Help at Any Cost

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Help at Any Cost
Help at Any Cost.jpg
Book cover
Author Maia Szalavitz
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Subject Tough love, Behaviorism
Genre Non-fiction, Psychology
Publisher Riverhead Books
Publication date
February 16, 2006
Media typeHardback
Pages336
ISBN 1-59448-910-6
OCLC 61169844
362.74/8/0830973 22
LC Class HV1431 .S97 2006

Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids is a non-fiction book by Maia Szalavitz analyzing the controversy surrounding the troubled teen industry. The book was published February 16, 2006, by Riverhead Books. Szalavitz focuses on four programs: Straight, Incorporated, a copy of the Straight Inc. program called KIDS, North Star wilderness boot camp, and the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools. She discusses the background, history and methodology of the troubled-teen industry, including techniques drawn from attack therapy and Synanon. She uses first-person accounts and court testimony in her research, and states that no evidence exists proving that these programs are effective. The book also includes advice for parents and an appendix with additional resources on how to get responsible help for teenagers.

Contents

The book received positive reviews in academic journals, literary journals, and in the media. Psychologist Steve K. D. Eichel reviewed the book for Cultic Studies Review and called it a "must read", [1] psychologist and psychiatrist Robert John McAllister described it as "an excellent and informative book on the subject of the 'troubled-teen industry' " in his book Emotions: Mystery Or Madness, [2] and a review in Psychology Today described Szalavitz's work as "a meticulously reported and thoughtful investigation". [3] The book also received positive reviews in Publishers Weekly , Booklist , and Newsday . The book later led to an investigation into the troubled-teen industry by the United States House Committee on Education and Labor of the United States House of Representatives, and Representative George Miller held hearings on the matter in October 2007 and April 2008.

Background

Teenagers have been participating in tough love behavior modification programs by force or coercion since the 1960s. [4] Many of these programs take place in the wilderness in the style of military recruit training (also known as boot camps) and the teenagers are subjected to rigid discipline, including mandatory marches, physical abuse, solitary confinement, and deprivation of food and sleep. [4] [5] These programs have little to no oversight from the United States federal or state governments. [4] Teenagers' claims of abuse at these facilities have not been investigated because the programs are not regulated. [4]

Author

Maia Szalavitz is a senior fellow at the Statistical Assessment Service (stats.org), [4] a media watchdog organization which monitors news coverage of statistics and science. [6] She has served as a researcher for journalist Bill Moyers, [7] a part-time contributor to Psychology Today , [3] and has written articles for The New York Times , The Washington Post , Reason , and The American Prospect . [8] Szalavitz is the co-author of Recovery Options: The Complete Guide with Joseph Volpicelli, [9] and The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog with Bruce D. Perry. [10]

Contents

In Help at Any Cost Szalavitz investigates the teen rehabilitation industry and focuses on four programs: Straight, Incorporated, a copy of the Straight Inc. program called KIDS of Bergen County, North Star wilderness boot camp, and the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools. [4] [6] [11] Some of these programs cost parents over US$2,000 per month. [12] She discusses the history of the troubled-teen industry and its origins in a controversial group founded in 1958 called Synanon. [13] Synanon claimed that it could cure addiction to heroin, and its methodologies such as attack therapy, forced confessions, and imposed powerlessness spread throughout the United States. [13] After a rattlesnake was placed in the mailbox of an attorney suing Synanon, the group's founder was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. [13] Synanon later went bankrupt, but Szalavitz maintains that it influenced organizations related to the troubled-teen industry. [13]

Szalavitz notes that according to a 2004 statement released by the National Institutes of Health, teen programs using "fear and tough treatment" are not successful and evidence shows that they can worsen existing behavioral problems. [13] Many of the children that enter these programs have mental illness, and have a history of prior trauma and abuse. [14] Szalavitz uses first-person accounts from teenagers that participated in these programs, and asserts that the programs have potentially serious negative consequences, [4] including post-traumatic stress and deaths. [5]

