Starting a good program as a model

[Anonymous]

Since there are so many adults here that know in detail how not to run a teen boarding facility (face it, thats mostly what these places are), has anyone put serious thought into starting their own? It could be non-profit, and offer all the checks and balances that are discussed here.

Has anyone give this any thought before?

[ZenAgent]

I'm against residential treatment, period.  Court ordered, I don't know about.  I'm talking about parents shipping their kids off.  Community based treatment is the least invasive method.

[Anonymous]

Since there are so many adults here that know in detail how not to run a teen boarding facility (face it, thats mostly what these places are), has anyone put serious thought into starting their own? It could be non-profit, and offer all the checks and balances that are discussed here.

Has anyone give this any thought before?

Of course I have. So have others.

It's pretty simple... present it like a normal 'program', go 'escort' the kid at 3 am, and as soon as they're out of the parents neighborhood, spell it out to them:

If they play along, act repetant, bla bla bla, they can just hang out and play video games or whatever while there (Granted nothing is wrong with the kid) until you get enough kids incomes to hire teachers.

If the kid has an ACTUAL PROBLEM, spend that money on therapists.

Naturally, that kind of approach would attract a lot more negative attention than the torture/enslavement paradigm that is the current status quo, but as soon as I point out what the other guys do, well...  :rofl:

[Oz girl]

why have the things at al? if a kid has a severe and dangerous drug problem then make rehabliltation affordable, work with the kid so that iti s not a punishment and only have a qualified professional make the recommendation as to the level of treatment needed
If the kid has a bonafide mental illness then they need a really good and patient doctor and perhaps the family may benefit from a support group of some kind who has some insight into their challenges.

It is worth bearing in mind that no other country has such "programmes" and American kids are statistically no more sexual, drug addicted or generally obnoxious and painful than their foreign peers. It seems to be parentings dirty little secret that kids are not always that lovable or easy to have around. if you can convince yourself that this means they need "treatment" it makes it a whole lot easier to have someone else take them off your hands when they are at their worst.

[psy]

Since there are so many adults here that know in detail how not to run a teen boarding facility (face it, thats mostly what these places are), has anyone put serious thought into starting their own? It could be non-profit, and offer all the checks and balances that are discussed here.

Has anyone give this any thought before?

Starting one good program wouldn't put the bad ones out of business, or expose them for their practices.  I disagree, also, that these places are simply "teen boarding facilit"ies.  Call a spade a spade.  They're unregulated behaviour modifications facilities (at best).

If I teen is not an immediate danger to him/herself or others he/she should not be institutionalized. Period.  Let the teen deal with the consequences of his/her actions.

It is unfortunate that most parents think these programs somehow rationally convince teens of the error of thier ways.  A brainwashed teen may behave in a more mature matter but it's all a generic program (in the computer sense) of an ideal boy/girl of which the parents would be proud to be parents.  As far as i'm concerned, any involuntary modication of personality or self-image is criminal.  It seems most people have very little respect for the sanctity of free will and the private confines of the mind.  When the "modification" is perfomed by somebody with no proper qualifications, the consequences can be even worse.

Unfortunately, in most states(not California), practicing psychology does not require a licence as long as you don't call it "psychology" or refer to the practice as "therapy".  Would you propose establishing a program with actually qualified therapists?  Such places are commonly known as "funny farms"...  But no parent would dare tolerate such a stigma in their family.

It is for this reason I do not think there is a valid reason for programs.  There is either a school, or a mental instution.  Trying to create an unlicenced middleground is asking for trouble.

[Anonymous]

I still have a standing offer that any parent can send the kid to me for half the price of a program.

And I'd do pretty much what the second reply said, only I wouldn't bother with hiring teachers. There does exist a public school system.

[Covergaard]

Wilderness Therapy

1) The parents should be there all the time. At no point, the child must be alone. All tasks has so be solved as a family.

2) If the child is taken from his or her room by a Escort Company, the parents should be there when the child arrives at the program.

3) Also in such case, no Wilderness Therapy before a proper intervention has been conducted at the base camp. Some crazy Ed con on TV says: ?You can not fix what you don?t acknowledge.? On that single account he is right.

4) Once completed, all goes home as a family problem solved or not. However, they are free to try once more.

