49 children with “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder”( ADHD) our therapy camps until 2024.
Doctors had mainly prescribed psychotropic drugs like Ritalin – how unnecessary, how dangerous. By the end of the camp, 43 of the 49 were completely symptom-free, the rest largely free of symptoms. We present these cases in detail in our reports on previous camps.
“A completely normal and intelligent boy”
Nine-year-old Niko* arrived at a “ways out” camp in 2023 with diagnoses of ADHD and juvenile depression. The reasons for this were obvious: the separation of his parents, both Kurds, in 2019, and their conflict-ridden history continued to cause the boy to suffer greatly. He was “very emotionally burdened,” as his mother, who was traveling with him, admitted – “anxious and depressed, with low frustration tolerance and impulse control.” Lack of concentration, learning disabilities, and disturbed social behavior made it difficult for him to attend school.
So, the mother organized numerous appointments with conventional doctors and therapists for her son. So far, however, no one has attempted to tackle the root cause: to heal the destructive family system, involving those primarily responsible for it, the mother and father. Niko feels torn between them. As a therapist recorded in January 2023, “Niko told me that he always has to spend a whole weekend with his father, which he doesn’t want: ‘Dad talks badly about Mom. He says she’s an egghead, has bad manners, and smells.’ – ‘In the evenings, Dad lies in his bed and cries. (…) It’s his own fault.’ (…) I asked Niko if he could talk to his dad. He said: ‘No, I don’t want to make Dad sad.'”
A report from spring 2023 probably hit the nail on the head: Niko’s “conspicuous behaviors (…) should be understood by us as a coping attempt to find a meaningful solution to chronically problematic situations in his life,” especially in the family context.
The “Auswege” therapy team was apparently highly successful in finding such a solution. As the mother concluded in a questionnaire, after nine intensive days of camp, Niko was “completely symptom-free” – without any psychotropic medication. “He loves the whole team and would prefer not to leave.” On eleven-point rating scales ranging from -5 (“much worse”) to 0 (“unchanged”) to +5 (“much better”), the mother awarded the highest rating of +5 three times for the changes she observed in her boy throughout camp: in his general condition as well as in his physical and mental state.
Impressed by Niko’s inner transformation, a psychiatrist working at the camp also expressed his opinion: “During the camp, Niko showed that he is a completely normal and intelligent boy. His learning disability and ADHD could clearly be traced back to the parental conflict.”
When Danny played Nine Men’s Morris – highly concentrated, quiet, for hours
Danny*, 11, has been diagnosed with severe ADHD almost from birth, with severe concentration difficulties, an extremely short attention span, and significant motor problems, along with reduced muscle tone. His perception was also impaired from the start. With a low frustration threshold, he reacts extremely impulsively.
The first healing session at an AUSWEGE therapy camp in 2007 had to be aborted after a few minutes because Danny wouldn’t stay on the couch; at the second session, he remained still for at least a quarter of an hour. Afterward, his mother described him as “relaxed and cheerful; the healer from the AUSWEGE therapy team was doing him good, he said. Since the treatment, he’s been so relaxed.” On the third day of camp, his mother noticed that Danny “accepted rules better. His facial skin has become completely smooth; before, he had rough, reddish patches on his cheeks.”
While his mother participated in a “family constellation” with other parents in the evening, Danny was in a meditation room with other children, supervised by a member of the AUSWEGE team. At first, he romped around wildly and loudly. Suddenly, he noticed the adult sitting at a table with another boy, playing a board game he didn’t know yet. He approached: “What are you doing?” – “We’re playing Nine Men’s Morris,” the adult replies. – “I want to be able to do that too!” says Danny. – “Would you like to watch us and let us explain it to you?” – Danny nods. For ten minutes, he follows the moves of the next game, captivated, listening to the explanations. Then he says, “Now I can do it too!” He takes a seat at the game table – and for an hour and a half, he plays one game after another, highly concentrated, quietly, and without the slightest distraction from the smaller children who, in the meantime, are screaming around him. The ADHD boy, who supposedly has impaired fine motor skills, precisely places the nine men’s morris on the corners and intersections of the game board. When his mother comes into the playroom late one evening, she can hardly believe this feat of endurance.
