Complaint Review: Jonathan A. Berent Berent Associates Social-Anxiety.com - Great Neck New York

Jonathan Berent is a licensed clinical social worker who practices at Berent Associates in Great Neck, NY, treating people with anxiety-related issues. He also operates from a website entitled Social-Anxiety.com. Through the website, he apparently maintains an email list of those who have contacted him for help with their anxiety.

In the latter part of 2005, Mr. Berent contacted, by email, a seemingly random selection of people on that email list to announce a contest he was sponsoring.

Initially, the entrants were expected only to submit a single essay.

Excerpts copied from the email announcing the contest:

"Win the comprehensive self-therapy audio CD Program Beyond Shyness: How to Conquer Social and Performance Anxieties and a free consultation with Jonathan Berent, L.C.S.W. (Total value $472)."

"Here is the contest: I am looking for the best description of the energy of avoidance, the anxiety which causes the avoidance; i.e. You know you should do something, but you give yourself permission to avoid; you rationalize, you lie to yourself; whatever!! ... What does this process of anxiety-avoidance feel like? What are the thoughts, the physical sensations, the mental-emotional sensations? E-mail your response to my email at [email protected]. I will pick a winner. All replies will be kept confidential."

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Many of us did take the time, and put forth the incredible effort (which, in itself, was quite anxiety-provoking) to pour out our most painful inner feelings in an essay, and submit it. Each of us had very high hopes of being the winner, and maybe, finally receiving help for his/her particular social anxiety problem, when effective treatment can be very difficult to come by, and is often financially unfeasible.

As no deadline date for entries had been given in the initial email, an inquiry was sent to Mr. Berent asking when the winner would be announced. He replied simply, "Two weeks". When no word was forthcoming at the end of that time, other inquiries were sent as to whether a winner had been chosen, to which short, curt replies were sent such as, "soon", or "very soon".

After a time, Mr. Berent contacted the entrants to say, "Approximately 200 individuals have sent in their work; adults and parents of children of all ages. I thank you all for your effort. I have read all the entries... I have not yet picked a winner. We have to go to one more phase of competition. In one paragraph please describe why you have not taken action to solve your problem. I will announce the winner shortly."

That was followed by yet another email. Here is the content of that email in its entirety, and which demonstrates his disrespect and disregard for those who entered the contest:

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Sorry it took a while to get back to you, but I have been carefully going over your responses (and you've been avoiding anyway).

When I was on The Sally Jessey Raphael Show in 1988 I used the phrase "addiction to avoidance". Indeed, as you know that's what it is!! While I did not hear anything I haven't heard before (in your responses) this exercise clarified reality.

I must say it is extremely disturbing to hear how people give up on themselves and their children. The sense of worthlessness is astounding!!!!

Your responses also clarified the collective clinically criminal use of pharmaceuticals in our society, the general ineptness of the psychotherapy profession in dealing with social anxiety, and, most importantly, an almost unbelievable sense of confusion on your part which adds to your problems.

Consider the following response:

"I despise your competition. I despise your effort to actually find a cure. This is a pathetic attempt to dominate people. And I truly curse you to the pits of hell for doing this you low life fool!!!"

Rage, personified here, is the cause of the anxiety-avoidant pathology. What potential power if channeled. What pathetic sickness if recycled. How wonderful it would be if this person takes my challenge to interact which I will soon explain. How common it is for therapists not to delve into this rage; to help the patient identify it, and deal with it!!!!! Too many cliche's like "cognitive behavioral therapy" also worsen and enable the problem on a broad base!!

There were many detailed, elaborate, descriptions of the problem. There was a lot of "energy" put into the exercise. I could not pick one winner. I want to do my best to empower you all; although this may be an impossible task given that many of you have already described your emotional deaths!!!!!

Any way..here's the deal:

I invite you all to a free tele-seminar interactive experience with me on Wed Jan 11, 7:20 p.m. (E.S.T) tentative. Everyone gets something. I want you to e-mail me the #1 question you have about your problem. The best 2-3 responses will have the opportunity to interact with me at this seminar on the phone anonymously. They will also receive a free comprehensive self therapy audio cd program after their interaction. I certainly invite the author of the above quote to step out of his hell for a while and interact with me.

I wish you a healthy and more optimistic holiday season!"

jonathan berent

In summary, after submitting the initial essay, the entrants were then expected to to submit two more entries, and then participate in a tele-seminar and "have the opportunity to interact" with Mr. Berent, in order to have any chance of winning the audio CD program. Mr. Berent has authored a book, and it is suspected that he used this contest to acquire new material for possible future publications. It isn't difficult to draw the conclusion that the contest was self-serving, and that his monetary 'bottom line' is uppermost in Mr. Berent's motivation.

Equally disturbing to those involved is that the email he sent to announce the contest violated the privacy rights of the potential contest entrants when he didn't use the "blind carbon copy" option to send it. Everyone's email addresses were visible to each recipient of that email. His own privacy statement from his website claims: "All information collected from this website, including E-mail addresses, mailing addresses and personal information, will not be shared..." Even if Mr. Berent's breach of our privacy, and of his own privacy policy wasn't intentional, his is the professional duty and responsibility to be sure that he doesn't make the mistake of not using "blind carbon copy" in any corrrespondence with multiple email recipients, given the nature of his profession.

As a result of this disregard for our privacy, we have been able to, and some of us have contacted each other via email, and the concensus is that we have been blatantly exploited, and we are left feeling embarrassed, humiliated, and angry by this contest. It must be understood that while the average person may be able to shrug something like this off, for those who deal with debilitating social anxiety disorders, the often accompanying depression, and the low sense of self-worth (the very people that Mr. Berent professes to treat), this sort of treatment can be, and has been very degrading to many of us. Further, Mr. Berent has not acknowleged, nor has he uttered a word of apology for his wrongful actions despite receiving email from several of the contest entrants expressing their unhappiness.

Justice Seeker

Topsham, Maine

U.S.A.