal rights to conduct trainings if they have not received a certificate from one of the commercial educational centers. To date, the state only regulates medical activity, namely: clinical psychology, psychotherapy and psychiatry.

The ninth myth. “With the help of training, you can resolve deep intrapersonal problems, complexes and heal whole line diseases "

One of the misconceptions of those professionals who confuse psychotherapy and training. These are completely different approaches. The training is based on the main task - to teach. And the basis of therapy is to understand and help. Where is the way out of this situation? Unfortunately, our psychological culture is at a very low level. And it is very difficult sometimes to distinguish a professional from an amateur, and sometimes - from a banal charlatan. Even now, in many offices you can find an abundance of Feng Shui amulets, and top managers conduct transactions on a schedule drawn up by their personal astrologer. Gradually, this begins to be supplanted by going to trainings, in anticipation of a certain universal methodology that will allow one to get superpowers, and in essence it is the same primitive belief in a MIRACLE. All the prevailing myths are based on profound unprofessionalism, and sometimes even adventurism. It is really difficult to find a real professional in any field. But you can. The main thing is to know the criteria.

ARTICLES on the same TOPIC

Where to start and are trainings needed?

There are many trainings, trainers, coaches and other gatherings on the Internet. When the internet was developing, there weren't that many trainers. It was just a space of information where everyone posted whatever they wanted. Now everything is different, it has become easier, there are cms, blogs, webinars, etc. But what is most interesting is that people have appeared who can either teach you certain skills for free at first, or immediately for money. Are trainings needed and are they in demand? Let's answer this question.

Why are there trainings?

The simplest answer is that demand creates supply. If there are coaches, then there are students. It means that it is now popular and generates income. But is it necessary to undergo trainings and what will they give. And in general, what can they teach, if we already know everything and google seems to work.

Training rules!

Training itself is a good thing. You just need to learn how to work with training. How to do it. I will describe on myself.

The first thing to do is to decide what exactly needs to be worked on now. Do not indulge your pride, I already know everything and can do it, this is far from the case. There are many things to constantly work on. For example, over your laziness. If you want to defeat laziness, sign up for the training.

Second. It is worth setting aside a certain amount of time for training in your schedule for each day. And to practice periodically, not from time to time, but constantly at the same time, this is important.

Third. To complete the tasks in the training, everyone who is asked there. You can not miss a single one. Why is it so important, because the training is designed for people, taking into account their characteristics. In training, if it is many years old, there is nothing superfluous, therefore it is important to do everything, the result will depend on it.

Fourth. Free cheese, only in a mousetrap. So, free trainings, as a rule, are introductory for a paid one. Free trainings offer the basics, and the essence is revealed in paid ones. Therefore, if you want to benefit from a full-fledged training, then you have to pay. There is also a parable among the Sufis (Sufism is a trend in Islam, similar to the dervishes from India) that a person who receives knowledge must pay, no matter how or with what, an exchange must go through, otherwise the person will not learn the knowledge.

Fifth. This is the result. You need to set a goal to get this and that from the training. And compare the results of what happens at the end of the training. And it is better to write down your goals before the training. But you need to write specifically. For example. Training to increase the number of website visitors. Target 1000 attendees at the end of the training. We pass it, compare and evaluate. The results can be different because different people and different approaches to the matter. But for the results to be excellent, you need to focus as much as possible on the training.

Take action, start learning!

And finally, many can say that trainings are bad, how to find the best ones. The simplest thing is to read the comments and chat with people who have completed the training. But there is one more thing, even if the training is weak, but the person went through it in order to get results and at the same time did not cheat, then the result will be higher than expected. So do not think, but act and start learning again, but choose the subjects and teachers yourself. I wish you good luck in your self-development.

I, too, once went through two stages of personal growth training. It was about six years ago.One good man gave me such an opportunity - he passed, he liked it and, like many others, he began to energetically spread a revelation new to him. So he gave me a gift.

How it works

Well-known personal growth trainings in Russia, as far as I understand, are generally based on the American Lifespring system and are modified according to the preferences and inclinations of a particular coaching team, current fashion and direction of work. But the method is about the same everywhere.

A person comes to training in search of a new motivation to live, a way out of some kind of impasse, comes dissatisfied with his life. A noticeable amount of money is taken from him (so that it would be a pity for him to leave without going all the way to the end), and work begins. In general, the training consists of three stages. Each next one is longer, more expensive and more difficult than the previous one. You can even say that it is tougher.

