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Messages - AtomicAnt

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511
The Troubled Teen Industry / Concern for a "student"
« on: August 13, 2005, 10:02:00 AM »
Quote
On 2005-08-12 04:47:00, Truth Searcher wrote:

"OK.... well we really got off track.



I came looking for advise, from people who have some insider understanding of less than reputable programs.  I have suspicious about the tactics used at New Horizons Youth Camp in Rexford Montana.  I have utilized the advise offered here.  I turned up nothing.



How we ended up on Paul Cummings and MY daughters program I haven't a clue.



And perhaps in time I will chose to disclose my daughters experience.  But for the time being I choose not to.  Imagine yourselves on a home-schooling forum, with parents who abhor the thoughts of a public education.  And imagine being asked to disclose the name of the public school where they attend.  And in your limited experience (with this said forum)you feel that the public school is going to be torn to shreds and your position/decision as a parent is going to be hung out to dry.  So that is my position..... and I stand by it.



Thanks for listening."



I give you a lot of credit. At least you are here doing the research, reading and debating.

512
Brat Camp / Wilderness Camp for Philly Teen
« on: August 13, 2005, 08:30:00 AM »
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/ ... 17057.html

Survival camp for student
By LAURIE MASON
Bucks County Courier Times
Ticking off a list of labels assigned to 17-year-old Travis Biehn, anti-American terrorist among them, Juvenile Court Judge Kenneth Biehn seemed to implode on the bench.

"Let's talk about what this case is really about," said the visibly annoyed judge - no relation to the juvenile - during a tense hearing Wednesday in Bucks County court in Doylestown. "This case is all about a kid who was never held accountable."

Biehn of Buckingham will likely learn accountability and other skills next month as he embarks on a 31-day court-ordered wilderness survival program.

The sentence, which will be followed by community service, therapy and probation, is punishment for a bomb threat the Central Bucks High School East student scrawled on a school bathroom wall as well as charges stemming from a cache of potentially explosive chemicals subsequently found in his bedroom.

The June 1 incident forced the evacuation of the high school as police and bomb-sniffing dogs searched the building. The teen and his parents have yet to speak publicly about the charges, and have been called "aloof" and "uncooperative" by prosecutors.

Biehn was found delinquent of the charges last month and has been locked in the county's juvenile detention center even since.

At his disposition hearing Wednesday - the juvenile court equivalent of a sentencing - the judge chided both the teen, his parents and, to a lesser extent, the Central Bucks School District.

Had Travis Biehn received more than just a slap on the wrist for his earlier brushes with the law, which included making homemade napalm, shooting paintballs at cars and hacking into the school computer system, he may have learned his lesson, the judge said.

Yet his parents continued to look the other way, the judge said, allowing the apparently intelligent student to slide by with D grades in some subjects and act disrespectfully. He was even permitted to wear an offensive T-shirt to school with the logo "Jesus is a Homo," without getting into trouble.

"As a result of this overprotection, the juvenile did not learn that what he did was wrong," Judge Biehn said. "Perhaps if the parents, the school, and others had held Travis accountable, if they would have set some limits, perhaps we wouldn't be here."

Sitting with his attorney, William Goldman Jr., the stoic dark-haired teen nodded occasionally at the judge's words, but did not answer questions. In the courtroom audience behind him, his parents and about two-dozen supporters also remained silent.

But court records show that Brant and Annette Biehn have been busily working behind the scenes to steer their son's defense. They hired a psychologist - one of four who submitted reports in the case, court records show - and found an alternate wilderness program for their attorney to suggest to the judge.

Instead of the Boiling Springs, Pa.-based Tressler Care program, which is populated solely by juvenile delinquents, the Biehns wanted their son sent to Outward Bound, a North Carolina outfit with a more varied mix of participants.

The judge refused.

Court officials also noted that Brant Biehn brought his son several books to read during his stay in juvenile lockup, including two suspense novels dealing with chemical warfare and an anthrax attack by a disgruntled scientist.

