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Troubled teen industry

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Krextzin (talk | contribs) at 22:06, 15 June 2023 (→Techniques: Added in some important, relevant, and related terms, which fall under the list of techniques used in the troubled teen industry, which I have personally been a victim of myself and have experienced firsthand.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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.[1][2]

This is a multi-billion dollar industry that claims to help rehabilitate and teach troubled teenagers through various practices. Troubled teen facilities are privately run and largely unregulated.[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. The majority encounter the industry through their parents, and some can remain in the industry until they turn 18. Alternatively, these sites can claim to help other self-destructive behaviors, in order to widen their reach. Sometimes, these therapies are used as a punishment for contravening family expectations.[4]

The troubled teen industry has encountered many scandals due to child abuse, institutional corruption, and deaths.[5][6] Furthermore, many institutions offer youth transportation through teen escort companies, in which minors are transported to these facilities against their will, but with their parents' written consent.[7] It is a service offered in the United States and elsewhere, and a practice that has been criticized on ethical and legal grounds as being akin to kidnapping. Some may not even realize their parents signed off on it until days afterward.[8][2][9] Clients have reported being ambushed in their own beds at home, or tricked into believing they're going elsewhere.[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. 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 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]

Synanon popularized "tough love" attack therapy, and the idea that confrontation and verbal condemnation could cure adolescent misbehavior. Its techniques influenced 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]

Timeline

  • 1967: CEDU High School is founded by Mel Wasserman, a former Synanon member, in Running Springs, CA.[21]
  • May 30, 1970: The Élan School is founded by Joe Ricci, a former resident of Daytop Village, in Naples, ME.[22][23]
  • February 16, 1982: Nancy Reagan visits Straight, Inc. in Florida.[24]
  • May 26, 1983: A federal jury awards a Straight, Inc. patient $220,000 after finding said patient to have been falsely imprisoned by the foundation.[25]
  • November 11, 1985: Princess Diana and Nancy Reagan visit Straight, Inc.[26]
  • 1987: Scientology troubled teen program called Mace Kingsley Ranch School opens in California[27]
  • January 15, 1995: Aaron Bacon dies from acute peritonitis whilst attending the North Star Wilderness Program in Utah.[28]
  • December 21, 1996: Craig Fisher is sentenced over his role in Aaron Bacon's death.[29]
  • 1998: Robert Lichfield creates World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools.[30]
  • July 15, 2002: Ian August dies while attending the Skyline Journey Wilderness Program in Utah.[31]
  • December 25, 2002: A 17-year-old girl named Kiley Jaquays falls to her death while visiting the Bloomington Caves in Utah with her residential treatment center Integrity House.[32]
  • May 23, 2003: Costa Rican government officials shut down the Academy at Dundee Ranch, a behavior modification program run by the US-based company World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools.[33]
  • February 8, 2004: 16-year-old Daniel Yeun goes missing from CEDU High School in the state of California.[34]
  • 2006: Yang Yongxin establishes an "Internet-addiction camp" inside the Fourth Hospital of Linyi in China and begins practicing electroconvulsive therapy.
  • February 8, 2013: The hacking collective group Anonymous launches a campaign against the troubled teen industry calling it #OpTTIabuse.[35]
  • November 2015, 10 teenagers arrested due to a riot at Copper Hills Youth Center in Utah.[36]
  • July 10, 2019: Red Rock Canyon School in Utah closes after a riot breaks out in April 2019.[37]
  • October 9, 2020: American socialite Paris Hilton and other former residents of Provo Canyon School lead a silent protest against the school in Provo, Utah.[38]
  • August 31, 2022: Agape Baptist Academy is served an indictment for transporting a California teenager and violating protection order.[39]
  • January 11, 2023: Agape Baptist Academy announces plans for permanent closure.[40]

