Parents send their children to €boot camp€ rehabilitation programs when they feel that a drug or emotional problem is too much for them to handle. Though the good intentions are there, the actual results of some of these programs are far from beneficial.
At €alternative rehab centers,€ teenagers are abused physically, verbally and emotionally by the counselors in attempts to force them to confront their issues and work through their addictions/issues. Based on the stories of those who have escaped, these methods are causing them to delve further into drugs and to develop post-traumatic stress disorders.
These programs utilize various tools for rehabilitation, including food and sleep deprivation, public humiliation, beatings, bathroom access denial and reenactments of traumatic events. Some teenagers even have to recreate situations in which they were raped.
These methods can be traced back to the anti-drug cult of the 1960s, the Church of Synanon. Just as these current centers do, the Church would abduct addicts and use its harsh form of rehabilitation to €fix€ them. Investigators actually found that almost all of the programs today that use the very intense and inappropriate techniques were founded by former Synanon members or people that were sent to Synanon for training.
Former patients of the programs have been interviewed. One young man, Nick Quinn was sent to one center by his parents after they caught him smoking weed. The counselors went to his room in the middle of the night, handcuffed him and forced him into a van. Quinn expresses how he thought that he was being kidnapped.
Upon arrival, they tied him up and sent him into the wilderness with new clothes and survival gear. He was to remain here for eight weeks and was left barefoot so that he would not attempt to escape. After that treatment, Quinn was transferred to another similar program in Massachusetts.
This program was abusive to everyone and was very expensive. He remained in its care for seven months, but would have stayed longer had his parents not pulled him out. Programs like these are not helpful to teens but they will still take as much money as anyone will give them.
Another teen was Aria Leonard who went to a center in Montana. She was sent by her mother because she did not like the group of which Leonard was a part. She was strip searched upon arriving and all of her belongings were taken away from her. Leonard did not use any drugs and was a virgin; but the therapy forced her to tell stories in order to improve, so she had to make them up.
She was forced into unnecessary hard labor and to sit alone and write things like, €I'm a slut€ and €I'm not good enough€ each day. The goal is to break the people down emotionally and physically, and use personal horrors against those trying to recover.
Both teens explained how they now suffer from PTSD and have recurring nightmares of the programs. Quinn still smokes weed and claims that everyone that he knew from the center has become re-addicted to drugs and suffers from similar psychological issues.
These programs are stealing parents' money, taking their children violently from them, and torturing their bodies and minds until they breakdown completely and can be brainwashed. Most of these centers have been defunded over the years, but the ones that are still active today are paid for by Mitt Romney's private equity firm, Bain Capital.
The programs are still up and running and have even inspired a reality television show. Though people are constantly aware of how these are operated, no law enforcement has come in to shut them down yet.
Abuse and neglect are unfortunate risks that we face when we put those about whom we care in the custody of someone else. If you feel that someone you know is being ignored and hurt by caretakers, contact the Accident Attorneys' Group to serve the appropriate justice.
At €alternative rehab centers,€ teenagers are abused physically, verbally and emotionally by the counselors in attempts to force them to confront their issues and work through their addictions/issues. Based on the stories of those who have escaped, these methods are causing them to delve further into drugs and to develop post-traumatic stress disorders.
These programs utilize various tools for rehabilitation, including food and sleep deprivation, public humiliation, beatings, bathroom access denial and reenactments of traumatic events. Some teenagers even have to recreate situations in which they were raped.
These methods can be traced back to the anti-drug cult of the 1960s, the Church of Synanon. Just as these current centers do, the Church would abduct addicts and use its harsh form of rehabilitation to €fix€ them. Investigators actually found that almost all of the programs today that use the very intense and inappropriate techniques were founded by former Synanon members or people that were sent to Synanon for training.
Former patients of the programs have been interviewed. One young man, Nick Quinn was sent to one center by his parents after they caught him smoking weed. The counselors went to his room in the middle of the night, handcuffed him and forced him into a van. Quinn expresses how he thought that he was being kidnapped.
Upon arrival, they tied him up and sent him into the wilderness with new clothes and survival gear. He was to remain here for eight weeks and was left barefoot so that he would not attempt to escape. After that treatment, Quinn was transferred to another similar program in Massachusetts.
This program was abusive to everyone and was very expensive. He remained in its care for seven months, but would have stayed longer had his parents not pulled him out. Programs like these are not helpful to teens but they will still take as much money as anyone will give them.
Another teen was Aria Leonard who went to a center in Montana. She was sent by her mother because she did not like the group of which Leonard was a part. She was strip searched upon arriving and all of her belongings were taken away from her. Leonard did not use any drugs and was a virgin; but the therapy forced her to tell stories in order to improve, so she had to make them up.
She was forced into unnecessary hard labor and to sit alone and write things like, €I'm a slut€ and €I'm not good enough€ each day. The goal is to break the people down emotionally and physically, and use personal horrors against those trying to recover.
Both teens explained how they now suffer from PTSD and have recurring nightmares of the programs. Quinn still smokes weed and claims that everyone that he knew from the center has become re-addicted to drugs and suffers from similar psychological issues.
These programs are stealing parents' money, taking their children violently from them, and torturing their bodies and minds until they breakdown completely and can be brainwashed. Most of these centers have been defunded over the years, but the ones that are still active today are paid for by Mitt Romney's private equity firm, Bain Capital.
The programs are still up and running and have even inspired a reality television show. Though people are constantly aware of how these are operated, no law enforcement has come in to shut them down yet.
Abuse and neglect are unfortunate risks that we face when we put those about whom we care in the custody of someone else. If you feel that someone you know is being ignored and hurt by caretakers, contact the Accident Attorneys' Group to serve the appropriate justice.
SHARE