 
Judge Biehn shook his head in apparent disbelief while reading from the report.

"I hope your parents learn from this," he told the teen.

During his stay at Tressler, Biehn will live in primitive cabins with other juvenile defendants. He will spend at least five hours a day in an educational or counseling setting, and the remainder doing chores.

At the end of the month, he will be brought back before the judge, who will determine if Biehn successfully completed the program.

If he did, the teen will then begin serving probation, during which he'll complete 100 hours of community service with Habitat for Humanity, write letters of apology and watch a film about victims of chemical burns. More counseling will follow, and the teen will not be allowed to have a computer in his room.

Biehn's parents must also pay about $8,000 in restitution, to cover the cost of the police search and added security at the school.

If he does not do what he's supposed to at Tressler, Biehn will go back to a juvenile detention center at the end of August.

Juvenile Court officials also suggested that the teen be required to correspond with American soldiers serving in Iraq as part of his sentence. The judge did not impose that, saying that despite news accounts in the United States and Canada, he didn't see any evidence that Biehn's actions were fueled by anti-American sentiments.

Biehn is a native of Newfoundland, Canada. He came to this country with his family in 1997, when his father took a job with Merck, a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical firm with a plant in Montgomery County.

No matter what the outcome of his juvenile sentence, Biehn will not be returning to the Central Bucks School District. Goldman said the Biehns plan to make arrangements for him to finish up his schooling in Canada.

Goldman would not say if he would appeal, but court records show that he filed a motion last week asking for the judge to reconsider.

Goldman said he was pleased with the sentence and reiterated claims that Bucks County District Attorney Diane Gibbons was using his client's case as a stepping stone to get re-elected.

"In the thousands of e-mails police found there is not one reference to terrorism by my client. This case was blown out of proportion early on," he said.

Gibbons countered that it was the Canadian press, not her, that used the word terrorist. She said she hoped this would be the last time law enforcement would have to deal with Travis Biehn.

"This young man is headed for trouble. If his behavior is not altered, it will become violent,'' Gibbons said.

As the hearing closed, Judge Biehn urged the teen to make the most of the wilderness program.

"You got to do the right thing. You're a good kid," the judge said. "But someone has to let you know that you're not going to get through life unless you deal with your inadequacies. Good luck, Travis. I hope you can handle this."
-----------------------------------------------
This is a battle of ideologies. The court is insisting the parents are raising their child incorrectly. The parents offer Outward Bound as a better alternative adn are refused. This is a district attorney trying to get votes off a case blown out of proportion. It's the 'tough on crime' bullshit, again. The kid scrawled graffiti in a restroom; big deal. Make him wash it off.

513
Brat Camp / Brat Camp Producers Out of Touch With Reality
« on: August 13, 2005, 12:34:00 AM »
Quote
On 2005-08-12 09:35:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Any abuses in treatment are intolerable.  However, the position on this forum that ALL programs are terrible and abusive and ALL parents who send their kids to programs are bad parents who are giving up their kids for someone else to raise is ridiculous.  

Whenever someone tries to point our success stories from programs- whether it be a student or a parent- you just slam them, insult them, swear at them and accuse them of being brain-washed.

I think we can all agree that there have been abuses and that there have been bad programs- many of them out of the country. No parent would want their child in an abusive program.  There are kids who desperately need a program and need what you call behavioral modification.  There are plenty of adults who need behavioral modification!  Many of us have had to learn to modify some of our behaviors in order to keep jobs.  If we aren't mature enough to do so, we lose the job. Most teenagers who are having the substance, behavior and/or anger problems that lead to a program placement have not yet developed the maturity to understand what is going on inside of them and what the long term consequences of their actions can be.  They have stopped respecting and listening to parents and teachers- for various reasons.  The families have become dysfunctional and the parents are unable to help the teen.

