Trauma and Healing: Life After The Troubled Teen Industry

When he was 15, Daniel Stearns’ parents sent him to wilderness therapy and a therapeutic boarding school. At the time, they thought it was the best way to help him cope with emotional distress. They are now collectively working through the trauma left by that decision.» Subscribe to NBC News: nbcnews.to/SubscribeToNBC
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#Teens #Depression #Therapy
Trauma and Healing: Life After The Troubled Teen Industry

[@user-yg2ed2jt9d]

I can’t believe parents would think that their child who is disturbed enough mentally to self harm would BENEFIT from getting kidnapped???

[@carlosesteves5857]

Honestly, they both seem kind of stupid/flaky. Not trying to be mean. that's just my gut feeling.

[@chrisbaker9704]

I can tell you. I went to one of these places. They use your parents fear. They convince them that you need help now and if they don't send you to the program you're gonna end up on the street or dead. They cater to desperate parents who think they've run out of options. That or parents who just wanna get rid of the kids. The advertisements make it seem like it would be kinda like a vacation. Rock climbing, fishing, camping, hiking. But hiking is walking miles every day in 50 lb backpacks without adequate food or water and medicated so it's hard to get help Also, because of how much tax money these places give to the government, they're rarely shut down, and when they are they can just pop up later with a new name.

[@hannahscott6604]

Right?!

[@SMCwasTaken]

Some teens do deserve iit

[@alicianelson1252]

Do some people not know therapy exists it costs way less then these programs

[@rileydelaney8914]

You can hear the pain in his voice. This is something he will never 100% recover from. His parents knew what they were doing.

[@Insurgens]

The parents knew what they were doing? They sent him there in response to a major self harm episode. If they knew the trauma he was going to endure at the camp, they would’ve inflicted it themselves.

[@Scruffy69420]

The hardest part about going through this for me is whether or not I should be mad at my mom for sending me to these places. But she didn't know they were going to do that to me. I dont even think she knows to this day that they abused me.

[@sarahroddey2937]

These programs are actually so good at selling themselves as therapeutic/treatment programs to desperate and exhausted parents, they do a really good job of convincing the parents that they have their children's best interests at heart and that they are there to help their children become less troubled.

[@sugar6a32]

@@Scruffy69420 Another example of how parents can somehow not have a single bit of self reflection and conscience to all this. They somehow cannot even comprehend that they are what instigated all the problems. Labeling their kids ‘troubled’ when they haven’t even a good parent and then avoiding confronting the problem and just ‘sending them away would help’. So many examples have been published for years how harmful these programs are, they couldn’t even do a simple google search before signing the rights of their kids away to complete money leeching strangers.

[@OttrPopAnimations]

exactly.

[@danmoore3444]

That dad is in damage control mode. Take responsibility for your decision and be a little more apologetic. If you are a parent sending a child somewhere for 15 months, you should have a better clue on where you are sending your child. Maybe do more research than reading a pamphlet.

[@samjones6046]

Just ask a former student how it was. That's the first thing you need to do, not the parent of the student but the student themselves.

[@tikrit3160]

This crap happened to my family and friends 20 years ago. One of them was almost mortally wounded at one of these retreats and believes to this day that another kid was ultimately killed after he had left the program. The fact that these things are still not only legal but totally unregulated is unconscionable. The United States stands for nothing if it can't outlaw this practice.

[@toastnstuff1996]

Therapy, normal therapy and appropriate medication and love and support is all a "troubled teen" needs. You dont ship them off somewhere for some strangers to deal with. Sounds like terrible abuse waiting to happen.

[@jmoneystone1363]

Im so lucky to only be in the troubled teen industry for only 5 months can’t imagine being there for years

[@fettersofdromi]

Parents send their kids to places like this because either can't be bothered or don't know how to communicate with and help their children. Then they shift blame and responsibility for their failures as parents. These schools costs thousands which the parents could have used for therapy, a psychiatrist, even talking to their own doctor. If you'd rather pay that amount to ship your kid off, you need to admit you just didn't want to be a parent.

[@eliw.1197]

They think that since the institutions cost tons of money, that they'll be worth it.

