Glenhaven Academy or Walden Street School

[sad]

http://www.traumacenter.org/clients/walden.php

Any info on any of these places?

[Pile of Dead Kids]

Hrm. All of these places have the distinction of not being mentioned on Fornits, and the parent company Justice Resource Institute hasn't been brought up on this site before. No mention of NATSAP, no level system, no mention of any of the disturbing dog-whistles we've seen here. All of these are positive signs.

http://www.traumacenter.org/clients/Walden_brochure.pdf

Wow, info on this place is sparse. They seem to be following something of a medical model but it's hard to tell what they mean by certain things.

As far as mental health facilities go this looks like one of the best of the lot.

[Paul St. John]

This is not the type of program usually spoken about on this site.  I can only give my personal opinion, of course, but it seems like a decent place to me.

And it says that parents can get involved in activites thye choose, so that keeps you in the loop.  I would actually say from what I gather, this is an entirely different breed of program, from TC's for example.  It is not tough love.


It seems very professional.  One of the things that I like the best about it, is that they refer to the child as their client!!!!!

I don t like that they keep using the word programming, but I would say that at the very least, it s getting more info.. talking to a director... etc.


Also, if your child is sufferring from Post traumatic stess disorder, you may want to look into EFT practitioners in your area.  I have heard from many who are honest, about miraculous results with this.

Paul

Also check out "The Power of Letting Go" by Patricia Carrington

The Sedona Method can also be helpful with this sort of thing...

Also, check out the book, " Focussing" by Eugene Gendlin, if you like..

All good resources for this sort of thing.

Hope your girl gets well.. Love goes a long way too..

[Paul St. John]

Just do me one favor, Sad..

Please don t trust everybody.  there are snake-oil programs out there, and they are very good at sucking parents in and sounding professional.  It is what they do.. It is how they make their living.  They are as skilled as any politicians, and they are very good at using guilt and other "handles" within people to get them to do what they want.

I advice caution.. Be careful... A person would like to think that there would not be so much dishonesty in an industry like child care, but there is, and all you have to do is browse this site to get a taste of it.  Take your time, and draw your own conclusions.  Everyone has advice, but it is your child.

Paul

The reason people come off so harshly towards programs on these boards, is because they have been fucked by them.. they have been victim of them

[Pile of Dead Kids]

The reason people come off so harshly towards programs on these boards, is because they have been fucked by them.. they have been victim of them

Except me. I'm just here to help get rid of a certain flavor of evil.

And I'm not seeing that evil here at all. These people strongly look like they're doing good, or at least trying to. Affiliation with genuine mental trauma centers, family involvement, and although some of the stuff on that page looks a little new-agey, at least they understand what neuroscience is.

There's always the chance that they could be the next Peninsula Village, but it really doesn't look like it from here.

So yeah. If you really have to send her anywhere, send her to one of JRI's.

[sad]

I came onto this site because I am aware of the cruelty that many children have sadly and unfortunately experienced at certain facilities. It is a crime of immeasurable proportions! And the criminals should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law! I am here to find out which places to stay far away from. I am not easily pursuaded into anything, i take my time researching and researching and speaking with graduates of these programs.

My kid's situation is quite different, it's not that I am sending her anywhere; she has conflict of loyalty betweeen her dad and myself. complicated situation. Dad hospitalized her cuz she was so deperessed living with him (this is what she stated to docs), and she doesnt want to come home to me cuz then she will 'lose' dad's 'love'. complicated indeed.

Dad hospitalized her and she wanted to remain in the hospital; she wanted to live there. This kid does no drugs, no crime, no addictions, but an innocent child victim.

The hospital referred her to the wilderness place so she can work through this loyalty issue. she also feels she's at fault, that because of her 'misbehavior' dad and mom split up. Of course it's not true, but she's living with this nightmarish guilt and conflict of loyalty and has been abused physically and psychologically. dear her.

She's had multiple traumas and I certainly don't want her to be in a 'tough love' program. she needs a lot of nurturance and empathy, not tough love.

Thanks all for your input; i will sort things out and tease things apart and hope for a successful outcome.

[Pile of Dead Kids]

:jawdrop:  :jawdrop:  :jawdrop:

Oh holy crap you do not want a girl that innocent involved in any of this shit at all. A hospital referred her to a wilderness program?!

*shakes head in disbelief*

Maybe that's why they did it- because they knew of a place she'd definitely want to come home from...

Bring her home, put her in front of the computer, and get your damn stopwatch, because I can get some friends together and we can teach this girl self-interest at speeds usually reserved for certain Hispanic mice and blue hedgehogs. Teaching a teenage girl self-interest- Christ I have a hard time even typing that, that's like teaching fish how to swim.

But even if you don't trust me, get her the hell out of there anyway, because a wilderness program that makes money on keeping her there + her problem being not wanting to come home = THINGS WILL GET WORSE.

[Whooter]

I came onto this site because I am aware of the cruelty that many children have sadly and unfortunately experienced at certain facilities. It is a crime of immeasurable proportions! And the criminals should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law! I am here to find out which places to stay far away from. I am not easily pursuaded into anything, i take my time researching and researching and speaking with graduates of these programs.

