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They lied and were mainpulative, and power tripped all the time. Discovery ranch uses a merit system to punish kids. And before you tell me that was a long time ago, I am a part of multiple survivor groups online for former students from DR and other abusive programs in Utah. The decision you make for your child will stay with them forever. I was told Control-freak parents often produce children who feel guilty and disloyal , fearing theyll disappoint their over-bearing parents. I couldnt believe he was blaming me for thisafter we could no longer afford to send her there she was abruptly released and told good luck. They gave all the kids the same level of trust, none. Learn about discovery -- the legal procedures used to gather evidence for a lawsuit. But I fucking wasnt. We focus on healing the entire family. the licensed substance abuse counselor has obviously never touched a substance in her life. Paris Hilton just came out with a documentary on her experience at another abusive program just down the street from DR. I attended Discovery Ranch in Mapleton Utah from November 18th 2015 to May 15th 2015. Im in therapy, on medication, have been to three AA meetings in the past three days, and just feel like I am out of options and suicide or getting constantly fucked up is my only option at this point. Are they just being a teenager? Discovery ranch was hell on earth for me. Each part of his daily experience will reinforce his therapeutic goals. Teenagers can be punished for infractions as small as making an inappropriate facial expression, meaning they can be punished for crying or raising their eyebrows without permission. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. When I came back to real life I had forgotten how to smile and had to train myself to make facial expressions that corresponded to the emotions I should have felt in various circumstances. I literally couldnt make this shit up. The moment I stepped foot on campus, I was treated like some sort of criminal. They left me more broken than they found me. , Please do not send your child to this horrific and abusive program. the villa pacific palisades, ca. Discovery Ranch is reported by many survivors to be an extremely abusive program. However, the abuse overshadowed it. These programs are money makers. I felt like i somehow deserved to be treated like this and I think a part of me knew I could never stand living in the real world after all this happened. There is overmedicating (including putting kids to sleep for doing nothing wrong. NAAS is an organization that has accredited many notoriously abusive behavior-modification programs, including, The program is affiliated with several other, is the Executive Director of Discovery Ranch. Find out more about the assessment. Staff parents "were expected to replicate a. Kids are constantly getting restrained and put on drugs to keep them under control. And the scariest part was that it was fantastic during the day; we would do ropes courses and go skiing and horseback riding and talk to a truly kind therapist every day who genuinely though I was insane or a pathological liar and convinced me I was hallucinating or having nightmares. These experiences will teach your son values like Responsibility, Grit, Honesty, Respect, Courage, Kindness, and Accountability. I still have insomnia and night terrors of being at that place. And the horrible part? I had an IEP at my old school because I cant learn that easily but the program directors convinced my parents I was too lazy to do work that I had trouble doing. ), There is a significant lack of professional supervision/lack of training, There is a high turnover rate for employees, There is parent manipulation/lies on the programs part for $$, There is lack of necessary medical care to avoid the girls telling a doctor they are being abused, and they are never alone when with a doctor, Run like a bootcamp, zero free time for the kids, every day feels like a punishment, Mormons are running it and very religiously biased, Please. The chidren cant even have open discussions with other inmates there for fear of being punished and losing privileges. You are a survivor of an abusive environment that is very similar to a prison. It makes me fucking sick that this place, along with HUNDREDS of others, still exists, quietly protected under the umbrella of the state government of Utah, and that parents are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for their children to be tortured and driven insane or into obedient, soulless sociopaths. , DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD TO DISCOVERY RANCH IF YOU CARE ABOUT THEM! Discovery Ranch has been a NATSAP member since 2005. We earned academic accreditation through Discovery Academy. My mind sometimes uncontrollably cradles and turns to static when I hear the same radio noise as the staff used at DR. They have the same goals in mind. Abuse at its finest.. we were totally and utterly underfed, one morning we were fed one mini bagel and one cream cheese. If they mention these sorts of things to parents (over heavily monitored phone calls and letters in the mail), contact between student and parent would be cut off. , family visits, and Parent Day Seminars. The tuition is reported to be anywhere between $6,500 to $12,000 per month. Staff refusing to let kid use the bathroom, and making him pee/poop himself. Your Participation Is Key To Success I had repressed memories of the physical, sexual, and psychological torture i endured for five years until I watched a documentary on the stanford prison experiment in my psychology class. agolden@skyhinews.com. Staff members are chosen at random, as the turnover rate is insanely high. If you have a child with attention deficit disorder do not send your son here BECAUSE it is like water boarding to have a kid sit in a room for 7 hours straight and have them study all day even though they are trying. We found a traditional therapist that proved to be far more effective. The trauma Ive witnessed, and seen other kids witness was unbearable. Your job as parents is to help your child, you guys are the problem not your kids. 25 votes, 28 comments. I didnt ask to see that.. It wasnt until he left the program that people even found out about this happening!! because Utah has a natural landscape that is second to none. I cannot even put into words the pain I feel even today when my experience gets brought up or when I read about other kids that are STILL suffering from having to go through this program. He reportedly began working in the TTI because his brothers have worked at various other treatment centers. The staff often used abusive behaviors and were very rude to us. Allegations of abuse that have been reported by survivors include: forcing a resident to lick cow feces off another residents boots, forcing teenagers to unclog a toilet with their bare hands, adult male staff masturbating while watching underaged residents showering, changing, and using the toilet, teens being fed undercooked food and deprived of food, verbal abuse, include staff shouting and swearing at teenagers, widespread allegations of brainwashing techniques in order to force conformity, use