placesthatchangedpeople

[placesthatchangedpeople]

Gabriela S. at the Midwest Center For Youth & Families

Horrible, horrible place. It's the same as a military boot camp. I witnessed a ten year old being attacked by staff for having a nonviolent panic attack. One male staff member intentionally looked at a patient when she was half-dressed. I have PTSD from this "treatment facility". Well, if treatment is being physically and emotionally abused by staff and peers, then this is the definition of it. Girls were catcalled by male staff who were decades older than them. Staff were self-centered and didn't care if you died. I DEVELOPED an eating disorder here. I still have it. This place made me afraid to seek treatment. I had a panic attack a year and a half after being discharged, over a package of butter by the same brand they used at Midwest. Shantay is awful. Valeria, or "Mrs. V', is worse. Staff are really horrible. Please, please, please... find somewhere else. Anywhere else. Please.

#Indiana #Kouts

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Yelp review of Falcon Ridge Ranch

if you're thinking of sending you're kid here. i'm just gonna kindly redirect you to learn how to talk to you're kid and understand them before sending them off to get physically and sexually abused by the staff that work there. kids got sexually abused when i was there a little over a year ago. i got restrained for going out into the hallway. my wrist is still not okay till this day. Falcon is NOT a place for teenage kids. It is owned by Sequence, which also owned Red Rock. which was recently shut down for many many many reports of physical assault and sexual assault. hmmm same thing happening at Falcon. so the same shit is happening at the other "Sequence" owned places, we could assume. If i had a gun pointed to my head, i would still not send my kid to any type of treatment like this. Scarred me for life. Staff falsely accuse you for situations and over exaggerated everything. You send you're kid here, get ready for them to come back 50 times worse as they were before they went there.

#Falcon Ridge Ranch #Utah #Virgin #restraint

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Cameron Meeker at Turnaround Ranch, Missouri

Some of us made it out and became "better". Not my word for it, just one most would prefer. That is not credited to this establishment. Whilst there were good staff, for each one there was an abusive one. Such as allowing other children to see the charts of another. Playing favorites. Or simply tired of their job, allowing for rash or unsympathetic treatment. Were we, as children, easy to deal with? Hell no. But we were just that, children. Turnaround is built to break the will of the kids and find them easier to manage. Not help them with their issues.

If you want a real solution, send your child to Challenge & Change in Nevada Missouri. From personal experience, the staff are better trained as well supported by a system built on empathy and the goal of healing the children. One I am afraid I took for granted. As an adult, I urge you to be careful when reading into places like these. Please visit and look beyond the brochure.

#Turnaround Ranch #missouri

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C. Clark at SUWS Carolinas

I have spent the last 15 years trying to heal from the emotional and physical trauma SUWS put me through. I’m now a registered nurse & have a background with young teens, & specializing in behavioral health.

First let’s talk about how two grown men pulled me out of my bed at 3am, not telling me where I was going, only that I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone goodbye and if I resisted they’d ‘tie me up’. As parents, your children will look to you for safety and stability, having them professionally kidnapped will forever harm that relationship.

The program itself is set up and founded on outdated and damaging psychology. There is now decades of research and thousands of former ‘campers’ like myself coming forward to talk about how traumatizing and harmful these programs are, and it blows my mind that people are desperate enough to pay over 30k to send their child away but not ACTUALLY DO THERAPY with them.

Your children will be at high risk of developing an eating disorder. Your child may develop PTSD from being kidnapped. Your child might become more isolated. Your child WILL learn they can not ever fully trust you again. Your child will resent you.

The parents weekend they have when you pick up your child is all a show. Your child will not have the opportunity to shower regularly (I went 28 days without being allowed to bathe) your girls will be at such a risk for UTIs, they give them supplements to prevent, but not actual hygiene. Your girls have 2 pairs of underwear to last over 21 days with no shower, think about that. No deodorant, no shaving, so if you’re queer or female presenting, you may also develop some dysphporia.

The real kicker? The staff watching your child are not qualified to do so. The counselors are often early 20s people who like hiking, no mental health experience. The one therapist they see happens once a week, for under 45 min.

Please just do some research. Don’t listen to google reviews from parents saying “my kid behaves better” because Of course that is what will happen, your child was legally in an outdoor prison for over over a month with no contact with friends, family, loved ones. TEENS. where socialization is detrimental part of development. Congratulations, your children don’t respect you, they’re just scared of you now.

