Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > The Ridge Creek School / Hidden Lake Academy

Being discharged from NATSAP's programs makes teens happy

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Deborah:
Thanks Kat for sharing your persepective, from a participant's point of view. As an "advarsarial" parent I felt like I was in the program too. I could only imagine how my child felt, living it day-to-day.

I feel this deserves repeating:


--- Quote ---I (and I'm 100% positive I'm not the only one) would have easily- given the naturalization of the program mantra- reported improvements in just about every area of my life after leaving the facility I attended, for a number of reasons. This would have been/and was so ( I told everyone how wonderful the program was for a while after I left): Fear of getting sent back, fear of disappointing my family, fear of diminishing my own value by diminishing the program's value (ie, my 'accomplishments' there- after all, spending a year perfecting the art of something, even if it's regurgitation, is awfully painful to admit in the end it was of no real help), and I think the biggest fear of all would be having to admit helplessness. If the program didn't have the answers then I was back at square one, or square negative one... That was the worst thing possible.... I would then have no answers. Yes, denial was the only choice for me for some time...

Much like the respondents, who didn't gain some insight- if we all really think about it...there is some value in the trauma of seperation, the fear of not living with your family for years, the shock of being completely and utterly alone- some self refelction and even insight into family life can only be expected, but that alone is not a program and in that trauma, abandonment, of seperation, etc - do the end jutify the means?
--- End quote ---


~~ How can one begin to deal with past traumas, when their 'treatment' in the present is traumatic; and to compound things, they're being conditioned to believe that traumatic treatment is normal? Programs are flawed by design. I'm sorry there's not more genuinely effect help readily available for families.

Anonymous:
Agreed..

Anonymous:
On a similar note, my educational consultant is really touting Island View RTC, another NATSAP facility, and their success rate.  According to their web site, they boast that up to 84% of former residents maintain improved behavior over a long time.  

What should I make of this?  Any thoughts?

From the Island View web site:

How successful is Island View in making lasting changes with adolescents?
From the inception of Island View, we have conducted follow-up studies. On a regular basis, we call parents of former residents and ask them a number of questions. Most of the questions are aimed at collecting feedback about the well-being of the former resident. Consistently, between 81 and 84% of all polled parents report that their child has ?substantially improved? or ?significantly improved.? What is equally encouraging about these results is that repeated callbacks (every 6 months) reveal a maintenance of changed behavior over time. That is to say, that a child who has improved, typically maintains the improved status and does not deteriorate. Conversely, we have found that the residual 15% of residents who make little of no improvement, deteriorate immediately following discharge.

Anonymous:

--- Quote from: ""Guest 007"" ---On a similar note, my educational consultant is really touting Island View RTC, another NATSAP facility, and their success rate.  According to their web site, they boast that up to 84% of former residents maintain improved behavior over a long time.  

What should I make of this?  Any thoughts?

From the Island View web site:

How successful is Island View in making lasting changes with adolescents?
From the inception of Island View, we have conducted follow-up studies. On a regular basis, we call parents of former residents and ask them a number of questions. Most of the questions are aimed at collecting feedback about the well-being of the former resident. Consistently, between 81 and 84% of all polled parents report that their child has ?substantially improved? or ?significantly improved.? What is equally encouraging about these results is that repeated callbacks (every 6 months) reveal a maintenance of changed behavior over time. That is to say, that a child who has improved, typically maintains the improved status and does not deteriorate. Conversely, we have found that the residual 15% of residents who make little of no improvement, deteriorate immediately following discharge.
--- End quote ---


http://www.islandview-rtc.com/

Ask them about the percentage of students who actually graduate their program. 50% - 60% of the kids in my child's group dropped out. That's not a good success rate by any means.

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)
Utah Department of Human Services, Department of Licensure
Utah State Board of Education
California Department of Education as a Non-Public School
Northwest Association of Accredited Schools
National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs

The NATSAP accreditation is bogus - so many of us have written and called about HLA and they said they've never received any complaints. Plus NATSAP is run by the very people who own these facilities.

Call, write, email the other agencies and ask them about the number of complaints, injuries, deaths, etc.. Check with the state of Utah and make sure the staff and teachers are properly licensed in the state of Utah. You can contact their Secretary of State's Office, Department of Health and Human Services, Childcare agencies, etc... from Utah.

Ask your Ed Con to disclose what, if any, types of gifts, trips, compensation, etc. he/she has received from the school. Ask for references for the Ed Con. See if the Ed Con has any complaints filed against him/her.

Best advice: Do your own investigating and remember that the bottom line is these places are businesses and they are there to make money.

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