The dark history of wilderness therapy programs
Teen rebellion is common and considered a rite of passage by some. However, some behaviors, if not appropriately and effectively addressed, can lead to an adulthood of destructive habits, dysfunction, and unrealized potential. We know this is where the seeds of addiction, crime, and early death are often planted.
Very concerned about some of my behaviors as a teen, my parents sent me to the School of Urban and Wilderness Survival in Idaho. It was a professional operation led by an empathetic and understanding staff. Unique survival skills, teamwork, and self-reliance were learned, creating positive shifts in my confidence and greatly improving my home life.
There were stories, however, of other wilderness programs, some run by former military that employed harsh and abusive tactics to break down troubled teens. This would "make them" realize how good they had it at home and how bad they were for making their parents miserable. Our group leader said a teen death had been reported in such a program.
Decades later, USA Today reports that a teen has died in a "wilderness therapy" program in North Carolina. It reprinted a story from 2022 recounting the harrowing experiences of other teenagers placed in similar programs, some still haunted by psychological repercussions from abuses they were subjected to.
I'm saddened there are wilderness survival programs that, to this day, continue to induce trauma in teens and further fracture parental relations.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2024/02/20/north-car...
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Evangel
I'd read this article and felt so sad for the family. I can only imagine what they're going through and the load of guilt they'll carry for the rest of their lives. They were trying to save their son from harm, and yet the treatment itself killed him.
Like good cops and bad cops, there are good programs and bad, and it has everything to do with who is hired and what qualities they are looking for in a program leader. If they are hiring drill sergeants who lack compassion or have no understanding of the teenage brain, there will be more deaths. Any program that leads to death should be immediately and permanently shut down, and investigated.
Slipstream
Where there's money to be made, the doors are open for anyone to say they're experts. It's a shame that the good programs that are out there are having their reputations ruined because of these "garbage" programs.
My heart breaks to hear the horrible stories coming out of some of these programs. Closing them down and giving jailtime for administrators would go a long way to get rid of the rotten apples.
Wilsons Grave
Kids need love. That's all. Give kids the attention they crave, whether in a wilderness program or at home, and they'll thrive and do right by humanity. Torturing, belittling, bullying, and ignoring their pain teaches kids to grow up and unconsciously mimic those rotten behaviors.