Well, checking their website, and finding... damn near nothing specific or of any substance, I don't know what to say!
I would ask: Do they have teachers. Are they ACTUAL teachers or is this some sort of teach yourself from a book kind of thing.
I would also ask: What KIND of therapy is given? The page on therapy is extremely general and seems to be a case study of misleading vividness becuase it has tons of adjectives and no substance! Quote from the site is:
"We integrate the therapeutic process with every aspect of our school. The therapeutic relationship is a special one in which trust elicits open dialog and safety for the exploration of the deepest thoughts and feelings your child has. Our main modality is group and community therapy. It is innovative and promotes real change that happens inside and out.
Daily groups or therapy sessions give students the opportunity to discuss problems, learn how to handle conflict, and to explore new and better ways to process their feelings. Once these tools are acquired and internalized, the class-room, the dormitory, the dining room, and the gymnasium become living laboratories for practicing these skills."
Wow, buzz words +10. Hrm. Still too vague.
The "family" page starts to trouble me, though.
"Visiting Sundays are held once each month from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Before the first visit, parent must attend a New Parent Orientation." <- MUST attend orientation before seeing your kid? Uh, no. Once monthly visits is signifigantly better than the kind of visitation that most programs offer, but its still way too infrequent.
Naturally, you should be able to get your kid when you want, period, and if they try to threaten or whine or intimidate or spin around it, uh, fuck them, as it is YOUR child.
Another thing?
"All parents, step parents, and significant others are required to participate in one of our regional groups located throughout the US. These groups provide a supportive environment for parents to develop self-awareness, identify and confront dysfunctional behavior, and plan strategies for change within the family system. Participation in these monthly group meetings is mandatory. We reserve the right to terminate a family when the parents are unwilling to participate; however, we will never give up on your child. "
Sounds like a... SEMINAR. Ask about those and demand specifics!
"Dorm Life
Initially, boundaries and behavioral limits are foreign to many of our students. For that reason, our dormitories are highly-structured, allowing for positive peer support to help fellow students gain a sense of boundaries and the ability to accept the consequences of their actions."
Positive peer support? Is that a level system? Giving students control over other students? What? :roll: Red flag... Also, get specifics on what that structure is.
The clip art all over the site making it look like a ClubMed... dude, if you knew to look on google earth for pics of the actual facility, you should know the pictures on the website are NOT representative of the facility itself nine times out of ten. It's freaking clipart and stock photographs!
I think the "our vision" page sums it up the best. "This can be a double-edged sword ? intelligence and creativity are often the common denominators in most manipulative students."
I would look elsewhere. This looks like just another joke preying on worried parents using lots of buzzwords and descriptive language without actually divuldging any specifics at all.
I'm sorry if you got your hopes up but at least now you know you asked first, right?
