My parents are pretty liberal, and they sent me to CEDU because they were ineffective, emotionally negligent parents. I wasn't "on drugs"; I never committed any criminal activity--not even petty theft. But I suffered from depression, low self esteem, and was a truant. I loved learning but couldn't get myself to stay in school. I didn't really do anything bad per se. In addition, a few traumatic things happened that made it worse.
CEDU was a place our family therapist recommended. (Even I was begging for help at this point.) It looked good on the brochures: bucolic, mountain setting.
My parents honestly thought they were sending me to a safe, loving environment to get the help I needed in a structured environment. It's just that we all got sucked into the machine once I stepped foot on the grounds--the lies and manipulation.
They went in with the best intentions--they felt like failures as parents and were searching for an alternative.
On paper, it all looked good.
And even though I wasn't one of those kids who lied all the time (I was the type who snuck out a lot--but I always left notes), CEDU would manipulate parents to see their children as liars in an effort to maintain control. Fairly quickly, I realized not to bother explaining the program's defects, because CEDU (who monitored contact and isolated you) painted you as a liar out to manipulate parents.
Still, we all drank the Kool Aid--I did, too. My parents had teh best intentions, and the truth is, there isn't a lot of public awareness about these programs. Now, when I watch some dumb show on TV, where the kid is sent to a TBS and returns "cured", it makes me ill. (Where I went, a lot of Hollywood celebrities sent their kids to the same TBS I went to.)
I can't say I blame my parents. I'm more upset by the total lack of public awareness of this issue. I think the key is to bring it out into the forefront in every way imaginable--through books, dramatizations, and news reporting. And to re-educate ed cons.
