Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => The Ridge Creek School / Hidden Lake Academy => Topic started by: Deborah on November 03, 2003, 10:34:00 PM
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Have you ever posted at Amazing Forums?
http://amazingforums.com/forum/BS4/forum.html (http://amazingforums.com/forum/BS4/forum.html)
Might be a waste of time. The following thread was removed in the past week. I found it cached at Google. Anyone know the poop on that board? Who runs it? Why they might censor important information?
Author Topic: Hidden Lake Academy
Sally posted 1/12/03 4:13 AM
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Does anyone have info or stories about Hidden Lake Academy in Ga?????????
jm posted 1/15/03 3:16 AM
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try http://www.strugglingteens.com (http://www.strugglingteens.com)
grad's mom posted 1/15/03 5:11 PM
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Overall, I have a very positive opinion of HLA's program. Most of the (minor) things I didn't like were changed/improved during my daughter's nearly two years there. She is still corresponding with friends there and plans to go to their grad in May.
jill (a graduate's mom) posted 3/20/03 5:43 PM
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our experience at hla was life-changing. my 15 year-old son was a substance abuser, was failing in school, was diagnosed with conduct disorder and was not responding to individual weekly counseling. we enrolled him at hla and he graduated from the program about 22 months later. the first few months were so difficult, painful and arduous. then, he began adjusting to the program. hla staff are masters level counselors. there is no medication, no restraining, no lock up. the kids, through intensive individual, group, wilderness therapy learn self-control. the staff lives by their stated philosophy- there is no b.s. about it. the program is strict but the kids know exactly what the rules are and they learn the consequences. they know what to expect. i never could have provided the supervision and consistency hla provided. the family workshops helped us to bond again in healthier ways than we had before. we learned so much.
my son is graduating from our local high school this june(2003) with honors! has carried a 3.75 gpa throughout his highschool education! he was inducted into the national honor society! he has been accepted to ohio state u. and u. of delaware for next fall! now, he has an array of choices to make. i look at my son now- im so proud of him and happy for him, tears well up in my eyes- but they are the most joyful tears these days:) overall- i would say, the road to these positive changes was not an easy one, for my son or us(his family), but it was so worth it. hla is a first rate therapeutic boarding school.
Kelly posted 3/23/03 2:40 PM
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Thank you for your response.I have a child there and have been wanting to hear from the parents of graduates.It puts my mind at ease to know it's not like some of the other abusive schools I read about. This was the hardest decision of our lives. It's still a daily struggle for us and our teen. I'm encouraged though to hear it gets easier. Thanks again for posting your stories.
mark taha posted 4/11/03 3:31 PM
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I believe that boarding schools are unnatural.Those that don't allow their pupils to communicate with the outside world shouldn't be allowed to exist.Parents who agree to have their children deprived of all contact for months aren't fit to have them.
JM posted 4/11/03 8:39 PM
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I recently graduated from HLA (Dec. '02), and I highly reccomend the program. I found support and "tough love" (heavy on the love :smile: ), from many staff members, and although there were some negative things I would like to see the school change, HLA definitely has the right idea for helping adolescents. I rediscovered my own value as a person and completely turned my life around. Three months before I entered HLA, I wrote my will and had given up on my life. Now, almost three years later, and three months after graduating, I love my life. I graduated high school there, and I am now choosing between Vanderbilt on an almost full scholarship and UGA in the honors program on a Charter scholarship. My life and happiness amazes me and I enjoy it immensely. I love my family, and I cherish them. Sure, the road always been easy-going, but I am very grateful to my parents and the staff at HLA for helping me turn my life around. HLA is definitely a top-notch, caring school. Also, please feel free to email me with any questions. I'm quite honest - I'll tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly, but overall it's a great place. :smile:
JM posted 4/11/03 8:43 PM
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Sorry, clarification - I meant that it "has NOT always been easy-going." Sorry. :smile:
Susan posted 6/1/03 10:16 AM
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I'm thinking of sending my son there. We're visiting next week. He is at another school now and I'm relieved to hear positive comments about Hidden Lake. Thank you.
Brian posted 7/21/03 5:20 PM
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I attended HLA, I can tell you it is nothing but BS. It is a dangerous place where children are emotionally and mentally raped on a regular basis. I was able to escape the school if it can even be called that as the education they provide is lacking to say the least. I will say this though in its favor, if your child has a drug or gang related problem it probably would do him/her some good, anything other than that I would highly recommend you find another place. I had never done any kind of drug and was placed there, I hated every minute of my life there and when I got out I finished highschool and enrolled in college all my own. Just something to take into consideration.
Kelly posted 7/22/03 3:48 PM
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Brian, I hope you don't mind me asking, when were you there? How long were you there?
Brian posted 8/23/03 3:02 AM
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I was there during 98-99, it was the werst expiernece of my life.
steve posted 9/5/03 6:48 PM
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Alumni of pg 34, I stand here to say only one thing. Hidden Lake Academy was the most frodulent school I have ever been exposed to in my life. The PTSD i drew from that school has scarred me for the rest of my life. The "boot camp" based enviornment in wich i was starved for almost 18 months was horrific. I would never wis upon any human given birth to by god would never have to go there.
SW posted 9/6/03 12:58 AM
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I am interested in the good, the bad, the ugly, and the great about this school. I live in Dahlonega, and have considered employment there. I have worked in residential settings for over 15 years and have seen good and bad. What are some of the specifics in regards to HLA? Please feel free to e-mail me directly - please use HLA as the subject line, so I don't get it confused with all the Spam I get!
Thanks.
SW posted 9/6/03 1:00 PM
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Seems the e-mail address doesn't show in the post - [email protected] (http://mailto:[email protected]) I look foward to hearing from you...did you say you had a child at HLA??
Emily posted 9/15/03 8:10 PM
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Mike- I left in Jnuary of 2003 shortly after my 18th birthday.."beat your face" was what they scream at you when they wanted you to get down and do push ups. Any other questions you can email me at http://pub57.ezboard.com/bwevebeenthere (http://pub57.ezboard.com/bwevebeenthere)
On 27 June 01. My son has been home for a little over a year now. I will post another message at a later time explaining my observations of the ?changes? they made in him. It will not be positive. HLA is not a ?school? by any stretch of the imagination. My son returned from this $5K/mo college-prep TBS, five (5) credits behind his peers.
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My son's father enrolled him at Hidden Lake Therapeutic Boarding School in Ga, Nov 00. They registered with the state seven years ago as a private school but advertised to the public as a TBS. This appears to be fraud, deception at the very least, and common practice for such facilities to avoid protective regulations.
My son was not labeled ODD before his placement.
This label is growing in use largely, in my opinion, to "justify" the need for and to bring profits to the recently booming mulit-million dollar "Teen Help" industry; which includes: wilderness programs, boot camps, therapeutic boarding schools, transitional schools, ed consultants, and transport services.
I am appalled that many such facilities are operating in a gray area without proper licensure. For all intents and purposes they appear to be Residential Treatment Facilities with Academic components, which require licensure. While licensure is not a guarantee, it could provide minimal protection for the teens in their care. If they are on the up and up, then why avoid regs?
I attempted to enforce Xmas visitation in Dec 00, one month after XXX was enrolled. My ex told the court that if XXX came home he would be dismissed from the program and he would consequently loose the $110,000 he had pre-paid for tuition. HLA's Dir. of Counseling validated this under oath via phone, which influenced the judge's ruling that he would stay. I am now in possession of their tuition policy that all pre-paid tuition will be reimbursed whether a child is dismissed or withdrawn.
The Interstate Compact Law was ignored. This law exists to protect against the rushed and/or unnecessary placement of children in out-of-state facilities. My son did not receive a psych evaluation before enrollment. Had my ex or the Ed Con complied with this law, I am certain that the evaluation would've shown that this placement was too drastic.
The first 6 weeks he was allowed NO phone contact with his parents. Then came a period of three-way calls with the counselor interrupting frequently. For the next few months, only XXX was monitored for content. Any negative comment about the facility were labled "manipulation" and consequenced. The teen has no outlet to report abuse or neglect...a violation of most state laws. Currently, our calls are back to three-way and I was told that this could be indefinite. I suspect that it was a reaction to a call to Ga ORS which resulted in an investigation of the facility.
XXX told me that he didn't feel like he was getting enough time with his counselors. I asked his counselor to give him the opportunity to talk about this. Instead he was talked to for 2 hours about how much time they spend and how many kids they have to take care of. He was then "consequenced" for "lying" to me. As a counseling student, I lost all trust and confidence in their ability to be effective counselors and was sure to never repeat anything XXX had said to me. XXX's counselor cut me off when I confronted her about violating my confidence in this matter....stating that they expect the child to always be "in agreement". In agreement....doesn't that mean that the other person has "agreed" to something? And their stated goal is to build trust....
I saw XXX for 36 hours in Mar. He was thin, pale, and he'd had diarrhea for 3 days. He was extremely anxious about making mistakes,very self-critical, couldn't make eye contact with people in public, avoided making decisions when given the opportunity. This was not my son. And what really broke my heart was when he asked me not to show him love or affection...it was "too confusing". We both cried.
XXX had been on "restriction" for a month prior to the visit. Due to the rules and procedures, a child could be on restriction the majority of the time spent there, and parents are warned to expect this. While on restriction he is isolated from his peers except when in school. He is given work detail to fill his free time and can't enter the dorm until 9pm. He is fed a semi-starvation diet that consists of: 2 boxes of dry cereal for breakfast, and for lunch and dinner- a white bread and cheese sandwich, a cup of soup, and a piece of fruit. That's 1220 calories and the USDA recommends 3-4000. More with physical exertion. The headmaster told parents in Mar that while "sparse" the Health Dept had approved this diet. Not so. I contacted the HD and they refuted this, stating that it is not within their scope to approved such diets. My nutritionist warned that a teen should not receive this diet for more than 24 hours. Period. Then referred to the movie Oliver regarding starvation used for submission.
We had been looking forward to his first trip home for 4 days in July. His father was trying to prevent this, but finally relented when he realized he needed a court order. One week later HLA called to notify me that XXX had been referred to their wilderness program; which made him ineligible for his summer visit. In order to refer him to the WP they skipped a step in their written procedures. A child is referred to pre-wilderness, then wilderness if necessary. They have since changed the written policy for referral.
The student that gave XXX's friend the cigarette followed behind them, and banged on the door to attract night security. They are encouraged to "fall out" on each other to receive less punishment. Where did this kid get a cigarette to begin with? What was his punishment? I didn't receive an answer to those questions and they were put off that I would have the nerve to ask. The teens are never unsupervised, even when walking around campus; radio communication is happening to ensure that a student arrived at their destination. It's 15 miles to the nearest little town. I have since learned that tobacco and drugs can be had in these facilities, and some violations are "overlooked". So much for 24/7 security. Although it is not mentioned in the parent manual, it is reported that strip searches are becoming common, particularly after home visits.
The rep that testified in Dec told me that according to the Director of the program, wilderness programs were not required to be licensed. I was transferred to the voice mail of someone else who never returned my call. I placed 2 more calls to the directors of both campuses. No responses. She then sent a scathing letter to my ex's attorney who forwarded it to mine, grossly exaggerating the situation. She accused me of harassing the staff of both facilities at home and work, and of speaking adversarialy to the staff of both facilities. I spoke to her respectfully, but asked questions she did not want to answer. I have yet to speak to anyone at the "boot camp". I can't call HLA, all communications must go through their corp. attorney. This has resulted in many missed phone calls. The Headmaster accused me of searching out his home email address, when in fact I had responded to an email sent from his home. HLA's attorney has threatened a lawsuit if I don't cease and desist "making negative comments" about the facility.