At the first stage, a person is shown beautiful picture: Confident coaches say that the main and only problem of a person is fear. That it is precisely because of fear that the newly acquired adept has no money, no happiness in his personal life, no job that he needs, and so on. It was from the trainings that the concept of "comfort zone" came from, which supposedly needs to be left in order to achieve success.

And it is worth rejecting fear and simply consistently going towards the set goal - so immediately life will change. And that's all.

To convince the newcomers, the coaches use absolutely any rhetorical means - ridicule, humiliation, rude meddling in a person's personal life - whatever, so long as the coach with his philosophy looks good, and the opponent shies away. And since everything that the coach offers is a priori aimed at the benefit of the audience, then any of his actions are not humiliation and ridicule, but help people in approaching their own goals. The quick change of harsh pressure and stories about a wonderful future after the training does not allow focusing on criticism, and it gradually fades away.

A typical example: someone disagrees with the coach, claiming that confidence and getting out of the comfort zone alone will not solve the problem. The coach agrees - yes, it’s impossible, you’re right, but look - you’re unhappy, it’s obvious, you’ve paid so much money so that someone would teach you how to live. You are right, but unhappy. You can stay in your swamp. But let’s then decide already clearly - "do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?" And this question is repeated loudly and harshly many times.

Pressure alternates with exercise, some fun and uniting, some just emotionally de-inhibiting. At the end, everyone is invited to go through the second stage of training, after which they promise obligatory changes. And this is much more serious.

Because the second stage lasts several days from early morning until late at night and includes more than just offensive conversations and encouraging pats on the shoulder. Here, the participants have to really do what they don't like and don't want. Overcome fears, embarrassment, indecision. Telling unpleasant things about yourself in public, experiencing intense anger and failure, enduring ridicule, worrying about each other, and so on. Sometimes coaches can simply yell at an adept.

People are made up of teams, and each is held accountable for the overall result (that is, the pressure of the team is added to the pressure of the coaches). People are forced to remember and relive traumatic experiences. Either they guide and rush hard, then suddenly the coaches sit in the back row with a bored look and need to empty space turn on imagination and find a way to interest them. There are games like "submarine" where you have to make difficult ethical choices, and the general electrifying atmosphere turns the game into a real drama.

There are tasks when you need to go out in front of everyone and “create” something - that is, make everyone feel some kind of feeling. In any way, to awaken joy or love from the whole team. People confirm that the feeling was born by getting up.

This alternates with hugs, praise, admiration, and support. Any discontent is swept aside by two main arguments - "The door is over there, but going out, you will lose money and lose the benefit that lies ahead" and "Without going through this experience, you will not be able to become happy."

Of course, assignments constantly revolve around painful topics - money, sex, status, unforgiven grudges, and wasted opportunities. By themselves, they are quite variable, but, as a rule, each participant is selected what is especially difficult for him. An insecure girl can be sent to portray a prostitute, a self-confident businessman - to be taken out into the street under the guise of a homeless person who is naturally drenched in slop, and a cool macho with prison experience will have to walk with painted lips, eyed down and portray a parody of a gay man.

In general, the entire system is aimed at the strongest emotional buildup of a group of people. Sleepy, disinhibited, not having time to think (the program is "driven" almost all the time, there are almost no pauses), to be alone, to consult with neighbors (phone is not allowed), just to have a rest - the training participants quickly become isolated within its boundaries. The opinion of the coach and the team becomes extremely important, and the outside world fades.

This is a bit like what is experienced in a good performance: the action is so enthralling that you cry over the death of a fictional character. Here too - failures in stupid tasks are experienced as a hard crash, and the team's successful completion of the next stage becomes a great real jubilation.

I went through this all six years ago and still remember how bad I felt and how good I felt. I experienced very real emotions - only an artificial space was built for them.

Could it be dangerous

Yes maybe. Especially considering the complete absence of any restraining mechanisms.

In fact, a person at the training is very painfully shaken by the soul and forced to cross the usual boundaries in the relatively safe space of training in the hope that he will somehow carry him from the unpleasant consequences for the psyche and life. They try not to allow people with mental illness or experience of drug use to attend the trainings - however, all non-admission was based on the oral acknowledgment of the participants.