[@hannahscott6604]

Yep

[@gemmadt6598]

this is entirely wrong. i have a brother in one of these places right now and my parents spent every penny on therapies everywhere and psychiatrists! my brother needed help in a way he couldn’t get. already in pictures and letters he is getting better and he is becoming himself again after being sober finally. you have to be in the parents shoes to make statements like that

[@lggr2261]

​@@gemmadt6598 those pictures and leters are false bro they are forced they cant wtite the truth when he returns fo a lie detector you will understand everything

[@christinepoppy3277]

I think the parents are the ones often that need therapy at least as much as the kids. I think some of them suffered from having abusive or extremely strict parents, and they think their kids have to suffer as well in order to be “tough and resilient”. But you can raise strong kids without passing on abuse. If you were hit by a car and survived, you might be stronger after it and be able to inspire others, but you don’t recommend they go get hit by cars themselves. I think the idea that nothing “is ever the parent’s fault” is nonsense. But I think we need to stop shaming parents for not being able to control their kid’s every move. Kids are not supposed to do everything you want them to. You can’t just expect them to become independent adults at 18 if you’ve restricted all their freedom beforehand

[@sps3r654]

My boarding school shut down 3 weeks after I arrived due to sexual harassment lawsuits. The next one I attended had a student revolt on day 2 that consisted of a huge burn pile of anything the kids could find. Its bad unless you get dirt of the staff and black mail them. This was a HUGE scam that took advantage of parents that didn't know how to communicate with their kids.

[@hannahscott6604]

This just reminds me of the time I worked as a nanny for a 9 month old and the baby would scream and the parents said I didn’t need to go in the room. She’s screaming. Every thing in me has to fight to not go in and help them when they’re screaming. they needed to be more emotionally devoted to their child

[@hashrosinking1608]

SUWS Wilderness Camp (Twice) Oakley Therapuetic Boarding School My parents still think they made the right decision 😢 Sitting here listening to the fireworks go off 4th of July. They invited me to come over for dinner, but at least I know why i decide not to go over there. They sent me away for smoking weed at a time when my anxiety and panic attack dissorder started. Weed was the only thing that helped. 12 years later and now i have ptsd. Stoned af still knowing it's the best thing for me. I can be the person i want to be not what they want me to be.

[@Binichsoderbinichsnicht]

5:50 if he actually understood he would have said „you cannot do this ever“

[@Galaxinity]

What he described in the beginning sounds like a really bad borderline episode. Daniel's parents could not have made a worse decision.

[@timkenda8203]

I went to a WWASP "behavioral modification program" called Spring Creek Lodge Academy in Thompson Falls, MT, and even though I came home 18 years ago at this point it is still the single most damaging thing I ever experienced in my entire life RIP Karlye Newman

[@Aaronholland2000]

My husband and I went to Provo Canyon School 7 years ago. It was like Auschwitz. We were abused Mentally, Physically, and Psychology. My husband was also sexually abused.

[@eliw.1197]

I'm glad you both survived and built a marriage from it.

[@spiiral2988]

you cannot compare a tbs to a cencentration camp😭

[@danielmitchell940]

I went to the same college as this guy, hope he's doing well now.

[@cassandrajingoli]

I LOVE YOU, DANIEL!! YOU'RE SO BRAVE!

[@lberman5707]

I don't think i'll ever recover from the troubled teen industry

[@NostalgiaWalkthroughs]

I am so sorry. 😢

[@carlosesteves5857]

I just don't get it. Those boot camps are usually for kids with delinquent or criminal tendencies. Their son was clearly severely depressed and had self-esteem issues. He could have benefited from some intensive counseling. Why they chose a harsh, punitive boot camp is beyond me. They just seem totally clueless and incompetent honestly.

[@juxlii]

They're not for kids. They're for parents who want permission to quit parenting when kids go through tough times. These places don't even interview the kids before they take them; they don't care what issues the kids do or don't have & they *never* acknowledge if it turns out that a kid genuinely shouldn't be there. They definitely interview the purse strings before they'll admit a kid, though. And if their financial ability is limited to insurance, by some miracle your kid's ready to go home the moment insurance runs out! Congrats, mom & dad; you going broke means that kiddo must be cured! Hot tip: Unpacking the trauma can be a family bonding activity for decades to come (assuming your kid ever speaks to you again)!

[@timkenda8203]

Those boot camps are not "usually for kids with delinquent or criminal tendencies", those boot camps are for any parent that is incapable of parenting their child and can afford the program. I would know; I went to one.

[@underwater_cowboy]

kids with delinquent or criminal tendencies don't deserve to be abused either. all of these behaviors typically stem from some form of truama and neglect to begin with and further abuse only perpetuates the problem no matter what behaviors they are exhibiting. that being said, these types of programs do not advertise themselves to parents as harsh and punitive. they tell the parents that they are exactly that, a safe space to have intensive counseling. I was also sent to wilderness therapy and Monarch School for depression and suicidal behavior by parents who were desperate to find somewhere I would be safe. These places come reccomended by professional psychologists.

[@karibou6308]

It is a business, they make money of every children their parents are willing to send.

[@tropicalpalmtree]

America is such a sick society.

[@hannahmetzger4880]

I'm an American, and I agree.

[@tropicalpalmtree]

@@hannahmetzger4880 America is the only country on earth that i never want to visit. Nothing about it appeals to me.

