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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katfish:
www.strugglingteens.com/news/APAReport81206.pdf

Obviously this study only marks improved behavior/self assesment of self in an environment which coerces change.  It's kind of funny that this is even being mentioned as legitimite data since it's like asking kids over at the Judge Rotenberg Center, who have been shocked into submission, to report on their state- knowing that if they are feeling feeling x, say agressive, knowing that this is a 'bad' thing, that it could get them sent back, that it's not allowed... well, it's easier to deny than to admit and then try to pretend or try and deal with the conflict of what's acceptable vs not.    

Another possibility is that there is no sense of being in touch with the self, but rather only what the program has told you you should feel, think, do, etc.  It's no suprise that we've all heard of fellow alumni return to old stuff, or become more self-destructive w/in 6 months to a year...

It also takes time for the shock to dissipate, for the fear to subside, for the trauma to sink in and for honest, awareness and present assesment to take place. I have NO doubt a good percentage of youth will entirely contradict this study's preliminary results in the follow up.  

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?  

I find that this study to be irresponsible- well, at least NATSAP's response is premature and irresponsible.  Dr. Brehan just seems naive.  The study itself, for whatever reason, does not examine the nuances of individual programs - how can we examine a program w/o identifying and looking into the practices they call 'therapeutic'?  
Um... perhaps the results would be more acurate?
The difference b/w a facility that does not force peers to act like staff vs one that does, or variations in a facility that does not impose/ insist constant, daily confrontation with the intensity that many of us find dehuminizing and humiliating vs methods used at regulated RTC's?
Or what about the rock picking for days vs facilities that don't turn youth into chain gangs who don't have that?  

Not to mention, how many kids have said they've noted improvements (time spent at facilitiy irrelevant),  yet still report symptoms of PTSD?  I suppose that upon discharge this is too soon to asses, but I wonder if that will be a quesiton posed in the follow up interview?

In anycase, to ignore the role of coercion and how easily one can become complicit in their dis-empowerment or mistreatment is absolutely obscene (niave on the dr's part), yet this - like so many other deminsions, are mute points.

For NATSAP to completely jump the gun and insist private residential tx is evidence-based is silly, there's not enough information provided.  To ignore completly what we've all reported, however,  is incredibly irresponsible & I am absolutely appalled and sickened.

Deborah:

--- Quote from: ""katfish"" ---Only 9 programs were studied- as follows:

Youth Care, Inc., Academy at Swift River, Sun Hawk Academy, Aspen Ranch, Pine Ridge Academy, Copper Canyon Academy, Turnabout Ranch, Stone Mountain School, and Mount Bachelor Academy.
--- End quote ---


No kidding? That would be 110 people from each of the 9 programs filled out questionaires? Why only 9 when they had 165 programs to pull from?

Are all of these programs licensed at RTC/TBSs by the regulatory agency in their state? The "study" sure seems to indicate that all NATSAP programs are licensed, and one could easily assume that they all participated in the "study". Quiet deceptive, and par for the course.

katfish:

--- Quote from: ""Deborah"" ---? Quiet deceptive,
--- End quote ---

Yes, shocking, huh?  ;-)


--- Quote from: ""Deborah"" ---Are all of these programs licensed at RTC/TBSs by the regulatory agency in their state?
--- End quote ---




Youth Care, Inc., - Utah DHS, & Utah office of licensing, JCAHO

Academy at Swift River- Licensed as a Private School through
Mowhawk Trails Regional School System.

Sun Hawk Academy - Utah DHS, & Utah office of licensing

Aspen Ranch, -  Utah DHS, & Utah office of licensing and California non-public school accredidation (not sure what that is)

Pine Ridge Academy - Utah's DHS, Joint Commission of Accreditation for Health Care Organizations


Copper Canyon Academy- AZ Dept. of Helath Services, Office of Behavioral Health Licensince

Turnabout Ranch-Utah DHS, & Utah office of licensing

Stone Mountain School- State of NC (not sure what that means- no dept specificed so I assume that invovles only educational component?), Special Ed certification

Mount Bachelor Academy- Oregon Dept of Human Services, Child Caring Agnecy, Oregon Dept of Ed




Also, let us not forget:

Study funded by ASPEN Education Group

katfish:
As far as why only those 9...  no idea, but it's interesting that they didn't pick a facility from MT.

That said, I don't care what this says, I have personally communicated with kids from:

MBA
ASR
SunHawk
Copper Canyon
Aspen Ranch
Youth Care- (I'm pretty sure- but have to check)

And it's clear that some youth are being traumatized, yet they also say that it helped in some ways... but more harm than good...


The limited number of faciliites doesn't suprise me tho, but I'm curious how they selected these- least number of dissenters posting online perhaps?

I'm just surprised it's so.. watered down of a 'study'.   I suppose that this isn't really the purpose - identifying methods used...yet one would think that in an outcome study data on the input would also have been collected.  How can you asses the output w/o the input?  Seriously?  Don't humans have more depth than that??

To me it's kind of like looking at N. Korea and asking the folks there if they support their gov't or, rather, if they're happy (within the context of studying the gov't- and it's output/outcome).... simple as that- No fool would be honest.  I'm probably stating the obvious here... i think.

katfish:
yes, spoken with aumni from youth care- that was right.

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