There is no intent to send the kid off to be abused or raised by someone else.  The intent is to keep the teen safe while he or she gets therapeutic help, matures, and is ready to show respect for authority and society."


I don't like the slamming and insulting, either. But as for the brainwashing, hey, if the shoe fits... Read any article on cults and brainwashing and these programs fit the description too well to ignore.

Does it work? Maybe. Are there success stories? Okay, if you say so, I won't argue the point. The success ratio is questionable. But is it right to do this to an individual? No, definitely not. The means is just wrong, regardless of the outcome.

As for respect for authority and society, earn it! I have little respect for authority when I see the lying thugs that run the country and little respect for the hypocritical society in which we live.

I teach my kids to question authority and try to change society. If someone doesn't, we are all doomed.

Since I've managed to live over 40 years without ever being arrested and have worked for the same company for over 20 years, I can attest that respect for authority and society are not prerequisites for success.

As for modifying behavior to keep a job, that is your choice; and that is the whole point. Your employer is not permitted to lock you up and make you change.

In juvenile justice they use the term 'status offense' for acts that are not allowed for juveniles but would not be illegal for an adult; ie truancy or running away. We need a term for acts committed where, if the victim is an adult it is called a crime, but if the victim is a juvenile it is legal; ie forced abductions and false imprisonment. We also need to extend to the law to make these illegal acts when perpetrated against kids.

514
Brat Camp / Typical Day at Sagewalk
« on: August 12, 2005, 11:46:00 PM »
Quote
On 2005-08-12 20:14:00, murley wrote:

"i was just reading through the web site to review individual feed back,

it is funny that soo many people still bitch about stuff from the past.

the past is the past and leave the anger behind, i attended a program with the same concepts (almost the exact schedule and names i.e. house in the dining room), however it was a 2 1/2 year program not a couple of months. these programs are NOT designed for youth to enjoy them...this is the whole point of the therapy....WORK ON YOUR SHIT, THEN YOU CAN GO BACK INTO SOCIETY.

and to the parents who read these sites, of course (some of these) youth are going to make their experience seem over the top, however you need to take into consideration, most of these youth are sent there for these same reasons...BEING MANPUILATIVE and GETTING WHAT THEY WANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

after going through a very intense 2 1/2 year program myself at the young age of 14, damn right i would send my child there if they were in need.

however...you can only help thoes who want to be helped"


It took you 2 1/2 years to get over being manipulative? Congrats.

Being manipulative is not a valid reason to be incarcerated. It is a valid reason for parents to look at how stupid they must be for allowing themselves to be manipulated by a kid.

515
Brat Camp / 'BRAT CAMP' CHANGES LIFE FOR THE BETTER
« on: August 09, 2005, 11:33:00 PM »
Quote
On 2005-08-07 10:31:00, Anonymous wrote:

"
Quote

On 2005-08-07 10:09:00, AtomicAnt wrote:


"I didn't want to use too much space quoting the entire article, so I picked my top two that I thought were most relevant to the Brat Camp topic.





I was searching for studies and other evidence one way or the other regarding the effectiveness of wilderness therapy. I found a study done by a Juvenile Justice Deptartment in Nova Scotia that listed wilderness therapy and other tough love approaches in the section listing ineffective treatments.





Here is a cut-and-paste:


 


Interventions Shown to be IneffectiveThe following forms of intervention have been proven ineffective in empirical studies accordingto the US Surgeon GeneralĂ­s Report (Department of


Health and Human Services, 2001) : BootCamps, residential programs in correctional or psychiatric settings, milieu therapy, tokenprograms, transfers to adult court, individual counseling, shock programs and wilderness retreats. Boot Camps are modeled after military basic training with a primary focus on


discipline. Mackenzie and Souryal (1994) concluded that boot camp programs do not reduce recidivism.When compared to traditional forms of incarceration, boot camps produced no significant positiveeffect and increased recidivism. Boot


camps focus very narrowly on physical discipline and donot address a broader range of skills and competencies. Residential programs that occur in psychiatric or correctional institutions show little promise ofreducing subsequent crime and violence in delinquent youth. Research demonstrates consistentlythat any positive effects of residential care diminish once the youth leave the facility.





 http://www.gov.ns.ca/just/Publications/ ... yStudy.pdf"




Seems like the programs (wilderness) do their own research and studies.



