Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > The Troubled Teen Industry
Academy at Sisters
Ursus:
Originally posted on 26 Nov 2009 in the Mount Bachelor Academy Shut Down thread:
--- Quote from: "Academy at Sisters abuse" ---I feel I have to post in case there are some parents considering the Academy at Sisters (Bend, Oregon) as an alternative to MBA. My ex-husband put my daughter at the Academy at Sisters and while I am fairly certain they did not do the lap dancing and other forms of sexual role playing, they did engage in other forms of abuse mentioned at MBA. For instance, they will take away school credits and/or remove the student from the public school some of the students get to attend (Bend High School). In my daughters case this was done one week before finals because she made negative comments about the Academy to her father who was fully and completely brainwashed. This frequently happens before a girl is to graduate either from the program or high school in order to keep them longer. They also will force students to be isolated - either in solitary confinement or by not permitting them to interact with the other girls around them. For more than a month my daughter was not allowed to talk to the other girls or eat with them at mealtimes. The Academy even went so far as to tell the other Academy girls who attended Bend High School with my daughter that they had to ignore her and not acknowledge her while she was at school. Why a public high school puts up with shunning is beyond me but it is done frequently. On occasions they ask the girls to disclose embarrassing things about themselves to the group. Privacy and respect are nonexistent. They also have "feedback," that common form of abuse where they can only say "thank you" as all the other girls and staff tell you anything and everything negative about you they can come up with. Since the only way a girl can move up levels and get privledges is by snitching on the other students they will make up complete lies if they have to. The point of all this is that I am sure parents of Mt. Bachelor students are probably looking at alternatives for their kids who have been messed up by their experiences at MBA and can't return home. The Academy at Sisters is not the answer. I would imagine most programs are probably equally as abusive so all I can suggest is that you get a good therapist and maybe find a family member or friend the kid can live with for awhile. They get out of these programs very angry and need a lot of time, space and support to get acclimated to the real world. I was not prepared for the anger I saw when my daughter ran away a couple of weeks before her 18th birthday and was disowned by her father for a period of time. It has taken a couple of years to get to the point where she we no longer has nightmares about the place and she has been able to put it behind her.
--- End quote ---
One thing I consider another red flag about a program is when they do not post staff identities and brief bios on their website. In the case of Academy at Sisters, I could find only three individuals, on the academic faculty page. And yet, don't these girls, or at least some of them, attend Bend High School, at least some of the time?
One would think that the therapeutic staff would be of more concern to parents, given that this is a behavior modification facility. And yet I was unable to locate any such individuals on their website. Perhaps I'm not looking at the right pages. Anybody else find any such individuals listed?
Whooter:
--- Quote from: "Ursus" ---Originally posted on 26 Nov 2009 in the Mount Bachelor Academy Shut Down thread:
--- Quote from: "Academy at Sisters abuse" ---I feel I have to post in case there are some parents considering the Academy at Sisters (Bend, Oregon) as an alternative to MBA. My ex-husband put my daughter at the Academy at Sisters and while I am fairly certain they did not do the lap dancing and other forms of sexual role playing, they did engage in other forms of abuse mentioned at MBA. For instance, they will take away school credits and/or remove the student from the public school some of the students get to attend (Bend High School). In my daughters case this was done one week before finals because she made negative comments about the Academy to her father who was fully and completely brainwashed. This frequently happens before a girl is to graduate either from the program or high school in order to keep them longer. They also will force students to be isolated - either in solitary confinement or by not permitting them to interact with the other girls around them. For more than a month my daughter was not allowed to talk to the other girls or eat with them at mealtimes. The Academy even went so far as to tell the other Academy girls who attended Bend High School with my daughter that they had to ignore her and not acknowledge her while she was at school. Why a public high school puts up with shunning is beyond me but it is done frequently. On occasions they ask the girls to disclose embarrassing things about themselves to the group. Privacy and respect are nonexistent. They also have "feedback," that common form of abuse where they can only say "thank you" as all the other girls and staff tell you anything and everything negative about you they can come up with. Since the only way a girl can move up levels and get privledges is by snitching on the other students they will make up complete lies if they have to. The point of all this is that I am sure parents of Mt. Bachelor students are probably looking at alternatives for their kids who have been messed up by their experiences at MBA and can't return home. The Academy at Sisters is not the answer. I would imagine most programs are probably equally as abusive so all I can suggest is that you get a good therapist and maybe find a family member or friend the kid can live with for awhile. They get out of these programs very angry and need a lot of time, space and support to get acclimated to the real world. I was not prepared for the anger I saw when my daughter ran away a couple of weeks before her 18th birthday and was disowned by her father for a period of time. It has taken a couple of years to get to the point where she we no longer has nightmares about the place and she has been able to put it behind her.
--- End quote ---
One thing I consider another red flag about a program is when they do not post staff identities and brief bios on their website. In the case of Academy at Sisters, I could find only three individuals, on the academic faculty page. And yet, don't these girls, or at least some of them, attend Bend High School, at least some of the time?
One would think that the therapeutic staff would be of more concern to parents, given that this is a behavior modification facility. And yet I was unable to locate any such individuals on their website. Perhaps I'm not looking at the right pages. Anybody else find any such individuals listed?
--- End quote ---
My guess is that because it is a very small school that the teachers wear several hats and "cross train". In the professional area I found:
The Academy at Sisters Treatment Team consists of Case Managers, Clinical Director/Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Teacher(s), Academic Director, Operations Director and Executive Director. To take advantage of the unified team talent and to ensure consistency throughout the process, the Treatment Team meets weekly to discuss the individual needs of each girl and the overall group dynamics, as well as make important treatment decisions as a Team.
Upon admission, each student is assigned a personal Case Manager. The Case Manager’s responsibility is to make sure that all components of treatment (therapeutic, academic, familial, community, safety, and self) are being utilized effectively. They provide weekly one-to-one sessions for each student on their caseload, participate in various on and off-campus activities, carry out weekly family conferences, facilitate weekly groups, and continually evaluate all facets of the girls’ individual treatment plans with the oversight of Dr. Julie Schneider, Licensed Clinical Psychologist. This ensures that the individual’s program is addressing her most immediate needs and reinforcing positive changes.
The Academy has built a strong Clinical Support Team within the community utilizing the services of a local Board Certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist for medication management; a Behavioral Consultant; and Licensed Therapists for additional support as needed.
...
Antigen:
Well, haven't heard from Morgan or her parents in this thread in awhile now. Hope they didn't trick her into the car by telling her they were headed to a good local counselor.
Pile of Dead Kids:
They didn't. You're way late to the party on this one Ginger. Read the shoutbox chat history.
Academy at Sisters:
How did this resolve?
thanks
How do you use the history command
thanks.
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