Before I attended this school in rural Montana, I had no idea that therapeutic boarding schools existed. I was essentially dropped off by my parents at a school where I was stripped of my rights to contact anyone by phone or mail without supervision. I was told I could not leave the campus. If something terrible had happened, no one would have ever known.
After coming out of nearly two decades of denial of what I went through, I still cannot believe that these “boarding schools for troubled teens” are allowed to operate legally. If you strip away all the deceptive marketing that promises transforming wayward teens into productive members of society, these programs are part of a larger unregulated “trouble teen industry” that profits off of vulnerable parents who have the financial means and are desperate for anything to help their teens in need.
What are Therapeutic Boarding Schools?
Therapeutic boarding schools (TBS) are residential high school programs that have an intensive therapeutic component as part of the daily schedule, usually in the form of individual therapy and/or group therapy. Students who are sent away to this type of school are there for a myriad of reasons, including anxiety and/or depression, behavioral issues and substance abuse.
TBS are usually structured with an intricate level system, where students are stripped of their privileges (unsupervised contact with family and friends, trust of being unsupervised on campus, the ability to do activities off campus) until they advance to the higher levels. When students reach higher levels things like candy are used as bribery for good behavior.
There is a one-sized-fits-all approach for students in a TBS, when there should be a more personalized approach.
Level checklists require the same items for students to work through, whether they have an eating disorder or have been diagnosed as autistic. It is dangerous to group teenagers dealing with a wide spectrum of issues into a catch-all approach and expect a positive outcome.
The length of a stay is determined by a variety of factors and is often arbitrary. It depends on a student’s compliance within the program, as well as the relationship with their therapist. If a student gets on the good side of their therapist, they can easily get through the program in a year. If the relationship is tumultuous, the student can stay for two years or longer. A definite power struggle exists between the therapist and student in a TBS, as well as unprofessional emotional boundaries that are ethically not sound.
The Therapeutic Approach
The most problematic aspect of a therapeutic boarding school is the part that is suppose to heal: the therapy.
Group therapy is often held multiple times a week and uses “attack therapy,” where students are encouraged to confront an individual about a certain issue until they break down and comply. This type of therapy always does more harm than good by humiliating and verbally abusing the individual. Therapists in a TBS encourage students to use this form of therapy in group sessions and rewards students who initiate it.
Individual therapy uses extensive gaslighting, where students are made to believe that they are the problem and the cause of their emotional, behavioral and family issues. There is no focus on the root cause of the issues that students are struggling with like depression, but instead they are made to believe that they are broken and worthless.
Use of Punishment
Students are required to do extensive manual labor every day. There is no maintenance staff in a TBS and students do all the cleaning themselves. Students are given even more excruciating physical labor if they do not comply or clean to the high standards expected of them. It is often arbitrary like moving one rock pile a few feet over. It does not matter if it is -30 degrees outside or a blistering 90 degrees.
Students are also put on social isolation for breaking a number of rules. This isolation can last a week or a month where there is minimal interaction with anyone. Students who self-harm themselves are given bright yellow or orange shirts that let the entire school know that they are struggling and it brings unwanted attention and shame.
Over Medicating Students
In these therapeutic schools, students are given numerous medications from a residential psychiatrist who usually misdiagnosis or over medicates them. It is not uncommon for students to be walking around in a daze from the cocktail of medications that they are forced to take.
Giving medication also sedates the students to become more compliant within the school. This makes it easier for the staff to control the students and can be an effective band-aid for the issues that students are currently dealing with.
The Educational Consultant Factor
A common situation that parents find themselves in is hiring educational consultants that charge thousands of dollars for a few hours of their expertise.
These consultants get a commission from a placement, so they will always recommend a TBS even if it is not in the best interest of the student.
Basically these consultants take advantage of a parent’s heightened emotional state and use fear tactics (including making claims that if they do not act fast the life of their teen will be in jeopardy) to get them to make an important decision that will negatively impact their teen’s life forever.
Who Regulates These Schools?
Therapeutic boarding schools are often located in states that have lenient child protection laws like Montana and Utah. There is often little regulation and those who are part of the industry are often involved in state regulation.
An example of this is the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSP), a non-profit membership association that claims “[it]is not a licensing or accrediting body, or authorized or established to monitor schools or programs.” There has been examples of those deeply involved in NATSP and who are simultaneously on a local regulatory board that regulates their own TBS and those nearby. Everything is intertwined in this industry if you look close enough.
The Resulting Long-Term Trauma
Some of the traumatic long-term effects of a TBS include:
complex PTSD
lack of trust of authority figures
submissiveness/living in fear of constantly being punished
lack of self-advocacy/self-blame
anxiety
depression
self-harm/suicide
use of self soothing techniques (substance abuse, promiscuity)
nightmares/flashbacks
Additional Resources
Websites
Alliance for the Safe, Therapeutic and Appropriate use of Residential Treatment (ASTART) -a helpful community that advocates for effective community-based care. Breaking Code Silence-an excellent advocacy website that has an extensive resource page for alternatives to TTI programs.
Troubled Teens subreddit -full of great alternative resources to Troubled Teen Industry (TTI) programs.
This great infographic helps lay out the signs of an abusive program.
Joe vs Elan School - an eye-opening comic about the devastating effects of being in the now closed Elan School.
Helping Survivors - a great resource for survivors who are looking for legal help.