But in any case, training is hard and intense stress. And it can have consequences. Any part of the body, starting with the nervous system, can "pass". Headaches, heart problems, allergy attacks and gastrointestinal problems, nervous breakdowns - all this can occur simply against the background of stress caused by training. Simply because people are not iron.

Such a test of strength can have dire consequences for the human psyche. Their specific form depends on the personality of the training participant himself. Elena Kostyuchenko wrote about depression and hallucinations; in other people, it can be attacks of anger, hypersensitivity, constant excitement, attacks of phobias and failure of social adaptation mechanisms.

A person is actually told, very convincingly, accompanied by severe pain and intense pleasure, that until now he has lived incorrectly, that his usual life is sucks and swamps, they show a beautiful tale about better life, the way to which lies through overcoming habitual behavior. But routine is not only the fetters that get in the way of our dreams. Routine creates our world, makes us stable, allows us to see the world predictable and manageable, and ultimately safe. Without routine, a person is unstable and, oddly enough, vulnerable.

At the first, and even at the second stage, they constantly suggest that the desire for security in humans is exaggerated, that the brain has learned over the centuries of evolution to frighten its host more than it needs to in order to accurately protect against any misfortune. But living with the constant overcoming of the desire for security is unnatural, it destroys a person, and it is not always possible to predict what problems will turn out to be.

The stability of the psyche is ensured by the balance of various forces and aspirations within the human personality (psychologists argue about which and which balance). The desire for safety and comfort is balanced by the desire for change and success. The desire for closeness with people is the need for loneliness. Training destroys this system, deliberately making a person unstable. In fact, the person at the training is in an altered state of consciousness, and therefore malleable like wax. From some point on, every word of the coaches is perceived as true: the outside world disappears, and the coaches are the only remaining authorities.

On the other hand, training is addictive. Strong emotions, vivid experiences, the experience of victories and defeats, the support of the team and the feeling of a friendly shoulder, the experience of completing assignments together - all this is experienced very vividly, and life after the training, filled with routine and everyday life, can seem dull and dull. And just in search of experiences in order to escape from boredom, people go to more and more trainings, looking for all the best coaches and are ready to pay everything. more money... And if these emotions are not found, the person experiences a natural breakdown - emotions correspond to a change chemical processes in the body, without a new supply of proper experiences, a person falls into melancholy and irritability.

In addition, after trainings, people usually feel that they have passed to some new height. Knowledge and vision were revealed to them, they feel themselves almost omnipotent, "the authors of their lives", full of daring designs and plans. It is after trainings that people collect loans for an unsuccessful business, start relationships with sad prospects, get involved in adventures, and so on. Former relatives seem boring and stupid, full of fears against the background of the “team” and “coaches”. And therefore, after the training, a person constantly quarrels with everyone, teaches everyone to live, requires that everyone undergo the same training and so on.

Could this be helpful

Oddly enough, it can. For people of a certain dispensation, personal growth trainings can be beneficial. For people with a stable psyche, not prone to addictions and psychosis, who lack only a “magic kick” in life, training can play the role of such an impulse. If a person is too absorbed in routine, then such an experience can push him to change and, in general, to rethink his life.

Even in the training "tin" there is some sense - that which is stable, stable and inert, does not grow and does not change, and the task of training is to change. After training, a person for some time acquires the ability to act ahead, he is not afraid of anything, his goals are clear, he is ready to act. Not always reasonable, sometimes just stupid and hazy - but completely ready.

Trainings would not be successful if they were not connected with reality. And much of what they say there is, by and large, true. People are really often fearful and instead of going towards the goal, they come up with reasons not to change anything. And to achieve even a very serious dream, simple perseverance and discipline would often be enough, without any superpowers and great chances. It is also true that the world is infinitely diverse and there is even something in it that cannot be, and if you fight and do not give up, you will definitely find a good place. All this trainings are able to convey very clearly.

But the cost of this knowledge can be prohibitive.

In addition, it should be understood that the effect of training is temporary. The moods acquired at the first or second stage, the feeling of omnipotence, the belief in inevitable luck will eventually pass, leaving some emptiness in itself. And therefore the business that was started after the training is often unsuccessful, because it is created in a hurry, and at the moment of the start of problems, businessmen lose motivation. Sometimes this leads to tragic consequences when a business is done with credit money, and problems are also solved with the help of debt.

