In the realm of wisdom passed down through the generations, one of the most tried-and-true (and trite) sayings is, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The maxim includes two terms that measure weight, which is very appropriate because weight is the subject here.
In the USA and the world, the emphasis on childhood obesity is a vital part of the overall health picture. Why? Because “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree,” and also because other corny old sayings with the same meaning are found all over the globe and in a variety of languages. They are all truthful descriptions of a real phenomenon.
“Give Me the Child Until He is Seven, and I Will Show You the Man” is a saying whose attribution is contested, but whose veracity is rarely questioned. Adjusting for traditional sexism, of course, it means that anyone who is entrusted with the upbringing of a child, male or female, during those first six years, is pretty much guaranteed to produce a kid trained to their satisfaction.
An even deeper truth is at work here, which is the rule known as “Monkey See, Monkey Do.” In other words: Granted, it is very likely that a child can be trained by deliberate and purposeful instruction. Still, it is even more likely that the kid will pick up the habits and ways that are consistently demonstrated by adults and observed by the child, rather than the ones being programatically instilled. Because, to roll out yet another ancient proverb, “Actions speak louder than words.”
Digression: an impactful best-seller
In 1973, Flora Rheta Schreiber published the hefty (almost 500-page) non-fiction book titled Sybil. Consequently, most people heard about multiple personalities for the first time, as the patient in the book had 16 of them. This is mentioned only to establish that prior to the publication of Sibyl, most Americans had never heard of any of this stuff. Suddenly, the multiple personality concept achieved wide awareness. People — especially parents — were primed and ready to hear more.
Now, granted, the odds of any one particular child developing such a serious problem are slim. Still, it is one of many possibilities. Given the choice, most parents would rather not have a situation like this to deal with, for the sake of the child and of themselves and their other children, and indeed for the well-being of the general public.
In the intervening decades, various branches of the psychological arts have taken on the challenge of rationalizing and working with multiple personalities. Some people are comfortable explaining them as visitors from the past, who previously had bodies and all the other accoutrements of standard human life. These tourists can be accepted as perfectly legitimate echoes of a person’s own previous incarnations, who have returned to work out their karma.
Or maybe…
Another narrative requires absorbing some information about the theories of Richard C. Schwartz, who may be thought of in shorthand as the father of IFS, the initials that must become intimately familiar if the rest of this is to make any kind of sense. IFS stands for Internal Family Systems, the operating assumption and principle connected with Schwartz’s controversial Castlewood Treatment Center. In a very recent article, journalist Rachel Corbett announced right up front and up top,
Internal Family Systems is a widely popular trauma treatment. Some patients say it’s destroyed their lives.
Corbett backed this up by presenting a case study, that of teenager Elizabeth Lerz, who in 2011 convinced her parents that her eating disorder necessitated a stay at Castlewood. They were relieved that she was amenable to treatment and that they were able to afford the hefty fee. What could go wrong?
All too soon, the answer became apparent. Mr. and Mrs. Lerz discovered that after four months of inpatient therapy, their daughter had become a hostile stranger who made horrendous accusations against them. This is not the place to cover those aspects in detail. Suffice it to say that, after enormous legal expenses, followed by 14 years (and counting) of hostile alienation, the family never recovered.
(To be continued… )
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “The Therapy That Can Break You,” TheCut.com, 10/30/25″
Image by geralt/Pixabay
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