[@Southern_grown26]

I did three months in the wilderness of Utah at Aspiro, at 20 years old. and than i was sent to a transitional home in Idaho called Echo springs for two and a half years. Your not alone brother I’m still healing from my trauma from all of what happened thru out those three years. I still don’t know how to cope now being back home and living a regular life again. im 26 now, and I’m still dealing with so much mental trauma from all of what I went thru at those places💔

[@tikrit3160]

My cousin was sent to one of these programs in 2007. She met a few other kids in a transitional boarding school the year prior to that who went to worse wilderness programs than she did, and they suffered violence from the other kids as well as institutional abuse from the staff members orchestrating the camp. This has been a problem for a long time, I just hope that this exposure will eventually shut these child trafficking companies down for good.

[@adrenalpump1017]

I went to aspire in 2011 saw some wild stuff there suicide attempts etc. Followed by 9 months reform school. Was supposed to be 2 1/2 years but was kicked out. As bad as the place was I was lucky to hav3 already loved the outdoors.

[@LeahDyson-kq4bd]

Transitional home lol what are they saying is your transition? from defective child to reformed conformed child what a joke

[@sigiherzi1026]

I love this guy. He's asking what America is wondering. |

[@natalie9884]

What a beautiful young man. So strong

[@Thing-vx4fg]

Nothing has changed. As a survivor of the TTI - please help make a difference. It doesn't surprise me either considering Utah is straight Mormonville. They see stuggling kids who come from other backgrounds (aka not LDS) in a bad light. They treat kids with with the same religious methodology. Please compare the actual methods implemented in Utahs TTI programs (not what's written on the pamphlet) and compare it against the BITE model.

[@allytorres9264]

Just woke up from a nightmare about these places.

[@paayal649]

I understand parents feel like there is no other choice but that is NOT true. These places should be illegal but I do blame the parents as well, I’m sorry but it really infuriates me that people that choose to have kids, ship their kids off like this. The first red flag is having your child be “kidnapped” I mean how is that a good start to anything. That incident right there is traumatic!

[@christinepoppy3277]

It’s because the parents themselves need therapy, seriously.

[@PhoenixMoth]

I will fricken disown my folks

[@captwar]

Does anybody ever go back to these abusive places to confront the perpetrator?

[@jackpumkinhead9583]

sucks for the parents, they can never truly be forgiven for inflicting this trauma on there child. they can never again truly say they are good parents or even good people, this grotesque betrayal will mark them forever. they destroyed there own family in the cruelest way . sad 😞

[@fhxs]

Those parents are so so misguided. Why would you ever hand over your guardianship over your child to complete strangers, sadistic strangers at that. Nothing about wilderness programs seem productive or helpful. If you have the money don’t spend it on this.

[@maxweiss7863]

You forgot talking abt RTCs they r like therapeutic boarding schools but much worse

[@OttrPopAnimations]

we need help :(

[@alezandradavila2581]

Yep

[@TeddyBear1287]

Can anyone understand what he said between 1:42-1:52 ??

[@hibro7771]

he told his mom he wanted to go on a date and when they found out he was two grades above him they felt uncomfortable

[@kaitlynamira3916]

LOL I’m so glad it wasn’t just me I went back and re-listened to this part like four times and couldn’t figure it out.

[@WhirlOmar]

Yeah , I didn't understand it either.

[@WhirlOmar]

@@hibro7771 Oh okay, he meant DATE but it sound like STATE.

[@ghents565]

Its all about the money . Sad

[@fanta6789]

Are they being taken by the Mandalorian ? "I can bring you in warm or i can bring you in cold"

[@izzyaudios3335]

this dude looks like mac demarco

[@skinwalkur]

yo mama looks like mac demarco, booyah!!

[@tinaholman956]

Do parents knot do their homework, before hand?

[@terboblayzenewsic2519]

Be strong ones and all" let the GOOD GOD keep us in our rightfully path individually: bless us mighty savior

[@Scruffy69420]

Hes done a REAL good job saving us so far 🙄

[@terboblayzenewsic2519]

@@Scruffy69420 indeed God love you

[@hannahmetzger4880]

@@terboblayzenewsic2519 You don't realize that was sarcasm, do you?

[@ujoepost]

Sounds like transporters who take kids to these camps are Gestapo

[@bl4841]

that ladies neck is terrifying! what's going on there

[@nosferatadentata965]

She got a face lift, but that didn't invlclude the neck

[@smashykitten7873]

The more they said to Trump, "stop this!" The more powerful Trump felt! |

[@benno8622]

Wtf

[@ghents565]

@@benno8622 Saying they felt more powerful the more ppl talked about them.

[@scottcharney1091]

Stop the vocal fry, please!