The staff told me not to tell my son that he was going to boot camp and had lost his summer break. He knew, as they all do, when he was ordered to take a physical...the dreaded sign. To avoid out-right lying to him, I told him the truth, that I was asked not to discuss it with him. This is not helpful or effective therapy. It damages the parent/child relationship which should be based on trust and honesty. They justify this by claiming that they are attempting to avoid any acting out before the teen leaves.
ORS has determined that their Wilderness Program must be licensed as a Therapeutic Camp. Their brochure emphasizes that they are not a "boot camp"...then why ex-military with no credentials (Educ or Exp working with youth).
ORS is "negotiating" with HLA regarding their status. Last communication was that they appeared to be a Residential Care Facility. It also seems that HLA will successfully avoid sanctions by claiming that they began as a private boarding school and later became a therapeutic facility. I found web advertisements back to the year they opened promoting themselves as a TBS.
These are the people who are "treating" my son; in fact, abusing him in the name of therapy. The one's who are "consequencing" him for any minor infraction or what they ignorantly perceive as manipulation, or lying, or avoiding communication. It's black and white, and no common sense employed. No matter what the teens diagnosis or problem, all stay a minimum of 18 months. Individual needs are not taken into consideration and apparently a diagnosis is not required for acceptance.
I spent 1000 dollars to travel to the required parent workshop in order to see my son for 36 hours. I expected a workshop. What I got was a 5 hour sales pitch for the facility. The headmaster first bonded with parents by allowing them to vent their fears and grief. Then relieved them of all guilt....reminded and ensured them that they had made the right decision....encouraged them to do what they had to do to keep their child there, even resorting to using the college funds (which they might not use otherwise)....that parents can't watch their "troubled youth" 24/7, but the school and their security could... The rest of the time was taken with a tour of the nicely manicured and well kept campus.
The "Teen Help" industry is based on profit before people. It's a job, and they will defend their livelihood at all cost. They are self-regulating, power hungry, business people whose employees receive no "consequence" for treating people with absolute disrespect.
Any program is only as good as the personnel. I encourage every parent to do thorough research. Ask difficult questions. Check with state agencies for complaints and appropriate licensure. Your child deserves this. Answers will provide some information, but it will not give you insight into the psyche of the person(s) who will be spending time with your child. That takes time. A degree in Psychology is not a guarantee. I was reminded recently that the highest suicide rate among professionals, is psychiatrists. And as so many people here have said, Children don't live in a bubble. Even if the program happens to be a good one, and there are gains made; the dysfunction in the family unit remains. I believe this why many of these facilities encourage parents to place their teen in another residential environment after the program. No chance of the family issues coming up again, which provides a nice illusion that the program was successful.
I am thoroughly disgusted by the whole industry and feel great empathy for parents who feel so desperate to place their children in these "psuedo psych facilities". We need to stop pretending that the problem doesn't involve parents as well. People possess respect for self and others when they have received respect.
I don't believe that isolating a teen from their family, subjecting them to questionable Behavior Mod techniques (heavy on punishment and shame), limiting calories and social contact with peers and the outside world are respectful or effective methods for dealing with so-called "struggling teens". These traits are more common to harmful cults. What exactly are these teens learning?
I would like to hear other parent's and student's experiences with HLA, and particularly from those who would like to see reform or closure of such facilities.
andrew M posted 9/26/03 5:42 PM
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Abuse by any other name is still abuse. It doesnt matter if these people call it therapy, in god's eyes it's abuse. I was a wwasp student, which was far worse than this sounds, but I still think your a sickly person to do this to your kids. It's their heads. You're fucking with their minds. Look up BRAINWASHING in a psychology book.
CW posted 9/27/03 9:00 PM
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My son has been there now for about 5 months and the early changes are striking and positive. If we had not sent him there or a similar place he would be dead or in jail. I suspect that many of the students horror stories are the products of drug riddled minds that are potentially beyond rehabilitation. I suspect that the elaborate parent's story is the product of a beyond nasty divorce that everyone needs to move forward from. So far so good on our end, good luck and God's help to anyone facing the thankless need to make decisions related to sending an out of control teen to any similar establishment.
We will only know the worth fo the program in 3-5 years when he has had a chance to really be out and choose his way through early adulthood but at least we are on a track consistant with at least living long enough to make those future choices.
Deborah posted 10/1/03 5:47 PM
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CW I have to wonder if you?re really a parent with a child at this facility or someone with a vested interest in defending it. If you are a parent, is it not enough to share your ?good? experience without attempting to discredit me or my son? I resent your comments:
?I suspect that many of the students horror stories are the products of drug riddled minds that are potentially beyond rehabilitation. I suspect that the elaborate parent's story is the product of a beyond nasty divorce that everyone needs to move forward from.?
For your information, my son did not have a problem with drugs. And while my relationship with my ex was less than perfect, that is not the issue here. Had it been perfect, it would not have altered the facts about this facility or the events that occurred- it would not have changed the fact that the facility wasn?t licensed, that they lied to the state and to parents, that they lied to the court to keep my son there, that they interfered with my parental rights and violated my son?s rights, etc.
You may continue to have a good experience, provided you never challenge or question a policy or decision they make regarding YOUR son. You may be comfortable with this form of ?treatment? and with abdicating responsibility, that is your prerogative. The fact remains, you do not know what is happening there on a daily basis. My ?elaborate story? apparently contradicts what you need and want to believe, I can assure you it is factual. Disregard it if you choose, but refrain from insinuating that I am lying or fabricating the story based on a ?beyond nasty divorce?. Would you care to explain why as a parent happy with the program you chose, you feel the need to come onto a public forum and say such things about another parent?s experience? Why are you so defensive? Have you confirmed that they are now licensed? Or is that important to you?
Having your son incarcerated 24/7 is not insurance that he will not hurt himself or be hurt physically or mentally, or that he will not have access to drugs, tobacco, dip.
It only ensures that he is no longer your problem.
And, to the ex-WWASP participant, I didn?t do this to my son. I did make every attempt to get him out. The program assisted my ex in ensuring that he would stay.
SHANCHEZ... R.P. -- 33 posted 10/4/03 4:57 AM
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I attended HLA, i was in peer group 33. This place is insane and NOTHING but hell. I was a post graduate... it was an absolute terrible place... TBC
CW posted 10/7/03 9:17 PM
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My message remains and I stand by every word. We will be seeing him in the next couple of weeks for the 2nd time and I will file an update.
DO NOT accuse me of abdicating responsibility.....! We made an ugly decision to do that which was necessary to preserve our son's life and give him a fighting chance to grow up without a drug problem or criminal record. It is not an ideal place, but it sure beats jail or the morgue!!
Deborah posted 10/8/03 1:09 PM
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I don't know another term that describes a situation in which a parent turns their child over to strangers and has no say in what happens on a daily basis or knowledge of what's actually happening.
Oh, DO NOT accuse you of doing what you have done, but you feel justified in accusing me of fabricating my story?
That's rather a double standard. You probably won't have any problem with the program- they operate much the same way- but the shoe may not feel so great when it's on the other foot.
[ This Message was edited by: Deborah on 2005-08-27 14:26 ]
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what is your story?
Why did you find this board?
Are you for or against these places. Did you pull your daughter from the program?
If you are willing to tell me I would like to know. thanks in advance.I believe that human beings arrive on this Earth wanting to know absolutely everything, and the best thing we can do as parents is to get out of the way -- just be there to let them know what opportunities are there
-- Dorothy Werner, media liaison for the National Homeschool Association
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http://amazingforums.com/forum/BS4/143.html (http://amazingforums.com/forum/BS4/143.html)
Marie posted 11/10/03 6:49 AM
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I really don't recommened Hidden Lake Academy! I was there for a year and it really messed me up. The type of therapy these boarding schools use is terribly exploitive of children. If you do send your child away, do it as a last resort, and DO NOT HIRE ESCORTS TO TAKE YOUR CHILD FOR YOU!!! It happened to me, and it was like being kidnapped. You're awakened by strangers, threatened, and led away in handcuffs before you even realize what it happening. Its even worse when you realize no one is out there trying to bring you home. I suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome as a result. It is a serious decision and should not be done in haste. I suggest touring some of these schools with you child to let her know how far she's pushing you. If she runs away then fine- juvinile detention is less expensive and just as effective. I do not know a SINGLE person who has benifited from these programs enough to warrant the suffering the went through. She will always be your daughter and sending her away WILL strain your relationship and damage her trust in you forever. Please consider ALL your options before you commit to this. I wish someone had given my parents this advice five years ago. I never finished the program and i'm fine. I reverted back to my old problems as soon as i got out but that was who i was and i matured out of it quickly. I'm in a really good college and pursuing a PhD... and I would have ended up where I am either way.. but i could have gotten here without the psychological trauma of HLA's "therapy". I've been in real therapy ever since just to get over it. I might never stop having nightmares and panic attacks, but if I can help other kids avoid my fate it'll make that year worth it.
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http://amazingforums.com/forum/BS4/169.html (http://amazingforums.com/forum/BS4/169.html)
M posted 11/10/03 7:09 AM
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HLA is no good for kids who aren't serious drug users or violent offenders. The only reason it works for those is because it keeps them seperated from the drugs and conditions their behavior like Pavolov did his dogs'. It really is a shady institution. The faculty may start wit the best intentions but you know what they say about absolute power... these people truly abuse their authority and foster more disorders than they treat. Panic attacks are commonplace with the graduates i've kept in touch with. I have nightmares to this day.
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Its a lot like a Clockwork Orange. A person who obeys the rules only out of fear of physical pain is not capable of moral choice. Of course far too many parents don't really want their kids to choose anything for themselves ever so the programs have no shortage of victims on a waiting list.
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Check out this post from Titsch's forum at
http://www.bulletinboards.com/view.cfm? ... sch#537958 (http://www.bulletinboards.com/view.cfm?comcode=Titsch#537958)
Mr. Titsch: I'm glad you asked the questions of me that you asked and I'm only sorry that I did not address them in my original post. Yes, Brett has formed many relationships since returning home, it was difficult for him at first because all his OLD friends were into the stuff he no longer wanted part of. For him, it was like moving to a new town and knowing no one. He's met a beautiful girl who he's totally enamoured with. This is her first year at college (on a full scholarship) and although she originally was going to be a doctor, she's decided on denistry. They are very respectful of each other and they treat each other very well. She's totally against drugs etc and no matter how much she cares for him, she'll dump him on the spot should she find out he's using again. If I were to hand pick a young lady for my son, she would be it. We had an evening where my son decided to have a few drinks with some friends, and he knew he wasn't doing what was best for him. He came home, confessed, asked for help to not go down that road again and we've had no problems since. He wasn't berated for his actions, he came to the conclusions of how this was not helping him in his goals on his own with helpful discussion with his folks. We haven't had another incident (he learned how to identify what he wants and whats best for his life through the program). My son has talked of joining the Marines for many, many years. It was his drug use and the people he chose to call friends that dimmed that dream. Once he could see straight again, he pursued his dream. The night before he left for boot camp, he gave me a card thanking me for saving his life and stating that he wanted to spread what he's learned and couldn't wait to give back to the country that has given him so much. My son has been out of the program since August 2002. He still attributes his being alive today to the program. I must tell you that before putting my son into the program, I had exhausted ALL possibilities. My son was totally uncontrollable. I slept in front of his bedroom door to make sure he didn't sneak out, but he's 6'4" and very strong (especially under the influence of drugs). He's physically move me and do what he wanted. I had to call the police many many times and they were of no help. The response I would get was to let him do as he pleased so that there would be no arguing and I could get the sleep I needed to go to work. My daughter graduated 5th in her class, with everything my son put us through, she was having a hard time keeping her grades up etc. He was taking ALL of my time, hunting him down, trying to keep the "friends" away, etc. I was cheating my daughter of my time because I was exhausted. Grounding didn't work, taking things away didn't work, threats didn't work (and I did follow through), NOTHING worked. I wanted to save my sons life. I feel I did that. My son has many gifts....he came home to me with the gifts he left with. He's utilizing them all while in the Marines. He's chosen well, and I believe his "straight" head is what helped him to do this. A few years ago his life was headed to laying around and maybe showing up for work at McDonalds when he could get out of bed. The biggest difference is that he's proud of himself, loves himself and that is his biggest gift to me. Thanks for listening. Dawn
[Date/Time=11-04-2003 - 8:14 PM] Name:Dawn
A broken boy is what she paid for and she's happy with the result.
