Troubled teen industry

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The troubled teen industry (also known as TTI) 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. [1] [2]

Contents

These programs claim to rehabilitate and teach troubled teenagers through various practices. Troubled teen facilities are privately run, and the troubled teen industry constitutes a multi-billion dollar industry. [3] They accept young people who are considered to have struggles with learning disabilities, emotional regulation, mental illness, and substance abuse. Young people may be labeled as "troubled teens", delinquents, or other language on their websites and other advertising materials. Sometimes, these therapies are used as a punishment for contravening family expectations. [4] , for example, one person was placed in a troubled teen program because her mother found her choice in boyfriends unacceptable. [5]

The troubled teen industry has encountered many scandals due to child abuse, institutional corruption, and deaths, and is highly controversial. [6] [7] Many critics of these facilities point to a lack of local, state, and federal laws in the United States and elsewhere governing them. [8] However, some countries, such as Bermuda, have been known to send teenagers to programs located in the United States. [9] In addition to their controversial therapeutic practices, many former residents report being forcibly transported to troubled teen facilities by teen escort companies, a practice dubbed "gooning". [10]

History

The troubled teen industry has a precursor in the drug rehabilitation program called Synanon, founded in 1958 by Charles Dederich. [11] By the late 1970s, Synanon had developed into a cult and adopted a resolution proclaiming the Synanon Religion, with Dederich as the highest spiritual authority, allowing the organization to qualify as tax-exempt under US law. Synanon rejected the use of medication for drug rehabilitation, and instead relied on the "Synanon Game", group sessions of attack therapy where members were encouraged to criticize and humiliate each other. [12] [13] Synanon popularized "tough love" attack therapy as a treatment for addiction, and the idea that confrontation and verbal condemnation could cure adolescent misbehavior. Synanon disbanded in 1991, after its tax-exempt status was revoked by the IRS and it was bankrupted by having to pay US$17 million in back taxes. [14]

The historic Hotel Casa del Mar functioned as the Synanon headquarters beginning in 1967. Casa del Mar Santa Monica.jpg
The historic Hotel Casa del Mar functioned as the Synanon headquarters beginning in 1967.

Synanon's techniques were highly influential and inspired human potential self-help organizations such as Erhard Seminars Training (est) and Lifespring. [11]

Synanon-style therapy was also used in Straight, Incorporated and The Seed, two drug rehabilitation programs for youth. [15] :8

Former Synanon member Mel Wasserman founded CEDU Educational Services in 1967, a company which operated within the troubled teens industry. CEDU owned several for-profit therapeutic boarding schools, group homes, and behavior modification programs. The techniques used by CEDU schools were derived from Synanon's; for example, long, confrontational large-group sessions called "Propheets" took cues from the Synanon Game. [15] :122 [16] CEDU went out of business in 2005, amid lawsuits and state regulatory crackdowns. [16] [17]

Joseph "Joe" Ricci, dropout from a direct Synanon-descendent program, founded a therapeutic boarding school called Élan School in 1970. [15] :122 [18] Élan closed down in 2011 amid persistent allegations of abuse. [19]

Synanon's techniques also inspired the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP), an umbrella organization of facilities meant for rehabilitating troubled teenagers. [15] :132–133 WWASP is no longer in business, due to widespread allegations of physical and psychological abuse. [20] Many WWASP programs were shut down by the Costa Rican, [21] Jamaican, and Mexican governments [22] after investigations into allegations of abuse.

Practices

Troubled teen programs have been criticized for failing to offer evidence-based therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy or trauma- and violence-informed care. [8] Many or most troubled teen programs share a common lineage descending from Synanon, and use some form of "the game," a group attack therapy session. Additionally, some TTI programs use a form of primal therapy, a discredited form of therapy which involves reenacting traumatic and painful moments such as rape. [23]

Many practices used in troubled teen programs, especially punishments, have been singled out as constituting child abuse or neglect. These include but are not limited to: restricting communication with family and peers; use of physical and chemical restraint (i.e., in the form of sedative drugs); use of seclusion as punishment; gay conversion therapy; excessive use of strip search and cavity search; denial of sleep and nutrition; aversion therapy; etc. [23]

In 2007, the Government Accountability Office published a study verifying thousands of reports of abuse and death in TTI facilities dating back to 1990. [8] [24] [25] The National Disability Rights Network published a report in 2021 reporting common issues at troubled teen facilities including the aforementioned forms of abuse as well as chronic staffing shortages, deprivation of education, and unhygienic and unsafe facility conditions. [26]

Transportation

Many troubled teen institutions offer youth transportation through teen escort companies, in which minors are transported to their facilities against their will. Parents who sign their children up for troubled teen camps will sign over temporary custody to the teen escort company. [27] This transportation is a service offered in the United States and elsewhere, and is a practice that has been criticized on ethical and legal grounds as being akin to kidnapping. [28] Some of the subjects report not realizing they were transported with permission of their parents until days afterward. [29] [2] [30] Clients have reported being ambushed in their own beds at home, or tricked into believing they are going elsewhere. [31] Those who have been in the troubled teen industry call this process "gooning". [32] There have been incidents where transportation staff have impersonated government officials. [33] Former clients of troubled teen programs have made efforts to pursue legal recourse through civil lawsuits targeting both parents and the companies associated with these programs. [34]