Residential programs:

1) Must be court ordered or as result of a decision done by the social services, if the child?s life is at danger due to the family.

2) The child should have access to an unmonitored phone with 24-hour access to call 4 phone numbers: 1-2 to the parents, 1 to another family member and 1 to the authorities in his hometown.

3) The social service in his hometown must visit the facility once a month unannounced.

4) The therapists, who recommend the facility, must be paid by the social services. No economical connections must exist between the therapist and the facility.

5) No group mix between different kinds of problems. (Depressed children should be grouped with depressed children, Children with anger problems likewise with children with anger problems.)

6) Every child should have his own room in order to make it possible for the child to have his moments with his religion alone.

7) An organ recognized by United States Department of Education should accredit education.

Recently I have visited a friend at a psychiatric hospital in Denmark. When he was released I was present at a meeting as an assessor (Assessors are normal in Denmark because we consider the rights of the patient right very serious.). He was going into some kind of group therapy and now they are looking for the right group member. In order to archive the best result you cannot create a group of some patients. Their profiles and sicknesses have to fit.

[Anonymous]

Children with anger problems likewise with children with anger problems.

You can't be serious.

Just think on this one for a while.

[Covergaard]

Children with anger problems likewise with children with anger problems.

You can't be serious.

Just think on this one for a while.

You can not be expert on anything or everything. When I first read about these programs, I became surprised of how many problems these program claims that they can fix.

If a child has an anger problem, he or she needs to be with experts in this problem. We all needs to see that the problem is addressed and fixed in the shortest amount of time, so the child can return to his family.

Of course a program or school for children with anger issues would require one therapist per child. It will be expensive. But it will also be a short program, because if you work with a narrow target group the staff only needs to be experts in this problem.

And that is not what these programs is all about. They are in business to earn money. So they claim that they are the solution to all problems children can have.

[Anonymous]

You're missing my point. We're probably misunderstanding each other.

What happens when you group together kids with serious anger problems? (We already have such groupings. We call it 'prison'. What do angry inmates do to each other in prison?)

In fact, what happens when you group together depressed kids? "Hey, nice scars. But it's down the highway, not across the street." (this refers to suicide by wrist-slitting)

Even if you kept them mostly separated from each other, why would you allow a private company to do this at all? Why allow the profit motive to come into play?

[Oz girl]

I think to debate what sort of programme there should be is to miss the point. If huck finn or Holden Caufield lived today they would be sitting in a "programme" how wrong is that!
Given that:
-American kids take drugs at the same rate as their other western counterparts
-Enrolment at conservative christian colleges us up, thus american kids must to some extent have relatively conservative social values

-American kids get a little bit less sex put some how manage to get pregantant a bit more than their English and Australian counterparts

-American kids in many cities face harsh zero tolerance laws which are likely to place them in BIG legal trouble for staying out late, smoking pot or being sexually active in a way that their community finds distasteful

Perhaps some other things should be tried so that the need for programmes is not there
instead try these things
-Get rid of unfairly harsh Zero tolerance laws particularly for victimless crimes like drug use

-Get rid of public youth cerfews and leave such things in the hands of the family

-Get rid of the stigma surrounding mental illness. if you would not send a kid to have their "behaviour modified" for athsma or epilepsy then why is it ok for some programmes to accept kids with mental illnesses like bipolar disorder. Such conditions need to be treated by comptent doctors

- Do the same for aspergers. This is a bonafide medical condition not a sign that a kid needs to change their ways

-have publically subsidised help for all people (not just kids) who are genuinely developing a dependence on drugs and alcohol. have a professional help in the diagnosis of this so that only those who need it get help

- Have options for people who may not be addicts but feel they could use some help on this score because they are on a slippery slope

-Leave the occasional users alone. This is a universal fight between parent and kid

-Get rid of Abstenence training in public American schools. Tell kids the truth about sexuality and their body give relevant up to date info  on contraception and std prevention.

-in private religious schools do the same in a biology class. If there is a separate religion class that says good christians only get it on after marriage fine, at least a vital part of the kids education is not denied.

-Avoid overdiagnosis of ADD and encourage medical professionals to work with families to leave no other stone unturned before meidicating kids. if you had been on a form of speed since age 8 would you not have a desire to do drugs?