Based on what?



Surveys of happy/unhappy campers?



Where the independent research/studies?



This is a huge problem, it seems.

"


There is a good reason you don't find independent research on WT programs. Researchers focus on a specific diagnosis, such as depression, or ADHD, and then list the possible treatment options and give the results of these various options.

WT programs take pretty much everybody. How do you research that? I can see it now:
 
Grant Board: What specific diagnosis do you intend to research, applicant?

Applicant: The results of brainwashing programs on all forms of mental and behavior issues teens might be facing.

Grant Board: Uh, yeah, right...

BTW, I was searching through ADHD literature and discovered that the preferred treatment is a combination of medication and cognitive therapy. Behavior modification produced the worst results!

So now I have found separate studies that show for depression, violence, ADHD, and delinquency, tough love programs and behavior modification programs are the LEAST effective treatment options!

516
Brat Camp / Brat Camp Producers Out of Touch With Reality
« on: August 09, 2005, 11:05:00 PM »
http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_2923498

Most local teens interviewed Friday slammed the show's deceptive tactics.

"I would be angry," said Ashley Leblanc, 15, of Gardner. "I would want (my parents) to talk to me about whatever the problem was before sending me off to this place."

-------------------------------------
These kids were tricked," Michaelson said. "That's probably not the best way to negotiate with an adolescent."

Michaelson said kids are likely to become angry about being put into a program like this without full knowledge of what it entails.

"They're fighting the betrayal and the lie," he said. "You set yourself up for a possibility of more problem behavior."

Also, while an experience such as that provided by "Brat Camp" may improve some teens' behavior, Michaelson said cameras shouldn't be there to capture it.

"It's such a personal experience," he said. "To be tricked and then to be taped is really demeaning to these kids. You're saying, 'You have no voice, and we're going to exploit you.'"

517
Brat Camp / Redcliffer
« on: August 09, 2005, 10:48:00 PM »
Quote
On 2005-08-09 14:22:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Thanks to everyone for their input and assistance.  Redcliff told us (after consulting with their attorney) that we had to have a specific court order for my husband to remove his son from the program, and after compiling a mountain of paperwork, we had a hearing to try to get the court order.  Right now, I'm pretty angry about this.  The court said there is no evidence that being at Redcliff will definitely be HARMFUL to him.  So the motion was DENIED.  I am incredulous over this.  The paperwork included the psychological evaluation stating wilderness therapy was not called for, and could be counter-productive.  That wasn't enough.  His father has NO rights whatsoever.  He is just used as a source of money.  That's all.  I am frustrated beyond description.  Well, the good news is that one day my husband can show his son that he did everything possible to help him.  He hasn't been allowed to speak to his son since he was taken away by "escorts".  My husband is allowed to write him letters, and he has, but any mail the child sends to my husband is first received by his ex-wife, and SHE decides whether to forward it on.  As you can probably guess, we haven't received any letters from him.  I'm really bummed, but I'll get over it.  I'm not so sure about the child.  "


It does seem incredulous, but I suppose it hinges on the divorce agreement itself. My own divorce agreement states very specifically that my son cannot cross state lines, leave the country, change schools, or receive medical treatment without the express written consent of both of us. My ex attempted to get a Passport for our son and I easily blocked it (she seriously wanted to move to Canada when Bush was re-elected.) :smile: I thought she was over-reacting, and I didn't want him to be so far away.

Our divorce agreement prevents either of us from moving such a distance that visitation travel would be burdensome to the other parent, unless we both sign an agreement to the move. When my ex violated this by moving 100 miles away, I received full custody of my son. She eventually moved back, and we have joint custody, again.

