2015 article:
'Some programs offer to treat nearly every teen behavior imaginable, including low self-esteem, lack of motivation, trouble with teachers, poor grades, depression, confrontational or defiant behavior, substance abuse and addiction, sexual acting out, defiance toward authority, lying, manipulative behavior, entitlement, and/or video game addiction.
They enroll children with almost any learning disability or mental illness, including ADHD, ADD, Asperger’s Syndrome, bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, sexual behavior problems, reactive-attachment disorder, non-verbal learning disorder, anger management, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), developing personality disorders, and/or trouble with the law.
They often assess a child's needs using nothing more than a questionnaire on the program’s web page—and then recommend immediate enrollment in their program.
Astonishingly, the “treatment” offered is almost identical for all the above conditions: a rigidly-controlled environment, strict discipline, a “levels system” of behavior change, and confrontational “transformation therapy.”
Accepted standards of treatment and plain old common sense suggest that this one-size-fits-all form of tough love “treatment” cannot possibly be suitable for children with all these different issues, disabilities and illnesses.'
Beware of therapeutic boarding schools, boot camps, wilderness programs and other treatments for troubled and struggling teens.
www.astartforteens.org
www.campcarolina.com