I think that all right-thinking people in this country are sick and tired of being told that ordinary, decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I'm certainly not! But I'm sick and tired of being told that I am!
-- Monty Python
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Hey Stewart,
Glad your home.
Were you ever on restriction? For how long? What was it like? I mean what was your day like? Did you eat the same food as the others? Did you have work detail? What kind of work? Could you read, other than school books?
What was your experience with the counseling sessions? Were they helpful?
Were you ever restrained or did you witness any restraints?
Did you ever get to go off campus?
Were your phone calls and mail censored?
What was Wilderness like?
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Well, Ill start out with yes I was on restrictions, for many reason. I knew about a lot of people in "relationships" I had also met a girl and we were hanging out a lot and they said that wasn't OK. A kid in my peer group ran away and they said I knew all about it. They also took my Friend out of bed at like 1 am and made him sleep in some weird room and yelled at him all night because he had heard rumors about kids planning to run away. I did eat the same food, But I wasn't allowed to talk to anyone the entire time I was on restrictions and for the 4 months I was at hidden lake I spent about 2 and a half on restrictions. I did have work detail, from clearing trails to cutting wood, to cleaning the mess hall. I do recall on several accounts half the kids on restrictions were not following the rules while the others we doing everything they were told to do. The group whom were screwing around were taken away and ended up sitting on the lodge while the kids who were working hard were forced to do PT In-cadence on the tennis courts at night in about 40 degree weather with about 4 inches of water in the courts and still raining until the staff was ready to do something else(remind you we were the kids not causing problems during the day and the ones who were sat nice and warm in the lodge studying)
Yes we could read, they had a lot of books and did let you brings books, but the school had to approve of them, lucky at the time I only had one book!
My personal experience with the counseling was both negative and positive... There were many times when they simply screamed at us if they didn't like what we were saying, And if I told them the god honest truth if someone who has been there longer said different then it was to bad for me and what that person said must be true!! Silly Isn't it? But I was put in the spot light a few times concerning my well being because of my history (my did Killed himself just over a year ago) and my peers we're so very supportive, I did really feel like they cared.
I have never been restrained myself. My friend whom was the girl I was "together" with was restrained when I was being detained by the school cuz they wanted me to give them information. She was coming to talk to me and they took her down on the cement road pretty hard... I was very upset when that happened.
I did go off campus 3 times. Once for my peer group forming day, Once on a co-ed off campus to a roller skating places...fun!! lol no, and Once with a group of guys to some movie no one wanted to see. that was okay most of the time. All my phone calls we're either conference calls where a counselor sits in and hangs up if they hear anything they don't like, and the others a staff sat next to you and listend to everything you said. With the mail, you'd write (same with e-mail) it and they'd read it and if it was OK they'd send it, if not they give it back and say write something else. NO NO NO NO private communication. NO Individual therapy NO Family therapy. And No ability to form a healthy Male Female relationship.
It was funny because Dr B. The owner is so very strict on his drug possibly yet he disposes a large around of mostly empty alcohol bottles into the dumpsters that the kids take the trash... I can do more into detail about the some other time.
Wilderness at ridge Creek was a challenge. Now it is very interesting what happened. Mostly they made us work clean study different hiking and safety and army things Pt training. I did have some fun...but I was also in the group with the "cool staff" who didn't really care, the other groups we're all power tripping army guys who yelled at everyone. Now I was doing extremely well there, I was the "leader" and all that stuff, but the lady whom was the counselor for my team put me on suicide watch because I was doing really good and told me that I should me messing up extra...Thats when I just said Im done and stopped doing anything, I left a week early and was sent to a lock-down for 7 months.
If you like to know anything else, please ask Im more than willing to share. Im feel Ive been silenced and have no one to tell about what happened... To be hounest it is hard for me because of the lost friendship because I was kicked out. We as student really had to stick together to keep our heads up, I Know it sounds like some dumb joke, But it is a lonely and hard place. And sometimes you need a Friend but you can't always talk to that person their... Please feel free to reply or ask any other questions... That place has some problems... Im not sure, I really wish I could do something about it
http://pub57.ezboard.com/fwevebeenthere ... 21&stop=37 (http://pub57.ezboard.com/fwevebeentherefrm4.showMessageRange?topicID=2.topic&start=21&stop=37)
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Then all the posts regarding HLA disappeared when the Parents forum was removed from the We've Been There board.
Here are the first pages of those threads, salvaged thanks to Google. Second pages, where much good information was shared were not accessible.
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UPSBlah Registered User Posts: 1 (7/29/01 2:34 am) Reply Re: Hidden Lake Academy
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I have graduated from Hidden Lake. I want to help.
Edited by: UPSBlah at: 7/30/01 1:21:38 am
FaceKhan Registered User Posts: 4 (8/7/01 2:57 am) Reply Re: Hidden Lake Academy
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Hi, remember me from the A&E list. My friend came home from his wildnerness program a month early, supposedly because the last month is a summer school like program and he already had his diploma. He seems ok, I don't think he was hurt, but I sincerely doubt that it was as helpful as he is trying to convince people that it was.
I am not sure what I could do to help you, but I am a good researcher, and I would like to help, anything to get someone out of these Behavior Modification concentration camps. Muck raking, the task of turning manure into useful soil, ie digging up the dirt on these bastards and putting it out for the whole world to see. Good luck with your custody case, and getting your son out. The conference was very successful in many regards, and I think it has helped to build momentum to form a large organization that will be able to take these places down for good.
Slavish discipline makes a slavish temper... If severity carry'd to the highest pitch does prevail, and works a cure upon the present unruly distemper, it often brings in the room of it a worse and more dangerous disease, by breaking the mind; and then, in the place of a disorderly young fellow, you have a low spirited moap'd creature, who, however with his unnatural sobriety he may please silly people, who commend tame unactive children, because they make no noise, nor give them any trouble; yet at last, will probably prove as uncomfortable a thing to his friends, as he will be all his life an useless thing to himself and others... Beating them, and all other sorts of slavish and corporal punishments, are not the discipline fit to be used in the education of those we would have wise, good, and ingenuous men... John Locke, 1692
stegman000 Registered User Posts: 1 (9/13/01 4:27 am) Reply HLA is horrid
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i attended HLA for about 19 out of the 22 months i was supposed to be there... with about 4 of those 19 months spent at various wilderness programs etc etc etc...they finally kicked me out...blah THANK GOD...about "how did he get the cigarette" oh there are many ways... many of the staff members smoke and some will give students cigarettes sometimes... dependant upon how "cool" they are with the student... other times thy leave their smokes in a backpack or unlocked car or something of the like and a student snaffles them as they pass... "dip" or that snuff or whatever you wanna call it is also available as well... in a higher abundancy as well.. Hidden lake did one and only one thing for me... show me that my life was messed up... and i donno if thats all they wanna do... but whatever... i mean since i have been home i havent "fallen into pattern" as they like to say and i live a nice life. although the money drain left my parents kinda strapped for cash. Im working to save my own tuition. ANYTHING and i do mean ANYTHING (short of handing over large sums of money) i can do to help jsut let me know and i am SO there for it...
i am so happy that a parent saw through the "face the school was wearing" (you gotta love those theraputic terms) and actually believed what was going on inside. keep me informed... any former students shoot me an email at [email protected]
BTW... cigarettes and "dip" arent the only things that go on there in terms of the "Drug Agreement" as they call it.. people had smoked pot and taken LSD (acid) on NUMEROUS occasions while i was there... and not always getting caught...
Bari Unregistered User (9/14/01 12:03 am)
Reply There is no good In HLA
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Hidden Lake Academey was one of the most drawn out and horrid expericens of my self. Manipulation of students and thier parents are the main tactic of thier instatution. I attened that "school" for 22 months and was holding a tear back the whole time. I am not a angst filled youth that has nothing more insightful to say besides fuck the system but i will say that fuck thier system. Example... The double standard I understand that students where students there and they should have diffrent responsilbites and held at diffrent standards but the level of leanoncy granted to staff thier for them to get thier job done was some times offense. The blatent lies, and mental manipultaion was obsurd. When in a place like that completly disconnected from any outside world all you want is something rightous or something pure most of all true. So when your parents send you a letter voicing their anger with the school and you dont get it and hear about on your phonecall (moniterd phonecall) you brakedown. Every thing hurt worse. Their. All I learned was to hate. My healing began when I left. Please don't send your children there.
stegman000 Registered User Posts: 3 (9/17/01 7:33 am) Reply Bari
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Bari, what group thing were you in ??
been there too Unregistered User (9/5/03 3:56 pm)
Reply For God's sake don't do this to your child
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Dear parents and friends,
I am an expert with Kids and Teens I am going to explain what this industry is all about. I have studied it and worked in it. I have seen good and bad over 25 years. I have graduate level credentials. What I have seen is disturbing, but not without occasional joy.
BCA is a CEDU environment that has been adapted to serve kids who would otherwise be in the hospital. It is not 30K per month like hospitals, however, it is run by people with no experience or education.
Take the BCA Director, LaTeresa for example. She claimed to have worked at Health and Welfare. She did only as an aide and a driver. Because she was generally not allowed to "work" with clients due to a lack of even an associate degree, she was used for transport of children and secretarial duties as "aids" are employed. She won't tell you what she actually did.
Lori @ NWA has a high school diploma and worked for newspapers
Joanne @ RMA is a Business Major - and if the numbers at RMA have recently dropped into the 30s from as high as 190 several years ago as I have heard, then she is a business failure. Why? Because, like all the rest of them, she is afraid to stand up to management (if you want to call it that) or even her staff.
The only description I can come up with for Pam at Milestones is her own words - a hysterical "I could not care less..."
BCA, NWA, and RMA and Milestones in general use Directors with no clinical experience because neither management nor staff would tolerate clinical ethics. In a cult, you can't criticize or question the system, can you? The methods staff use in their workshops, prophets and Raps are not clinically acceptable because they are abusive in the hands of the untrained - the methods are old pop psychology - Life Spring, Gestalt and Catharsis. (See talkingcure.combologna archives - "what works with teens" for research results on such pop methods.
Yes, BCA has token therapists that can talk up a storm - especially Nicole (right out of college) she's quite a salesmen who will do most anything if it makes her look good.
Listen, ethical clinicians will not use weeks and even months of social isolation and shunning administered by high school level Bonners Ferry Idaho hicks like the staff and "Team Leaders." Let me assure you, the remaining clinicians at BCA and RMA are grounded in profit and self-glorification, not ethical standards, not real professionalism (which involves personal sacrifice for what is right) rather than the CEDU applause for conformity and, if not, then "BUY IN" or get out. Jenny, Mark and Jack were the good ones. But, if you were there, you already know that.
Don't be fooled, BCA is not clinical, (though they use tons of psychotropic drugs to keep kids compliant) nor is it safe, nor is it ethical, nor is it not a school, nor it is it a treatment center. IT IS A CENTER FOR THOUGHT REFORM - just like Amity and the WWASP group as exemplified by Tranquility Bay.
