By Amy: 2012-2015 I recently finished listening to the podcast with Jordan from Maple Lake Academy and followed along with “Sent Away” several months back as it came out. I think it’s time to share how much these stories resonate with me. Here are my main conclusions about these programs (i.e., TLDR): a) As a [...]

By August: 2018-2021 I went to Maple Lake Academy when I was 14 in 2009. At this time, I had been diagnosed with NLD and Bipolar disorder. They had me on very high doses of Lithium and Abilify and would routinely cycle me through other medication as well. While I was at Maple Lake, they [...]

By Joel: 2006-2008 I wasn’t sexually abused, or even physically abused. For the longest time I couldn’t accept that I was abused at all. They do a good job scrubbing those suggestible little minds and turning them on each other to both spread and reinforce their twisted ideology. “Don’t be a victim” was always so [...]

By Veran: 2020-2021 When I was 13, in 2019, I was discharged from the UCLA psych ward and taken to Visions RTC in Los Angeles. It was a short term, so I was only there for 2 months. I had turned 14 there. That was my first experience with the TTI. The UCLA psych ward [...]

By Kyra: 2014-2015 Four days after New Year 2014, winter of my freshman year of high school, my parents made decision to send me to a wilderness therapy program in Utah based on the recommendation of my psychiatrist and education consultants. I’d been struggling for years with trauma, behavioral and relationship difficulties – both internally [...]

By Sasha: 2007 My name is Sasha Oates and I am a survivor of multiple abusive programs. When I was 14, I was struggling with self harm, depression, and an eating disorder. In April of 2007, I was taken from a psychiatric hospital by two transporters, put on a plane, and arrived in Salt Lake [...]

By Anonymous: 2014-2015 I’m a survivor of Heritage RTC, aka the Heritage Community, in Provo, Utah. I was sent to Heritage by my school district due to being suspended for getting into fights with other classmates, however I strongly suspect that my autism diagnosis was a major factor in the district’s decision to place me [...]

By Julianne: 2004-2006 When I was 14 years old I was sent, against my will, to a residential treatment center in Utah. It was a Mormon-run, working cattle ranch. I had no history of drugs, violence, alcohol abuse, sex addiction, shopping addiction, any kind of addiction at all. I was sent to this program because [...]

By Beetle: 2017-2019 On October 27th, 2017, I was woken up at 2:07 am to two strangers coming into my room, dragging me out of bed, telling me I could go the easy way or the hard way and that I didn’t deserve to be with my family anymore. During my time being transported I was [...]

By Sarah: 2017-2018 Wow, I have so much. My therapist, Alice, was super sensitive. I hurt her feelings a few times or she’d get sad by our conversations in therapy and she’d cry. Once she was offended because I told her I couldn’t continue discussing a triggering topic and I was crying and hyperventilating and [...]