My kid's situation is quite different, it's not that I am sending her anywhere; she has conflict of loyalty betweeen her dad and myself. complicated situation. Dad hospitalized her cuz she was so deperessed living with him (this is what she stated to docs), and she doesnt want to come home to me cuz then she will 'lose' dad's 'love'. complicated indeed.

Dad hospitalized her and she wanted to remain in the hospital; she wanted to live there. This kid does no drugs, no crime, no addictions, but an innocent child victim.

The hospital referred her to the wilderness place so she can work through this loyalty issue. she also feels she's at fault, that because of her 'misbehavior' dad and mom split up. Of course it's not true, but she's living with this nightmarish guilt and conflict of loyalty and has been abused physically and psychologically. dear her.

She's had multiple traumas and I certainly don't want her to be in a 'tough love' program. she needs a lot of nurturance and empathy, not tough love.

Thanks all for your input; i will sort things out and tease things apart and hope for a successful outcome.

Look, Sad, Clearly your daughter would not do well in a program environment.  She seems sensitive and is reaching out for help and needs family right now, not some strangers to straighten her out and whip her into shape.   As far as you have stated your daughter hasn’t done anything to indicate she is at-risk.   She is depressed and doesn’t want to be around you or her father right now.

You and your husband should gather yourselves up and bring your daughter into family therapy (with a good therapist) to see what would be best for her (not the family).  You are only seeing (reporting)what is going on on the surface.

Wilderness is great for taking a child out of their toxic environment for a few weeks to discover what is going on and is fairly benign, but there is no long term healing that takes place there.  (maybe a quick recalibration for those kids who need it and/or redirection).

If you are truly sincere in your posts you should consider telling us more of what led up to you posting here, otherwise your story doesn’t really add up.  Something isn’t right, in my opinion.



...

[sad]

her depression led to a suicide attempt. and she stopped eating and drinking for days. Clearly she is in acute pain but she does not have the communication skills, instead she acts out, in depressive catatonic situations. and in suicide attempts. she would not sit in the same room as me, so family therapy is out for now. she will protect dad at all costs.

[Pile of Dead Kids]

her depression led to a suicide attempt. and she stopped eating and drinking for days. Clearly she is in acute pain but she does not have the communication skills, instead she acts out, in depressive catatonic situations. and in suicide attempts. she would not sit in the same room as me, so family therapy is out for now. she will protect dad at all costs.

You really, REALLY do not want your suicidal daughter in a wilderness program.

Cliffs are.. how should I put this..?  A popular choice.

Similarly, a depressive catatonic who stops fluid intake in an environment with heat exposure and dehydration? I'll just let you visualize what can go wrong there.

[Pile of Dead Kids]

All right, in lieu of a few "oh my god did he just say that" minutes of psychological bridge-burning, I'm going to offer THIS as a solution.

You. Her. The father, I don't care if you have to PAY him to be there. A child psychologist, not of the programmie variety. All in the same room. And you sit there and all of you work together to untwist whatever the fuck has gone wrong in her head, for as many sessions as it takes. YOU. HIM. HER. A PROFESSIONAL. ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Have you tried this before? If so, what the hell happened?

[Ursus]

@sad: Which wilderness program is she in? And why the antipathy towards you, and the preference towards Dad?

[Che Gookin]

How about just letting her come live with you and letting her sort it out for herself? With most suicidal people there is the hype and there is the real danger of someone hurting themselves. I wouldn't get that overly worried about what is going on and just give your daughter some time with you. If here dad is willing to help out to reassure her that he's absolutely fine with the move and that he actively participates in her life that is even better.

That's my suggestion, just let her come live with you and give it time. Time heals all wounds so it is said.

[Nihilanthic]

I'd like to drop in and mention that Stockholm syndrome is rather well known.

What's daddio feeding the girl?

Either way, you will not fix anything with a program. The most you'd accomplish is making her bury it - so she can survive while in the program - only to resurface later with a vengeance. There is no quick fix, nor is there some "hard decision" for you to make so you can give yourself kudos for how hard it was that will ameliorate this.

At this point, sad, I'd consider foster care for the child given neither you nor her dad seem to be capable of doing anything in her best interest, the hospital is apparently making money off of referrals or clearly does not vet out the places it gives recommendations to, and the girl is trying to kill herself.

[SUCK IT]

The truth is any kid can benefit from being placed in treatment. Tough love is nothing more than helping a kid to grow up into an adult. You can be one of those helicopter parents that hold the hand of their kid through college until they get a job and do wraparound stalking like fornits posters suggest, or you can send them on an adventure of their life with a wilderness program and let them grow into an independent young person ready for life. All the programs that people complain about here are out of business, the posters here were in treatment 25 years ago on average, there was a poll done indicating this. Treatment evolves like any industry and it's really helpful to any kid, not necessarily just troubled teens. Don't let the scare tactics here scare you, treatment programs save lives and 99.99% of kids do well. The other 00.01% end up posting here, its' a safe gamble.