Let me get confrontational - This is important to me. If you are the kind of parents who would knowingly allow cult indoctrinated hicks to isolate, shun, humiliate, mentally torture and brainwash your kids at any facility, then you deserve the histrionic kid you will get back.
And, remember, the kid doesn't deserve to be the scapegoat so you can go on pretending that the real problem is not you and your family system. Look, don't burn your money. Go into family therapy, be a mentor. Spend less time working and more time with your kids. Get rid of your bad behavior so you can teach your child to do the same. These facilities tear kids and families down, so they can take credit for building them back up with testimony, music, dancing and release from the chains of emotional bondage right after the workshop or before the parents get there. That, my friends, is a con and a sham. Welcome to emotional growth. It is best to face that nothing is easy - especially mental health and self-development. It takes good parents who are there for a lifetime - not hick surrogates for 60K a year. Wake em up with Ascent, but don't waste your money on year or two year prison programs for kids who have done nothing - that is "fake" and sick.
BEEN THERE
Sally Unregistered User (9/18/03 8:34 am)
Reply Hidden Lake Academy
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Been there too, Do you have information on Hidden Lake Academy?
been there tooo Unregistered User (9/19/03 5:40 pm) Reply Hidden Lake
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Info is all over the web
I have heard nothing good. Actually, I would look in the State of Washington - They have protection and ethical standards for minors - The only state I know of. That is why you will find few if any schools there. You will find that most all these schools are in backward states - Idaho, yes even California - because they (the schools) can't be ethical. They, most all, use brainwashing in my experience - see links at
home.comcast.net/~megario....home.html
Ed consultants are a bad idea - don't go there
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FaceKhan Registered User Posts: 1 (7/1/01 10:14 pm)Reply Anyone been to Alldredge
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A close friend of mine was kidnapped and sent to Alldredge Academy in West Virginia, a descendent of the SUWS program. I have found many disturbing things about this place, and it was almost shut down last week, but it settled with the state and agreed to hire licensed staff. Alldredge is a 3 month wildnerness program. There was a suicide there in february, where a boy (14-I am trying to find the name, I may have the parents name somewhere) tried to cut his arms open, and then the next day was given a rope and tools he used to hang himself with. I am looking for anyone who would be willing to speak to me or send me their written account so that I might have a better chance at convincing his parents to bring him home, as well as convincing the health dept in WV to keep the pressure on this place.
There is a conference on abusive programs this month in Bethesda Maryland outside of Washington DC. trebach.org/conference.html
"One can understand why Kessler said something 'Satanic' takes place in school. The situation is Orwellian in its reversal of the truth: Memorizing is Understanding; Confining the mind is Liberating the mind; Boredom is Fascination. Flowery words are used by educators without restraint. Words like 'insight', 'enlightenment', and 'flourishing of the mind' are used to describe a reality which contradicts them completely"-Bruce Goldberg "Why Schools Fail"
FaceKhan Registered User Posts: 7 (8/12/01 12:44 pm) Reply Re: Anyone been to Alldredge
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My friend is home and appears to be mostly the same. Still not sure what really goes on there.
Yesterday I was contacted by someone who spent 3.5 months there and was considered a model student.
He has some quite a few negative things to say. Although this place is nowhere near as bad as CEDU or Teen Help or Straight, it is perpetrating a dangerous fraud where money comes first and safety and the future prospects for the students come last.
Also I found a lte which I had missed from the Gazzette where the Alldredge stories had been published. I can't access the letter in support of the school, because it is in an archive that charges and I can't figure out the url as I did to get this one.
Academy still open despite order-July 19th
Editor:
We are writing in response to a letter written by a parent in support of Alldredge Academy, which appeared on the editorial page on June 25.
It is apparent that this person writes in support of Alldredge without knowing the facts surrounding the circumstances of our son's death there.
It was only five months ago that our beautiful 14-year-old son died at this "therapeutic" wilderness school in Tucker County due to gross neglect under horrendous conditions.
"Therapeutic" is in quotes because the people responsible for our son at this school had no professional credentials to do therapy.
In fact, the owner, founder and "therapist" of Alldredge Academy is a lawyer.
Additionally, this school is not licensed by the state of West Virginia to provide mental health care.
Not only did the officials of Alldredge Academy sell us a bill of goods which was enhanced by an educational consultant, but they lied about the circumstances regarding our son's death.
Despite a closure order issued by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and an ongoing criminal investigation, Alldredge Academy remains open, putting more children at risk.
Something must be done to tighten laws in this industry.
Paul and Diana Lewis
East Long Meadow, Mass.
Who wants to bet that the educational consultant, they are speaking of is none other than Lon Woodbury, of strugglingteens.com, he has quite a few positive remarks about Alldredge and advertises for them. The same guy who highly recomended Gage's 'equestrian program', stating "the sense of safety at Royal Haven is almost tangible" Perhaps he should tell that to the victims of 121 counts of sexual abuse for which Gage is now in prison, undoubtedly getting a taste of his own patent medicine.
Slavish discipline makes a slavish temper... If severity carry'd to the highest pitch does prevail, and works a cure upon the present unruly distemper, it often brings in the room of it a worse and more dangerous disease, by breaking the mind; and then, in the place of a disorderly young fellow, you have a low spirited moap'd creature, who, however with his unnatural sobriety he may please silly people, who commend tame unactive children, because they make no noise, nor give them any trouble; yet at last, will probably prove as uncomfortable a thing to his friends, as he will be all his life an useless thing to himself and others... Beating them, and all other sorts of slavish and corporal punishments, are not the discipline fit to be used in the education of those we would have wise, good, and ingenuous men... John Locke, 1692
pthompson54 Unregistered User (11/6/01 9:49 am)
Reply I worked at Alldredge Academy
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I worked at Alldredge from the first day that it opened to August 2000. When Alldredge first opened its doors, it did have a good "mission" but some where along the way it changed. The attitudes of the owners changed, I'm not sure what they changed to, but they did change.
As a former employee, I have my share of stories, at the beginning the stories where good, but as the year progressed they turned bad.
I am a life long citizen of Tucker County. The other citizens of the county are concerned as well. We are trying to have the Academy shut down for the well being of the students that are still being sent to the academy.
Other former employees of the school are concerned as well. We would how-ever like to get into contact with any students that attended the academy, during the time that we worked there. We would like to see how they are doing and make sure that Alldredge did not make any permanent scares in their lives. So if any of you access this web page, please get into contact with me via e-mail Patricia Thompson former Registrar of the Alldredge Academy @ [email protected]
Please reply, we can't do this without all of your support!
Thanks!
FaceKhan Registered User Posts: 12 (11/9/01 1:25 pm) Reply Re: I worked at Alldredge Academy
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Programs like Alldredge are far too interested in continuosly proving their ideology than in helping the people there. These programs tend to be more about selling the parents piece of mind, while warehousing and often abusing the kids. It is no surpise to hear that the program would be better if it were not for the leadership, the leaders have been involved in unlicensed, inneffective, and dangerous programs for years. The admissions director worked for CEDU among others, which if you read some of the other topics on the board you will see it was closer to a mind-raping cult than a school.
Slavish discipline makes a slavish temper... If severity carry'd to the highest pitch does prevail, and works a cure upon the present unruly distemper, it often brings in the room of it a worse and more dangerous disease, by breaking the mind; and then, in the place of a disorderly young fellow, you have a low spirited moap'd creature, who, however with his unnatural sobriety he may please silly people, who commend tame unactive children, because they make no noise, nor give them any trouble; yet at last, will probably prove as uncomfortable a thing to his friends, as he will be all his life an useless thing to himself and others... Beating them, and all other sorts of slavish and corporal punishments, are not the discipline fit to be used in the education of those we would have wise, good, and ingenuous men... John Locke, 1692
Triplefire7 Registered User Posts: 1 (12/14/01 3:47 pm)Reply Re: Anyone been to Alldredge
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(This message was left blank)
Edited by: Triplefire7 at: 12/18/01 1:49:20 pm
Antigenic Registered User Posts: 3(12/16/01 3:03 pm)Reply Re: Anyone been to Alldredge
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Boy, for someone who was just sending a child away and not actually experiencing what you sent her away to, you sure seem to know a lot about what Alldredge teaches!
You sent your 14 year old daughter off to the wilderness in the middle of a blizard with a bunch of older guys who you'd never met and who you know had a troubled past? And you trust that these aleged professionals would take good care of her because they'd just killed one kid, so you thought they'd be on their best behavior now? All I can say is that you must be insane.
"Meredith dared to take that step"???? Meredith had no choice.
"I was on my way to a hospital for troubled teens to begin my internship for my graduate work in Art Therapy," Oh, how special! I wonder why you wouldn't do that sort of thing for your own kid?
"Our heart aches for the family who lost a child." My heart aches for all of the lost children, all of their families and, more so, for all of the children who've lost their families to these TOUGHLOVE hate groups.
"I cannot imagine, that the same people who gave me back a child, mended and replenished, could have predicted such a tragic event and not reacted immediately." It doesn't take much imagination. This sort of thing has happened before, and it'll happen again, and everyone involved will blame it all on some primal flaw in the child and pretend it's the first time ever, just like they're doing now.
You think Meredit is sincerely greatful? Or do you suppose she's just a little frightened that you'll either lock her out in the snow or have her kidnapped by the same thugs again if she dares deviate from the script?
I wouldn't be so sure of your conviction that you'll never regret your decision. I know lots of Program parents who've had to eat those very same, biter words.
-If there's a worse idea going than locking kids up for victimless crimes, it's probably locking them in close proximity to some tyrannical altruist bent on helping them even if it kills them. Anonymity Anonymous
tswopeinnernetnet Unregistered User (12/16/01 5:41 pm)Reply Alldredge
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My son attended Alldredge July and August of 2001. He was on a fast track to nowhere. Unless you count jail. It was the best thing that happened to him. And no, he didn't like it at first. However, I'm sure jail would not have improved his behaviour, either. One of his issues was chronic depression, in addition to 2 mild learning disabilities. He had simply given up. Alldredge gave him back his self-esteem. If you look at these wilderness camps, etc., you will find that all of those teens have depression. Along with depression, goes suicidal impulses. When you take your kid to a camp like that, you have to be totally upfront and honest with the folks running it. Information is vital !!! You could be making the wrong decision in the type of environment your child needs, and that decision is ultimately yours based on whatever information you are dealing with. What do you think the statistics are with teens committing suicide while under the care of a Psychologist? You'd be surprised. I found the counselors to be totally in tune with the kids. I observed the interactions between the counselors and the kids, and there was genuine respect and caring on both sides. Alldredge is also very upfront in telling the parents they are "intervention". Almost all of these kids require more time in a therapeutic boarding school. After all, the behaviours exhibited by this kids didn't happen overnight, and will take more than 6 - 8 weeks to produce the necessary results. However, Alldredge is a good "wake up" call for them. My son did not want to leave Alldredge. He wanted to continue the extended stay program, however, I went on the advice of an educational consultant - Georgia Irvin & Assoc. (whose client list includes placing folks like Chelsea Clinton) and he is at Hidden Lake Academy. I signed up for the parent committe for Alldredge because I am impressed by what it does for kids. I don't need somebody with a mouthful of PHd's and titles to turn a kid around, however you DO have licensed professionals at Alldredge. I want someone who understands kids and can turn them around. A bunch of Phds, or whatever means jackshit to me. I just want results. So let's get with the program and investigate the rumours flying around. Sometimes you'll find find someone who was in the program who got "let go" or sometimes you'll find a kid that no one on earth can help. Whatever the reasons, Alldredge is a fine establishment committed to turning kids around. PA mom
FaceKhan Registered User Posts: 13
(12/17/01 11:25 pm) Reply Re: Alldredge
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Fact: The Alldredge Facility, Staff and even the nurse there were unlicensed as of June 2001. The only reason they are going through the process of licensing now is because it was a stipulation in their deal with the state to remain open.