Above all, check in with a good custody lawyer. Custody issues are never closed and can reopened by either parent at any time. You could sue for custody.

518
Brat Camp / 'BRAT CAMP' CHANGES LIFE FOR THE BETTER
« on: August 07, 2005, 01:09:00 PM »
I didn't want to use too much space quoting the entire article, so I picked my top two that I thought were most relevant to the Brat Camp topic.

I was searching for studies and other evidence one way or the other regarding the effectiveness of wilderness therapy. I found a study done by a Juvenile Justice Deptartment in Nova Scotia that listed wilderness therapy and other tough love approaches in the section listing ineffective treatments.

Here is a cut-and-paste:
 
Interventions Shown to be IneffectiveThe following forms of intervention have been proven ineffective in empirical studies accordingto the US Surgeon GeneralĂ­s Report (Department of
Health and Human Services, 2001) : BootCamps, residential programs in correctional or psychiatric settings, milieu therapy, tokenprograms, transfers to adult court, individual counseling, shock programs and wilderness retreats. Boot Camps are modeled after military basic training with a primary focus on
discipline. Mackenzie and Souryal (1994) concluded that boot camp programs do not reduce recidivism.When compared to traditional forms of incarceration, boot camps produced no significant positiveeffect and increased recidivism. Boot
camps focus very narrowly on physical discipline and donot address a broader range of skills and competencies. Residential programs that occur in psychiatric or correctional institutions show little promise ofreducing subsequent crime and violence in delinquent youth. Research demonstrates consistentlythat any positive effects of residential care diminish once the youth leave the facility.

 http://www.gov.ns.ca/just/Publications/ ... yStudy.pdf

519
Brat Camp / 'BRAT CAMP' CHANGES LIFE FOR THE BETTER
« on: August 06, 2005, 06:57:00 PM »
http://cms.psychologytoday.com/articles ... 00004.html

Quotes from article: Loose Screw Awards
 
Here are 10 faulty concepts from the mental health professions that have yet to disappear. Sometimes their effects have been benign; other times, put into practice, such ideas have harmed many people:

3. Meanest
Correctional Boot Camps

In the late 1970s, government leaders were desperately seeking remedies for the nation's soaring crime rate. One solution, inspired in part by the tough love message coming from mental health professionals, was to establish military-style boot camps where harsh discipline and strict regimens would set people straight. The first adult camps were established in 1983, and by the end of the decade, at least 15 states had opened or were developing similar camps for either adults or juveniles.

Although initial reports were encouraging, by the mid-1990s troubling stories began to appear about abuse and sadism at the camps. In 1998 five staff members at a boot camp in Arizona -- including the camp nurse -- were indicted in connection with the death of a 16-year-old inmate. At the time of his death, his body was covered with cuts and bruises -- 71 in all. The camp was eventually shut down, and 16 of its staff members were added to the state's registry of child abusers.

The biggest problem with boot camps, however, is that they just don't do the job. Recidivism of 60 percent or more is common -- as high as, or higher than, recidivism rates generated through more benign programs. Experts on learning have long known that harsh discipline mainly teaches people to be harsh themselves -- and to hate their abusers -- but that message is getting through only belatedly to the boot camp advocates. As the head of a National Institutes of Health panel that studied "get tough" programs nationwide summed it up a few months ago: "All the evaluations have shown [the programs] don't work."

9. The Breakfast Club Award
Adolescent Angst

With so many bad ideas around, it's certain that some of psychology's worst have yet to be exposed. Adolescent angst is a good example. The idea that adolescence is necessarily a time of emotional turmoil was introduced by pioneering psychologist G. Stanley Hall in 1904 and has been widely accepted ever since. It still provides a rationale for America's massive and deeply troubled juvenile justice system, which handles more than 1.5 million teens a year, and it is also at the heart of a wide range of therapeutic treatments for teens.

