In 2011, I attended The Living Course (TLC) with Rita Homrich was Head Instructor. At the time the course was owned by Geoff Weisbaum and Personal Development Co (PDC), until 2012 when Rita 'realized her value', formed a non-profit and Rita Homrich essentially 'stole' the TLC course and company from Geoff.
Visit the Palm Beach County Civil Records and search 'Rita Homrich' to find the 'Business Tort' (a tort is a theft of business property) - it's listed beneath all of Homrich's various traffic infractions. Apparently Homrich eventually agreed to pay Weisbaum for stealing his business from him? and the case was eventually dismissed...
I personally witnessed the main instructor Rita Homrich force students up against the wall to the point where drywall was broken, all in the effort to envoke 'non-therapeutic emotional breakthroughs'. When I asked Rita in private 'what happened to that woman - why did she leave the course early?', I was told she simply wasn't ready to work on her issues. That night I discussed this event with a peer of mine, a PhD in Clinical Psychology who is a Professor of Psych at a prominent university, who assured me this was 'quackery' and that 'no self-respecting therapist should've stood by and tolerated this abuse of so-called coaching'. He said in no uncertain terms that the therapists who witnessed and allowed this physical & emotional abuse violated the first rule of ethics for Therapists - DO NO HARM.
During my four year tenure at PDCO as a student, volunteer, Board Member and Advanced Course Coach, I came to realize one thing - Rita Homrich, while knowledgable in some of the skills of redirect, is unfit to instruct or lead the organization. I had a hunch this was the case when she cut off her business partner Geoff.
Like so many others who return to the event, I was tempted to 'take the bad with the good', since Rita appeared to being doing so much good. That is a mistake I regret. I should've spoken up then. And if you've read this far, odds are probably very good that you can think of moral and ethical abuses and bullying that have happened which you've overlooked at the PDCO events... and wonder what you should do about it?
Some time later (8/27/14), matters escalated with me personally, as I sent the following complaint to the PDCO Board. It details events of bigotry, employment discrimination, scholarship discrimination and unethical behavior by Rita Homrich.
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Discrimination Complaint by Todd Breen against PDCO Inc.
Count I – Withholding Work due to the National Origin of my Fiance/Spouse
I have been asked by Rita to become an instructor several times over the past four years and I’ve declined, knowing I wasn’t ready or entirely interested. When I was first asked, I was bewildered by why she would ask me at all??? I was barely in the course a few months and being told I should instruct, as I was told I have ‘a gift’. Did I have a gift? or was I a target for the constant upsell of courses offered by PDCO. . .
Several months ago Rita advised me that my relationship with a ‘subservient asian woman’ would negatively impact how I am perceived as an instructor, and preclude me from consideration as an Instructor. She went on to say that if the people in course room were talking about my choice in a mate, it wouldn’t represent the organization well and would lessen my voice in the classroom. While acknowledging that type of prejudice could exist in the course room, I replied that that my choice of a life mate wasn’t going to be influenced by that dynamic, and I certainly hoped PDCO wasn’t officially suggesting they supported that type of prejudice? ?? When I confronted her in this manner, she looked startled, looked away nervously and didn’t reply.
(I take particular offense to my wife Lucy being referred to as a 'subservient asian', however I reprint the title given to her by Rita Homrich throughout this letter when it relates to her bigotry and illegal employment discrimination)
(I take particular offense to my wife Lucy being referred to as a 'subservient asian', however I reprint the title given to her by Rita Homrich throughout this letter when it relates to her bigotry and illegal employment discrimination)
I have waited to see if this is indeed what PDCO (Via Rita Homrich) intended to do, and after meeting with Rita on August 25th, 2014 she made it obvious that my Instructor Path is ‘dead in the water’. Her actions follow her discriminatory statement of intent, and I have no choice but to believe she is discriminating against me due to my choice to marry a ‘subservient Asian’. Here’s the law that is being broken:
Further evidence of her systematic pattern of discrimination follows:
When I was asked to coach Advanced – which is characteristically an instructor path, I was told I will need to retake Leadership and pay $2500 in order to qualify to instruct. No other instructor has been ‘sent back’ to retake a course from which they graduated, but apparently Rita and her committee of one can impose such a requirement on someone who is marrying a subservient Asian woman.
It ‘felt’ like I was being discriminated against, so I said as much. Her response? ‘You can’t feel that way’ … the Head Instructor of PDCO telling me I can’t own my feelings made me know even more certain something wasn’t right. I confronted her with ‘did you just say I can’t feel my feelings? Cuz I own these feelings!??’. Rita looked like a kid caught with a hand in the cookie jar, confirming my intuition that something was wrong.
At this lunch, Rita gave me a very high review of my coaching, stating ‘it was more like having three instructors than 2 + a coach.’ She had no suggestions for how I could improve at coaching, and requested a copy of my coaching note template to become a standard for future coaches. I took that to mean that I excelled as a coach, and even resembled an instructor.