#SUWS #Wilderness program #North Carolina

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Sasuke R. at the Midwest Center For Youth & Families

Literally the worst facility I've ever been to in my life. The staff were cruel and abusive and the grievance procedure was crumby. The facility had a regulation where if a adolescent or child was only physically harmful/aggressive toward his or herself they would be put in a physical restraint, but the staff who were there when I was there misused the restraint procedure and used it as a punishment and a threat instead of to protect the child/adolescent. Also, Physical restraint in mental health facilities aren't supposed to painful. These sick people made a 17 year old young male cry and scream like a baby going through circumcision, while restraining him just because a staff member told him to stop singing. That's in no way shape or form acting out aggressively or unsafe.  I was never restrained but I was told that if I "act out aggressively toward staff" I would be restrained out of retaliation not for safety. Also the supervisors were no better. They would literally take the staff's side no matter what, I was even threatened by one of the supervisors. Also the co-founder barely pays any attention to how a client is being treated I've put in so many requests to speak to him because all of the supervisors here suck and throughout my entire time being there I've never gotten a single chance to speak to him. Also the therapists here are absolutely no better. Mine was ok, but I knew that he would never admit that he didn't want to work my case, but there was a female therapist that I've seen that works here who is very condescending and inconsiderate of anyone's feelings and she was a complete hot head who had literally no emotional navigation and wanted people to hear what she had to say more than anything ugh she was terrible. Just a horrible facility that no one should go to....it's so poorly ran and they will not help you or your child. It will only make them worse, I promise you! Please PLEASE do not place your child in this facility it is hell on earth.

#Indiana #Kouts

[placesthatchangedpeople]

Sui Keoin at Turnaround Ranch, Missouri

I was placed here while waiting for foster care placement. The system is broken and sends trouble orphaned children to level 4 facilities where abuse and humiliation goes on. We weren’t allowed to wash our hands in the bathrooms. We had to count out toilet paper. I saw kids held down, denied family visits as punishment, bullied by staff etc. Huge amounts of abuse went on. Kids had been there for years with no chances of going home or living a normal life. There were times we didn’t go outside for days, weren’t allowed to attend school, etc. it was a horrifying and traumatizing experience. Any adult that can justify the treatment we went through is disgusting

#Turnaround Ranch #Missouri

[placesthatchangedpeople]

I attended SUWS in 2012 in the boys group. None of the staff that was working there at the time was still working there a few years later, not even the therapists. Their staff turnover rate is extremely high. That should tell you something. Also, their "field instructors" are college students being paid minimum wage to babysit. They aren't therapists, and they get very little training. We did have brief (maybe 30 minute) meetings with an actual therapist about once a week.

I didn't have any issues with not being fed or given enough water, but I can confirm the other reviews about the poor hygiene. In the 2 months I was there, I think they allowed us to shower 2-3 times in total. Even when we were back at the base camp, they usually didn't let us shower. Not being allowed to shower for 2 months is very unhealthy, and nearly caused me to get an infection. Guys know what can happen when you don't regularly clean down there. I was too embarrassed to bring it up to any of the staff, who I barely knew. Even without a full shower, they should have at least given us wet wipes or something to use daily to clean private areas.

There was essentially no privacy, except when using the bathroom or showering. Even when doing that, we had to yell out every few seconds so the staff knew we hadn't run away. We weren't allowed to have "private conversations" with each other. All conversations had to be within earshot of the staff, and they controlled what we were allowed to talk about. We weren't even allowed to know what time it was for some reason. They never really explained that one. Also, the letters we wrote to our parents weren't private either. They were first read by the staff before being sent to our parents.

Also, I was there during Hurricane Sandy. They knew the storm was coming, and didn't take us inside to the dry, heated cabins. Instead, we had to sleep outside in the woods under a tarp (not even a fully enclosed tent), while we got several inches of snow and ice with strong winds all night. Most of us didn't get any sleep from the noise, and because we were afraid a tree would fall on us from the strong winds.

When our parents came to pick us up, they didn't have them come to the main location where we had been for 2 months. They moved us to the much nicer Wolf Creek cabins, and allowed us to shower to make it look like we were being treated nicely.

