Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > The Troubled Teen Industry
Academy at Sisters
juliechan:
Ask your dad to contact the program and press them for answers about outside contact, program details, etc. If they cannot come up with a clear answer or block requests they are definitely shady.
juliechan:
He may also want to view this: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consume ... /pro27.pdf
Whooter:
The main thing the program can provide is distance from the environment that is making a child at-risk. The program does not know the cause. From their standpoint it could be uncle Marvin who molested the child when she was young, or a school teacher who is abusing her. Could be a friend of the family or a neighbor. Could be a parent or a drug dealer. So I think we can all agree that it makes sense to eliminate contact remove the cell phone until the child has a chance to talk to her therapist and determine who is safe for her to have contact with.
The strength of programs in general is providing a safe and structured environment for the child to heal and grow in. Over time my daughter was able to communicate with friends and family, but it takes time.
I agree that if the parents have questions about Academy at Sisters they should call them. Another suggestion is to ask to speak with other parents who have had children graduate the program so that they can ask them questions they don’t feel comfortable asking Academy at sisters.
On another note I think it is irresponsible for people to suggest living on the streets is a safe alternative for a 15 year old girl. You dont realize it but you have become blinded by your own quest to discredit all programs. You should try step back a little and see what is best for the child and not try to frighten her to the point she runs and puts herself at risk of getting hurt or worse.
...
Whooter:
--- Quote from: "juliechan" ---He may also want to view this: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consume ... /pro27.pdf
--- End quote ---
Great link Julie, thanks. I condensed the questions parents should ask below:
1. Are you licensed by the state?
2. Do you provide an academic curriculum? If so, is it available to all program participants? Do you have teachers who are certified or licensed by your state?
3. What about accreditation?
4. Do you have a clinical director? What are his/her credentials?
5. What are the credentials of the staff, especially the counselors and therapists, who will be working with my child?
6. How experienced is your staff? Have they worked at other residential treatment programs? If yes, where and for how long?
7. Do you conduct background checks on your employees?
8. What are the criteria for admission ? Do you conduct pre-admission assessments? Are they in person, by phone, or over the Internet? Who conducts them?
9. Will you provide an individualized program with a detailed explanation of the therapies, interventions, and supports that will address my child’s needs? When is this done? How often will my child be reassessed?
10. How do you handle medical issues like illness or injury? Is there a nurse or doctor on staff? On the premises? Will you contact me? Will Ibe notified or consulted if there’s a change in treatment or medication?
11. How do you define success? What is your success rate? How is it measured?
12. How do you discipline program participants?
13. Can I contact/speak with my child when I want? Can my child contact me when he wants?
14. What are the costs? What do they cover? What is your refund policy if the program doesn’t work out?
15. Do you have relationships with companies and individuals that provide educational and referral services?
-- The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) http://www.gao.gov
...
Vic Zealot:
--- Quote from: "Ursus" ---
--- Quote from: "Vic Zealot" ---What I think it's important to know is that this place itself is only a small part of a massive web of bullshit. The accreditation, the testimonials, the everything can be (and probably is) either gross fabrication or heavily "re-interpreted". Evil hides behind stock photos of smiling people and all-white backgrounds more often than drawings of pentagrams and all-black backgrounds.
--- End quote ---
Yup. And this industry has been nurtured and bred in a society that's been fed a steady diet — via the media, the foci of the "experts," governmental mandates, advertising, etc. — that pathologizes any but the most conformist of adolescences. Small wonder then, that parents believe there's "something wrong that can be fixed" with their kid, when they get that message coming from all directions.
At this point in time, this cultural mindset seems to be unique to the U.S. You hear from posters in other countries that this kind of stuff just isn't going on there, certainly not to the pervasive degree that it is here.
--- End quote ---
Besides the societal impetus necessary for this crap to go on - whose existence I think ought to be self-evident, but would nonetheless sound wacky to someone just hearing it for the first time - there's, on a smaller scale, the B.S. going on in the individual "schools" and in the organizations that support them. Essentially, the nationwide associations giving awards and credibility to these places are about as impartial as the tobacco advocacy groups who told people smoking didn't lead to cancer. Nothing but papier-mache props that they are really hoping nobody looks at closely enough to tell what they are. Instead they see the individual abuses that happen and attack leaves, while ignoring the big nasty gnarled tree that allows those leaves to grow.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version