Media

Techniques

References

  1. ^ Mooney, Heather; Leighton, Paul (2019). "Troubled Affluent Youth's Experiences in a Therapeutic Boarding School: The Elite Arm of the Youth Control Complex and Its Implications for Youth Justice". Critical Criminology. 27 (4): 611–626. doi:10.1007/s10612-019-09466-4. ISSN 1572-9877. S2CID 210585644.
  2. ^ a b Golightley, Sarah (2020). "Troubling the 'troubled teen' industry: Adult reflections on youth experiences of therapeutic boarding schools". Global Studies of Childhood. 10 (1): 53–63. doi:10.1177/2043610619900514. ISSN 2043-6106. S2CID 213786803.
  3. ^ Krebs, Cathy (22 October 2021). "Five Facts About the Troubled Teen Industry". American Bar Association. American Bar Association. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  4. ^ Okoren, Nicolle (14 November 2022). "The wilderness 'therapy' that teens say feels like abuse: 'You are on guard at all times'". the Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  5. ^ Younis, Yasmin (2021). "Institutionalized Child Abuse: The Troubled Teen Industry". SLU Law Journal Online.
  6. ^ Mohr, Wanda K. (2009). "Still Shackled in the Land of Liberty: Denying Children the Right to be Safe From Abusive "Treatment"". Advances in Nursing Science. 32 (2): 173–185. doi:10.1097/ANS.0b013e3181a3b16f. ISSN 0161-9268. PMID 19461233. S2CID 40494944.
  7. ^ "The man who takes troubled youths to therapy camp". BBC News. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  8. ^ Magnuson, Doug; Dobud, Will; Harper, Nevin J. (2022). "Can Involuntary Youth Transport into Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Treatment Programs (Wilderness Therapy) Ever Be Ethical?". Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. doi:10.1007/s10560-022-00864-2. ISSN 1573-2797. S2CID 250539733.
  9. ^ Robbins, Ira P. (2014). "Kidnapping Incorporated: The Unregulated Youth-Transportation Industry and the Potential for Abuse". American Criminal Law Review. 51: 563.
  10. ^ Rensin, Emmett (7 July 2016). "Vox First Person: I went into the woods a teenage drug addict and came out sober. Was it worth it?". Vox. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  11. ^ a b Szalavitz, Maia (17 April 2009). "An Oregon School for Troubled Teens Is Under Scrutiny". Time. Retrieved 10 February 2023. {{cite magazine}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Novak, Matt (15 April 2014). "Synanon's Sober Utopia: How a Drug Rehab Program Became a Violent Cult". Gizmodo. G/O Media. Retrieved 10 February 2023. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Ofshe, Richard (Summer 1980). "The Social Development of the Synanon Cult: The Managerial Strategy of Organizational Transformation". Sociological Analysis. 41 (2): 109–127. doi:10.2307/3709903. JSTOR 3709903. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  14. ^ Messick, Brandon (10 December 2018). "The new neighbors". The Associated Press. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  15. ^ a b c d Szalavitz, Maia (16 February 2006). Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids. New York City, New York: Riverhead Books. ISBN 1-59448-910-6.
  16. ^ a b Hawkins, Eric (8 June 2020). "California School For 'Troubled Teens' Had Roots In A Notorious, Militant Cult". Oxygen True Crime. NBCUniversal. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  17. ^ Hansen, Dan; Drumheller, Susan (26 March 2005). "CEDU shutting down". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Ex-Head of Suspect's School Won't Testify in '75 Murder Case". The New York Times. 25 September 1998. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  19. ^ Bowman, Parker (19 May 2021). "Valley Vertigo: Documentary details controversial and experimental Élan School". The Sentinel. Hanford, California. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  20. ^ Kirk Brown, Abbeville school had role in rise and fall of enterprise for serving troubled teens Archived 2013-06-14 at the Wayback Machine, Anderson (South Carolina) Independent Mail, December 17, 2010
  21. ^ Nussberger, Kathy (26 June 2005). "Bigger Than Life: A personal journey into the history of CEDU". Struggling Teens. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  22. ^ Fraga, Kaleena (12 January 2022). "The Controversial Story Of The Élan School, The 'Last Stop' For Troubled Teens In Maine". All That's Interesting. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  23. ^ Curley, Maura (1991). Duck in a Raincoat (2nd ed.). Marblehead, MA: Menukie Press. pp. 2–5.
  24. ^ Nemy, Enid (February 16, 1982). "MRS. REAGAN, IN FLORIDA, SEES EFFORTS TO FIGHT DRUG ABUSE". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  25. ^ Zibart, Eve (May 26, 1983). "Drug Patient's Award $220,000". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  26. ^ SCHAFER, SUSANNE (November 11, 1985). "Princess Diana and Nancy Reagan Visit Drug Abuse Center With AM-Royalty, Bjt". AP News. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  27. ^ Bentley, Jean (2017-10-10). "'Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath' Investigates Church's Treatment of Children". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  28. ^ Morgenstern, Joe (January 15, 1995). "A Death in the Desert". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  29. ^ "FORMER NORTH STAR COUNSELOR SENTENCED TO A YEAR IN JAIL". Deseret News. December 21, 1996. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  30. ^ Dahlburg, John-Thor (2003-07-13). "Key to His Schools' Success? It's God, Founder Says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  31. ^ "Teen Dies During Utah Wilderness Hike". AP News. July 15, 2002. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  32. ^ "Teen girl dies in fall from ledge". Deseret News. December 25, 2002. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  33. ^ "Costa Rica Intervenes at Troubled U.S.-Owned Academy". The New York Times. May 23, 2003. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  34. ^ Shaprio, Emily (January 19, 2019). "New clues emerge 15 years after teen's disappearance: 'We just want to know he's safe,' family says". ABC News. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  35. ^ "Anonymous goes after the "troubled-teen industry"". Daily Dot. February 8, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  36. ^ "10 teens arrested in riot at youth treatment center". Deseret News. 2015-11-02. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  37. ^ Miller, Jessica (July 10, 2019). "After a riot, increasing violence and now sex abuse allegations, Red Rock Canyon school will close". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  38. ^ Corinthios, Aurelie (October 9, 2020). "Paris Hilton Planning Peaceful Protest of Utah School with Survivors of Alleged Abuse".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  39. ^ Salter, Jim (31 August 2022). "Indictment: Boy forcibly taken to Missouri boarding school". AP NEWS. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  40. ^ Salter, Jim (11 January 2023). "Missouri boarding school under investigation will shut down". AP NEWS. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  41. ^ Wollaston, Sam (2004-03-10). "Short, sharp strop". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  42. ^ Polson, John (2009-05-12), Blood Brothers, The Mentalist, Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Tim Kang, retrieved 2023-06-03
  43. ^ Nilssen, Todd (2017-04-29), The Last Stop (Documentary, Biography, Drama), retrieved 2022-12-26
  44. ^ Nicholson, Lorraine, Life Boat (Short), retrieved 2022-12-26
  45. ^ Dean, Alexandra (2020-09-14), This Is Paris (Documentary), The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), retrieved 2022-12-26

Further reading

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