-Recognise that brattiness is a hard thing to quantify. Deal with it the old fashioned way. Ground kids, Take the car keys or just dont buy them a car right away, vent to relatives and friends and seek counselling if necessary

After all of this has been tried see if there is still a need for programmes at all.

[FLCLcowdude]

I still have a standing offer that any parent can send the kid to me for half the price of a program.

And I'd do pretty much what the second reply said, only I wouldn't bother with hiring teachers. There does exist a public school system.

I would send my kid to you...

[karmakommando]

In the program that I help direct, we recruit and train people to be mentors to children referred by guidance counselors, CPS, and other agencies.   Our mentors outshine the social workers by far.   Kids often grow to trust the mentors and get a chance to vent, without the mentor being judgemental or diagnostic.   ADHD symptoms nearly always disappear during outings with the mentors.  Unfortunately, it is difficult recruiting people to do this, especially men.   99.9% of the problems with these kids are due to the behavior of their parents or legal guardians.

[Anonymous]

I think to debate what sort of programme there should be is to miss the point. If huck finn or Holden Caufield lived today they would be sitting in a "programme" how wrong is that!
Given that:
-American kids take drugs at the same rate as their other western counterparts
-Enrolment at conservative christian colleges us up, thus american kids must to some extent have relatively conservative social values

-American kids get a little bit less sex put some how manage to get pregantant a bit more than their English and Australian counterparts

-American kids in many cities face harsh zero tolerance laws which are likely to place them in BIG legal trouble for staying out late, smoking pot or being sexually active in a way that their community finds distasteful

Perhaps some other things should be tried so that the need for programmes is not there
instead try these things
-Get rid of unfairly harsh Zero tolerance laws particularly for victimless crimes like drug use

-Get rid of public youth cerfews and leave such things in the hands of the family

-Get rid of the stigma surrounding mental illness. if you would not send a kid to have their "behaviour modified" for athsma or epilepsy then why is it ok for some programmes to accept kids with mental illnesses like bipolar disorder. Such conditions need to be treated by comptent doctors

- Do the same for aspergers. This is a bonafide medical condition not a sign that a kid needs to change their ways

-have publically subsidised help for all people (not just kids) who are genuinely developing a dependence on drugs and alcohol. have a professional help in the diagnosis of this so that only those who need it get help

- Have options for people who may not be addicts but feel they could use some help on this score because they are on a slippery slope

-Leave the occasional users alone. This is a universal fight between parent and kid

-Get rid of Abstenence training in public American schools. Tell kids the truth about sexuality and their body give relevant up to date info  on contraception and std prevention.

-in private religious schools do the same in a biology class. If there is a separate religion class that says good christians only get it on after marriage fine, at least a vital part of the kids education is not denied.

-Avoid overdiagnosis of ADD and encourage medical professionals to work with families to leave no other stone unturned before meidicating kids. if you had been on a form of speed since age 8 would you not have a desire to do drugs?

-Recognise that brattiness is a hard thing to quantify. Deal with it the old fashioned way. Ground kids, Take the car keys or just dont buy them a car right away, vent to relatives and friends and seek counselling if necessary

After all of this has been tried see if there is still a need for programmes at all.

Where to start with all that you don't know? Who told you that only the USA has these programs? Whoever it was. . .  WRONG. From the Slavik regions to Australia to Ireland and England, there are programs to address adolescent behavior issues. You also assume in an amazingly narrow way that causes are limited to drug addiction or mental health issues. How extraordinarily arrogant to assume, on top of all that, that if only all these bad people knew how to parent as well as you do, there would be no need for such programs. Yes, I'm sure none of the parents tried such obvious things as paying more attention, staying engaged in the child's life, trying to maintain structure in the family, getting the help of educators and counselors. They didn't try community-based methods, I'm sure, because they wanted to lay out the small fortune it costs to enroll your child in a residential program. You can bet they never tried the old reliables like grounding. Perhaps in your mind, becoming a parent creates a tendency toward utter incompetence and lack of imagination. For someone with all the answers, you have a profound disconnect with reality.

[Anonymous]

I've said it before, I'll say it again.

Parents! The above poster wants control of your kid!