Their fraudulent registration as simply a private school was designed primarily to keep them off the state's radar screen.
I have spoken to 2 former highly regarded alldredge 'students' (each was well liked by staff and had specific accolades and school records attributed to them) and have heard from some former staff as well and among other things they have confirmed that there is ongoing fraud, deception, and manipulation of students in the form of placing dangerously disturbed students with students with few or no problems, billing themselves as a school and producing false educational transcripts to cover the lack of any real academic program, particularly in regards to their claim that students can make up years of high school credits in just 1-3 months at the school portion of the program. That there were and continue to be untrained staff. That the staff were aware of and apparently permitted sexual activities among the small number of seriously disturbed students in some groups. That the so-called therapy is little more than new-age hogwash designed to manipulate the students into thinking they recieved therapy. And lastly that the former students and staff feel that what is happening there both then and now is wrong.
It is interesting that you mention July and August of 2001, I wonder if your son knew my best friend while he was there. He was kidnapped and sent there in June 2001 and stayed until the end of July. This is what prompted by research into Alldredge in the first place.
I would just like to mention that Hidden Lake Academy is a concentration camp and your son is undoubtedly suffering there. I am sorry but smart, caring people can be duped too. You obviously have forgotten that the result you are supposed to be looking for is the future well-being of your son and conditioning him into a cult is not the way to do it.
FaceKhan
Registered User Posts: 14 (12/17/01 11:30 pm)
Reply Re: Alldredge
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pub57.ezboard.com/fwevebe...ID=2.topic
Paste that link into your browser if you have to it is the topic related to Hidden Lake Academy on this board. You might find it interesting.
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http://betheltruth.org/forum/read.php?f=2&i=14&t=14 (http://betheltruth.org/forum/read.php?f=2&i=14&t=14)
Our youth can not understand why society chooses to criminalize a behavior with so little visible ill effect or adverse social impact... These young people have jumped the fence and found no cliff.
Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse
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I worked at HLA as an Assistant Counselor/Restrictions Coordinator from Jan2003-Oct2003.
The kids were the only thing keeping me there. I was fired because I wanted to make changes to help the students and that was not appreciated.
The therapeutic and recreation programs are great, and the teachers are great but are being wasted, as the school is not very focused on education.(Therapy comes at the expense of education unfortunately.)
HLA's program may not be for you(or your child), but there are GREAT counselors who dedicate more than time to helping the students. In my opinion, it's the Recreation Dept. that hold things together. And yes, physical training is an important part of Restrictions--you/your child will be required to do push-ups and lots of them! They will be required to complete work assignments and get dirty every now and then--but I remember restrictions as being a good experience for some of the students I supervised.
I sincerely hope that all former students I had the opportunity to work with are doing well and leading good lives!
former AC/Restrictions staff
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***(Therapy comes at the expense of education unfortunately.)***
Seems a bit contradictory, since they tout themselves to be a "college prep" TBS.
***but there are GREAT counselors who dedicate more than time to helping the students.***
Like, not finding time to make it to a baseball game for the entire season? Like, blatantly lying to parents and teens? Like breaking confidentiality between parent and child? It might be best if you speak for yourself and not others, unless your real purpose is to advertise for or defend the facility.
***And yes, physical training is an important part of Restrictions--you/your child will be required to do push-ups and lots of them!***
Why just part of Restrictions? Sounds like exercise for punishment. PT makes it sound so... okay. Did that violate any state regulations? How many push-ups?
***They will be required to complete work assignments and get dirty every now and then***
Like, picking up trash on the campus, or aimlessly stacking rocks for no purpose other than punishment and humiliation?
Or having your meal taken away if you weren't done in the alloted time, or doing push-ups if you kept your plate longer than allowed? Or eating the same sub-standard diet day after day, sometimes for months?
***--but I remember restrictions as being a good experience for some of the students I supervised.***
Of course you would. All counselors need to feel like their efforts are worthwhile and beneficial to their charges. I would fall out of my chair if you said anything contrary.
What changes did you propose that they didn't appreciate?
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Deborah - you have posted in the past about HLA. Did you once have a child there?
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Please tell me more about this school
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:wstupid: :evil:
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If anyone is thinking about possibly sending your child to HLA, please listen to what I am about to say...Okay. I'm not sure really where to begin. I'll start with why I went there... I was court ordered there for assualt and battery on my parents during a cocaine overdose, unruly child; dropping out of school & living on the streets, and a few drug paraphenalia charges due to proof of parents. I was 16 at the time of my conviction, to then turn 17 just a few days on entering HLA... That was in 1997. I am currently 23 and do have control over my life, which is an aspect very different from my dark days. I consider my self to be well educated and have been very succesful with relationships, including my parents... There are some hangups though. I have suffered from Social Anxiety disorder upon leaving HLA. No matter who I've talked to, I just can't seem to get past it. I also suffer from pretty disturbing nightmares & bouts of spontaneous depression. Luckily, I have people in my life that love me for who I truly am... Ever since I have turned my life around, I've done my best to help those when it seems applicable & even when it doesn't. I have this quote I like to say, " I am so full of Love because I know so much of Hate."... About HLA... Although there is the one point I can't ignore, if I hadn't been admitted to HLA I probably would be dead, there is still the fact that after walking in there to rid myself of problems, I exited with a whole new set of problems... So, when it comes down to it, I don't really know what to say. HLA is Evil. There's no doubt about that. They're exploiting young minds for the sake of profit and for even stranger deeper personal control issues. Brainwashing is also definately involved. There were things they had done to me that I hadn't realized till much later, when I realized that a decision I had made wasn't what I wanted to do, but what HLA had programmed me to do, and not in a good way. For parents who have kids there & it seems to be working, trust me, it will, but only for a short while. After one starts adjusting to their natural environments in society again, it will all be realized and,sadly, there will undoubtedly be problems again. Why? Because they are not really themselves. They all were broken down in the same ways, and they were all built again with the same techniques used on everybody. Nobody is the same. That's why programs range anywhere from 3 wks. to a few years. I was there for 10 of the 18 mo. I still feel to this day that I was ready to be released at around 4 mo. ANything thereafter was very very unhealthy for me. Nobody is the same. EVeryone thinks and percieves differently. If you don't believe me, go to http://www.personalitypathways.com (http://www.personalitypathways.com) and take the Myers-Briggs online type indicator test. Hopefully these tests will be given more regularly in schools while children grow up, so as to avoid things like this and so everyone may respect each others differences more wisely... I told myself I wouldn't talk specifically about any certain incident at HLA, but I do want to give you one example that'll hopefully terrify you. When HLA found out that I was trying to get my court order dropped & that I'd secretly written the judge, they tried in many ways to get me, or should I say make me, stay. One specific incident included me, 3 of what I like to call psycho-manipulators, one of these being MIKE WITHERSPOON, and two other kids who'd been placed as dorm heads and had been at HLA longer. Almost every kid there would sell you out very fast for special privledges, and these two guys just happenned to be that way. Long story short, they all took everything I said & did & turned it around to make me think I was suicidal. They knew that if I tried to kill myself w/ them interveneing or had a written statement, that I wouldn't be able to leave. I had been there for around 5 mo. at this time. Well sure enough, I tried to slice my wrists open with a pair of scissors. Let me just say this, I knew something was up when they were talking to me like they were in that little room, but I have always considered myself a trusting individual & so I was not aware to what these people who're supposed to be helping me were trying to do... Now, that is pure evil. There is not one person who wouldn't have done what I did. That is there job, they are psycho-manipulators who have a backup & excuse for everything. When I told them what I knew they had done & busted out into tears, there was no feeling behind those eyes...none... The only reason I changed at HLA when it comes to the problems I had previous to this place, was because I realized that I was a good person inside & only I could change my life. It truly had very little to do with the program, well, except for the motivation to get out of there... SInce HLA, I have been successful in everything I do, but everywhere I go, I constantly fight horrible feelings. I always fight & I always win, but they are always there & I wonder if I'll ever be able to push through them... If you care at all about your child, do not send them there. In fact, I am so adament to having these facilities that you only see in movies shut down, that I'm willing to offer giving my best advice to whatever the situation may be in which you are consulting this site for. My E-mail is [email protected]... Trust me, before sending your child to a place as such, please consult me to discuss further options. I have a friend who is now a child psychologist and a former HLA student. He is putting out a book about his life and the crime, hate, and illusion of love that went into HLA. Please, if you Love your child, don't send them to a place like this. ALthough things may seem good for awhile, it is inevitable that they won't stay that way. For your child is no longer him or herself...
-
Hey ModestMouse,
I understand your struggle. My son was very confident and outgoing before HLA. He is very reserved now and kinda hangs on the edges. My sense is that he is overly concerned about 'making a mistake'. It's been a couple of years and his social skills are returning, but the effects of HLA are still evident. Might take a while to realize that someone is not looking at your through a microscope 24/7, and analyzing your every thought and action.
When were you there? What peer group? And who were your counselors? How many in your peer group when you started? Did everyone 'graduate'?
How did you manage to leave after only 10 months? Isn't the standard stay 20-22 months?
My son was a saint compared to what you said you did prior to going and they put him on a 22 month program. Must have needed more cash flow at the time :lol: , or else his father requested it.
Was Ridge Creek open when you were there and were you ever sent?
Mike Witherspoon IS one incredibly talented manipulator. As were Arnold and Meredith. Did you get to make all your calls home? Or were the "lines down" every week?
Did you get to have home visits? How many during your 10 months?
How was the food? Heard it improved after they hired an outside company to do food prep, which happened after they were required to apply for a license and follow state regs.
How many times were you on restriction? How long? And what was that like for you?
Were you ever restrained? The parent manual states that they don't do restraints, but several people have told me that they witnessed restraints at HLA and RC.
Several people have talked about how easy it was to get tobacco, dip, and even certain drugs. What was your experience with that?
The attempt at suicide part of your story wasn't real clear, particularly this: Let me just say this, I knew something was up when they were talking to me like they were in that little room, but I have always considered myself a trusting individual & so I was not aware to what these people who're supposed to be helping me were trying to do...
Would you mind elaborating or retelling it?
Hope you continue to sort out what happened to you there and shake it off.
Welcome to Fornits
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This thread was CLOSED at Amazing Forums. It will unfortunately just scroll off the page eventually. Last post 6/28. Two apologies/retractions were posted on 8/11 and 8/12- See below.
steve posted 11/23/03 4:59 AM
--------------------------------------------------I am interested in finding out from staff and students alike, now out of the program, what their thoughts feelings and intuitions of the program are.
Deborah posted 11/23/03 11:21 PM
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What is your interest?
Mike posted 12/10/03 3:22 PM
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Does anyone have recent experience with this school to share?
Deborah posted 12/12/03 2:20 AM
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http://amazingforums.com/forum/BS4/169.html (http://amazingforums.com/forum/BS4/169.html)
Former HLA staff posted 3/22/04 0:27 AM
--------------------------------------------------I am a former recreation/restrictions staff of HLA. The recreation staff especially create a very open, safe and supportive environment for its students. I support many of the therapeutic aspcets of the program, but like any private institution--there are some problems.Not all of you may encounter them but be aware of the high-stress and high-emotional costs of this program(as far as dealing with staff and turnover goes.) The students grow and learn and become very strong young people---stronger than most adults.