As a rule, the "teams" that have been knocked out of the people who happened to be nearby also disintegrate rather quickly. From time to time, of course, friendship and even marriages are born from them - but loneliness is not overcome by training methods.

Yes, there is a third step, the so-called leadership program, which lasts several months and probably brings about deeper changes - but even these, as I have seen several times in other people, are reversible.

In general, the system of personal growth trainings is a kind of social drug. For money, a person is invited to go through a kind of magical transformation, to find new life... But instead of real changes (always requiring long and difficult work), a person is given sensations of change - emotions, vivid pictures, loyal companions and overcoming difficulties. These sensations are obtained through rigorous training, deliberately leading a person through pain and fear. It can break a person, it can be useful to someone, but one thing is definitely not worth doing - you should not take training, an artificial situation, for real life.

You will not be taught to live. You won't even be shown "life as it is." You will watch a fascinating but hard movie starring yourself. After which the light will come on, and you will have to return to real life.

And the last

Oddly enough, the training methods had less effect on me than on the others. Well, that is, I am also in the right places I got lost and blushed, cried in the right ones, melted with gratitude in the needed ones, but deep immersion, loss of myself and sincere faith in what was happening did not happen. Here 20 years in the Church also affected (where are the current coaches against the methods tested for centuries on millions of adherents), and the fact that I was then generally under severe stress, and all the efforts of the coaches simply could not get me seriously: what is dead , cannot die, but the madman will not go mad, he has nothing to do. Then I had nothing.

It’s as if I had a toothache: even the strongest enthusiasm could not completely capture me.

But for a while I was a little carried away by all this and even went to the "support team". These are the kind of people who relax, feed and calm the trainers during breaks. In general, I always try to become useful if I like something somewhere.

And so we feed these trainers, some cutlets for lunch. And one girl says that she does not eat meat and has no idea how an animal can be slaughtered and all that, and what a terrible stress she has from the fact that she saw roach being taken off the hook while fishing. And everyone is like that - both boys and girls - yes, yes, yes, how awful it is, we also do not eat meat or are about to stop.

And so I looked at her, so tender, and at the others, and saw them somehow in a new way.

That I, in fact, cut a lamb with these very hands, and nothing, no stress - but for some reason they tell me how to live correctly, although they are afraid to do what I did.

I saw that I was actually older and more experienced in life than these guys. That I'm just at work constantly interacting with realities, from which they just shake - with illness and death. Sometimes the price of my decision is a person's chance to survive. And I make these decisions. And they are afraid of this, not even thinking - hearing. But they teach me to make decisions. Why not the other way around?

Here I have children - and they have no one, because for them it is “too responsible”. But if I know more about responsibility than they do, then, excuse me, why is everything as it is?

That is, people are not telling me what they know. And that someone told them at the training.

And I got bored.

It seems that I never went there anymore.

"Everything was allowed to us"

“You haven't earned a dime? All in your hands! Take our training and tomorrow you will become a millionaire. "

“Family discord? After our course, you will find love and peace again. "

“Can't you find friends? Not confident in yourself? We will solve these problems! In a week you will believe that miracles happen because your life will change, you will become a leader. "

It is human nature to believe in something. If not in God, then in a miracle.

How personal growth trainings lead a person to a dead end, how withdrawal occurs, why graduates of such courses end up in psychiatric clinics, what is the ultimate goal of the leaders of such events - in a frank interview with a woman who spent about five years in training.

“In the classroom, we put on diapers and sang a hymn together.”

Personal growth trainings. Advertising of such services looks tempting - for a minimal fee, people are guaranteed to gain self-confidence, freedom, learn how to make money, establish own business, to be a desirable partner in love and a lot of other delights of life.

38-year-old Ksenia Epikhina from Volgograd naively bought into tempting promises. And hung on trainings for 4.5 years.

During this time, she lost all her friends, almost destroyed her own family, and forgot about her son.

The tale of wasted time ended for her with a protracted depression, from where she had been getting out for a year.

Today, the woman, together with her husband, is trying to pull out of the pool of delusions those who have been sucked in by the training swamp.

One of the exercises in personal growth training - people tried on the image of a prostitute, a homeless person, an alcoholic.

