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Original poster

to warn you about this company offering solutions to child's anxiety and school refusal?

280 replies

Hols12345 · 30/07/2022 22:40

They advertise on Facebook as Young Vibes, Your Child Freedom Formula, Peaky Parents, Anxiety, Our Formula, and various other names.

They use a 'high ticket' sales technique, where they offer a webinar and then urge you to book a call. The call is a high-pressure sales call.

They have changed their name quite a few times over the last year, after they were investigated by the Advertising Standards agency - www.asa.org.uk/rulings/tomwill--holdings--ltd-g21-1116080-tomwill--holdings--ltd.html, and they were featured in a BBC radio 4 documentary www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000zt9y

There are a few threads on the child mental health boards - here's one. www.mumsnet.com/talk/child_adolescent_mental_health/4239684-your-child-freedom-formula-has-anyone-tried-it?page=1

On the threads there are people from 'both sides', including some who have been through the program, so it's well worth having a read if you are thinking of making the call.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
41
CountTessa · 23/09/2022 06:36

Gad 7 is a general anxiety test with 7 questions. It is available free online. It doesn't really tell you that much but can support the idea that an adult is feeling anxious. It isn't a Routine outcome measure for children.

There is a good Facebook page called Not Fine in School which shares information about accessing support for ND and anxiety and attendance difficulties, if anyone is interested in getting help for their child's MH. Or Charlie Waller Foundation or Anna Freud Centre, as recommended up thread.

Original poster
Hols12345 · 23/09/2022 06:27

In the first video on this page Sam claims that anxiety prevents puberty and that they have treated sets of twins where one twin goes through puberty whilst the other doesnt.

www.youngvibes.co.uk/copy-of-meet-the-team

Their website also says they are under new management.

to warn you about this company offering solutions to child's anxiety and school refusal?
OP posts:
BrilliantGreenFlamingo · 22/09/2022 21:46

What?! They’re back to Young Vibes again? I never get any adverts. Bit offended really. Btw, I’ve name changed again. Not a new poster.

3xteens · 22/09/2022 18:59

Another FB page of theirs ...

to warn you about this company offering solutions to child's anxiety and school refusal?
Sarah198022 · 10/09/2022 21:49

Yes I’ve seen the Facebook pages with different names. I commented a while back that I had my suspicions about the page and I was blocked from commenting. I’ve just seen another with a different name and commented there too so I expect I’ll get blocked from that too soon! It’s so disheartening to see these kind of people taking advantage of parents who are at their wits end with worry. Unfortunately there’s no quick or easy way to help your child, and that’s what made me suspicious was the way they spoke about it and the fact that they wanted a lot of money for it. It’s so awful and they should be ashamed of themselves x

3xteens · 10/09/2022 20:33

Sarah198022 · 10/09/2022 19:02

Is this the page you’re talking about? m.facebook.com/Anxiety-110151701610288/

thank you xx

Yes it is their FB page. It appears very often in my feed. They have used a number of different names.

BruisedSkies · 10/09/2022 19:57

thats the same people. With one of their MANY new fb pages.

Sarah198022 · 10/09/2022 19:02

Is this the page you’re talking about? m.facebook.com/Anxiety-110151701610288/

thank you xx

Original poster
Hols12345 · 02/08/2022 17:26

PS sorry those screen shots are so pixellated, I'm not sure what happened and haven't got time to fix them now!

Basically they are Sam and Martin Robins saying that they are turning over £95K / £100K a month after signing up with High Ticket Coaching academy.

OP posts:
Original poster
Hols12345 · 02/08/2022 17:24

And here is a link to the sales script that they accidentally emailed to a Mumsnetter who got in touch to enquire about their services.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/child_adolescent_mental_health/4352676-Peaky-Parents-Kactus-Kids-formerly-known-as-Your-Child-Freedom-Programme-YCFF-and-other-previous-names-Child-anxiety-programme?page=3

They do claim not to use this script any more. They have made a lot of changes to their business based on the concerns of posters on the previous threads.

OP posts:
Original poster
Hols12345 · 02/08/2022 17:21

Sam and Martin Robins signed up for High Ticket coaching academy to start their business, coaching anxious kids. This is a (arguably) legitimate business model, based on facebook advertising, and a sales 'funnel' to get a small number of high paying clients, rather than a large number of low paying clients. Personally I feel it's inappropriate for a service aimed at vulnerable families.

to warn you about this company offering solutions to child's anxiety and school refusal?
to warn you about this company offering solutions to child's anxiety and school refusal?
OP posts:
Original poster
Hols12345 · 02/08/2022 17:11

Not as far as I'm aware @Plumtreebob

Originally they seemed to be recruiting their customers to be mentors, and there was at least one poster who said they had been offered a discount if they agreed to sign up as mentors before they even started the course. But I haven't seen evidence that they go on to sell their own courses, or recruit new people.