In the following days, his mother repeatedly notices situations where Danny “has excellent control over his frustration.” But there are repeated “relapses” in which Danny “tests her boundaries,” engages in petty power struggles with her, nags persistently, cheekily “gets her on edge,” and “is dissatisfied with himself and the world.” Things were by no means consistently “uphill” for the boy. “I had the feeling,” his mother writes in retrospect, “that Danny had almost gained too much power and needed to learn how to deal with it.”
In conclusion, the mother rates the overall progress achieved with a +2 (on a scale of -5 to -5), especially the psychological changes with a +3, with the caveat that “some symptoms have also worsened.” Most strikingly, she finds that attention and concentration are significantly improved.
The camp doctor gives precisely the same rating. He now experiences Daniel as “more determined, clearer, firmer, more focused,” with “improved comprehension and stamina.” He also notices that Danny’s “sense of balance has improved.”
We report more details here.
Calmer, more patient, less aggressive
Nine-year-old Melvin*, diagnosed with ADHD, entered an AUSWEGE therapy camp in 2012. Within nine days of camp, “Melvin’s constant motor restlessness has significantly decreased, as has his aggressiveness, and his sleep problems have completely disappeared,” his mother concluded. “He is considerably calmer, avoids and settles arguments, speaks more quietly, and is very patient. He sleeps through the night, at least eight hours. When he wakes up, he doesn’t feel agitated. He says he doesn’t feel so tense anymore and seems balanced. Suddenly, he’s no longer interested in fighting games; now he wants to learn board games like Mau-Mau, Nine Men’s Morris, Checkers, and Chess.”
Finding His Center
Although Fridtjof (12) enjoys attending (Waldorf) school, likes his teachers, and would like to be a good student, his performance is dismal. Due to “severe reading and spelling problems, concentration and attention deficits, structuring problems, and limited memory,” the boy was examined at the Lüneburg Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the spring of 2008. There, “clear indications of an attention deficit disorder (ADD)” emerged. In a joint report, the chief physician, senior physician, and psychologist recommend “urgent, intensive, and targeted support, as we believe Fridtjof is at risk of mental disability.” Ritalin is recommended as support, but the mother firmly rejects it.
During the AUSWEGE therapy camp (https://www.stiftung-auswege.de/veranstaltungen/fruehere-camps.html) in 2008, Fridtjof noticeably oriented himself toward our oldest team member, a healer in his late seventies, who not only laid hands on the boy but also took plenty of time for man-to-man conversations. The boy then seemed relaxed, and no pathological behavioral abnormalities were apparent. “Difficulty concentrating”? Fridtjof was repeatedly seen playing chess – persistently and with great concentration. The camp doctor described the boy as “a very quiet, not exactly happy child, who went through the world rather daydreaming, seeking recognition and love, especially from men.” Fridtjof himself did not comment on his supposedly good relationship with his father, from whom his mother had since separated, or with her new boyfriend. According to our camp doctor, the “quiet, very sensitive child” suffered from his extremely dominant mother. The social structure of summer camp may have provided a counterbalance and thus provided the boy with some relief.
Fridtjof’s mother ultimately acknowledged that the camp days had been beneficial. “He has found his center,” she noted in our parent questionnaire after nine days, “and is more alert.” We report more about this case here.
Why Finn No Longer Needs Ritalin
Finn*, the three-year-older brother of a boy with cerebral palsy, benefited enormously from the support of our “Heart Fund.” He had been in psychotherapy for a long time: Two child psychiatric reports had diagnosed him with ADHD, with severe concentration difficulties that caused him considerable difficulties in his school life. “He’s always fidgety, very impatient, screams a lot, breaks things, doesn’t listen, mostly just does what he wants, bullies the rest of the family, and is very cheeky,” complained his mother, Manuela*.