"We were taught - we are gods"

I got to the training in 2010. It was a difficult period of my life - I divorced, stayed with two children, besides, my teenage son fell into a bad company, - Ksenia Epikhina began the story. - I was in confusion, did not understand where to look for help. And at that time a friend turned out to be next to me with "practical" advice: "I am going through trainings where smart psychologists work who will help you - and your relationship with your son will be evened out, and you will find peace of mind." Well, I bought it.

The training in question is divided into three main courses. Each is paid separately.

The first course - design - lasted for 4 days. The cost of the event was 6 thousand rubles, now the leaders have raised the price to 8 thousand. I confess that after finishing this course I had no doubts that they would help me here. During the lecture, psychologists explained some correct life positions, gave certain knowledge, classes were held on one continuous positive. Later, I realized that in this way people were simply lured into the net.

The woman continued her studies. For the second course - modeling - she gave 9 thousand (today the cost has risen to 11 thousand rubles). The duration of the course was 5 days.

And here began programming, breaking a person into certain things, not always positive. We were given strange priorities. For example, they tried to convince them that living “at the family level” was bad. This is the lowest level of existence.

- What was considered the highest level?

Mission level. Each person should come to the world with a certain high mission. If someone from those present dropped a phrase like “my husband didn’t allow me” or “I’ll ask my mother” - such people became the subject of ridicule. They immediately flew in: “Do you live at the family level? Ha ha ha! You are nothing. " The teachers literally deleted the family from our lives. Naturally, numerous divorces came from here. Although, advertising the trainings, the leaders assured: "There are many marriages among our clients." Do you know how it happened? First, they broke up existing pairs, and then brought the students together. As a rule, if one of the family members got into the courses, and the other did not want to go, then he automatically became an enemy. But among themselves, the participants in the psychological process said this about each other: "He (she) supports me, he (she) grows with me."

- Is it really possible to completely reprogram a person in a week?

The second course lasted five days. During this time, our teachers managed to turn our consciousness upside down. Imagine we were indoors from 10 am to 10 pm. The organizers of the training took several short coffee breaks. The rest of the time we were forced to do exercises, constantly think. There was no time left to stop and at least think: “Am I doing the right thing? Why do I need it?". We did our daily homework at night.

- What exercises did you do?

Here's an example of one of the tasks. The whole group sat in a circle around one person, and each said what he thought about the center. For example, the following characteristics poured in: "modest, shy, quiet." After that, the coaches told us to select opposite meanings of those definitions that we made earlier. It turned out - not modest, but liberated, not kind, but evil. Then came the question: "Who has a set of such qualities?" And the answer: "Prostitute, gay, gopnik, bum, drunk." The next day, the subject had to get used to the role of the character allocated to him for three hours.

- Did you also have your own role?

I got the role of a sadist. I had to change into the appropriate outfit, take a whip and for three hours express aggression towards people. We all became members of the lower strata of society for a time. Now I understand what these games were for. Thus, we blurred the line between good and bad, what is not - what is possible. Everything was allowed to us. We were taught that we are almost gods and that everything is allowed to us. It became very easy to manipulate such people who have no brakes. This is what our teachers were striving for.

Ksenia's wife, Dmitry Epikhin, was expelled from the training for insubordination to the leaders.

- Is it possible that after three hours of "acting" a person has erased all the boundaries of reason?

It seemed to us that our consciousness was expanding - and we are capable of any action. I will note that we did not go out into the street in the new image, we did not shock passers-by. All actions were performed within the team. Actually, we were limited as best they could in communicating with people from the outside. We cooked exclusively in our own juice.

- And a lot of people gathered at one training?

A whole commune - about sixty people.

We count with the interlocutor other people's money - the proceeds of the training managers.

Now the second stage of training costs 11 thousand rubles for 5 days. No less than 60 students were enrolled. It turns out that our teachers received more than half a million rubles per week.

- Well, you were fed and watered there. Probably provided you with some kind of brochures, books? Another item of expenses.

Out of the five days of the training, we were fed only three times, and even then very modestly. The leaders spent only on pens and notebooks. If someone was indignant: "What did we give the money for?" - the critic was immediately attacked with accusations: “Don't you support other people? You count money, you are so self-serving! We are doing charity work, we are making the world, the Universe cleaner. "

Ksenia Epikhina: "They made a zombie out of me."

- It seems to me that 60 people in a group is too much for psychological training?