An emotional story in the book recounts the death of 16-year-old Aaron Bacon. [7] Bacon had a treatable ulcer, and died after being out in the wilderness in Utah for weeks while in the care of the group North Star. [7] Bacon lost 23 pounds (10 kg) in 20 days, but was called "gay" and a "faker" when he complained of abdominal pain, and was punished by North Star supervisors—his sleeping bag and food were taken away from him. [7] The individuals responsible for Bacon were charged with negligent homicide, but did not serve any jail time. [7]

In addition to these first-person accounts, she also incorporates court reports and testimony in her research. [6] Szalavitz highlights controversial practices used by these tough love teen industry programs which the Geneva Convention banned as being too extreme for prisoners of war. [6] She states that there is no evidence that any of the programs are effective. [4] Portions of the book are addressed to parents and provide resources and advice on how to select better choices instead of programs in the tough love teen industry, [4] and the book includes an appendix aimed at educating parents on how to find help for their teenagers. [12]

Reception

In his book Emotions: Mystery or Madness, psychologist and psychiatrist Robert John McAllister highly recommended Help at Any Cost, and called it "an excellent and informative book on the subject of the 'troubled-teen industry' ", and "important reading for any parent who is considering sending a teenager to a tough love program, a boot camp, or a wilderness program." [2] In a review of the book in Library Journal , Linda Beck commented: "This book is excellent owing to its whistle-blowing approach: it exposes an unregulated industry and alerts adults to the severe harm inflicted by these 'schools.' " [4] She called the book "chilling" and "Highly recommended for public libraries." [4]

In a review in Mother Jones , Nell Bernstein highlighted the sources given for parents at the back of the book, commenting: "Help at Any Cost winds up with an appendix that helpfully outlines "evidence based" alternatives to the tough-love approach." [5] Steve Weinberg of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch gave the book a positive review, and described Szavalitz as "a talented, relentless investigator". [11] He noted: "Her outrage surfaces frequently as children die, as once-loving families are atomized and as troubled-teen entrepreneurs escape criminal prosecution while using legal maneuvers to prevail in civil court lawsuits seeking damages", and characterized Help at Any Cost as "an important book about an industry that sometimes helps troubled youth but causes harm way too often." [11]

A review in Psychology Today called the book "An alarming exposé of the burgeoning business of boot camps and drug rehab centers that promise to reform troubled teens", and described Szalavitz's work as "a meticulously reported and thoughtful investigation". [3] Vanessa Bush of Booklist characterized the book as "a revealing, at times horrifying look at the troubled-teen industry." [15] Publishers Weekly noted: "With a useful appendix discussing when and how to get responsible help for a troubled teen, this book, filled with first-person accounts, should be required reading in Parenting 101", calling the work "a courageous—if horrifying—study of the tough-love industry". [12]

Karen Karbo, author of The Stuff of Life, gave the book a positive review in Newsday , writing: "Maia Szalavitz's brisk investigation of America's so-called 'tough love' treatment programs, which bill themselves as the last hope for out-of-control, drug-taking teens, would be the stuff of a bad TV movie, if it weren't so smart, well-researched and even-handed." [7] Mark Sauer of The San Diego Union-Tribune noted: "Some of the stories reveal physical and psychological abuse that rivals tales from Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison." [6]

Aftermath

Help at Any Cost succeeded in bringing attention to deaths related to medical neglect and child abuse in the troubled-teen industry. [8] On October 10, 2007, the United States House Committee on Education and Labor of the United States House of Representatives held a full committee investigative hearing chaired by Representative George Miller on "Cases of Child Neglect and Abuse at Private Residential Treatment Facilities". [8] The Government Accountability Office presented findings from an investigation into the troubled-teen industry, and parents of teens who died under care of these organizations testified at the hearing. [8] Maia Szalavitz attended the hearing as well. [8]