#SUWS #wilderness program #North Carolina #Hurricane Sandy #shower

[placesthatchangedpeople]

Some parents send their children to self-help groups in order to get them back from possible alcohol or drug abuse. Instead they lose their children to the self-help group because while the group market itself as treatment, it is a disguise for a cult.

Can you research if this is the case? Sadly not. Some cults are simply too clever and it takes years for members and relatives to figure out what the true purpose of the self-help group is.

This is a video about one self-help group which turned out to be more like a cult.

#Bob Meehan #troubled teens #self-help group #cult #Youtube

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Daisy H. at the Midwest Center For Youth & Families

I went to South Shore Academy willingly, asking my family for help. This facility's staff uses force and threats to control the patients. On their website, it says from their patient surveys that over 90% of patients were satisfied with their care, understood their medications, etc. I too took this survey, here's the reality: a staff member handed it to me while I was crying and stood over my shoulder while I filled it out. She then guilted me about my answers and told me I was lying and had me either justify my answers or choose a better score. There was a section where "favorite staff" could be listed and she "suggested" to me who to list. These surveys do not represent patient experiences.

Staff would do whatever they wanted. Staff would routinely express their controversial political opinions against the wishes of some other staff and the residents. Staff members would express their physical attraction to underage characters and actors in movies residents would watch. Staff at one point threatened my whole unit with "cavity checks". (They did not go through with it.) Staff would use blatant judgment and call patient's families' parenting styles "horrible". The "patient advocate" was also the head therapist (essentially the boss of the program) so when grievances went to her, it was nothing she wasn't already aware of, nor would she address the issues. In her defense, she may not have had administrative power to do anything, which is a bureaucratic problem in itself. Staff even gave kids with severe allergies (noted in the patient's charts, which they routinely admitted they did not read) food that would send them into anaphylaxis against the child's request, saying things like "it won't kill you". Staff spent a large chunk of their time complaining about how little they get paid and making a point of it to express how unfair their jobs are, mentioning things like how they can't get through their shifts without multiple energy drinks. A staff at one point was heard late at night complaining about a "frequent flyer" patient at the Kouts facility saying "I wish he would have just got it [suicide] done already; he's the worst!" I routinely saw staff put children in holds, once with four different adults lying on top of a child, one on each limb, kid face-down on the ground, with the nurse onsite checking their pulse every five minutes.

The nurses did not have personal boundaries and would routinely touch/hug/grab patients without their consent. Nurses also routinely attempted to give patients the wrong type/dose of medications and refuse to administer PRN medications saying that "the patient was becoming reliant on drugs and not trying hard enough to use therapeutic skills" (to kids with no history of substance abuse.) The doctor was a whole different story. He also used the "not trying hard enough to use skills" line. He refused to address my rapidly worsening tic disorder, telling me "they aren't tics" which my pediatrician and neurologist at home adamantly disagreed with, and dismissing me and all of my concerns and complaints about side effects of my medication.  

Patients were only allowed to talk about their feelings, diagnoses, beliefs, religion, past experiences including trauma, etc. about three times a week: once in individual therapy, once in family therapy (if you were lucky enough to be invited), and once in process group (group therapy) (again, if you were lucky enough to be invited). I could write a whole book about my experiences and the things I saw there. To her credit, my therapist was pretty good, especially given the (judgment:) impossible position she was put in at this workplace. In conclusion, please don't send your kid here.

#Indiana #Kouts

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Wilderness therapy programs are not treatment. It is hoax. Sadly they are marketed like such and entertainment shows like "Brat Camp" made them popular. For some, they avoid needing therapy for years due to abuse as many former participants do. The reason: They die!

Here is a clip from Youtube where a mother tells her story.

#wilderness therapy #Troubled teens #death #Youtube

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Paradise Cove was shut down in the 1990's but today it is mostly known in connection with several murder cases where the traumatized children who came out, were unable to cope with real life.

The manager founded Midwest Academy in Keokuk. His replacement was convicted of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a child by a counselor and child endangerment. The secrecy surrounding the program set up as with Paradise Cove endangered the police investigation.