But Hall based his concept of adolescence on a faulty theory from biology -- "recapitulation theory," according to which each individual creature, as it develops, relives the evolutionary stages of its species. Hall conjectured that teens were reliving a time of "savagery" in our distant past -- "an ancient period of storm and stress." By the 1930s, recapitulation theory had been completely discredited, but this had no effect on Hall's theory, which had by this time taken on its own life.

Teen turmoil, it turns out, is far from inevitable. In a recent review of 186 contemporary preindustrial societies, researchers found that more than half had no sign of it. Yet the idea that teen angst is unavoidable is pervasive in our culture.

Hall's theory has probably set a vicious cycle in motion: Society responds to teen problems (drinking, drug use, pregnancy and so on) with restrictive laws and treatments, which in turn cause more teens to act out and rebel. The tumultuous stage of life we call "adolescence" is, without doubt, a creation of modern culture, not an inevitable stage of human development, and our own culture has produced far more of it than has any other culture in the world -- in part, perhaps, because of a faulty idea from psychology.

Dr. Robert Epstein is West Coast Editor and former Editor in Chief of Psychology Today. He is currently working on a book called The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen

520
Brat Camp / ABC Brat Camp
« on: August 06, 2005, 03:16:00 PM »
Quote
On 2005-08-02 17:37:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I just hope one day they will develop the science or something where they can conclusively prove these medications negative effects. I feel like we are in the 50's and everyone is smoking ciggarettes, completely oblivious to the harm it's doing-- but instead of tobacco todays fad is prescription drugs. I've been at my low points and tried a few anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication, I honestly didn't feel a thing. I just dont get it really.



Without a way to prove the effects of these medications, it would be almost impossible the child above who murdered the other child wouldn't have done it if he weren't taking the medication. I think every human being is capable of murder, so the question is, do these medications bring that dark instinct to the surface quicker?



Hopefully we'll have an answer soon."


What really bothered me about the twelve-year-old who killed his grandparents was that the judge refused to allow any mention of the drugs at his trial. The defense was not permitted to even mention the kid was taking medication! The boy states that his medication was helping him, but that his grandparents had given him a cold remedy that in conjunction with the medication caused a psychotic reaction. He described feeling that his skin was on fire and burning off of him and that he never felt that before or since. The medication he was on was one designed for adults, not children. It was prescribed by a pediatrician, not a psychiatrist.

The defense also pointed out that when the crime took place, the boy was 12 and weighed about 75lbs, but by the time he was tried, he was  6'2" weighed 160lb, was 15 and was brought into the courtroom wearing a prison uniform and in handcuffs and leg shackles. The defense argued that this certainly presented an unsympathetic image to the jury.

521
Brat Camp / 'BRAT CAMP' CHANGES LIFE FOR THE BETTER
« on: August 06, 2005, 02:12:00 PM »
Quote
On 2005-08-06 10:54:00, Anonymous wrote:

"
Quote

On 2005-08-06 10:48:00, AtomicAnt wrote:


"These programs are all about getting teenagers to behave, right? Have you ever met members of Reverend Moon's Unification Church? I have met several of them. They are all very well behaved, well groomed and respectful.





I doubt most of the parents would approve of sending 'struggling teens' into the Unification Church, but what they fail to see is that the techniques in the teen programs are exactly the same and have pretty much the same results.





The only difference between a cult and these programs is that the programs lack a specific religious affiliation."




The teen gulag cults do not fit they classic model of a cult-- a revered leader, a religious-sounding ideology, etc. The gulag cults are "treatment cults", in which instead of worshipping a leader, the members worship a facility or a program, or a method. That doesn't change the fact that these programs are cults. "


And they are also a great scam. I was discussing the idea of a TBS with a co-worker who jumped on it. He said, "It's the perfect scam! Instead of going out and having to recruit members, you convince parents to turn over their kids and actually pay the cult to keep them."

