Bizarre Therapy Technique Resulted in the Death of 10-Year-Old
Candace Newmaker died in 2000 while undergoing treatment, subsequently calling into question the validity of the practice.
“Rebirthing therapy” is a very controversial form of psychodynamic therapy involving a ‘birther’ and a ‘breather.’ Although it is mainly practiced in the US, it is not recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics or the American Psychiatric Association. The ‘breather’ is wrapped up in a physical barrier, such as a blanket, and they need to get out of the barrier, which is meant to represent the birth canal.
Such a technique was used on Candace Newmaker, a ten-year-old in Colorado. Candace was born Candace Tiara Elmore and was born in North Carolina. She and her two siblings grew up in a chaotic household. Her family moved constantly, and her father was a violent alcoholic. Candace was only three when she and her siblings were removed by social services and put into foster homes.
After four years in six different foster homes, she was adopted by a single, forty-two-year-old pediatric nurse who lived in Colorado. Her new adopted parent, Jeane Newmaker, changed her name and kept her separated from her siblings. Candace began seeing a psychiatrist soon after moving to her new home. Jeane…