OP posts:
Plumtreebob · 02/08/2022 16:36

@Hols12345 - ah I thought the people that pay for the course were then encouraged to become coaches and sell tickets for their own course and so on and so forth.

Original poster
Hols12345 · 02/08/2022 16:11

Plum true about pyramids and MLMs, it's not really that sort of model though. It's a high ticket coaching model. highticketcoachingacademy.com/

OP posts:
Plumtreebob · 02/08/2022 16:05

@TeenDivided - just because they are illegal doesn’t mean they don’t exist! I’ll describe it as a multi-level marketing set up then as they are obviously different 😉

Plumtreebob · 02/08/2022 16:02

@Discovereads - sorry the 🙄 was directed at the other poster who used one in their message.

Original poster
Hols12345 · 02/08/2022 16:01

The threads on the child mental health forum are worth a read, they are long, but a few posters have summarised along the way.

Thanks to people who have commented, hopefully it will help to keep this thread active and reach more people.

I followed the old threads under a different user name. I've been the parent of an anxious and ND child and from personal experience I know how vulnerable it can make you. At best I think this company preys on that vulnerability and at worst I think they can cause real damage to some families / children.

OP posts:
3xteens · 02/08/2022 15:47

@TeenDivided totally, as I always say our child's anxiety is mainly due to being autistic. Autism doesn't disappear and anxiety is not causing them to be autistic. I wish I'd looked into this company more before podding out and putting us all in their clutches 😪😡

TeenDivided · 02/08/2022 15:39

Plumtreebob · 02/08/2022 15:34

@Discovereads @BillHadersLeftEye - The OP said this company claims that anxiety is hormonal and not a mental health condition. The OP didn’t at all say ASD, ADHD and Dyslexia were mental health issues 🙄

Thanks for raising awareness OP, is this the same company that then encourages young people who’ve passed their programme to then become mentors themselves. It seemed like a pyramid scheme almost when I first heard about it.

Yes the same company.

But not a pyramid scheme as those are illegal. This company does have a 'product' of sorts. However it seems to consistently make outlandish claims that can't then be substantiated.

Any company that regularly name changes is to be looked at carefully I think.

Discovereads · 02/08/2022 15:38

I didn’t say that the OP said that ASD, ADHD and dyslexia were mental health conditions. Why are you (and other posters) assuming I can’t read? I’m getting thoroughly annoyed at the 🙄 over something I did not say.

What’s so wrong about contributing to the thread by stating a fact supporting the OPs initial post about these people being scammers who don’t know the first thing about ASD, ADHD and dyslexia?

Plumtreebob · 02/08/2022 15:34

@Discovereads @BillHadersLeftEye - The OP said this company claims that anxiety is hormonal and not a mental health condition. The OP didn’t at all say ASD, ADHD and Dyslexia were mental health issues 🙄

Thanks for raising awareness OP, is this the same company that then encourages young people who’ve passed their programme to then become mentors themselves. It seemed like a pyramid scheme almost when I first heard about it.

TeenDivided · 02/08/2022 15:25

PixieLaLa · 02/08/2022 15:18

OP didn’t say they are mental health conditions. She said these people are claiming ASD etc are all actually anxiety disorders and that anxiety disorders are not mental health conditions - Obviously all a load of nonsense!

Precisely. But wonderfully playing on parents' fears and hopes.

Yes, currently my child does have 'more labels than friends' (to quote a recent video) but the order of things was not Anxiety leading to other conditions, it was other issues leading to anxiety & depression.

PixieLaLa · 02/08/2022 15:18

OP didn’t say they are mental health conditions. She said these people are claiming ASD etc are all actually anxiety disorders and that anxiety disorders are not mental health conditions - Obviously all a load of nonsense!

scarletisjustred · 02/08/2022 15:11

It is very tempting to look for a "miracle" cure. I soon realised though that no miracle herbs, strange balance board therapy or pine resin extract was going to rewire my son's brain. Any time there was a new miracle cure, I used to goggle it with the word scam included and it was very informative. What worked for us was extra tutoring and ADHD medication.

TeenDivided · 02/08/2022 15:09

I followed the threads in child mental health from the start as my DD collapsed MH at the start of the pandemic. I started with an open mind but got more and more convinced that they are at best well meaning fools and at worst cold hearted scammers. They seem to take parents at their most vulnerable, promise them the earth, and then when it doesn't work blame the parents for not being fully committed.

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