The prescribed Ritalin “worked well at first,” she reports. “But after two years, it no longer helped, even though the dose had been increased three times. This medication has changed Finn, and not just in his social behavior. He barely eats when he takes it, and very often he gets headaches, stomachaches, and nausea as a result. I want to stop taking it.”
Furthermore, she saw Finn under multiple psychological stress: “His disabled brother; the feeling of neglect because his mom might love Jonas more than him; his parents’ divorce, the separation from his father: all of this causes him emotional distress. He is often sad and withdrawn. And he is always looking for recognition.”
Five stays at AUSWEGE therapy camps starting in summer 2012, most recently funded by the “Heart Fund,” were so beneficial for Finn that within a few days, all of his ADHD symptoms disappeared. Ritalin became unnecessary. According to the therapeutic team’s impressions, his behavioral problems were signals that he felt neglected compared to his disabled brother, who demands a great deal of care from his overwhelmed mother. In connection with this, Finn lacked clear rules and consistent guidance – and he missed his father. “Finn enjoyed the attention of the therapists,” observed the head camp doctor. The boy was also relieved to find a mother who was experiencing a psychological revival, strengthened by a wide range of counseling services and relieved of constant caregiving responsibilities.
Beginning to take responsibility for himself
Because of his aggressive, impulsive behavior, Julian*, born in October 2001, was diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at the age of six. His mother described him as “unable to concentrate and restless, lacking a sense of rules.” Doctors diagnosed his social behavior with a pathological “attachment disorder with disinhibition.” “Interaction with other people is impossible for him,” his mother explained; “He can only be led with one-on-one supervision.” As a result, conflicts arose constantly at home and at school.
By then, Julian lived with a foster family and attended a special needs school with reduced hours. He was diagnosed with autism.
A report from a children’s hospital in Osnabrück in January 2010 indicated the role of his parents in Julian’s problems, citing a “mental disorder of one parent” and “inadequate parental supervision and guidance.” “After a mental breakdown, the mother had to seek inpatient psychiatric treatment. (…) She clearly expressed her inability to cope with the situation.” Julian was diagnosed with “great emotional need.”
It wasn’t until Julian participated in an AUSWEGE therapy camp in the summer of 2013 that things turned around. There, Julian, now 11, behaved amazingly attentively, socially, and communicatively—no trace of the “autism” he had been diagnosed with just a few weeks earlier. His mother was amazed that her boy “only had one outburst of anger during the nine days of camp. He was able to remain quiet during the treatments. He’s beginning to reflect on himself and take responsibility for himself.”
At the start of camp, Julian was given five Ritalin tablets a day. One week later, his mother stopped taking them altogether.
“Not fit for school”? No way.
Sitting still, concentrating, waiting patiently, cooperating: All of these things were so difficult for six-year-old Florian S. at home, in kindergarten, and at school that his parents took him to a child psychiatrist and a university hospital. After osteopathy, special education, and occupational therapy yielded only moderate to no results, the boy was given Ritalin; his teachers deemed him “unschoolable.”
But psychotropic drugs became unnecessary, following three “remote treatments” beginning in March 2017, conducted by healer Carola*, a member of the AUSWEGE therapist network. “After about three to four weeks,” his mother confirms, “changes were noticeable.” For example, Florian could “wait 20 minutes without ‘drama'” for an ice cream sundae in a café; with Lego bricks, he “built according to a template without interruption and constantly getting up,” something he had previously been unable to do. “Since April 28th, he hasn’t caused any problems at school. He stays seated and participates in class; previously, he often crouched under the table and didn’t participate in class. His concentration time, which previously lasted a maximum of five minutes, has increased significantly. He now plays with other children during recess; before, he was always alone. Now he sits next to a classmate again; before, he had a single seat because he always got into trouble for disturbing other children.” Even the class teacher, Carola* reports, “is now convinced of my treatments, emphasizes this to her colleagues and the principal, and is considering having her own son treated by me.”
A strange incident occurred after the healer treated Florian’s mother alone on April 26th. The following day, the boy literally freaked out at school: He screamed, cried, threatened, and acted hysterically. It was the very last outburst of this kind – since then, Florian seems like a different person. A strange case of “initial worsening” due to the “strong energetic connection” between son and mother?