of solitary confinement as punishment, published in 2015 by Catherine Kushan, Discovery Ranch, a treatment center located in Mapleton, Utah, provides an empirical example of how this industry rhetorically manipulates legitimate psychiatric conditions to solicit clients. Amy Golden. able to inform their parents of abuse, their parents are manipulated by DR into believing that their child is lying and being manipulative in an attempt to be pulled from the program. You will also be able to observe your sons progress through our secure, password-protected parent portal. Research shows this is the best approach to help your son and family heal mentally, physically, and emotionally. He said that he was abused by a staff member while there. I stopped feeling emotions and didnt for two years. For example, in an employment law case, a fired employee will want to see their personnel file, and through discovery, an employer would likely be required to provide those documents. I dont believe that the people who tortured me were innately evil; i think it was a situation similar to Abu Ghraib. Isnt that tax evasion? Discovery Ranch is reported by many survivors to be an extremely abusive program. There was never any you can do it it was you better do it or youre going to be put on mc and never get out of here. They are very abusive and they will lie to you. When I came back to real life I had forgotten how to smile and had to train myself to make facial expressions that corresponded to the emotions I should have felt in various circumstances. At one point during my stay, I saw my friend stab his arm repeatedly with a pencil, spraying blood all over me and the windowsill we were sitting on. DO NOT RECOMMEND AT ALL! , The Troubled Teen Industry: Commodifying Disability and Capitalizing on Fear by Catherine Kushan. There are over 600 people in 2 different groups put together, and we are all in contact with many kids that just left. When we have the opportunity to get together, its a very special and meaningful time for all of us, we reminisce about the little funny stories that helped us get through the day during our time, we think about about all the suffering we endeared and how we survived, and we always take the time to honor our close friends that didnt and have passed. And before you tell me that was a long time ago, I am a part of multiple survivor groups online for former students from DR and other abusive programs in Utah. We had a close friend that took her life during our time there, we lost a friend to drug addiction that spiraled after leaving DR, and we had another friend who lost her life to cancer, which could have been detected in the earlier stages if DR didnt fail to seek proper medical attention (she was actually punished quite often for complaining about the pain and was either made to do hard manual labor or the staff would put her in isolation for days on end. A court has maintained a number of claims the Granby Ranch Metropolitan District has made in a lawsuit against the owners of Granby Ranch. Education was packets and computer testing only poor. Please do not send your child to this horrific and abusive program. My parents (his Mom and step-father) note sending him away added to his sense of rejection started by peer abuse even though they were desperate due to his issues at home and school. The reason for posting this is that this is cathartic for me and nice to have a group of people who have at least a basic He previously worked at the confirmedly abusive, organization. There are over 600 people in 2 different groups put together, and we are all in contact with many kids that just left. They tear children apart, and they come out broken. This will provide him with the experience of a lifetime because Utah has a natural landscape that is second to none. Any complaints about the program and the abuse kids witnessed would be brushed off by program coordinators and therapists. THATS WHEN YOU KNOW THE PLACE IS TERRIBLE. , Beware the evil behind their smiling eyes! I suggest seeking different options for your child. ! , A family member of mine attended this school so everything I have heard is 2nd hand. Both boys have turned out well however, my brother has trauma from the experience. They emotionally and mentally compromise kids for fun. This will provide him with the. They often cause way more harm than good. Also MAY I NOTE THAT THEY ARE SO DESPERATE THAT THEY NEED THEIR OWN STAFF MEMEBERS TO WRITE REVIEWS. June 7, 2022 . She currently works as the Residential Director at, is reported by survivors to have run the facility. I posted this exact review several times spacing itself out several months. Staff members are chosen at random, as the turnover rate is insanely high. Terrible place dont send your child here. In Season 1, Episode 2 ("Under Siege"), the Raneys went to Virginia to help couple Kim and Josh Zabec the owners of Revolutionary Roots Farm after pigs had ruined part of their homestead. We also understand that every teen and every family is unique. When Jack Stuef found a chest of gold and jewels in a Wyoming forest last year, he felt giddy. I dont believe that the people who tortured me were innately evil; i think it was a situation similar to Abu Ghraib. He also is the Executive Director of, . Also if you notice, a large majority of the 5 star ratings are from former staff as opposed to parents/students. , Through my stay I personally witnessed: Two suicide attempts. . If you absolutely need mental support for your child, I suggest something that is close to home, and something that does not limit their ability to see and interact with the outside world. We were victims of abuse. As I walked away in shock he was tackled by staff.This was after I had already seen two separate suicide attempts. I thought I was actually crazy, but it was all real. The lawsuit was filed in Eaton County Circuit Court more than four months after Hultberg initially "asked the district to provide mask exemptions that had been approved," in a Sept. 7, 2021, FOIA . We have all suffered enough, its time to heal and create a system that works. , This place is horrible. (During my stay, a kid in a different house was repeatedly raped by another kid for days until he was caught.) ), I witnessed a 15 year old boy be sodomized by a broom handle and have the living shit beat out of him because he tried to run away and watched a girl punch a window and slit her wrists in front of me because she couldnt take it anymore. I was told Control-freak parents often produce children who feel guilty and disloyal , fearing theyll disappoint their over-bearing parents. I couldnt believe he was blaming me for thisafter we could no longer afford to send her there she was abruptly released and told good luck. BE CAREFUL OF THEM. , This place is sickening. They left me more broken than they found me. Jackson (Yelp), September 2020: (SURVIVOR) Please do not send your child to this horrific and abusive program. san andreas fault, palm springs. It sickens me that even after the kid is out of this place they threaten to send them back to this horrible place. Duane and his son, Chad Ollinger, are trying to finish a goal set by Duane's own father. In other words, do not trust them.