Sterling Institute of Relationship

Infobox Company
company_name = Sterling Institute Inc.
(d.b.a. Sterling Institute of Relationship)
company_
company_type = For-profit, private company
genre =
foundation = 1979
founder = A. Justin Sterling
(formerly Arthur "Artie" Kasarjian)
location_city =
location_country =
location = Oakland, California
origins =
key_people = A. Justin Sterling,
Staff,
Volunteers
area_served =
industry = Cult
products =
services =
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent =
divisions =
subsid =
owner = A. Justin Sterling
company_slogan =
homepage = [http://sterling-institute.com/ Corporate Web site]
dissolved =
footnotes =

The Sterling Institute of Relationship is a for-profit corporation and counseling business run by A. Justin Sterling (formerly Arthur "Artie" Kasarjian) since 1979. Focusing on heterosexual relationships through intensive, multi-hour trainings, male and female participants attend separate trainings. The company is based in Oakland, California.

A. Justin Sterling is also founder and president of "International Community Service Day Foundation", also located in California.cite news
last = Lubman
first = Sarah
coauthors =
title = Volunteers Bring Schools More Than They Bargained For: Oakland-Based Charity Pushes its Founder's Views on the Sexes
work = San Jose Mercury News
pages =
language =
publisher =
date = September 15, 1996
url =
accessdate = ]

Coursework

MSNBC reported that The Sterling Institute has been described as "John " [sic] " Bly meets Est". The evolution from Erhard Seminars Training has also been brought up in other media pieces. Rich Zubatycite book
last = Zubaty
first = Rich
authorlink =
coauthors = Bill Kauth
title = [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/5225/surviving_frame.htm "What Men Know That Women Don't: How to Love Women Without Losing Your Soul"]
publisher = Virtualbookworm.com ; Zubaty Pub
date = 2001
location =
pages = 304
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 1589390393] and Diamondcite book
last = Diamond
first = Jed
authorlink =
coauthors = Gail Sheehy
title = Male Menopause
publisher = Sourcebooks Inc
date = 1997
location =
pages = vii, xix, xxiv
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 1570711437] have compared Sterling Institute of Relationship to the Mankind Project's "New Warriors" program. Rich Zubaty participated in both programs, and stated that: "they offer a rare chance to be 'reborn' as a man." He did not describe details of the course, however, stating: "Some things are better kept a mystery until you experience them." According to the "San Jose Mercury News", the Sterling Institute of Relationship has a "history of complaints" at the Oakland, California division of the Better Business Bureau, and also at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. According to "The New York Post", many of Sterling's "adherents" work for Time Warner or one of its subsidiaries.

According to Susan Faludi's "", the "Men, Sex and Power" session is held over the course of a weekend, with a price of USD$400.cite book
last = Faludi
first = Susan
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =
publisher = Crown
date = 1991
location =
pages = 307
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 0517576988] The purpose of this course is to teach "wimps" to become "real men".cite news
last = Yafa
first = Stephen
coauthors =
title = Neanderthals in Love: He-man love guru Justin Sterling advises his rabid following that a little less sensitivity and a lot more knuckle scraping make for real ladies' man
work = Details Magazine
pages =
language =
publisher =
date = December 1999
url =
accessdate = ] The main seminar is referred to by participants simply as "the Weekend", and was described in "Details Magazine" as having a "cult like subculture", as well as exhibiting similar traits to "New Age quasi-spiritual movements". "Elle Magazine" also reported that individuals have criticized some of Sterling's methods as abusive, and have used the term "cult-like" to describe some of the methodologies employed, as have other news sources.cite news
last = Smart
first = Paul
coauthors =
title = The Sterling Men Of Woodstock: A Series (Part I) - A line in the dirt: Woodstock's Sterling society redefines the modern man
work = Woodstock Times
pages =
language =
publisher =
date = August 15, 2002
url =
accessdate = ] cite news
last = Smart
first = Paul
coauthors =
title = The Sterling Men Of Woodstock: A Series (Part III) - The psychology of cults and secret societies
work = Woodstock Times
pages =
language =
publisher =
date = August 15, 2002
url =
accessdate = ] cite news
last = Lubman
first = Sarah
coauthors =
title = Bay Area Service Foundation's Mixed Legacy: Some Parents at South S.J. Elementary School Uneasy with Group's Rites, Ties
work = San Jose Mercury News
pages =
language =
publisher =
date = April 17, 1996
url =
accessdate = ]

Participants in the three-day weekend course are sworn to secrecy, and cannot tell their spouses what goes on in the program.cite news
last = Richards
first = Sarah Elizabeth
coauthors =
title = To Love and Obey? - A seductive idea floating around the relationship cosmos is that we’d all be better off if men were men, and girls were girls. Is this misogynist bunk or the key to happily ever after?
work = Elle Magazine
pages =
language =
publisher =
date = August 1, 2006
url =
accessdate = ] Participants must sign a standar waiver before beginning the weekend.The waiver is presented to the participants upon registering for the weekend and paying the fees. During the course, Sterling was reported to use obscenities against the participants. Participants are taught that "..men are natural jerks and should learn to accept and embrace their jerkiness." Participants are also taught that men are "slaves to their egos", and thus women are "100 percent responsible for the success of their relationships." The course itself runs for 17-hour stretches at a time, with two short breaks in-between, according to a reporter from "Elle Magazine".

Several former participants in the men's course have stated to the media that they participated in rituals where they stripped nakedcite news
last = Smart
first = Paul
coauthors =
title = The Sterling Men Of Woodstock: A Series (Part II) - Cigars and cold consequences: Revelations of Sterling-shattered relationships
work = Woodstock Times
pages =
language =
publisher =
date = August 15, 2002
url =
accessdate =
"After about two hours, we were led upstairs, again in single file, left hand to left shoulder," Bill M. says to me. "The door opened and I saw 188 naked men in war paint dancing crazily in manmade fog, their leader banging a ram-headed scepter rhythmically against the floor. Someone wordlessly indicated that we were to strip and enter the gauntlet line, which Sterling described as a rebirth canal, where everyone struck me as I passed beneath. One man in war paint jumped into the 'tunnel' and fiercely growled at me. For the first time in my life, I punched someone."] and danced, all while being videotaped.cite news
last = Walls
first = Jeannette
coauthors =
title = Naked VIPs, on videotape: A new men's movement is taking the country by storm--and it has some past participants in a panic
work = MSNBC
pages =
language =
publisher = NBC
date = December 20, 1999
url =
accessdate = ] cite news
last = Staff
first =
coauthors =
title = Filmland Jitters Over Jerky Video
work = New York Post
pages = Page 6.
language =
publisher =
date = December 1999
url =
accessdate = ] The nude ritual symbolizes a "rite of passage" from youth to maturity, and is a triumphant time of male bonding. The weekend course typically ends in a "graduation ceremony", where the participants congratulate each other.

A. Justin Sterling

A. Justin Sterling had previously taken courses with Erhard Seminars Training, run by Werner Erhard.cite news
last = Lubman
first = Sarah
coauthors =
title = Sterling's philosophy didn't save his marriage
work = San Jose Mercury News
pages =
language =
publisher =
date = September 15, 1996
url =
accessdate = ] He founded Sterling Institute Inc. in 1981, which is a privately held company that does business as "Sterling Institute of Relationship". According to records from the State of California, Sterling himself is not licensed as a psychologist or marriage and family counselor, though these licenses are not required in order to hold "educational seminars".

References

External links

* [http://www.rickross.com/groups/sterling.html Archived news articles] , compiled by Rick Ross (consultant)