Provo Canyon School was founded in 1971 by Dr. Robert Crist and Jack Williams. Initially, it was a boys-only school with a campus located in Provo, Ut. Later, they expanded to open a girls’ program in nearby Orem, UT (which later moved to Springville, UT in the mid-2000s). Provo Canyon School has been marketed as a residential treatment center for children between the ages of 8-18. Throughout the years, Provo Canyon School has changed hands several times. Charter Medical Corporation bought Provo Canyon School in 1986. After filing bankruptcy, Charter would eventually sell the school to Universal Health Systems (UHS) in 2000. Under UHS, Provo Canyon School would spend many years as a member of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) before they canceled their own membership.

Unlike many other troubled teen programs, the use of medication was encouraged. One of the founders, Dr. Crist,  was a psychiatrist and was directly responsible for the medicating of children at the school. Many survivors of Provo Canyon School have alleged that they were inappropriately and often over-medicated during their time at the school. The use of injectable medication for the purpose of sedating or calming children has also been confirmed. In 2019, a public records request revealed that a 14-year-old foster care child was injected 17 times – including with Haldol – and restrained over 30 times in just a 3 month period

Allegations of abuse have plagued Provo Canyon School since its inception and continue to the current day. In its early years, children were punished with methods such as the “hair dance” where children were pulled around a room by their hair, solitary confinement, forced to stand facing a wall for hours, etc. After a lawsuit in the 1980s, they were forced to change their methods slightly. They were no longer allowed to do the “hair dance” and were told that solitary confinement should no longer be used as punishment. Many survivors of Provo Canyon School – including most notably Paris Hilton – would later publicly state that the use of solitary confinement as punishment has continued throughout the years. Dozens of survivors have come forward from throughout Provo Canyon School’s operation to make allegations of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. In fact, police, DHS,  and court records detail alarming allegations of rape, physical abuse, and harsh punishment that appear to corroborate the survivor stories.

Many spin-off programs came out of Provo Canyon School since its inception including but not limited to:

• World Wide Association of Specialty Programs (WWASP)
• Discovery Academy
• Logan River Academy
• Silverado Academy