When I inquired as to my instructor path going forward, I was informed there wasn’t one for at least the next year, and there could be no assurance that I would continue on the path at all. Instead, I was advised to simply work within the course room as an assistant. My request to learn to do mirror work was met with silence. In other words, my interest in becoming an instructor is now ‘dead in the committee of one’, per Rita’s prediction that I would never instruct if I marry a 'subservient' Asian woman. Illegal Employment Discrimination. Mind Control-Cult Leadership attempting to manipulate my choice in marriage.
When I inquired as to her previous requirement that I pay to retake the Leadership Course, she danced around the topic, saying “you shouldn’t take that so seriously because that may not still be the case”. I reminded her that I had agreed to retake the course for free, but she declined my offer! I informed her that it ‘feels like Rita was addicted to charging Todd’s card’, and she replied ‘of course it does based on your upbringing’. ("Rita’s always right, Dammit" as printed on Tshirts sold at her events – another cult follower trait)
In my coaching review on August 25th over lunch, I suggested to Rita that it would help if the coaches and instructors had the opportunity to review the CIS (Course Intake Sheets) completed by students back when they signed up for their student course. Rita replied 'Great idea - if they're not burned already'. Apparently Rita is burning all records related to PDCO prior to it becoming a non-profit? I won't comment on the legality or tax consequences of this action during a law suit with Rita's former partner and founder of TLC, however it concerns me that student records are being burned... including records of mine and those of my children. Why is a Non-Profit allowing their Head Instructor to burn records which can be used as evidence in Rita's Business Tort case?
Rita’s only verbal guidance to me on instructing has been ‘you have to show me that you want to instruct more than anything’, and is summarized in this quote from an email I received:
“I get your desire to be an instructor.....and to become an instructor, you must want that at all cost no matter what that may be. Becoming an instructor is a grueling process for a very selfless individual and I get that you are not interested in that "grueling process" right at this time.” (Note that this phrase resonates with #3 “Demands blind unquestioned obedience” in the 50 Dangerous Traits of Cult Leaders as published in PsychologyToday. I have observed this plus 10 more traits during my 4 years at PDCO - 3, 8, 12, 13, 14, 22, 26, 27, 29, 31, 39 )
Count II – Discrimination against Lucy in Administration of PDCO Scholarships
When Lucy (an Asian minority) came to USA on a tourist visa in March 2013, I requested that she be evaluated for a scholarship based on her then income of $800 USD/month in PH Peso equivalent. Rita refused stating that ‘as her boyfriend, it is your responsibility to pay for her to attend the course’. Do boyfriends need to pay for their girlfriends to attend the course? Is this policy in writing? Is it being followed uniformly?
Lucy was never given a scholarship form to complete in spite of my request to have her evaluated for a scholarship. Denying someone the right to even apply for a scholarship simply isn’t right.
Instead, we had a 30 minute heated debate on Lucy’s income, and her inability to work and pay for TLC while in USA on a tourist visa. In the end Lucy was issued a $250 scholarship even though she was never given a scholarship form to complete??? Does that meet the Standard Operating Procedures for issuing a scholarship?
By contrast, I referred Bethany Keen to attend TLC this month. She did her intake call with Rita two weeks ago and told me she would be attending the upcoming course in September. In the attached screenshots of my text messages with Bethany, you'll see that a white single mother was granted a full scholarship BEFORE EVEN SUBMITTING HER APPLICATION??? So apparently White Single Mothers are given full scholarships before applying - while (subservient) Asian Single Women are denied the ability to even apply for a scholarship? Is this type of documented discrimination by Rita Homrich endorsed by the Board of PDCO?
Recommendation by a Former Board Member for an Instructor Committee
Managing Instructors – last year an instructor ‘strayed from the path’ by dating a student. Rita happened to meet with me the next day, and shared her plans to contact all parties and “demand they not tell anyone what happened”!!!???. Such a knee-jerk solution that the event be ‘covered up’ suggests a severe lack of experience in leading an organization and managing staff.
Instructor Policies are informal at best. An effort to establish a written policy 1 year ago was ‘shelved’, and the instructor (name withheld) who had been asked to step down for sexual indiscretion was this month invited to instruct again without signing an Instructor Conduct Policy??
Rita asked my help by asking (name withheld) to step down, another indicator that the committee of one needs expansion – that was her job as Head Instructor. I not only handled asking (name withheld) to step down, I spearheaded the efforts to create an Instructor Conduct Policy. I obtained sample policies from UCSD and other organizations and gave them to the Chair for her review and creation of the policy. That effort died in committee? Both the Board AND the Instructors of the organization let this slide – showing again that our informal organizational structure subjects PDCO to ongoing risk. When I insisted a policy be drafted and signed by (Name Withheld) before he instruct again, I was asked to write something really quick which I did. I was then also asked by Rita not to make it too strict in case she found someone she liked coming through the course.
