LOS ANGELES : Impact of Counseling on Skinheads Seen as ‘Positive’

An evaluation of an ambitious, three-day counseling program aimed at members of the Fourth Reich Skinheads has concluded that the program “had a positive impact on many of the participants” and might form the basis for future counseling of other youths.

The report was prepared by Donna Siers, a litigation consultant who monitored last week’s sessions directed at members of a skinhead group, some of whom had used pipe bombs, plotted to assassinate prominent blacks and Jews, and drafted plans to attack the First African Methodist Episcopal Church. Siers made 14 recommendations for any future counseling programs, ranging from how adult counselors should behave to the need for the media to be excluded from all sessions.

The skinheads, two of whom have pleaded guilty to conspiracy and other federal charges, participated in the counseling last week. Among other activities, they met with a federal judge, toured a jail, discussed issues with other young people and heard from two Holocaust survivors. Their evaluations, which are attached to Siers’ report, include a number of criticisms but some endorsements as well.

“I wish I had been through a program like this three years ago,” one of the skinheads wrote. “My life would be a lot different today.”