JM posted 4/7/04 5:18 PM
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I currently attend HLA and well I must say that it sucks it is progressively getting worse and worse and they say you can write proposals to make the place better but you can't, the therapy is useless only the students can help you with your problems DONT SEND YOUR KIDS HERE UNLESS YOU HATE THEM
Ashley T posted 4/18/04 10:03 PM
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Ok. I was a student at Hidden Lake for 14 whole months. I truly do not feel that the HLA experience can be summed up in a small paragraph on this page. I guess you could say that there are just as many people that have gone to HLA that say it helped as there are people who dispise even remembering the place. I was withdrawn from the school after my parents decided i was too old to be wasting my time doing nothing in a place i didnt like. I suppose you could say my opinion of hidden lake isnt a positive one. my reasons are simple. too much negativity from both students and staff, and a system that started out with good intentions but in the end was corrupted. there is a program called restrictions that kids have to be in if they get in trouble or break one of the three aggreements. No sex, drugs, or violence. you may read that and guess that those are fairly easy rules to follow and arent irrational at all. I agree. However, those rules are just a generalization to a book of policy thicker than all the harry potter books put together. No sex means no hugs, no hanging out with the other sex too much, only having friends of the other sex, no notes, no letters with any flirty things (this is for when you write your approved 5 friends after 8 months) and that sort of thing. No drugs means no sharpie markers, tide detergent, straws, anything. No violence means no football, horseplay, plastic or metal knives (yes, we used spoons to eat with) and no tacks or anything like that. I just suppose the kids there mostly make their situation worse because they really have nothing to look forward to except the occasional visit every three or four months. Visits are really limited also. they are only with your immediate family. you are not allowed to use the phone, internet, anything. You cant talk to or see your friends. It is ridiculous. When you get on the phone once every week or so with your parents, you have a staff right there with you. THey are there so you will not try to manipulate your parents into sending you home without finishing the program. Some kids will get kicked out of the school as soon as they mess up. others will have parents who pay their kids way into staying. Anyway. i feel like Hidden lake would have the potential to be a beneficial step in a kids life if they just changed a few policies and tryed not to scare the kids into being good. Thanks.
david herring posted 4/19/04 2:11 AM
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hello everyone, i'm 17, almost 18 years old, 16 when i quit HLA, if you love your child and want what is best for them, don't send them to HLA, the school overall is bad. they call it a "safe" enviroment for your child......ha... let me tell you a few storys about how "Safe" it really is, i had been there for about a week, at the time 15, i was going through a rough time because i had just gotten my first restiction, i said i wanted to call me mom and talk to her, the dean Lee Parham came up to me and said this word for word "there is a phone about 7 miles down the road, walk down the road and call your mom if you like...." sure it sounds like he was being nice....but if i had walked down the road, HLA would have called the police on me for being a runaway and i would have had cuffs slapped on my wrist, i don't think that it is "safe" for the dean to tell you to walk down the road then call the police on you, another thing that happened while i was there, a kid took a pencial sharpener and made about 14 or 15 cuts in his arm and spread the blood all over the room, i don't know about you but i don't wanna be in a dorm room that had blood all over the walls, they clean it off but none the less. another thing is they did dorm searchs, they would go through everything you had personal or not and search it, this means journels, poem books, and other things, i don't think that sounds very "safe"...... also when i was there i met a girl and we started to get feelings for one another, the staff got wind of this and put us on bans which means that the other person pretty much does not exist, is it "safe" to put males and females into the same place and not expect them to form something closer then a friendship???? and if we got caught talking to one another or anythign else for that matter we would be put on restictions, this is where you go if you break the rules of HLA, what you do on restictions is manual labor, such as make ditchs, trails, cut wood, move rocks, and staff does not do anything but watch it was very rare when a staff helped...... we also did militery training (A.K.A. PT) we were not feed right on restictions ethier, we could only have soup, water, salad, and whatever was on the menu, we could not have sandwichs or aything else, and we could not use the microwave, the school was also very sexist in my point of veiw, on restictions the females got to work inside or in the shade most of the time and could slack off on PT some, where the males where out in the sun, sometimes without water, and we were out there for hours on end, the dorms should be enough proof that the school was very sexist because the males dorm had 8 showers for the whole dorm, very little hot water, and you could have up to 3 other roommates, where as the the females dorm was a hell of alot nicer, they had a shower for each room, and you would only have 1 other roommate, but i think the most unsafe thing about HLA was that you could be placed on restictions for nothing at all, if someone says you did something then you did it, no questions asked, they did not have to have proof or anything of that nature, and they would keep you on until you admit that you did what you were accused of, so that is sometimes forcing you to lie.... is that "safe"???????? i don't think so, so if someone did not like oyu then all that had to do is write fake fallout, which is where you write everything you know about that has gone on on campus, and BAM!!!! they are on restictions for something they did not even do, so as i said beforeif you care for your child and you want the best for him/her prove it by NOT sending him/her to HitlersLastAcheivemnt as we use to call HLA........ if anyone has any questions about my stay there please by all means ask, and if your child is in HLA please pull him/her because you are doing nothing but putting hate in thier heart, together maybe we can shut this place down,
THOMAS DAVID HERRING
John Reuben posted 4/26/04 5:01 PM
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I just enrolled my son there and am interested in contacting any other parents who have children there or have had kids there. Have heard good and bad but was very impressed when I went down there. My son had not thrived either at home or in a normal boarding school environment.
david herring posted 4/27/04 5:21 AM
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JOHN GET YOUR SON OUT OF THERE!!!!!!!! the staff shed the parnets from all the bad things at HLA, they seem like perfect angels when parnets are there but as soon as they leave things go back to the way they were take every students word for it on this board, we know we where behind the scenes parnets are not.......
JP posted 4/28/04 9:11 PM
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If anyone is thinking about possibly sending your child to HLA, please listen to what I am about to say...Okay. I'm not sure really where to begin. I'll start with why I went there... I was court ordered there for assualt and battery on my parents during a cocaine overdose, unruly child; dropping out of school & living on the streets, and a few drug paraphenalia charges due to proof of parents. I was 16 at the time of my conviction, to then turn 17 just a few days on entering HLA... That was in 1997. I am currently 23 and do have control over my life, which is an aspect very different from my dark days. I consider my self to be well educated and have been very succesful with relationships, including the one with my parents... There are some hangups though. I have suffered from Social Anxiety disorder upon leaving HLA. No matter who I've talked to, I just can't seem to get past it. I also suffer from pretty disturbing nightmares & bouts of spontaneous depression. Luckily, I have people in my life that love me for who I truly am... Ever since I have turned my life around, I've done my best to help those when it seems applicable & even when it doesn't. I have this quote I like to say, " I am so full of Love because I know so much of Hate."... About HLA... Although there is the one point I can't ignore, if I hadn't been admitted to HLA I probably would be dead, there is still the fact that after walking in there to rid myself of problems, I exited with a whole new set of problems... So, when it comes down to it, I don't really know what to say. HLA is Evil. There's no doubt about that. They're exploiting young minds for the sake of profit and for even stranger deeper personal control issues. Brainwashing is also definitely involved. There were things they had done to me that I hadn't realized till much later when I realized that a decision I had made wasn't what I wanted to do, but what HLA had programmed me to do, and not in a good way. For parents who have kids there & it seems to be working, trust me, it will, but only for a short while. After one starts adjusting to their natural environment in society again, it will all be realized and,sadly, there will undoubtedly be problems again. Why? Because they are not really themselves. They all were broken down in the same ways, and they were all built again with the same techniques used on everybody. Nobody is the same. That's why programs range anywhere from 3 wks. to a few years. I was there for 10 of the 18 mo. I still feel to this day that I was ready to be released at around 4 mo. ANything thereafter was very very unhealthy for me. Nobody is the same. EVeryone thinks and percieves differently. If you don't believe me, go to http://www.personalitypathways.com (http://www.personalitypathways.com) and take the Myers-Briggs online type indicator test. Hopefully these tests will be given more regularly in schools while children grow up, so as to avoid things like this and so everyone may respect each others differences more wisely... I told myself I wouldn't talk specifically about any certain incident at HLA, but I do want to give you one example that'll hopefully terrify you. When HLA found out that I was trying to get my court order dropped & that I'd secretly written the judge, they tried in many ways to get me, or should I say make me, stay. One specific incident included me, 3 of what I like to call psycho-manipulators, one of these being MIKE WITHERSPOON, and two other kids who'd been placed as dorm heads and had been at HLA longer. Almost every kid there would sell you out very fast for special privledges, and these two guys just happenned to be that way. Long story short, they all took everything I said & did & turned it around to make me think I was suicidal. They knew that if I tried to kill myself w/ them intervening or had a written statement, that I wouldn't be able to leave. I had been there for around 5 mo. at this time. Well sure enough, I tried to slice my wrists open with a pair of scissors. Let me just say this, I knew something was up when they were talking to me like they were in that little room, but I have always considered myself a trusting individual & so I was not aware to what these people who're supposed to be helping me were trying to do... Now, that is pure evil. There is not one person who wouldn't have done what I did. That is their job, they are psycho-manipulators who have a backup & excuse for everything. Any parent that talks to them will be swayed to see what they want you to. They control whoever they want unless you are truly aware of what is being done. When I told them what I knew they had done, I busted out into tears as I watched no emotional response and no feeling behind their eyes...none... The only reason I changed at HLA when it comes to the problems I had previous to this place, was because I realized that I was a good person inside & only I could change my life. It truly had very little to do with the program, well, except for the motivation to get out of there... SInce HLA, I have been successful in everything I do, but everywhere I go, I constantly fight horrible feelings. I always fight & I always win, but they are always there & I wonder if I'll ever be able to push through them... If you care at all about your child, do not send them there. In fact, I am so adament to having these facilities that you only see in movies shut down, that I'm willing to offer giving my best advice to whatever the situation may be in which you are consulting this site for. My E-mail is [email protected] (http://mailto:[email protected])
RobertBruce posted 6/1/04 2:07 AM
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I also attended HLA but was able to escape. I honestly beleive that there are enough people out there with enough information to consider filing a class action law suit. I know we all have these stories and I know because of the brainwashing that went on there alot of times its hard to put in specific terms what was done to us. But I firmly believe that because of the physical, sexual, and mental abuse we suffered we have an obligation to shut that hell hole down so that no one else ever has to suffer as we do. Parents if you are considering sending your child there, FIND ANOTHER OPTION. The person you get back may have been cured of some of their problems but what you get back will not be the same person you once knew and they will have a whole different series of problems to deal with. Anyone who is interested in this or who has friends from the school who might please let me know via this board until we can find a more suitable venue.
brian valdez posted 6/1/04 3:51 AM
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hla was fucking gay as shit. ian is a faggot. lee is a faggot. all the staff are gay. i love ken tobe
alex wein posted 6/1/04 11:34 PM
--------------------------------------------------my parents just pulled me from hla because they finally figured out the truth that place. if you really love your kids and care about their future do not i repeat do not send them to this school they will hate you for the rest of their life. FUCK YOU HLA BUCCIE IS A FUCKING FAGGOT LITTERALLY.