Scholarship funds are currently being allocated by a very closed group. In practice the process is very subjective, which could subject PDCO to the direct liability of defending against discrimination claims if a protected class feels they were wrongly denied funds.
This process needs to be revisited with an eye to removing all instructors from the decision process. Enrolling instructors who want to recommend a scholarship should complete a brief form stating why they endorse assisting a student and the rest be left to a committee to decide – and that committee would be better if it didn’t include instructors who can benefit financially from the ultimate decision, or who may have an AGENDA on the scholarship that is related to anything more than the student’s financial merit!
CONCLUSION
I’ve invested over $20,000 in PDCO for my family to attend. I’ve referred dozens of people, some of whom Rita has abused in the course room and then publicly apologized to them the next morning. I’ve served on the Board, I’ve taken every course PDCO offers, and in spite of being publicly and privately encouraged to become an Instructor for 4 years, I now find myself ‘stalled’ in an undefined process - for what appears to be illegal and scandalous reasons.
When I reflected on the liability for Rita burning PDCO records, I realized I no longer wish to serve on the Board of PDCO as it is a risk I simply cannot afford to take. I hereby withdraw my request to return to the Board when my role as Coach at the Advanced Course is done.
-------------------------------------------I also sent the following open letter to all leaders/instructors/therapists in PDCO. I got two replies from therapists and one from an instructor, all telling me I was 'acting like a victim'. Not surprising lol... considering I was threatening the trough at which they feed... yet disappointing that even licensed therapists turn a blind eye and give tacit consent to illegal discrimination at PDCO. Here's the letter:
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An Open Letter to PDCO, Inc.
Since first attending TLC in 10/2010, I have followed the advice and coaching of Rita Homrich. For the first three years she urged me to become an instructor - until I started going out with Lucy. On several occasions, Rita made it clear to me that she finds Lucy’s ‘subservient Asian’ culture unacceptable in the TLC course room. In October last year, Rita informed me that I could not become an instructor as long as I married Lucy, as it would ‘lessen my voice’ if people were talking about me in the course room.
When Amanda Patterson had to cancel at the last minute, I was asked to Coach Advanced 27 this May. During coaching, I approached Rita to begin the Instructor Path she had encouraged me to take, and was told I could not Instruct. Rita then told me if I retook Leadership (from which I graduated in Feb 2012), and paid another $2500 tuition, I MIGHT be able to instruct in a year, but no guarantees. She later recanted that requirement. Despite numerous subsequent verbal and written efforts to clarify my instructor path at PDCO, I have been told no path is available to me.
After consulting legal counsel, I have been told that this is a textbook example of criminal employment discrimination on the basis of my fiance’s national origin, as intentionally stated and subsequently carried out by PDCO’s Head Instructor Rita Homrich. I have been urged to file a Discrimination Complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations (see attached), exposing PDCO to a criminal investigation – an action I wish not to take, but will do if I must to make PDCO a safe place for people of all cultures.
Three other graduates of my 2012 Leadership course are now instructing: Tim Andrews, Mark Levinsky and Sabrina Bennardo, and all three have white American spouses. All three were given direct instructor paths. One was given her path in spite of attending considerably fewer Student courses than me since graduating. I celebrate all of their paths as Instructors, and sincerely wish them the best in their journey at PDCO. They’re truly good instructors, as I hope to become as well.
Over the past year Rita has admonished me numerous times why my relationship with Lucy is unhealthy, even after my telling her I wanted no more ‘redirect’ from her on this matter – an unwelcome and cruel misuse of her role at PDCO, and one of her worst traits when she advises students of the likelihood their relationships will fail in the TLC course room. After consulting an independent therapist, I have been advised to stop any further coaching from Rita Homrich and to have no further contact with her. In light of her alleged criminal conduct, I cannot attend another PDCO event while Rita Homrich is associated with PDCO.
Lucy has been approved for her fiancée visa and will return to join me in USA next month. We will marry here in December. I am shocked & dismayed that I should be expected to bring my future wife into this environment. We can only wait and see how the Board of PDCO responds to these allegations.
A return to a PDCO that embraces diversity by truly welcoming couples of any and all national origins, free from the saddening and alleged criminal prejudice shown us by Rita Homrich would be a welcome change from my experience at PDCO over the past year.
Sincerely,
Todd Breen,
September 6, 2014
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I subsequently filed a Discrimination Complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations, which referred the case the Federal Level where it was subsequently dismissed. The case manager informed me that apparently PDCO is small enough in size to where the Federal Discrimination Laws aren't enforced, while encouraging me to pursue legal action in civil court.
So... while the organization is run by a hand picked Board of Homrich admirers that has never responded to the above letters? I can only assume they endorse and support the bigoted actions of their Head Instructor. Bigotry, discrimination, routine emotional abuse, cult-like dominance - all beneath the flag of 'unconditional love' make PDCO and their courses dangerous to attend... in this author's opinion.
The Living Course review
TLC review
