 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(April 2021) |
Therapeutic boarding school is an institution where students reside on campus and are provided with both educational and therapeutic services. These institutions first began to emerge in the late 1960s.
A therapeutic boarding school is an institution where students reside on campus and are provided with both educational and therapeutic services. Unlike private boarding schools or public schools, they operate all year long with no spring break or summer vaction or other holidays. [1] Enrollment is open all year around and typical enrollment in such schools lasting between one and two years. Therapeutic boarding schools are often located in rural countryside. [2]
Therapeutic boarding schools are known for their strict rules and structured environments, which are designed to promote discipline and focus. Students are typically prohibited from using personal electronic devices such as cellular phones, MP3 players, or other entertainment devices. Access to privileges, such as phone calls, is often contingent upon a level-based system where students must earn the right through good behavior or meeting specific therapeutic milestones. When permitted, phone calls are typically limited to family therapy sessions and are closely monitored to ensure they align with therapeutic objectives. [3] [4] These privileges can be revoked as part of the disciplinary process, reinforcing accountability and adherence to program rules.
Therapeutic boarding schools began manifesting in North American societies in the late 1960s. [5] starting with early therapeutic boarding schools such CEDU, DeSisto School and Élan School.
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend across many countries. Their functioning, codes of conduct, and ethos vary greatly. Children in boarding schools study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers or administrators. Some boarding schools also have day students who attend the institution during the day and return home in the evenings.
A behavior modification facility is a residential educational and treatment total institution enrolling adolescents who are perceived as displaying antisocial behavior, in an attempt to alter their conduct.
Mission Mountain School was a therapeutic boarding school for girls located in Condon, Missoula County, Montana. It operated from October 1, 1990, to August 16, 2008. On that date, the school graduated its last class and ceased operation, announcing that its founders would be on sabbatical.
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.
The Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School, also known simply as the Orthogenic School or informally as the O-School, is a therapeutic day school for children and adolescents typically classified as emotionally challenged. The O-School specializes in the treatment of youth and help them with their behavioral and emotional problems. The school is located adjacent to the campus of the University of Chicago (UC). The school works with many schools and universities, and has affiliation with several Chicago area schools including the Family Institute at Northwestern University, the School of Social Service Administration of the UC, and the Jane Addams School of Social Work of the University of Illinois at Chicago.
In the United States, a teen escort company, also called a youth transport firm or secure transport company, is a business that specializes in transporting teenagers from their homes to various facilities in the troubled teen industry. Such businesses typically employ a form of legal kidnapping, abducting sleeping teenagers and forcing them into a vehicle. Teen escort companies in the United States are subject to little or no government regulation and commonly result in permanent trauma.
Aspen Education Group is an American company that provides controversial therapeutic interventions for adolescents and young adults, including wilderness therapy programs, residential treatment centers, therapeutic boarding schools, and weight loss programs, which have been accused of torture and abuse. Since November 2006, Aspen Education Group, with corporate offices located in Cerritos, California has been a division of Bain Capital's CRC Health.
Allynwood Academy, formerly the Family Foundation School, was a private, co-educational, college preparatory, therapeutic boarding school located in Hancock, New York. The school was in operation from 1984 through 2014, when it closed due to declining enrollment amid a raft of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse allegations made by alumni in a grassroots "truth campaign." At least ten lawsuits have been brought by former students since 2019, in which plaintiffs claimed that strip searches, hard labor, isolation rooms, physical restraint, and sexual assault were rampant at the school in the 1990s and 2000s. Three of the lawsuits were settled in October 2021 for undisclosed sums. A front-page New York Times article in 2018 reported a pattern of at least one hundred deaths by overdose and suicide among alumni, the vast majority before age 40.
Spring Ridge Academy, was a behavioral health residential facility for female adolescents 13-17 years old. In 2023, Spring Ridge Academy announced on their website they had permanently closed.
Oakley School was a coeducational therapeutic boarding school located in Oakley, Utah, enrolling students of high school age. The school announced its closure in May 2017. The school was established in 1998 as a transitional placement for students who had been released from the Island View residential treatment center. It was acquired by Aspen Education Group in 2004, along with Island View. Since August 2013, it has been "partnered with" InnerChange, LLC.
A residential treatment center (RTC), sometimes called a rehab, is a live-in health care facility providing therapy for substance use disorders, mental illness, or other behavioral problems. Residential treatment may be considered the "last-ditch" approach to treating abnormal psychology or psychopathology.
Élan School was an abusive behavior modification program and therapeutic boarding school located in Poland, Maine. It was a full member of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) and was considered to be a part of the troubled teen industry. The facility was closed down on April 1, 2011, due to multiple reports of abuse, many from former students, dating back to its opening in 1970.
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.
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.
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.
Diamond Ranch Academy was a therapeutic boarding school just outside the town of Hurricane, Utah, United States. It admitted adolescents, 12–18, with various issues, including anger management issues and major depressive disorder. Diamond Ranch Academy was founded in Idaho Falls in 1999 by Rob Dias and later moved to southern Utah, where it occupied a 200-acre (81 ha) ranch. It closed in August 2023 after a decision by Utah officials not to renew the school's license.
Elevations RTC is a residential treatment center in Syracuse, Utah, for teens ages 13–18. The facility was formerly known as Island View Residential Treatment Center until 2014, when it was acquired by Syracuse RTC, LLC, which does business as Elevations RTC. The Elevations campus is shared with Seven Stars and ViewPoint Center.
Shepherd's Hill Academy (SHA) is an accredited and licensed Christian therapeutic boarding school located in Martin, Georgia, United States, that provides year-round residential care and a private school for grades 7 through 12.
Monarch School was a year round, co-ed therapeutic boarding school located in Heron, Montana. It closed in September 2017, with its owners citing unsustainable student enrollment as the primary reason.
The troubled teen industry is 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.
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