even if there were clinical studies what would they be based on anyway? Because if it was " good behaviour" I would not be surprised if some kids were scared straight. What any study would need to show is the direct link between the mean spirited camp and the the ability to cure in the long term mental illness, drug addiction as well as every other catchall bogus illness like oppositional defiant disorder. It would have to compare the kids to those with exactly the same symptoms in places that do not have second nature or any other such ridiculous camps. Where would they even get a sample group that wide outside of the tbs system? Most professional drug counsellors, doctors or psychs dont have the levelt of hubris required to believe that they can cure such a wide range of complex issues with a single program or philosophy. It is only the buffoons within this industry who do.
One approach......The study could consist of
a large sample of children who
attend a program over time. The children could be loosely classified (i.e.
ADD, drug problems, depression etc.) The programs could be classified (i.e.
TBS, Wilderness, boot camp) (maybe a sub category on model used at TBS) and
children who did not attend a program (ADD, drug problems, depression) treatment could be categorized as (none or local therapist etc.).
If the samples were large enough many of the nuances would shake themselves out (i.e. degree of depression, level of ADD, predisposed to addiction etc.)… if the kids were tracked for 5+ years after treatment a trend may surface and differences should be able to be measured between treatment methods and non treatment.
Much thought would have to go into setting up the study and screening the children as participants as well as to have a large enough sample to allow for fall out (kids who drop out or stop seeing their therapist).
...
