THE TROUBLE WITH THE “TROUBLED TEEN” INDUSTRY

The “Troubled Teen Industry” is a secretly connected industry, that consists of a network of similarly structured Therapeutic Boarding Schools, Residential Treatment Centers, Religious Academies, Wilderness Programs or Drug Rehabilitation Centers that all claim to cure the modern teenager of their adolescent behavior. They use deceptive marketing tactics to con desperate parents into thinking that for the price of an Ivy League education they can send their kids away and they will return obedient and grateful for the experience.

This is rarely true, and there have been numerous survivors come forward to claim that this experience certainly caused more harm than good. Due to a total lack of Federal oversight, effectively none of these facilities are properly regulated by the government and are commonly unlicensed and unaccredited by any state or federal agency. This lack of accountability has allowed violence by staff and the inhumane treatment that has been embedded in the very core of the behavior modification system since its conception to prevail uninterrupted.

Many former students have spoken out about their experience at one of the many facilities associated with the troubled teen industry and no matter what state or country these schools are built in they have always shared a common program model of abuse and maltreatment. The staff are hired off the streets, completely unqualified to be working with teens. The “treatment” is not evidence based, and in fact can be quite traumatic; employing many psychologically damaging processes such as, attack therapy, dehumanizing rules, fear, intimidation and physical abuse.

Many troubled teen programs will seek to manipulate desperate parents into keeping their children committed by insisting that if their child does not complete the program they will end up “dead, insane or in jail”. Parents are required to sign over temporary custody and trust that the program is acting in the child’s best interest. Often this misplaced trust gives these facilities the right to abuse or even mistakenly kill a student with no legal ramifications. The truth is that the program is designed specifically to escape legal liability, the evidence of this can be found in their limited ownership and incorporations, making it difficult for victims to press charges or sue.

Don’t be fooled, these programs have excellent marketing strategies, they have cornered the online market, they go by different names, and describe themselves as different kinds of programs, but the “Tough Love” system remains at it’s core shroud in abuse, deception and incompetence. Until the abusive practices of the Troubled Teen Industry have been legally abolished, and the government has stepped in to provide comprehensive regulation, parents must be very wary of this industry as a whole. When the very people who have repeatably abused children in the past are free to open up new programs under different names and deny affiliation with the companies they helped make notorious for abuse, the question is how do you know who you can trust? How do you see through the deceptive marketing? How do we see past the brand new buildings, the pristine grounds and get a glimpse of the torture going on behind the walls? How do you see through the facade of the children who say they are fine despite the fact that they are dying to tell you the truth, when they know they will be severely punished if they do? The problem is that it is very difficult to tell the good programs from the bad, until it’s too late. All you can do is arm yourself with the knowledge that the former survivors of these programs present to you, ask the right questions and never allow yourself to fall for false promises that are in reality, impossible for any institution to keep.
These days there is no excuse. The evidence is out there and only a google search away. In the last few years alone there have been many schools shut down and criminal charges brought against their owners. There are hundreds of survivor stories available through this website alone warning parents of the dangers. PLEASE, read them. There are also advocacy organizations dedicating their lives to fight for reform to end institutional abuse, PLEASE, reach out to them!

In the following blogs we will elaborate on the MANY issues of the Troubled Teen Industry, including where these programs came from and their notorious techniques of abuse and mind control. For anyone looking to do their own research please feel free to follow any of these links, many of these sites have a wealth of information including articles, books, published research and survivor testimony. You can also get involved in the cause by supporting organizations that are working pushing for legislation to reform the Troubled Teen Industry. WWASPSurvivors maintains a Facebook group for survivors to find support and stay up to date with the progress of this cause, feel free to request to join here. Our hearts go out to anyone affected by the Troubled Teen Industry, we know how hard it can be to cope, and would be happy to offer support to anyone in need. Please feel free to contact us with any further questions, or leave a comment to suggest subjects you may like to see us blog about next.

For more information please visit these great sites:
BreakingCodeSilence.net
Reddit Troubled Teens
CAFETY.org
ASTART For Teens
National Youth Rights Association
Secret Prisons For Teens Blog
Fornits.com
Secret Prisons For Teens / Fornits Wiki
Safe Teen Schools
ICSA
Facebook Groups
WWASPSurvivors – Facebook Page
WWASPSurvivors – Facebook Group
BreakingCodeSilence – Facebook Page
CAFETY – Facebook Page
CAFETY – Facebook Group