After the book's publication, Szalavitz continued to write about the controversy surrounding the troubled-teen industry for Statistical Assessment Service, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Reason, and The American Prospect. [8] The House Committee on Education and Labor held additional hearings on the matter on April 24, 2008, again chaired by Representative George Miller. [16]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Eichel 2006
  2. 1 2 McAllister 2007 , p. 157
  3. 1 2 3 Psychology Today staff 2006 , p. 36
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Beck 2006 , pp. 107–108
  5. 1 2 3 Bernstein 2006 , pp. 79–82
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Sauer, Mark (February 19, 2006). "PRISONERS OF WAR - In 'Help at Any Cost,' Maia Szalavitz gets tough with 'tough-love' camps for teens". The San Diego Union-Tribune . Union-Tribune Publishing Co. p. BOOKS-8.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Karbo, Karen (February 8, 2006). "The business of tough love". Newsday . Newsday Inc. p. C37.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Center for Media and Public Affairs 2007
  9. ↑ Volpicelli, Joseph; Maia Szalavitz (April 7, 2000). Recovery Options: The Complete Guide. Wiley. ISBN   0-471-34575-X.
  10. ↑ Perry, Bruce D.; Maia Szalavitz (December 24, 2007). The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog. Basic Books. ISBN   978-0-465-05653-8.
  11. 1 2 3 Weinberg, Steve (February 26, 2006). "Book exposes teen tough-love camps". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . p. F10.
  12. 1 2 3 Publishers Weekly staff 2006 , pp. 51–52
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Werner, Nick (October 22, 2006). "Author: 'Tough-love' programs prey on parents' fears". The Star Press . Gannett Co., Inc. p. 5A.
  14. ↑ Potter, Cherry (February 22, 2006). "Train them like rats: Boot camps for badly behaved teenagers are mistaking conformity for emotional growth". The Guardian . p. 29.
  15. ↑ Bush 2006 , p. 27
  16. ↑ Butterworth, Trevor (April 22, 2008). "Congressional Hearings on "Tough Love" Child Abuse - Spurred by STATS Maia Szalavitz research, the House Education and Labor Committee holds the second round of hearings this Thursday into the widespread abuse of children at residential treatment facilities". www.stats.org. Statistical Assessment Service. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved August 29, 2008.

Related Research Articles

The World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools was an organization based in Utah, in the United States. WWASPS was founded by Robert Lichfield and was incorporated in 1998. WWASPS stated that it was an umbrella organization of independent institutions for education and treatment of troubled teenagers. Many outside observers believe, however, that the WWASPS-affiliated institutions were actually owned by WWASPS or its principal officials or their close relatives. WWASPS is connected to several affiliated for-profit companies. These include Teen Help LLC, the marketing arm of WWASPS and the entity that processes admissions paperwork; Teen Escort Service, a teen escort company that transports teenagers to WWASPS facilities; R&B Billing, which does tuition billing and payment processing; and Premier Educational Systems, LLC, which conducts orientation and training workshops for parents whose children are in WWASPS facilities. WWASPS claims to have "helped" over 10,000 students with issues related to personal behavior. Some participants and parents give positive reports of their experiences, but others say that WWASPS programs were abusive. WWASPS has faced widespread allegations of physical and psychological abuse of the teenagers sent into its programs, resulting in a lawsuit filed against the organization in 2006. WWASPS officials report that the organization is no longer in business, and the facilities originally under it no longer associate with the name, but because of ongoing litigation, it has not been dissolved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synanon</span> 1958 California drug rehab program that devolved into a 1970s cult

Synanon, originally known as Tender Loving Care, is a new religious movement founded in 1958 by Charles E. "Chuck" Dederich Sr. in Santa Monica, California, United States. Originally established as a drug rehabilitation program, Synanon developed into an alternative community centered on group truth-telling sessions that came to be known as the "Synanon Game," a form of attack therapy. The group ultimately became a cult called the Church of Synanon in the 1970s.

A behavior modification facility is a residential educational and treatment institution enrolling adolescents who are perceived as displaying antisocial behavior, in an attempt to alter their conduct.