#Samoa #WWASP #Keokuk #Midwest Academy #Paradise Cove #Youtube

[placesthatchangedpeople]

Sam T. at the Midwest Center For Youth & Families

Not A Good Place For Anyone

I was placed in MCYF against my will. I was there for 31 days and cried every night I was there. As I had been 13 at the time, I was placed on West unit with about 10 other girls, I'll never forget my stay here. Terrifying.

I went there early March, so it was cold most of the time. The first four days I was there, I was a "foot in door" so that, based on what staff said, they could make sure I wasn't going to attempt suicide or hurt myself. You have 10 minutes in the bathroom every time, and if you exceed your 10 minutes, they open the door.

From Saturday to Thursday, there was a staff member named Valeria, or Mrs. V., and she was as bad as bad gets. She thought of herself as kind, but she was overly strict and extremely rude to people. Likewise, she had her favorites. She was against tattoos, LGTBQ+, and a lot of other things. You had to do things her way or you lost points. That points system is extremely biased and I only got 50 points 1 out of 31 days.

The bugs were terrible, there was lice, too, and bedtime was 8:30. The blankets never kept me warm, and after 20 days I finally got my own blanket.

You get 20 minutes to eat, no more, no less. You have to eat 50% of your meal to get your points, and if you throw up you get put on an all liquid diet. You can have 2 salads, but only if you eat 50%. The food was probably worse that school lunches... extremely revolting. No caffeine, no chocolate, no soda, nothing.

For other rules, no friends, no physical contact, no passing notes, stay on your side of the room, arms length apart, don't talk to your B.O.B (black out boundaries, if you get "too close" to another resident) et cetera, et cetera.

There were only four good staff I could recall. Nicole (weekend staff), Rob (week staff), Nurse Sam, and Teacher Matt.

Don't recommend searching for treatment here, it's worse than worse.

Thanks.

#Indiana #Kouts

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Ivy W. about Sedona Sky Academy

I was a student at sedona sky academy for 8 months. I was first told when I got to the school I would be able to participate in a plethora of fun and exciting activities, which soon come to find out, did not exist. For example, yoga and gymnastics were given as alternatives to the P.E. course over the phone, but upon arrival I was forced to participate in full body 75 minute work outs daily. The food, expired, cold, and outright disgusting. The amount of film left from oil and fat was clearly shown on the food that we received. There were multiple days where staff was asked to warm our food and blatantly ignored us. I once did not feel well and had just gotten back from a visit. I asked calmly and nicely to stay in my bed and the fire alarm was pulled while staff threatened to take my belongings away. I have talked to many girls that have been in the program with me and who have graduated and come to find out, that there were no helpful resources to stay sober when sent home. I myself relapsed twice and come to find out so have at least four of my friends. I'm continuing to work on myself through a new therapist and treatment plan and so are many of my friends that couldn't seek help at this program. Please contact other treatment places before sending your child here.

#Sedona Sky Academy #Arizona

[placesthatchangedpeople]

About Face Boot Camp testimony

On December of 2015 my mom had me sent to this insanity of a Boot Camp. (At the time I was addicted to meth and pretty much anything else I could get my hands on) I was 14 years old.

We were driving through a dark alley in Los Angeles and there were 10 dudes dressed in a marine get up who forcibly pulled me out of the vehicle. If you know anything about meth you know how strong a tweaker is. These ten men pulled me and hit me and grabbed me and it was about a minute and a half struggle before they managed to drag me through the door. I kicked, bit, screamed, punched and scratched. I was wearing a small dress and I was groped in the process. I shook and cried and demanded an explanation.

For hours I was made to sit staring at a wall silently. I thought I was going to be sex trafficked. We didn’t get an explanation until the following morning. We were woken up at 4:30 am and made to do exercise until the sun went down. We were sprayed down with hoses in 40 degree weather and slept in shitty sleeping bags on cold ceramic floors. An important footnote here is that I was probably holding onto 300 dollars worth of drugs in my bra, I ultimately wasn’t caught but only because the only female officer allowed to pat me down was visibly afraid of me. (Some fucking boot camp..)

We were only fed canned noodles. A young boy who was probably only twelve years old, who was terrified tried climbing the fence, they broke his knee and never received medical attention. Another kid there threw up the canned noodles and he was made to pick it up and put it back in his mouth.

We were supposed to go to the woods of Northern California but the snow was too bad so they sent us home after three days. On the third day this smug ass director who had short man syndrome, asked us to imagine if our mothers died, screaming in our faces, I can still remember the heaves and the sobs of those kids. They clearly had caring parents who were conned into this.

