Anoymous’ King George School Testimony

2007-2008

I could tell you stories of awful things that happened at King George School (KGS). Tales that would make even the strictest mental health employee’s eyes widen and think to themselves: “wow, that’s fucked up.” Yes, there was the time an educational consultant named Carol Maxim was hired by the CEO to come to KGS. She locked us in a room for nine hours, and encouraged us to rat each other out for minor transgressions. That happened twice. Sure there was the time a stool got thrown at my head. The time my favorite book was ripped up. However, from my perspective, the damage caused by those incidents is minor compared to the impact of emotional isolation. Being sent to KGS cut me off from my community at a pivotal moment in my psychological development, At my previous boarding school, I had a group of supportive friends, mentors/teachers, and a loving boyfriend. Once at KGS, contact with the people who loved me and I felt loved by ceased. Instead of working with my existing community, they deemed those “outside influences” a “distraction.” The only time I felt calm at KGS is when I was allowed to talk to my former friends and teachers. They viewed those conversations as a reward, not what they were: a lifeline. At King George, I was a “good kid.” I didn’t have sex, run away, get angry, use substances, or fight .As a result, I quickly built trust with the staff and was left to my own devices most of the time. I spent my days, walking around with my CD player,, fantasizing about the community I left behind. The only way I survived was by living in my imagination. It was this 17 months of longing that has left scars I am only now beginning to realize are there. The product of my KGS experience is relational trauma. It continues to impacts my current relationships with authority figures and romantic partners. Even though it’s been 14 years sinceI left, my body lives in fear that my loved ones will be ripped away against my will. I have years of therapy ahead to quell the resulting panic embedded in my nervous system. And time missed in my community I will never get back.