The Cult of The Troubled Teen Industry

We’re in for a shocking one this week: The Troubled Teen Industry has for decades promised parents to reform their “problem-causing” kids through 8-12 week “wilderness therapy” and other military-style schools. But kidnappings, isolation, punishment, secrecy, and abuse are all a part of the equation, resulting in the separation of families and years of trauma. Yikes doesn’t even begin to describe this unregulated cult-like industry, which was originally inspired by the destructive cult Amanda’s dad grew up in, Synanon, and somehow hasn’t been shut down yet. Many disturbing stories await you this week!!
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[@mjoyyourself]

I cannot believe this industry is unregulated and a multi billion industry, completely sickening and not okay. How can we shut this down?

[@ezbody]

The churches are currently working on it, overtime. As soon as the churches self-destruct, and they are getting close, the industry will disappear.

[@whym6438]

I've known several people who were sent to wilderness programs. When one of them told me about being "gooned", my immediate thought was that if that happened to me, I would never talk to my parents again. I love my parents and have a good relationship with them, but if they paid for me to be kidnapped, I would end that relationship in an instant.

[@Thirteentheon]

Joe vs Elan is one of the most horrific stories I've ever read. The story is done by a survivor of the Elan School, who has gone on to working to shut down TTI sites.

[@jessadiana]

I went to Sagewalk wilderness program in Oregon and then to a therapeutic boarding school. We were forced to hike for miles, shamed and yelled at, we had to write in personal journals that they read, starved (they withheld food as punishment), didnt shower or have access to soap, had to dig big latrines that are deep into the ground with sticks (no shovels), and did drills over and over until we hit the time we were supposed to (it would go on for hours or into the next day and we weren't allowed to eat or use the bathroom the whole time). I was there in the winter and if we didn't make fire, then we had to move our body in order to stay warm. It was so cold sleeping outside and it was common to see bed wetting. I saw a girl forced to drink all her water at once, that she puked, and they kept making her drink water. We would hike with 80 pound packs. I lost so much weight there, I was an unhealthy weight. I developed severe trust issues years after. My parents hired people to kidnap me in the middle of the night and I was driven through state lines to go to Sagewalk. I would never take my kids there. If you have the money to send a kid to that place, you have the money to find a good licensed therapist. I was there 3 years before Sergey died.

[@oneaocean8003]

i went to academy at ivy ridge in 2005

[@ezbody]

OMG, I just can't take my eyes off screen👀, those microphones are gorgeous.

[@AntsMovies]

I ran across your show randomly on KZbin. Thanks for researching and discussing this topic. I grew up in a wealthy area in Atlanta and many of my friends were sent to places like this (Utah or AZ was common). At the time, the friends parents would tell me that it was a “wilderness rehab” but then when they would come back, their stories were exactly as you described them. Of course when my friends would get back, we picked up right where we left off, so to me it felt ineffective. I also recall that it was extremely expensive, like as much as new car, yet they were in the woods the entire time. Note; these were all young men that I’m talking about not women.

[@mjoyyourself]

Thank you for sharing! I wonder how they would describe it looking back now, later in their lives?

[@wildlightarts]

Yes, I originally went to school for outdoor education and wilderness therapy in AZ. And then I met some students my age who had been sent to a wilderness therapy/rehab program. That shifted my academic focus drastically, as we became fast friends.

[@ezbody]

It has never been their goal to be effective, their goal is to extract as much money as possible while pretending to be doing something.

[@SmileGirl010]

There's a Goosebumps book/episode like this. Did we learn NOTHING!?

[@Dahlily]

You should do an episode on synanon! Sounds crazy. Also loved this episode, you should have way more listeners, very interesting and still light hearted!

[@usuc77]

Nice pod!

[@psykomantis65-qh8dm]

That circle ad hominem therapy has a name, Struggle Session. It goes back to Mao Zedong.

[@dt4676]

You've both got the npr way of speaking just without the whispering

[@mimibelta259]

Another famous person who was in one of the wilderness camps is bad baby her legal name is Danielle brigolli

[@Tina06019]

I am glad my parents never had enough money to send me to a “troubled teen” place. I didn’t smoke weed or ditch class or even stay out past curfew, but I sure did love my boyfriend and my mother was completely obsessed with my virginity. Seems like most of these prison camps for children are in “Moridor”: Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and some in neighboring Wyoming. That is very suspicious to me. I will never trust the hierarchy of the LDS/Mormon Church, it’s dicey as hell. Lots of nice people are LDS, but Mormon culture enables bad people to hide. Think of Lori Vallow/Chad Daybell/Ruby & Kevin Franke/Lori Hildebrandt - and possibly Tim Ballard (he hasn’t been convicted, I know, but I am very suspicious of him).] Ladies, please don’t call teens “it.” In English, that’s not gender neutral, it is dehumanizing.

[@Tina06019]

I will call someone by their preferred pronouns, but I would be freaked out if someone wanted me to call them “it.” Maybe you should have said “them” instead of “it.”

[@Tina06019]

There’s no love in tough love.

[@user-ww7vx2qw9y]

Vid starts at 6:10

[@mistynightdreams80]

My mother found out I was dating a girl and put me in one of these places

[@annelise8739]

"Polygamy" isn't gender or sex specific; the opposite of polyandry would be polygyny

[@samlazar1053]

The terible nature of American drug rehabilitation centers. Did u even met an addict whot stopped drugs because of a drug rehab center. No. The best treatments for drug addicts are available from your doctor.

[@dr.coomer9750]

Did they shoot this in LOG and not attempt color correction? Lol

[@dennishubbard4385]

քʀօʍօֆʍ 😇