60 people is the minimum number of people in a group. Sometimes up to a hundred people gathered in the hall. Of course, with such a crowd of people, the trainer-psychologist could not follow the dynamics of everyone present. But some exercises evoked ambiguous reactions and emotions in different people. Some laughed, others sobbed, fought hysterically, the third felt bad.

- If a person felt bad during the training, how did the training leaders act in this case?

They did not react much, they always had one excuse: "The fool himself, did not do what he was told." As a rule, after suffering stress, people then turned to normal psychologists who pulled them out of this state.

- Did those who worked with you have a psychological education?

At the time when I was undergoing training, not all of our teachers had a special education. Now, when we raised a wave of indignation, everyone quickly got the necessary crusts.

“We put on diapers, fins, went out and sang the Russian anthem”

According to the interlocutor, the first two courses of training are flowers compared to how the training program developed in the future.

The third course is implementation. Leaders were trained here. The term of study is three months.

The third training program included three-day weekend trips. During these trips, the coaches built the program on the accusation of their students. For example, if a plane crashed somewhere, we were told: “It is you who are to blame for the tragedy. Planes are falling because of your thoughts. " If a man drowned, again we were guilty: "You drowned a man with your thoughts." If there was a terrorist attack - again because of our thoughts. For three days, a feeling of guilt was aroused in us, which pressed terribly on us. One girl had a nervous breakdown on this basis. She took full blame for the major plane crash.

- Did everyone who attended the training believe that this or that tragedy happened through their fault?

I don't know how it happened, but we all became very suggestible at some point. And for a very long time, we were not let go of the feeling of guilt for every tragedy that happened in the world. True, according to statistics, out of 100 percent of people, only 70 percent lend themselves to such processing. This was the case in our case as well. There were people who tried to argue with the teachers, for which they were expelled from the lessons, and the rest were forbidden to communicate with them under the pretext: "They interfere with your development."

- What other features were in this leadership program?

We were divided into groups of 5-6 people. Each group had its own captain - a person who went through all the trainings, but did not have a psychological education, taught us about life. Every day at exactly 6 in the morning we had to call the captain and report on how our last day went.

- Did you have any responsibilities, what were you accountable for?

The leadership program consisted of two aspects. The first included various charitable programs. We worked as volunteers - beautifying parks, planting trees, painting houses. But that was not our main occupation. The second aspect, the most important one, was that we had to involve as many new people as possible in the training. If a person during the trainings did not volunteer, but involved at least one person, he became a leader. And that was the limit of our dreams. Every morning the captains asked us: “What have you done to involve the people? How many people did you manage to call to us? " If on some day it was not possible to bring in a newcomer, pressure began: “You are not a leader! You are a dying reptile, you do not allow people to develop. You are a victim. You will not succeed in life if you do not involve in the training. " And so it was repeated every morning. For most people, this pressure was depressing. For example, I was very worried that I would not become a leader. I sincerely believed that I would benefit the world only when I bring a lot of people to these courses.

- Did they bring you?

Yes. I have involved 50 people. Among them are my relatives and friends. Now I really repent, because I have involved those closest to me there. They hung there. Now I cannot get them out of there. And when I finally got out on my own, they stopped communicating with me, I became their enemy.

- Are those who leave the training automatically ranked among the enemies?

The red line runs the idea, as in fascism: the training leaders are the nation of Aryans. Everyone else is an inferior race, nobody. Teachers constantly drew a line, dividing people into the strong and the fallen.

- Did you rise to the role of captain?

Yes, I was motivated to do this: “Come on, you’ll become even steeper, even higher. The more people you involve, the sooner your son will return to the family. " While I was there, I really felt it was the salvation of the family. It was as if I was programmed.

- And if you failed to involve anyone in the training, then what?

Such a person was declared a loser and was not honored to take on the most important, third weekend. Getting there seemed like the ultimate dream of everyone.

- What have you been promised this weekend?

The fact of the matter is that what is happening at this event was kept in the strictest confidence. We were told that miracles happen there and only there people get an understanding of why they live, learn their destiny. Before leaving for the most important event, we were asked to warn our relatives that we would not be in touch for three days. Excuses like “if my husband won't let me go” were received with hostility: “So you live at the family level, since you cannot leave your husband.”

- And what was the mysterious weekend?