522
Brat Camp / 'BRAT CAMP' CHANGES LIFE FOR THE BETTER
« on: August 06, 2005, 01:48:00 PM »
These programs are all about getting teenagers to behave, right? Have you ever met members of Reverend Moon's Unification Church? I have met several of them. They are all very well behaved, well groomed and respectful.

I doubt most of the parents would approve of sending 'struggling teens' into the Unification Church, but what they fail to see is that the techniques in the teen programs are exactly the same and have pretty much the same results.

The only difference between a cult and these programs is that the programs lack a specific religious affiliation.

523
Brat Camp / Anger management
« on: August 06, 2005, 01:40:00 PM »
Quote
On 2005-08-05 16:32:00, Anonymous wrote:

"I can say that wilderness therapy can help directly with anger management issues. Maybe all of you that are so angry should seek that help. Or at any rate really research and find out the hard FACTS of what you are so against."


In case you missed it, many of the posters here are angry because they went through wilderness therapy or were forced through a TBS or similar program. It was the program that caused the anger.

524
Brat Camp / 'BRAT CAMP' CHANGES LIFE FOR THE BETTER
« on: August 06, 2005, 01:10:00 PM »
Quote
On 2005-08-06 09:58:00, Anonymous wrote:

"?Brat camp? confidential: Wilderness school turned life around for Cumberland girl

By Craig Giammona



Ashley Hallett of Cumberland with the dish rack she built at New Dominion School in Dillwyn, Va., where she spent 18 months turning her life around.



Courtesy Ashley Hallett

CUMBERLAND ? On Dec. 15, 2002, Ashley Hallett was sitting in class at Greely High School. Christmas was just over a week away and the blond-haired sophomore didn?t have much on her mind. Then she got a call from her father, who said he was coming to pick her up for a doctor appointment. Hallett was suspicious. It didn?t make sense. She had been to the doctor a few days before and her father?s story was flimsy. She became agitated, but eventually her father arrived and forced her to leave school. She knew something was up when she got to the car and saw her mother sitting in the front seat.



?It didn?t make any sense,? Hallett, now 18, said.



Her parents stuck with the doctor story for about 20 minutes as they drove from Cumberland to Portland. But as the car wound around the Back Cove, Ashley?s parents came clean: They were enrolling her in a wilderness school.



The situation was somewhat similar to that being documented this summer on ?Brat Camp,? an ABC reality television show that premiered earlier this month (although Ashley said the kids on the TV show get away with much more disruptive behavior than she ever would have been allowed).



Ashley?s parents were fed up with her behavior ? she had run away for four days, was drinking, smoking marijuana and generally disrespecting them on a regular basis. They had opted for the last resort.



Ashley started yelling and screaming. There was no way she was leaving her life, her friends, her school. But she didn?t have much choice. The Halletts spent the next 15 hours driving to the Southern Urban Wilderness School in the mountains of North Carolina. When the family would stop for gas, one parent would stay in the car with Ashley while the other paid and bought water and snacks.



?They knew I would try to get out and run away,? Ashley said, ?so one of them had to stay there and watch me.?



Three years removed from the ordeal, Ashley has turned her life around. She speaks of the events in a glib, self-assured manner. Recalling vivid details of the experience, she tells the story matter-of-factly.



?Honestly, I don?t know if I?d be alive right now,? she said, when asked if she had come to understand her parents? decision. In the next beat, though, she admits it took her a long time to forgive them for sending her away.



?I hated them,? she said.



Ashley spent 43 days in North Carolina in a structured program that involved frequent hikes and physical labor. When she first arrived she was sure she?d be home for Christmas, a notion that quickly drifted away in the cold winter air. The first week, she said, was the worst.



At first, she was not able to talk to the other kids and had to write four pages every day that were read by supervisors. Then an ?impact letter? arrived from her parents, detailing their reasons for sending her away. She had to read this in front of the entire group.



The minimum stay at the Wilderness school was 28 days. When that day hit, Ashley thought she was going home.