Tough love is the act of treating a person sternly or harshly with the intent to help them in the long run.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilderness therapy</span> Type of therapy for teens in the United States

Wilderness therapy, also known as outdoor behavioral healthcare, is a treatment option for behavioral disorders, substance abuse, and mental health issues in adolescents. Patients spend time living outdoors with peers. Reports of abuse, deaths, and lack of research into efficacy have led to controversy, and there is no solid proof of its effectiveness in treating such behavioral disorders, substance abuse, and mental health issues in adolescents.

In the United States, a teen escort company, also called a youth transport firm, is a business that specializes in transporting teenagers from their homes to various facilities.

The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) is a United States trade organization of therapeutic schools, residential treatment programs, wilderness programs, outdoor therapeutic programs, young adult programs, and home-based residential programs for adolescents and young adults with emotional and behavioral difficulties. It was formed in January 1999 by the founders of six programs within the so-called "troubled teen industry," and its board of directors consists of program owners and educational consultants. Ironically, all but one of those founding six programs have been shut down in the ensuing years for a variety of reasons, including child abuse, neglect, licensing violations, and successful class action lawsuits.

Attack therapy was one of several pseudo-therapeutic methods described in the book Crazy Therapies. It involves highly confrontational interaction between the patient and a therapist, or between the patient and fellow patients during group therapy, in which the patient may be verbally abused, denounced, or humiliated by the therapist or other members of the group.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Community Alliance for the Ethical Treatment of Youth</span> U.S. organization

The Community Alliance For the Ethical Treatment of Youth (CAFETY) is an advocacy group for people enrolled in residential treatment programs for at-risk teenagers. The group's mission includes advocating for access to advocates, due process, alternatives to aversive behavioral interventions, and alternatives to restraints and seclusion for young people in treatment programs. They have also called for the routine reporting of abuse in residential treatment programs, as well as federal government oversight and regulation of residential treatment programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CEDU</span> American private boarding school company

CEDU Educational Services, Inc., known simply as CEDU, was a company founded in 1967 by Mel Wasserman and associated with the troubled teen industry. The company owned and operated several therapeutic boarding schools licensed as group homes, wilderness therapy programs, and behavior modification programs in California and Idaho. The company's schools have faced numerous allegations of abuse. CEDU went out of business in 2005, amid lawsuits and state regulatory crackdowns.

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Mount Bachelor Academy was an Oregon private co-educational therapeutic boarding school providing help to families of adolescents experiencing emotional and behavioral disorders including, minor Depressive Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Substance abuse, and ADHD as well as help for teenagers and families struggling with adoption issues. The typical student was between 14 and 18 years of age. The average length of stay was 14 to 16 months.

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Daytop, or Daytop Village, is a drug addiction treatment organization with facilities in New York City. It was founded in 1963 in Tottenville, Staten Island by Daniel Harold Casriel along with Monsignor William B. O'Brien, a Roman Catholic priest and founder and president of the World Federation of Therapeutic Communities. Ron Brancato from the Pelham Bay area of Bronx New York, Program Director and former resident of Synanon, California. Synanon was the only drug rehabilitation program until Daytop Village NY.

Building Bridges is a program located in Thompson Falls, Montana, designed to help adolescent males with addiction and behavior issues. It was created in 1996 to house male teenagers, aged 14 to 18, in a natural and highly structured environment. Building Bridges is a private, small, long-term residential program, of a self-reported average duration of 12–18 months. It is a member of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP).

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Spring Creek Lodge Academy was a boarding school located in Thompson Falls, Montana. The school, formerly known as Spring Creek Community, was first opened in the 1970s by Nancy and Steve Cawdrey. In 1996, the school and the property were purchased by Cameron Pullan and Dan Peart and given the name Spring Creek Lodge Academy. For several years the school was associated with the Utah-based World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools. The school was opened as a place to address behavioral issues of young people from across the United States as well as motivate students for success.

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The troubled teen industry is a term used to refer to a broad range of youth residential programs aimed at struggling teenagers. The term encompasses various facilities and programs, including youth residential treatment centers, wilderness programs, boot camps, and therapeutic boarding schools.

References

Further reading

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