A nature enthusiast, Hyde, 35, had years of experience with recreational outdoor activities. So when the pandemic left him unemployed, he got a job as a "wilderness field instructor" at Trails Carolina.
He was familiar with the reputation of the wilderness therapy industry. In 2014, 17-year-old Alec Lansing died while running away from the same program. But Hyde assumed the claims of mistreatment he had heard whispers about had improved.
He says now that notion was wrong.
According to its website, the program's groups are led by "experienced, licensed therapists who specialize in working with youth who fit their group’s profile."
"There was a couple of weeks there where the licensed therapist wouldn't even show up to that group, and it was her assistant who didn't even have credentials," he says. "If you're paying that much money, I would think you'd be getting therapy multiple times a week."
When reached for comment, Trails Carolina said primary therapists are on site "two to three days per week" to oversee each participant's individualized treatment plan and monitor progress.
"Therapeutic progress occurs seven days a week in the field through the assignments, activities and challenges outlined in each student’s treatment plan to help them grow emotionally and develop transferable skills that can be used outside the program in real life," Trails Carolina said in an emailed statement.
While students also participated in activities like art or yoga once a week, Hyde doesn't believe most campers got the professional help they needed.
"Whenever the therapist did come in, it was pretty rare that they actually would talk to us – the people that had been with the kids for this lengthy amount of time – just to see how the week had (gone)."
The remainder of the 24/7 schedule was spent with field instructors like himself, who he felt were ill-equipped to handle the level of care some of the campers needed.
"Some of these kids are trying to kill themselves. I didn't feel really prepared for exactly what I was getting into."
That was in part, he says, because what was supposed to be a five-day training was cut in half and mostly focused on what type of gear they were allowed to bring, what tools and restraints they would have at their disposal. Hyde says he was let go when he pushed back on some of the program's practices.
Trails Carolina says its staff partakes in a long list of training, including sessions in first aid, nutrition, suicide prevention and crisis de-escalation. The program denied Hyde's version of events and said he was dismissed for violating the program's policies and philosophies.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2024/02/20/north-carolina-wilderness-therapy-death-12-year-old-boy/72669232007/#:~:text=He's%20not%20the%20first.&text=North%20Carolina%20health%20officials%20said,year%2Dold%20New%20York%20boy.
So much for the "safe space" - doesn't sound all that safe to me and doesn't sound like there is much therapy by accredited healthcare professionals is going on. JMO
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
spectrumlocalnews.com