?Just get me out of here, I?m fine,? was how she described her attitude at the time. Her supervisors ? who give no indication of when a student will be released ? had other plans. They kept Ashley there until Jan. 30, 2003. She had been there for 43 days, but was still apparently not ready to return to Cumberland.



Her next stop was the New Dominion School in Dillwyn, Va., where she spent the next 18 months. The school teaches respect, again through a rigorous program of physical activity.



?Every minute of the day you?re doing something physical,? Ashley said. There is not electricity at the school outside of the dining room where the students eat. ?Being fake? or ?acting like you?re fine when you?re not? is a major violation and one that afflicted Ashley for her first six months in Virginia.



?I still didn?t get it at that point,? she said. ?I still thought I was fine.?



About six months into the program, Ashley said she had a turning point. She can?t quite pin down a particular event that caused the attitude change, but she figured out she was going to be there for a while and should try to do something positive. She had seen friends leave the school and realized she had to change her behavior if she ever wanted to follow them.



She started behaving and earning school hours, one at a time. She eventually worked up to six school hours a day and when she left Virginia in June 2004, after 18 months, she was back on track to graduate with her class.



In fact, Ashley received her high school diploma, on time, in June. Now, she said, she has adjusted to a new life in Cumberland. She no longer sees her old friends, who she describes as ?part of the problem? and instead has reacquainted herself with some close friends she knew growing up, but distanced herself from when she fell in with an older crowd at the start of high school.



?I don?t have to impress anyone,? Ashley said. ?I just don?t care anymore if (my friends) get mad at me for not going out.?



The new-found confidence, she said, derives from having survived her 20-month ordeal. ?No one knows how it feels to go through this,? she said.



Ashley now holds down three jobs ? coaching sailing in Portland, working part-time at Rite Aid and teaching private sailing lessons. She is no rush to go to college, but has a nanny job lined up in the fall and possibly wants to pursue a career as a probation officer.



?I want to do what people did for me,? she says, ?only I don?t want to sleep outside every night.?



Craig Giammona can be reached at [email protected]."


A perfect example of the cult-like experience, they all say this:

?Honestly, I don?t know if I?d be alive right now,? she said,

They convinced her she was a fake and that something was wrong with her, it took six months to break her:

?Being fake? or ?acting like you?re fine when you?re not? is a major violation and one that afflicted Ashley for her first six months in Virginia.

This says it all:

survived her 20-month ordeal

Perpetuation:
 
?I want to do what people did for me,?

Bottom line: A child with issues blown out of proportion is sent to a brainwashing program to become a well behaved zombie with three jobs, and wants to share the love. The cliches never end.

525
Brat Camp / BRAT CAMP TEEN ARRESTED
« on: August 06, 2005, 12:50:00 AM »
Quote
On 2005-08-05 13:01:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Let me explain to you why some of us don't just post our names and give details of our stories.  

Think for a moment of a situation where I might, say have a daughter or son who graduated from a school or program and who is about to apply to the police academy or to some professional school.  That child might not want the details of a troubled adolescenc bandied about---possibly coming to the attention of future teachers or employers who don't really understand the whole subject.  

"


You do realize that one of the strongest objections to Brat Camp is exactly what you are describing above. The privacy of these teens has been compromised and will haunt them. Isaiah was arrested recently and his name was printed in the news article which detailed that he was one of the Brat Campers. It's starting already. He is only 17.

Lauren mentioned in an interview that when she signed the release papers to be filmed, she thought she was to appear in a show similar in nature to MTVs Real World. It appears to me that she was misled into signing away her rights to patient/therapist privacy.

Watching the show Brat Camp with twice weekly therapy sessions and seemingly engaged and caring counselors, it appears that this is about as good a program of its type one could hope to find. And yet, I still find it objectionable. I would not call it therapy, it is clearly coercive in nature, and based on the outcomes, it is not very effective.

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