hey kc hows it goin, this is Missy... I got pulled a couple months ago. I find it somewhat interesting that the staff told people that you got sent to a lockdown, which they say about anyone who gets in trouble and leaves. That's good that you were able to go home though.
HLA is just a business, just like all of the other places in the troubled teen industry. And all of these people trying to shut the school down, it won't ever work, they're well-guarded legally. Basically they rely on manipulation of students and parents. Also, its mostly about painting a perfect picture to parents looking for somewhere to put their kids. There's a huge demand for places like HLA, and they just take everyones money. I mean why else would they make you pay the last 3 months of the program upon admission, without refund if the student leaves before that? The school is supposed to base everything around academics. All boarding schools are, whether or not they're therapeutic. The academics at HLA are absurd, and I only had one teacher who actually taught anything the entire time I was there. Academics at HLA just aren't very important, which is obvious. I think the people there are really being cheated out of their highschool education, and won't be as prepared for college. The therapy isn't individual, and isn't effective. They treat the students there based on what their parents say, and I was there for 9 months, and was treated for a bunch of things that weren't correct, and it was all rediculous, because it was what one of my parents said was wrong, and it took the counselers 9 months to realize that the parent was the root of the problem and crazy, and most of what my mom said was completely wrong.
A lot of stuff that happens at HLA shouldn't occur, but they do everything to make sure it doesn't get out enough to ruin their reputation. I still have flashbacks sometimes and weird dreams about being at hla, on a pretty regular basis. The program basically works by using fear, and instilling anxiety in the students, which is harmful. This method of "changing" does't seem to be something that carries on long term. A lot of messed up stuff happened to me at HLA which I will never forget, like when I first got there and on Christmas my shampoo bottle was peed in, my christmas gifts were put w/ another girl's and then hidden from me as well. Some of the staff there have treated me like I was worthless, and they were totally uneducated and immature, more so than some of the youngest students at the school.
Basically, all I really gained was insight, some backround on psychology, and some time away from home to clear my head and see the situation I was in before being sent there for what it was. I could have achieved all of those things, at a normal boarding school. I feel like I was cheated out of a proper education, and like I wasted my time when I was there. The negative things that happened to me there greatly outweighed the positive. HLA was a really emotionally disturbing experience for me.