Controversies

False imprisonment

19-year-old Fred Collins Jr. found himself falsely imprisoned by Straight Inc., after initially visiting a family member who was enrolled in the program by his parents. [35] Upon arrival, he was kept in a windowless room for six-and-a-half hours, and the staff refused to let him leave until he agreed to enroll into the program. [36] At one New Mexico program, Tierra Blanca Ranch, the authorities found that the adolescent clients had been shackled and handcuffed. [37]

Forced labor

Numerous troubled teen programs have been reported to engage in the practice of compelled labor, wherein program participants are required to perform physically demanding tasks such as wood chopping and horse manure shoveling. [38] [39] [40]

Kidnapping

Elizabeth Zasso was an emancipated minor living in the state of New York who was illegally kidnapped by a teen escort company hired by her parents and taken to the state Utah where she was enrolled in a wilderness therapy program called the Challenger Foundation. [41] It was ruled that the Challenger Foundation had violated her constitutional rights. [42]

Stress positions

In certain instances, troubled teen programs have employed a torture technique known as "stress positions" as a form of discipline against their clients. [43]

Strip searches

Many troubled teen programs conduct forced strip searches against the will of adolescent clients. [44] [45]

Solitary confinement

Numerous troubled teen programs, including the well-known Provo Canyon School, have faced allegations of employing solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure. Solitary confinement is a controversial practice that involves isolating individuals from social contact and is the subject of extensive debate regarding its ethical and psychological implications. Additionally, the now-defunct program known as Tranquility Bay, located in Jamaica, has also been reported to have utilized solitary confinement as part of its disciplinary methods. This practice has garnered considerable attention and criticism from various quarters. [46]

Psychological abuse

Numerous reports have surfaced, documenting instances of psychological abuse inflicted upon clients within troubled teen programs. One particularly disturbing example of such abuse involves mock executions, wherein students were coerced into digging their own graves as part of a psychologically distressing exercise. These allegations highlight the gravity of ethical concerns within these programs and have sparked significant scrutiny and criticism from various outlets. [47]

Regulatory laws

Utah, California, Oregon, Montana, and Missouri have all enacted laws aimed at increasing oversight of troubled teen facilities. Utah's law was proposed in 2021 after noted celebrity Paris Hilton came out with her story about her experience at Provo Canyon School. Hilton's testimony triggered a state investigation into the facility, and she later advocated for the law when it was in the process of being passed. [48]

In the United States Congress, bills were proposed to regulate troubled teen facilities every year from 2007 to 2018. [48] In 2021, the Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was passed by the House of Representatives. As of July 2023, it has not been passed by the Senate.

On June 27, 1990, Kirsten Chase died from heatstroke whilst enrolled at the challenger foundation, a Wilderness Therapy program located in Kane County, Utah. The county's district attorney charged the owner of the program Steve Cartisano with nine counts of child abuse and one count of negligent homicide. [49] Lance Jagger was also charged with negligent homicide and child abuse, but the charges were dropped after he agreed to testify against Cartisano. [50] A jury acquitted Steve Cartisano on all charges. [51]

On January 15, 1995, Aaron Bacon died from acute peritonitis while attending the North Star Wilderness Program in Utah. [52] Nine staff members, including company cofounder Lance Jagger, were charged with abuse and neglect. [53] Lace Jagger, William Henry, pleaded guilty to negligent homicide. [54] Craig Fisher was found guilty of third-degree felony abuse or neglect of a disabled child. [55]

Timeline

Media

See also

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 through limited partnerships, many of which have used the same street address 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, was 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.

The John Dewey Academy is a private, coeducational college preparatory therapeutic boarding school in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, formerly housed in Searles Castle. It was founded in 1985 by Dr. Thomas E. Bratter, who died in 2012. In May 2020, the school was purchased by its current head of school, David Baum. As of July 2022, the school was on hiatus for a "complete reboot" at a new location.

<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.

Boot camps are part of the correctional and penal system of some countries. Modeled after military recruit training camps, these programs are based on shock incarceration grounded on military techniques. The aggressive training used has resulted in deaths in a variety of circumstances. Boot camps are also criticized around the world for their lack of behavioral change and for the way extreme force can traumatize children and teenagers.

Provo Canyon School (PCS) is a psychiatric youth involuntary residential treatment center in Provo, Utah, owned and operated by Universal Health Services (UHS) since 2000. The involuntary residential program claims to use an "Acuity Based Care" (ABC) model that identifies and re-assesses the strengths and needs of its students. Residents instead receive a wide range of interventions including psychotropic drug therapy; use of physical restraints; humiliation; starvation; and solitary confinement.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aspen Education Group</span>

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.

Aspen Achievement Academy was a wilderness therapy program for adolescents, based in Loa, Utah.

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 "troubled teen industry," and its board of directors consists of program owners and educational consultants. As of 2021, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Residential treatment center</span> Live-in healthcare facility

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Élan School</span> Private therapeutic boarding school in Poland, Maine, United States

Élan School was an abusive behavior modification program and therapeutic boarding school in Portland, Androscoggin County, Maine, US. 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 reports of abuse, many from former students, dating back to its opening in 1970.

<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.

<i>Help at Any Cost</i> Book by Maia Szalavitz

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.

<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.

A therapeutic boarding school is a residential school offering therapy for students with emotional or behavioral issues. The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs listed 140 schools and programs as of 2005. Many therapeutic boarding schools in the United States have been connected to the abusive troubled teen industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Bachelor Academy</span> Private therapeutic boarding school in Prineville, Crook County, Oregon, United States

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.

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.

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.

References

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Further reading