I sat there blankly and could not imagine it. I finally burst into laughter and this director is in my face mad as hell. He pushed me so hard my head bounced on the concrete. I was sent there by my own mother because of my “behavior”, while she completely ignored the fact that two years prior I had told her that her long time boyfriend had been raping me and molesting me.

-I have been to jail and state run group homes and i can certifiably say that theyre so much kinder there. I am more traumatized by this event then by my moms own inertia when it came to my sexual abuse. Thank you for reading.

#About Face Book Camp #California #Boot camp

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Addison M. at Sedona Sky Academy

I am an "alumni" of sedona sky, or what ever you would like to call me. I was there for 13 months and graduated the program. This program did nothing for me. My therapist was great but we never worked on anything that would have truly helped me to this day. There was no after care help. My relationship with my family was even worse when I returned home. My experience was no where even close to what people would think deserves a 5 star rating. I wish there was and option to give a 0 star rating.  I guess working with the horses was a nice thing about the program but it became a negative thing for me, towards the middle of my "stay". Its so hard to explain my experience there, but what I can explain is my time after graduating. I was so lost. I literally got back into everything that I was doing before and I developed many new  negative behaviors. I also had to go to treatment again. The lack of support after the program was unreal. Coming from someone with no real support from my family I was basically just thrown back out there, into the real world where I was not safe from my self or my environment. Of course thats was what I wanted, I just wanted to go home and not feel locked up. l hated ssa. Some of the staff were good but I would never ever recommend someone to send their child their and waste their money like my parents did.

I would never take back going there though because of what I learned on my own. Things that I have been through Have taught me a lot and  I had to figure it out myself. No thanks to ssa no offense I am in a good place and supporting myself with out the help from others. You cant expect to send your child to a place where they say she can be "fixed". Im gonna tell you straight up who needs to change their ways is the PARENTS. Money cant fix your daughter and neither can a lock down school like ssa. Nature, love, connection, empathy , understanding and REAL therapy work will help her. If you are just trying to send them away because u can't "deal" with her and it's too hard and just let some other people (STRANGERS) deal with her shame on you. I've seen it at this school and you know us girls need the genuine love and understanding from their family. Good luck to you and your decision. I guarantee you most of the girls that I went to school with at ssa would 100% agree with me. If you truly want to help you daughter, don't choose a school like ssa. Work on your self on how to understand her, while she works on herself. It is a team effort. She needs you. In this situation money cant fix anyone. It is hard and therapy will help. There are many programs that can help your child that specialize in what she may need help with. Dont lock her up. Don't alienate her. She is screaming for you to listen to her.

#Sedona Sky Academy #Arizona

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Kaitlin G. at Midwest Center For Youth & Families

PLEASE. Do not send your child to Midwest Center. It only makes people worse. The staff treat us like animals. We get yelled at by them every day. The staff were very disrespectful. They would laugh at, invalidate and make fun of the paitents. I wish I was making this up but there are fights every day. The bathrooms are so grimy. On north unit, people would break out in rashes just from touching the shower curtains. The units are bug infested. Everyone would get sick. The staff would even egg the patients on. Most of the staff really didn't care about us. I was there for almost two months and I will never forget the things I saw and heard in that place. I hope Midwest center gets taken down. I pray for the people who are in there right now. Midwest center is hell on earth. For you or your child's mental and physical well being DO NOT GO THERE.

#Indiana #Kouts

[placesthatchangedpeople]

Xu at First Light Wilderness program

The program lied to my parents giving false legal information saying if i left the state of Georgia it would complicate my felony even more because the place is so depressing me and a friend of mine there tried running away and we happend to come across a car with its door open and keys inside to swindle more cash pre day during my stay there in GA 2 the boys group 1 tried to kill them selfs 1 ran away 5 times turned 18 and finally ran away they over charge the worth of this program by priceless amounts WOULD NOT RECOMMEND if you have a troubled teen it would be much more beneficial to talk to them and provide care your self or send them to a residential or rehab facility the kid who tried to kill him self was there for 90 days and got kicked out last minute and all the program did was recommend him to another program a absolute WASTE OF MONEY

#Georgia #wilderness program #Dahlonega