The medical report that diagnosed Florian with ADHD at the end of 2016 reflects how children are now being labeled “patients” simply because they behave as such. The psychiatrist found it highly concerning that “Florian shows fluctuating concentration, motivation, and stamina during testing. He is somewhat distractible and occasionally reacts impulsively.” How pathological, for a six-year-old.
Clearer circumstances as a guide
In 2010, Felix*, then six years old, was diagnosed with ADHD: “He has severe behavioral problems,” according to his parents, “very restless and always on edge,” which is why he had to change schools twice. Since November 2012, he has been attending a school for children with intellectual disabilities, where he “has been able to settle in well so far; it’s working well,” his parents report. Behavioral problems are easy to manage because Medikinet, a pharmaceutical tranquilizer, works until lunchtime.
After attending an AUSWEGE therapy camp in September 2013, “the symptoms have significantly improved,” as Felix’s parents concluded in a questionnaire. Typical ADHD behaviors subsided: “Felix was very open and sociable at camp,” his parents noted, “we didn’t notice any aggression here.” The camp doctor concluded: “At the end, Felix was much more relaxed, he spoke much more freely – he clearly felt very accepted by the participants and therapists.” As is often the case with ADHD cases, a dysfunctional family system seems to have played a key role in Felix’s case: “Felix is a very sensitive boy,” the camp doctor noted, “who is under intense pressure to perform. In his eyes, he does many things wrong because his parents often argue about him. At first, he seemed intimidated and anxious. His father has a hard time tolerating his behavior; he constantly wants to ‘push’ the boy.”
How did Felix fare after his stay at camp? “He has developed further,” his parents reported in the spring of 2015. “He can now read and is becoming increasingly better at self-management.” However, behavioral problems continue to occur at school “again and again. (He insults classmates and other children.) The school and we try to get such situations under control using a strict point system.”
Felix was “balanced and content with himself shortly after the camp.” But “as soon as everyday life surrounds him again, he falls back into his old patterns; he is often restless and needs very close supervision.”
During his second “Ways Out” camp in August 2015, according to his parents, Felix’s ADHD symptoms subsided again, albeit only “a little.” During the camp, the boy “felt comfortable and thawed out. Here, he was allowed to be a child. He increasingly approached others and sought contact on his own.” And his supposed ADHD? One team member saw “the source of Felix’s misbehavior in the adults around him. The boy needs to know that he is accepted and loved for who he is.”
Since then, Felix has shown encouraging progress. He’s become “more open and approachable,” his mother wrote to us. “He talks about himself and is no longer as stressed.” However, the boy continues to react “aloofly” and “aggressively” whenever his worries are addressed.
According to a healer who treated Felix again at the August 2016 camp, “the boy is making tremendous progress. His self-esteem was strengthened here because he received affection, recognition, and affirmation.” Following a healing session with her, during which Felix talked incessantly, the father present said it was “wonderful how our boy has developed here. He’s transformed.” Our camp doctor saw an essential factor in the fact that Felix’s parents “have now moved from being at odds with each other to being together. Now Felix finds clearer relationships by which he can orient himself.”
Solutions for mental illness: only thanks to professionals?
Both in the AUSWEGE camps and in the practices of the AUSWEGE network, patients rarely encounter professional psychotherapists or even psychiatrists. How can those suffering from mental illness even expect help there? Anyone who is surprised by this is unaware of the astonishing state of research: When it comes to mental illness, empathetic, communicatively competent, and experienced laypeople generally achieve no less than trained mental health professionals, even with ADHD. AUSWEGE founder Dr. Harald Wiesendanger presents evidence and reasons for this in his 10-volume series, “Psycho Lies,” particularly in Volume 3: “Soul Deep – A Case for Professionals?” (2017). For wise Psycho-Politics
* AUSWEGE has changed the name.
Support “Ways Out Charity“! With your support, we can help and move forward. > https://bit.ly/3wuNgd and here