We were taken out of town, to a camp site. The phones were immediately taken away. For three days we danced there, sang, listened to lectures, they literally siphoned energy out of us. Woke up at dawn, forced to play "jumpers", to do stretching. If someone didn’t manage to make the necessary "pas", he was publicly ridiculed, called a weakling. At night, for some reason, they were raised and forced to stay awake. At the end of the third day, we were physically exhausted. In addition to captains, new positions were introduced that weekend - angels. It was these angels who brought a person to such a state where he became fully suggestible. A well-known technique, if people do not sleep for a long time and are in an agitated state all the time, then they become zombies. In this state, you can instill anything in them.

- And what did they inspire you?

On the third day, hard meditation began. We were told about our mission, convinced that we came to this land to captain, to angel. It was said that our most important mission is to involve all our friends and family in the training. Of the 60 people who went this weekend, half then went to become captains and angels. Our happiness knew no bounds. We believed that if we earned the title of captain, then miracles will begin in life, we will be lucky in everything. Now I cannot explain how grown-up people 30-40-50 years old believed our guru so blindly. For some things I am still ashamed. For example, on the third weekend we put on diapers, fins, went out in this form on the street and sang the anthem of the Russian Federation. What for? It feels like everyone was under hypnosis. At that time, I could fulfill any wish of the mentor. Moreover, no one understood what this exercise was developing, but everyone obeyed in unison. Also in the morning, each of us received a certain task. For example, organize a playboy party. Moreover, such tasks fell out to very modest, squeezed people who broke themselves at that moment.

- Maybe something was mixed into your tea, since you did such strange things? Did you drink alcohol?

The fact of the matter is that there was nothing of the kind. There was a powerful impact on the subconscious. A strict ban was imposed on alcohol and smoking. If someone confessed that he had knocked over a glass of brandy on a holiday, it would immediately begin: “Because of you, everyone is drinking too much, look how many drunks because of you.” And again they caused a feeling of guilt in a person.

"When I was expelled from the group, I thought about suicide."

- You went through three main stages of the training, which lasted for 4 months. But what have you been doing there for almost five years?

People who didn’t move much in critical thinking were really limited to that time and left. My thinking went off. I started going to various volunteer programs, it was called “serving people,” where we advertised our training all the time. If our chief said that a branch was opening in another city and the support of those who had completed all the trainings was needed, we quit work together, left our family and went for a couple of days to get our mentor.

- Did you get paid for this? You have become one team with the coaches, haven't you?

No, they didn't pay. Moreover, they could easily have been “fired”. This is what I was terribly afraid of. And everyone was afraid. At that time, I became the captain. And the captains were required to involve in the training twice more people than a regular learner. Also, the captain had to put pressure on new participants in the program so that they would also involve people. I was specially taught how to put pressure on people, how to competently persuade a person to come to the training. If I could not find new victims within a certain period of time, they threatened to expel me from the community, and forbid the rest to communicate with me.

- People in all seriousness were afraid to be expelled?

Many psychologically broke down when they were kicked out. I was also terribly worried that I would not justify the title of leader, that they would think badly of me. At the end of my captain's career, I was unable to lure the right number of people into training. I got depressed. Lost interest in life. The head coach constantly spread rot on me: "You are a bad mother, you are bad, bad ...". I lived with a deep sense of guilt for six months. As a result, my psyche could not stand it. By that time, my leaders realized that I was already used material, more could not be achieved from me, and expelled me from their ranks. And then hell set in. For two months I plunged into severe depression, I thought about suicide. I was pulled out of this state by my husband, two girlfriends and doctors.

- You have lived in the training for 4.5 years. Are there those who sit there even longer?

I know someone who has been hanging out there for eight years. Indeed, in addition to personal growth training, there are still a bunch of different courses. For example, after personal growth, everyone is offered: “How did you grow up as a person, now take a course“ money-money ”, do you know how to make money? And then sign up for a "family workshop", well, further down the list. As a result, people hang out there for many years and leave huge sums - up to 100 thousand a year. Many of them lost their jobs because of the training, lost their business, because they constantly stuck out at lectures. The teachers did not let me work, they didn’t let me go.

- Are the bulk of those present at the trainings people with serious problems?

Units come from curiosity, from nothing to do. Mostly wealthy people go there, not everyone is ready to shell out a tidy sum at a time. Most of these people had financial problems, friendship, love. At these trainings, after all, they promise to figure it out on all fronts - to raise a business, create a family, and improve studies. All in one fell swoop. What you want will happen. Magic wand effect.