Kid Thorazine posted 6/2/04 0:18 AM
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Thank you Mr. Valdez
anyway yeah HLA sucks oh by the way can anyone get me Walter Kepings adrress I found this great site that anonymously sends dofshit to people for like twenty bucks
a current student posted 6/2/04 5:00 AM
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wow i dont even know where to start. i am currently an hla student in fire element. In the program description that would mean i had been thear between 8- 12 months. I am approaching 16 months. This program gets suckers every week. A parent will buy into it and decide to give the program a chance which is fair. By the time the child is at Hla they have already paid a substantial amount of money. Around the time when a student has been there 4-8 months many parents realize the true nature of the program ... a buisness. with the primary intention of making money. At this point the parent will decide to pull the student but find out they have been financially trapped into keeping their child there. People who have financial aid get especially swindled because if they try to pull a studentthey will find out that they owe the school all the financial aide that was given to them if their child does not complete the program.
on to point 2. HLA destroys youre soul and spirit. Everything they do is meant to bring you down and make you give into them.They will make you miserable and tell you to accept it. that is no way to live life. that sounds more to me like a concentration camp than a "safe" enviornment. While i have been there i have seen two suiside attempts. One girl will never be able to speak again because of the permenant damage she had too her windpipe while hanging herself in a closet. I f you could send ure child to a place that could cause that kind of paine in a human being you have a sick mind. It is a not a safe enviornment it is not a happy enviornment it is not a useful enviornment
if you have a troubled son or daughter there are better alternatives. One thing to be very clear about is that this is not a rehab and in mose cases does not help with drug addiction, If you want a rehab send your child to a rehab not HLA
This place is not good for deppresion, suicidal thoughts or problems with cutting or bulemia. I was depressed before i got to Hla BUT I WAS NEVER SUICIDAL UNTIL I HAD BEEN THERE. Cutting, bulemia , and deppresion are results of unhappiness, personal problems, and sometimes medical conditions. Sending your child to a place that drains that happiness out of everyone there has no way of helping someone wiith these problems. It could only makle it worse. Also the kind of therapy is different than what most people think of as therapy. tHERAPY is a very broad term. One kind of therapy is where you go to a doctor and sit down and talk about your feelings. That is not the same as HIDDENlake therapy. The therapy there could be more consideed as a brow beeting. More often in therapy which is called realls you would get hollered and screamed at by the counselors than asked about an opinion or how you are personally feeling
THE FIRST FOUR OR SO NMONTHS AT HLA IS IN MY OPINION BENEFICIAL TO MOST OF THE STUDENTS THERE the only problem is the program is 18 through 28 months long and the last 14 -24 month are useless yet still cost you 100's of thousands of dollars. by the time you child has been there 4 months the school will have already financialy trapped you into staying there.
as a closing i would just like to say that you should never take another humane beings life lightly. When you wrecklessly make descisions that affect others life it will have permanant consequences. If you are thinking about sending your child to hla make sure you THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATE the school and THOUROUGHLY investigate all other options. If you send your child to a program that does not make them miserable they will be more willing to work through it and they will gain far more from it . thankyou for your time
ps if you are conan scheins parents i can tell you from all the time i have shared with him that you need to reevaluate your descision to keep him at hla. you have taken all the happiness from him that i used to see in him when he first got there. and u are going to affect his life more than u could understand. - a friend
Henry Perlstein posted 6/2/04 7:37 AM
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I graduated from HLA in august, 2001. I was a little kid while i was at hla, and to be totally honest, that place scarred me. I was 14 when i graduated, and that place gave me a fucked up view of the world. It tought me not to trust people, and i learned more about drugs than i had ever imagined before i got there. I have my life completely in order now, but in my opinion, HLA did nothing to help me become the person that i am today. To those considering sending there children there: YOUR KIDS WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! At least i havent forgiven mine.
p.s. any hla student from the past, send an email to http://www2.state.ga.us/Departments/DHR/ORS/ (http://www2.state.ga.us/Departments/DHR/ORS/)
I'd be curious to know if any of the parents who post here thought for a minute that they were sending their child to a traditional boarding school or if indeed they expected some form of 'treatment'. How did you know that HLA was a therapeutic facility?
I'd also be curious to know how many parents are paying for a traditional 'education' with insurance money, or taking tax deductions for the expenses associated with their child's 'education' at HLA. If HLA is a traditional boarding school whose primary purpose is education, wouldn't that amount to fraud?
Did your child have a service plan?
http://rules.sos.state.ga.us/complete/BCB77.pdf (http://rules.sos.state.ga.us/complete/BCB77.pdf)
Or was s/he treated with the standard one-size-fits-all program.
Did your child have a preplacement evaluation? Was your child labeled ODD prior to selecting HLA or did HLA provide the diagnosis? Did HLA comply with the ICPC, if you were out-of-state?
http://rules.sos.state.ga.us/complete/D7AF4.pdf (http://rules.sos.state.ga.us/complete/D7AF4.pdf)
So, is HLA a traditional boarding school, or a residential treatment center? Can't sit on the fence forever. The fraud will eventually be exposed for what it is.
brian valdez posted 6/16/04 4:31 AM
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hey guys im back. well hla is gay big up to jeremy diermeier ken tobe and rich. well since ive been to hla i found out that i am indeed a faggot. i like having butt sex and ill give yall some fall out, jeremy and i had sex on three occasions. one when we were dipping together at the sleep over, one when we were doing inhalents, and another at the airport.
Vanessa Maxwell posted 6/16/04 2:25 PM
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HLA is the worst place I've ever heard of. You make friends but they fuck you over with them by putting you on bans if you get to close. Everyone did what they weren't suppose to do and some people were smart enough to not say shit and then dumb ass narc's fuck you over. Basically HLA is a pathetic excuse for help...because it just makes all matters worse!!! Do NOT send your kid to hell if you love them!!!
Katie R posted 6/16/04 2:43 PM
--------------------------------------------------Damn... Parents, if you think the students here posting messages are in the minority of the HLA student population with their blind and utter hatred for the dealings at Hidden Lake, think again. The only reason you don't see more of them here is that, their stuck there at the school. Any recent grads feel free to email or im. Email- [email protected] (http://mailto:[email protected]) or AIM: ZimaPartyin86 Thanks!
Sarah posted 6/17/04 5:13 PM
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My parents finally took me out of Hidden Lake Academy because I had to SNEAK call my home to tell them what the hell they were doin to us! I wasn't really a bad child, the reason why I was sent there is because I lied to my parents saying that I was going to my friend's house when I really went to see my boyfriend. When they found out, they said I was out of control! I wasn't out having sex with 15 different guys, I smoked weed a few times.I mean if they really wanted to send me somewhere to get help..HIDDEN LAKE ACADEMY IS NOT THE ANSWER! PLEASE PARENTS..YOU THINK YOUR HELPING YOU CHILD TAKING THEM TO THIS PLACE...YOU'RE NOT..TAKE THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE TO GET HELP!! couselors treat you like shit! There is no real treatment...it was more like torture than bein helped. Kids commit suicide for staying for GOD SAKES! They invade your privacy, they read your letters! If you write to your parents of how they really treat you, they'll just throw it away and you get hell afterwards. They dont even feed you right. They put you on restrictions, like digging ditches, they put in the woods. I swear I could not believe they made a place like this. To torture us. They treat boys more unfairly than girls. You cant even have friends. After I talked to my parents they took me out of there right away. They believed me cuz of they way I looked. The way I explained shit.PLEASE PARENTS DONT DO THIS TO YOUR CHILD...TAKE THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE...PLEASE!
I Am No One posted 6/17/04 10:06 PM
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Keep Writing, keep telling people what this school is doing - they need to be shut down. They can't be shut down if no one talks. The place is abusive, it's hell, it strips you of your life, liberty and squashes any hope of the pursuit of happiness. I wouldn't send my worst enemy there.
M Taylor posted 6/17/04 11:33 PM
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I was just recently taken out of a 24 month program, afte 12 months, and i am in the process of transferring schools..I would like everyone to know that HLA withhoheld my transcript illegally, and now we are in a lawsuit.. HLA is a corporation, not a fucking help clinic.. But have no fear.. It will all be over soon peace
RobertBruce posted 6/18/04 5:25 AM
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M they tride to do the same thing to me when I escaped. If you need any help or any further testimony let me know it sounds like they did the exact same thing to you as they tride with me. Let me know via this board if youd like any info. Ill do anything to help tear those bastards down.
- posted 6/18/04 10:22 PM
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i love you scott love
someones sister posted 6/20/04 7:04 PM
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vanessa, talk about "screwing people over" look what you did to john and brian -- looks like you still need a lot of help with honesty and friendship
Vanessa Maxwell posted 6/22/04 5:15 AM
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Fuck you Gina!! You're a dumb bitch!! How the fuck did I screw them over?? It's not my fault that John liked me!! Stupid slut...have a nice day!!
Gina's Friends posted 6/22/04 5:24 AM
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Gina, It's your your whole fucking school, yeh...everyone hates you. You are fat and smell like tuna. Yeh...you should def just kill yourself, with that big nose and all...oh! and yeh...your a stupid bitch too. You are the reason abortions are still legal...yes yes, my nasty little one, ur a dumb cunt
paststudent posted 6/22/04 6:31 PM
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Free Gioia
Vanessa's friend posted 6/23/04 2:37 AM
--------------------------------------------------Listen Gina or whoever is talkin mad shit about vanessa. Vanessa is the shit and you should be honored to be able to say that you even know her. You are just jealous that Vanessa can get a guy. Unlike you she doesn't have to chase them until they give up you big fat ass hoe. Just be glad that when Vanessa told you off she held herself back. Next time I can assure you, You won't be so lucky. I know her and she will lay all your shit down!! So FUCK OFF!!!
RobertBruce posted 6/25/04 5:50 AM
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A preety good example of how much good HLA really does.
mr valdez posted 6/25/04 8:19 PM
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fuck hla
my balls are really big
210 416 1517
Katie Clifford posted 6/28/04 3:03 AM
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I'M FREE!!! HLA is the biggest bunch of bullshit I've ever come across, what a waste of 23 months and over $120,000! hey to all my friends...if i still have any...if i ever did... brian i love you but you suck because you're ditchin me at uiw! we gotta hang out before school starts
vanessa IS the shit so gina dont be a fucking cunt and talk shit to her about stuff you don't know about
KatStevens posted 6/28/04 7:08 AM
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any one from peer group 30 ....email me
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The two retraction/apologies:
Joe posted 8/11/04 5:50 PM ___________________________________
I am retracting the statements I made above, and apologizing for making them.
-Joe
brianv. posted 8/12/04 3:28 AM
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Recently, I made some comments on a post-reply website about Hidden Lake Academy that were untrue and immature. I thought that it would be funny to post up untrue things to have a laugh with my friends but all I did was look immature to the people who visit the website and to some of my friends. I apologize to anyone who has read my post ups and I regret doing them. I also apologize to Hidden Lake Academy and the staff, who work very hard to improve the lives of their students.
Brian A. Valdez
Nova posted 8/12/04 8:00 AM
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Hey man you are not in the program anymore... Who is going to consiquence you??? What is done is done and learn from it... Not to sound programized but that's how it is...
http://amazingforums.com/forum2/WWASPFORUM/forum.html (http://amazingforums.com/forum2/WWASPFORUM/forum.html)
wwasp forum
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hidden lakes pretty bad. I thought the day I got out would never come. Its pretty damn bad. DONT SEND ANY KIDS THERE!
49
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never ever
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I was in peer group 17 and was wondering if anyone else was there that long ago?
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On 2005-03-25 23:57:00, Anonymous wrote:
"I was in peer group 17 and was wondering if anyone else was there that long ago?
"
I was there as a staff member beginning with PG1. You came a bit after I left.
BTW, we need to "bump" the HLA threads, as they're drifting back into obscurity, right where HLA likes them...
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The HLA threads were moved from the Teen Help Industry forum to their own forum. I hope that doesn't prevent anyone from finding them.
Have you posted your experience with HLA yet? If so, where might it be found?
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Ok, that spells it. No more moving threads when I make a new forum. I'll just copy them or link to them or something.
Sorry, my mistake. Hope I didn't mess anything up too badly.
say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile.
--Kurt Vonnegut, American author
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I dont' think you did Ginger. Folks may look for them in the THI forum and wonder where they went, but hopefully they are aware that there are other forums here.
I'm not sure it makes sense to leave them in the THI forum and copy them here, because folks could repond there and not here. Unless... you put a notice on the last page of those threads that they were closed for comment in that forum but available here. Not sure that is even possible, but seems like a good solution.
