Healing the Hurt Inside Our Youth

Schools do not have to be the killing grounds for troubled students. Teachers and administrators could become proactive in stopping these massacres before they occur.

Healing the Hurt Inside Our Youth

According to a statistical website regarding safe schools, Info Please, there have been more than 300 school shootings in the past several years. This seemingly-growing epidemic has urged school
personnel to look for a more powerful and proactive solution. The shooters? According to many school and media reports, they were satanic worshippers, outcasts, and victims… all with the underlying message of, “I hurt”. Despite obvious cries for help prior to the incident, nobody noticed.

Violence in schools has become a part of the daily news. With the ever- increasing pressures of society, students have found their release in the form of drugs, alcohol, guns, gangs, and suicide.
However, that is not news to the thousands of educators who deal with these students on a daily basis.

Who can forget the recent Virginia Tech shooting by Seung-Hui Cho, or Luke Woodham in a Mississippi High School, or Columbine‘s own Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold? There are countless others who have engaged in killing classmates, teachers, parents and/or themselves (see Appendix 1). Were the teachers surprised? Not usually. In fact, most say, “There was something different about that student” or ”He just didn’t fit in”. All of these students had near-identical handwritten warning signs. Handwritten signs that told a story of death and destruction while crying out for someone to hear and help them.

Provided with the tools of Handwriting Analysis and Handwriting Formation Therapy, schools do not have to be the killing grounds for these needy students. Teachers and administrators could become
proactive in stopping these massacres before they occur. Educators see virtually millions of writing samples a year but, without training in the science of Handwriting Analysis, they miss the all-important
underlying cries for help. Why do people become teachers? Usually it is to fulfill a need of helping youth.

Training teachers to focus on key points in handwriting, and targeting potential issues within students, is a huge proactive step in solving a multitude of problems present in today‘s schools. These problems typically drive the criminal behaviors. What types of problems can be seen by obtaining a forensic handwriting analysis? Problems such as suicidal tendencies, violence potential, self-perception,
parental and peer relationships, drug usage (legal and illegal), sexual abuse, learning disabilities, bi-polar, depression, suicidal tendencies, and a multitude of other traits can be seen.

Not only can handwriting be examined, but artwork can be examined as well. Many violent students have foretold their plans by leaving their artwork behind in classrooms. One can see the “killer
instinct” come out in the drawings of Seung-Hui Cho, Charles Manson, and others including the infamous clown killer John Wayne Gacy. The artwork of students depicts classmates, teachers,
administrators and parents, being violently killed, mutilated, and dissected by the students they vow to love and protect. This artwork tells stories of necrophilia, cannibalism, bestiality, murder, hostility,
and rage, engulfed with the need for someone to listen, to hear their cry, and to help them.

Without formal training, teachers ignore these signs or, if they do happen to recognize the severity of the writing or artwork, it is typically ignored by administrators. The student may be called into the
office, reprimanded for displaying inappropriate writing or artwork at school, and possibly offered counseling, coping skills, or suspended. Instead of helping the problem, the student internalizes his feelings even more. Once the student is that far along, traditional methods are null and void, even if the student wants help, it‘s usually too late because their emotions over-ride logic.

Once troubled students are identified, instead of calling the parents and reprimanding the child; or forcing them to talk to a counselor, they should be offered Handwriting Formation Therapy (HFT).
Handwriting Formation Therapy was developed and copyrighted in 1987 by Treyce d’Gabriel-Montoya, an international forensic handwriting expert.

Since 1987 many private children, teens and adults have changed their lives because of HFT. In 2006 this program made history. Never before has anything even remotely similar to HFT been introduced in this manner. Treyce conducted a project that was aimed at reducing the recidivism rates among juvenile offenders. According to Vicki Spriggs, (Texas Juvenile Probation Commission), her agency and members of the Texas Legislature supported this project and were very pleased with the results. The participants were juvenile offenders of various races, ages, genders, socioeconomic and
criminal backgrounds. Each juvenile offender had committed a minimum of four crimes each, ranging from sexual abuse to aggravated physical assault and each had failed multiple times in traditional psychological interventions. The offenders were placed anonymously in Handwriting Formation Therapy for six months; this was the only therapy or psychological treatment they received during this time. The juveniles in the Texas project had a commitment and desire to change their lives. The results were astounding!

Each participant improved their academic grades, test scores, their social skills, and all increased (or gained) self-confidence. The students that were in out-of-home placements were returned home, and many received “behavioral awards”. The most shocking result to-date is that none of the participants have since re-offended! After the juveniles “graduated” from the Handwriting Formation Therapy
program, they were asked for their feedback. Every juvenile reported they would participate again. More importantly, each juvenile reported that they would highly recommend this program to other troubled teens.

The program is anonymous with no face-to-face contact. The theory behind the therapy is, by changing one’s handwriting, the “negative” personality traits can become “positive”, and thereby forces changes in one’s personality. Handwriting Formation Therapy is described as "behavioral modification on a neurological level’. The changes are based on the individual’s innate traits so the program enhances their true selves by eliminating the hurt, trauma, and resentment that
subconsciously drives undesirable behaviors. By eliminating these items from the subconscious the individual gains self-esteem, confidence and optimism. The individual also learns to set and attain
goals, improve grades, and change destructive behaviors. These changes become permanent with absolutely NO aftercare or follow-up treatment.

Hundreds of people have “graduated” from this program. Previous “graduates” include clients ranging in age from 7-99, from all backgrounds, education levels, and cultures. Every individual that has
successfully completed this program has changed their personalities 100%. That’s right - Handwriting Formation Therapy has a 100% success rate. Absolutely, without question, not one traditional psychological method can make the same claim. In fact, most cannot claim much higher than 50%.

According to the Psychology Department at Texas State University, traditional psychology is currently at an 16th Century equivalent and, in today’s 20th Century, traditional methods are unable to meet
the needs of today’s ever-changing societal issues. The science of Handwriting Analysis has been around since the 1600’s but, unlike traditional psychology, it is not outdated. Traditional psychology
follows the “textbooks” but Handwriting Analysis is as new as the sample being analyzed. Therefore Handwriting Formation Therapy will never become outdated for the same reason.

Handwriting analysis and HFT are the answers to engaging youth, healing the hurt inside of them and keeping our schools safe.