- Did you communicate with those who, after completing the training, ended up in a psychiatric clinic?

I know one girl who was taken to a psychiatric hospital right from the lecture. But the fact that she was covered because of the training is unprovable.

- By the way, did you try to involve your husband in this sect?

Certainly. But he was quickly kicked out of there. The fact is that my husband is a believer. When I went to the training, we had not yet been scheduled with him, we only met. At some point, I told him: “I refuse to live not with the leader. Therefore, you must develop and go to training. You will be taught to love people, to earn money. Otherwise we will part with you. " To preserve our relationship, he got involved in this adventure. But he does not regret, because he saw the whole process from the inside, and now we are fighting together against the former mentors. He did not last long there. I constantly argued with the coaches. As a result, he was expelled very rudely, they announced to everyone that he was an enemy, carried heresy, it was impossible to talk to him, he was mentally abnormal. And everyone nodded their heads in unison. Even me. After that, I came home and from the doorway threw: "We will not live together." But I knew this man for 20 years, we knew each other from childhood.

"For a year I was moving away from those stereotypes that were imposed on me in the courses"

- When did you leave the training?

In early 2014. Then in March-April she fell into a prolonged depression. I only saw the light by May. There was a feeling that I woke up after a terrible dream. A lot of thoughts formed in my head - how did I live, why did I do it, how did I trust strangers? But I departed for another year from those stereotypes that were imposed on me. For example, we were taught that each person creates in life what surrounds him, he himself is the source of all troubles. I still get into the minibus, look at the men and think: "Oh, I create men around me, I will soon get married." Or recently I dropped a pot of hot water, immediately flashed in my head: "I deceived someone." Imagine how much all this nonsense got into my head.

- Have you improved your relationship with your son?

While I was in training, I finally lost my son. Relations have deteriorated further. I had no time for him. While I was “saving the world”, running, involving people in training, I abandoned my son. Since I was all the time busy looking for new adepts, I had no time to waste time on him. And now he found a job, got married, my grandson was born. Only now my son and I have found a common language.

- Did these trainings help anyone?

If you don't go deep and jump off the program in time, then such courses probably help someone. Insecure people open up there, I heard that someone decided their personal problems, found a common language with loved ones. But this is not my story. I crumbled. Only when I was freed from the shackles of training did I find a common language with my parents and my son. While I was living in the training, we were constantly persuaded: "You are doing well." And if something bad happened, we were told: "Erase, erased, erased, this is not with us." We were taught not to accept negativity, to renounce troubles. But as soon as a person was outside the training, the problems rolled like a snowball. People who left the courses again had the same problems they were trying to get away from. Yes, while you are there, the whole group supports you, they talk about love, constant kissing hugs, but in real life it all starts anew.

- Do you keep in touch with your training buddies?

No. While I was in training, I broke off relations with all my old friends. I considered myself to be a pure race, and they did not reach me. That's what I told them: “If you don't go to the training, you and I are not on our way”. And I made new friends on the courses. They seemed wonderful to me, we supported each other, celebrated the holidays together. When I was declared persona non grata, they all turned away from me. Now they don't even say hello. I am not of their caste.

- Who is the organizer of this project?

These are two sisters. One of them underwent a similar training 10 years ago, when it was just in its infancy. Then she brought her second sister there. And they started doing business. At first, psychologists were invited to work, then they began to conduct courses themselves, without having either an education or a license at that time. These women have grown rich in a few years. For the year they earned more than 8 million rubles. Their main office is located in Volgograd. Branches are scattered all over the country - Astrakhan, Rostov, Saratov, Krasnodar, Voronezh.

- Are the teachers who work for them rich people too?

Only the heads of the company earn money. The rest of the workers receive a pittance. They usually don't have permanent work some don't even have a family. For example, my husband was "broken" by a 23-year-old boy who did not have the slightest life experience behind him. Those who have never stood on them are taught to skate there.

- According to your information, are there many victims of such events in the country?

Many, some are simply afraid to talk about it. I was also silent for half a year. It was scary. I started talking to get my relative out of there. She has been sitting there for 5 and a half years. Now he is a coach. The training took my loved one away from me. It hurts me a lot for this. Her training consumed her completely.

A new section has recently appeared on the trainings website - trainings for children and teenagers.

The slogan is still the same - "Miracles are where they are believed."