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Yeah, and I get nervous about having too much influence by way of things that only an admin can do. Plus, for the most part, it ain't broke so why fix it?
Cops; you wake `em up you gotta dance with `em. They lead.
-- Jack McNulty
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yes, I was there during that time period.
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The following is a letter I had written in response to a concerned parent who currently has a child at Hidden Lake Academy:
"Hello. The letter you viewed was one I'd written last year around this time actually. I'd love to answer any questions you have. I must first ask though, why was he sent to HLA? The reason I ask is because you need to ask yourself a very serious question, Was the way he was before he went to HLA as dangerous as how he may feel upon his life after HLA? I'll give you a quick background of my story in order for you to understand. Right up to the time before I went to HLA, I had ceased caring whether I lived or died and had become a wandering junkie among the streets after dropping out of school and running away from home. I was sent to HLA upon a court order. I don't want to go into detail about how horrible my experience was at HLA, but I will say that there's no real individual counseling in order to find out what each child needs. It's all done the cheapest way possible in order for them to still say that they are counseling, which is group counseling. Group counseling on a mass structure can be successful when everyone may be suffering from the same problems such as Alcoholics Anonymous, but in this case what one child needs another may not. You must also understand that because of this they fill everyones heads with the same rules of life by breaking down everything they've been taught and rebuilding their thinking. This sounds as if it could be good, yes? But it's not. It's not actually correcting any problems. It's covering them up with a therapeutic veneer and teaching them to suppress their problems since they're not actually working through them. This insures that they may seem like things are better for them and that they're cured for a long enough time for them to leave HLA and then some. As you know though, anything suppressed will eventually surface and need to be dealt with again. So in actuallity HLA did nothing except offer a temporary fix. For some it does work, but very few. Most of the children end up with double the amount of problems, because you then have to worry about the same old problems accompanied by the trust issues and identity disorder that HLA has installed. After leaving HLA I started noticing that I felt like a robot. It took awhile to figure out who I was again. Through all this searching I was lucky, because I started noticing subtle beauties in life that made me want to live, plus being sober I was able to look back at all the wrongs I'd done and people I'd hurt and became determined to change some of my ways. Now I'm a very happy person for the most part, but I do suffer from some problems that I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to overcome, because my mind doesn't recognize them. They're purely irrational thoughts that I can't control which cause me to have panic attacks. I have social anxiety disorder and some serious trust issues from things my last psychologist said had become such a deep part of my psyche that it was part of my personality and could become a danger to try to change. I have learned to function fine as long as I take my medication. I am in a very successful relationship, my parents and I are now much better friends, and I care about my life as well as others'... Once again, I must say, that was my story. Everybody's story's different. For some the rebellious teenager is just a phase. It's practically impossible to know that though since we can't see the future. My parents have apologized a few times about getting me sent to HLA, because they see what it has done. They say that if they could go back they would do things differently. I don't think it's that easy though. I needed some help and my parents just didn't know what to do. I do not blame them for anything. They did what they felt they had to after we'd gotten into some serious scuffles and they saw me slowly but rapidly dying. You can see why I said that this is a very hard question to deal with. My advice personally is not HLA and is one on one counseling with the whole family. Make sure also that the psychologist is not a friend of anyone in the family, because you do not want them to be tempted into taking sides because of the personal relationship he/she has with a family member. For all we know, there may be things about all of you that may need to change in order for there to be that balance that your family needs. I know that's how it was for us, my family that is. This means that you must be open for anything that your therapist may say to you without getting defensive. There is no easy way out of this. Remember that... I to have never told my parents certain disturbing things that have gone on there, because they already beat themselves up over sending me there, so I can understand why your son is reluctant to say anything. Plus there's also the fact that he's scared to because of what they may try to pull. I was brainwashed into trying to commit suicide when they found out that I was trying to get my court order dropped because I felt like I'd worked through all of my problems, mostly on my own because i was willing and wanted to change things in my life. They wanted me to slip up and try something so as not to lose my money. It didn't exactly work as they wanted it to because we discovered what they were trying to do. Avarice and the ability to control someone's mind don't mix... Concerning your academics worry, there are no real academics. In spanish, the answers were always on the bottom of the page upside down and no teaching was involved, just worksheets. It's a gimic in order to make the parents feel as if some change is occuring. You cannot fail a class, you get incompletes until they make you do it with work assignments or calistenics. I remember when I made honor roll, my parents were so proud that I didn't even tell them that I was only in my first week of the school classes and hadn't actually done anything yet. So he may get good grades, but there's no serious learning taking place. I'd be more worried about his being able to function upon leaving than his academics though, because his credits should transfer fine. But he may do horrible in the next school because although it states that he made an A in the previous math class, there's a good chance he didn't learn anything, so it's going to be more difficult for him to keep up since he's been out of a real school environment for so long... I hope that all of this will encourage you to make the decision you feel is best. I'm sorry you must go through this, but since you must, please make the best educated decision possible. This is your son's future and possibly his life at stake. Since you obviously care about him in order to seek my help, I'm sure you'll do what is best. Here is a link yu may find helpful, http://www.heal-online.org/hiddenlake.htm... (http://www.heal-online.org/hiddenlake.htm...). Are you aware that there are a few class action lawsuits in the works against HLA?.. Please do not tell HLA that you have spoken with me. They are very powerful and have the ability to come up with answers to anything, hence the psychologist part. I'm risking alot by sharing these things with you. Thankyou and Goodluck. Love, Me"
I have posted this with the hopes that I could help answer some questions for those in worry. If you are planning to or know someone who may be planning to undergo such circumstances, please forward on this letter. Thankyou.
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I was a member of PG 12. This is a BAD program. Truly not worth spending your childs college money on a place that may screw them up more. If your child is young- and they are not into drugs, or they are just depressed, this is a really bad placement.
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Look people its like this- I went there for 2 full years and yes there is good that comes from this school but (and thtats a really big but) it is not good for everyone they use the same 5 point restraint that cops use. The men that dothe restraining are Army rangers and kids have come up from them with injuries. There are drugs that get in they do strip searches to everyone after a home visit. Physical labor, cals and Writing a 2 page answer to a question like What did you feel when you didnt tell the truth is HLA's answer to all the problems the kids there have. Dont get me wrong, I had fun and made friends that I still talk to 5 years later but that doesnt make up for the damage done. OH and someone had made a comment about being "in agreement" no there is no agreement it just thier rules NONE of the kids agreed to anything -thier parents did mostly without the childrens knowleledge. WHich is how the whole thing is set up the school tells the parents not to inform the kids of what is taking place. Get them on a plane and here thats all yoou have to do. People in my peer group showed up thinking that they were going on vacation ar a stranger got them out of their beds and stuck them in a car then put them on a plane bound for atl. One guy actually arrived sedated because his parents thought, and rightly so, that he would pitch a fit so the schoools sugestion was to sedate him. Yes the kids are manipulative but the school is far more guilty of that than any kids I knew there. My parents were so taken by the school that they still 5 years later dont believe the things I tell them about my experience there. I am a 23 year old mother now, what in Gods name would I gain by lying to my parents at this late stage? They act like they did me a favor but what they did was mmake college more difficult, My trust in most everyone nonexistant and a huge gaping hole in my teen years. Does anyone here realize the life shaping experiences that most teens have between the ages of 16 and 18? I was developmentally behind my friends at home in so many ways because I missed out on many of the things that most people do. My parents and aunts and uncles can look back onthose years and say "that was when I decided to go to college " or "that was when I knew I wanted to be a marine biologist You do get that when you are in a cage with out any bars. Hidden lake might not be a lock down facility but it dosent change the fact that you are stuck there until you are told other wise. If you plan on sending you child there dont do it because you have him/her in therepy and thats whats recomended. Try family therepy first because thats where the problem is. It starts in the home and ends in the home. it might be hard to make the adjustments that need to be made to help you child but it will save you 5k/ mo and give you and you child a better life than HLA will.
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Look people its like this- I went there for 2 full years and yes there is good that comes from this school but (and thtats a really big but) it is not good for everyone they use the same 5 point restraint that cops use. The men that dothe restraining are Army rangers and kids have come up from them with injuries. There are drugs that get in they do strip searches to everyone after a home visit. Physical labor, cals and Writing a 2 page answer to a question like What did you feel when you didnt tell the truth is HLA's answer to all the problems the kids there have. Dont get me wrong, I had fun and made friends that I still talk to 5 years later but that doesnt make up for the damage done. OH and someone had made a comment about being "in agreement" no there is no agreement it just thier rules NONE of the kids agreed to anything -thier parents did mostly without the childrens knowleledge. WHich is how the whole thing is set up the school tells the parents not to inform the kids of what is taking place. Get them on a plane and here thats all yoou have to do. People in my peer group showed up thinking that they were going on vacation ar a stranger got them out of their beds and stuck them in a car then put them on a plane bound for atl. One guy actually arrived sedated because his parents thought, and rightly so, that he would pitch a fit so the schoools sugestion was to sedate him. Yes the kids are manipulative but the school is far more guilty of that than any kids I knew there. My parents were so taken by the school that they still 5 years later dont believe the things I tell them about my experience there. I am a 23 year old mother now, what in Gods name would I gain by lying to my parents at this late stage? They act like they did me a favor but what they did was mmake college more difficult, My trust in most everyone nonexistant and a huge gaping hole in my teen years. Does anyone here realize the life shaping experiences that most teens have between the ages of 16 and 18? I was developmentally behind my friends at home in so many ways because I missed out on many of the things that most people do. My parents and aunts and uncles can look back onthose years and say "that was when I decided to go to college " or "that was when I knew I wanted to be a marine biologist You do get that when you are in a cage with out any bars. Hidden lake might not be a lock down facility but it dosent change the fact that you are stuck there until you are told other wise. If you plan on sending you child there dont do it because you have him/her in therepy and thats whats recomended. Try family therepy first because thats where the problem is. It starts in the home and ends in the home. it might be hard to make the adjustments that need to be made to help you child but it will save you 5k/ mo and give you and you child a better life than HLA will.
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"no chains on my feet,
but i'm not free
trapped at hla i'm destined to be"
-Found a wall in the study dungeon
i went to hla at the tender age of fourteen.
i grew up there. it sux. period. it is a horrible facility that will destroy the person your child will one day become. it uses a one size fits all approach that cuts people off at the knees. people i considered friends began cutting becasue of the stress hla caused. trust me. hla casues more problems than it fixes.
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What PG were you in? How long were you incarcerated there?
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4 years , pg 46 and post-grad
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I went to HLA and graduated. As a response to the question about restraining...they definitely restrain kids whether they say they do or don't and I have personally witnessed this multiple times. The part that was most difficult about HLA was the last few months before graduating when you're finally doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing, they invent therapeutic problems. Example being, I had a disagreement with my parents, which happens afterall I am a teenager, and my counselors told me that they were disappointed and I was falling back into my old patterns. By the way I was sent there for an eating disorder, so that statement was completely out of the blue. This place does NOT work for most people and the experience overall was a living hell. I feel bad for those students that have to stay there :sad:
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How was your 'eating disorder' addressed?
Did you have counseling specific to that issue, or the standard one-size-fits-all therapy?
How was the food there?
Yes, my son too complain of being accused of 'falling back into old patterns' that never existed or that weren't 'problems'.
I mean, do they really think that it's healthy to never have disagreements?
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yes you have to realize that you are dealing with an uncaring beurocracy that doesn't feel the same emotions as normal people. they claim to operate off maslow's heirarchy of needs. But in order to operate on this priciple it requres that you care enough to get involved in a persons life. they don't care enough. nowhere near enough.
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is this BIG GUY this is KC you finaally graduated respond in a Pm
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my oh my have things changed......