Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > The Troubled Teen Industry
Three Springs Alumni
Antigen:
Welcome
Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
--Anonymous
--- End quote ---
Anonymous:
Three Springs Waygookin,
Thanks for your post! Your pointers need a tread of their own. Hope you don't mind me starting one.
--- Quote ---1) Programs are no substitute for parenting skills.
2) GO visit the Program unnannounced.
3) Here are a list of things I would look for myself:
1) Appearance of Facility. Do you want your child in a hobo village?
2) Quality of food. The food at Three Springs was not even fit for farm animals.
3) Overall Appearance of Residents. Does it look like their physical needs are being taken care of? Do they have clean, and maintained clothing? Does it look like their medical needs are being attended to in a proper manner? Some facilites are so understaffed this can be a real issue. Make sure at the very minimum the program has an onsite nurse. Even then some nurses are incompetent buffons. Look the kids over carefully, see if you can detect a perponderance of minor medical issues that do not appear to be attended to properly.
4) Require to see documentation about the number of physical restraints conducted monthly at the facility. If that number is higher than 2 or 3 for a program of 60, then start demanding answers. Is it all one kid? If it is whats being done? Is it a bunch of kids? Whats being done? If you do not like the answers, then LEAVE!
5) Look over the theraputic enviroment of the facility. As a counselor I had no problem making my kids work when they were acting silly. However, I do regret making them do pointless work as a consquence. Group Process is not a bad thing when conducted properly. If a group is acting poorly and they are suffering from their own lack of good behaviors, then they are feeling natural consquences. Now if the staff is imposing consquences, then ask how are they LOGICAL? How does it connect the poor behaviors, with the consquence? How does the consquence help the kid move onward in the program, and in life?
6) Last DO NOT TRUST EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANTS with the future of your child. They are money grubbing leaches who we used to jazz the place up for on a regular basis. The Three Springs head honchos used to love my campsite, because I was so adamant about it being clean. Programs will bend over backwards to kiss a EC's butt. GO visit the place yourself!!!
7) Alot of kids have issues that can not really be fully dealt with by the individual groups treatment models. Check to see if they have more specific treatment opprotunities availiable. Honestly, would you expect a kid who was molested to want to talk about it with a group of his peers? Is not going to happen. Not in the beginning anyway, so make sure that the facilites have the resources to help your kid deal with these issues.
Last thing long term residential programs are a serious step. Not one is needed for every kid. Sometimes kids just really do need parents.
PARENTS CHECK YOURSELVES OUT BEFORE YOU CHECK YOUR KID INTO SOME WILDERNESS, OR RESIDENTIAL HELL HOLE. YOU REALLY MIGHT BE THE PROBLEM AND NOT THE KID!
--- End quote ---
BuzzKill:
//I have other thoughts to post on them as well.//
And I hope you'll post them.
IMO - this is what we need a lot more of - Ex-Staff willing to speak up and speak out.
I am so glad you took the time and effort to post your thoughts.
Couture:
Hey..... Three springs caught my eye. I graduated from Auldern Academy. Did you have any contact with the people there?
Anonymous:
That was a chilling read, thanks for writing it out.
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