I don't care to name the programs my son attended. I have provided this information privately to posters on the strugglingtrolls site. I wish to remain anonymous on this site because I have been the target of hateful emails in the past. I also wish to protect the identity of my son.
I will say that I know of at least 6 wilderness programs where there have been no reports of any abuse and both parents and teens felt the programs were life-changing and worth every penny and day spent. Do you think the program in Shouting at the Sky is abusive? I have friends who have placed kids at Cascade in the past (before it went downhill) with great results for the teen and the family. The schools which sprung from Cascade, such as Carlbrook, have been praised by kids and family alike-even on THIS BOARD. I haven't heard anything about abuses at Oakley or Swift River, either.
Why am I here? I didn't even know about this site until Overlordd invaded our board. Having discovered it and how ugly the posters here are in responding to copied posts from the strugglingteens board, I felt that I should respond. When I see false things, I feel as though I should set the record straight for future parents who are doing research. I want to help other families who are facing a similar crisis to what mine faced.
As far as kicking my son out of the house- it was tempting. However, I saw too much potential in him. I chose to send him to a wilderness program and a TBS. I was not always a very good parent. Probably the best thing I have ever done for him was send him to wilderness. It was life-changing for him and for our family.
The problem with many of you regulars on this board is that you won't accept that many of these programs WORK and that what we are reporting is TRUE. That is a display of your immaturity and inability to dig out of your trench.