Therapeutic boarding school

A therapeutic boarding school is a residential school offering therapy for students with emotional or behavioral issues.[1] The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs listed 140 schools and programs as of 2005.[1][2] Many therapeutic boarding schools in the United States have been connected to the abusive troubled teen industry.[3]

Description

A type of boarding school that delivers therapy while students attend the school. Example of types of therapy offered by some schools include attack therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, Equine therapy, and primal scream therapy.

Accreditation

Therapeutic boarding schools may be accredited by an academic accreditation body, such as the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, AdvanceED divisions, and National Independent Private Schools Association or in the case of The Mulberry Bush School located in Oxfordshire UK they follow the Charity Commission and Ofsted.

The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) is a non-profit association of state-licensed or nationally-accredited therapeutic programs.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises that several independent nonprofit organizations, such as the Joint Commission (JACHO), the Council on Accreditation (COA), and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accredit mental health programs and providers.[4][5]

From late 2007 through 2008, a coalition of medical and psychological organizations that included members of Alliance for the Safe, Therapeutic and Appropriate use of Residential Treatment (ASTART) and the Community Alliance for the Ethical Treatment of Youth (CAFETY), provided testimony and support that led to the creation of the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008 by the United States Congress Committee on Education and Labor.[6][7]

The U.S. Government Accountability Office Report has reported on negligence at residential treatment programs including wilderness therapy, boot camps, and academies:

GAO reviewed thousands of allegations of abuse, some of which involved death, at residential treatment programs across the country and in American-owned and American-operated facilities abroad between the years 1990 and 2007. Allegations included reports of abuse and death recorded by state agencies and the Department of Health and Human Services, allegations detailed in pending civil and criminal trials with hundreds of plaintiffs, and claims of abuse and death that were posted on the Internet. GAO did not attempt to evaluate the benefits of residential treatment programs or verify the facts regarding the thousands of allegations it reviewed.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Story, Louise (August 17, 2005), "A Business Built on the Troubles of Teenagers", The New York Times
  2. ^ Earl, Trevor; Wanlass, Janine (April 10, 2017). "Working Towards Developing Practice Standards For the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs". Journal of Therapeutic Schools and Programs. 8 (1): 9. doi:10.19157/JTSP.issue.08.01.10 (inactive 1 November 2024). ISSN 2469-3030.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  3. ^ Lejeune, Julia (2022-10-12). "Troubled Teen Industry Packages Abuse as Treatment". Mad in America.
  4. ^ University of South Florida and the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. "Alliance for the Safe, Therapeutic and Appropriate use of Residential Treatment" (PDF).
  5. ^ Federal Trade Commission (July 2008). "Residential Treatment Programs for Teens". FTC.gov. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  6. ^ Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008, Official bill language from the U.S. Congress, archived from the original on December 29, 2008, retrieved May 1, 2009
  7. ^ Friedman, Robert M.; Pinto, Allison; Behar, Lenore; Bush, Nicki; Chirolla, Amberly; Epstein, Monica; Green, Amy; et al. (2006). "Unlicensed residential programs: The next challenge in protecting youth". American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 76 (3): 295–303. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.76.3.295. PMID 16981808.
  8. ^ United States Government Accountability Office (October 10, 2007). "Residential Treatment Programs: Concerns Regarding Abuse and Death in Certain Programs for Troubled Youth" (PDF). GAO.gov.

Further reading

  • Kenneth R. Rosen (2021). Troubled: The Failed Promise of America's Behavioral Treatment Programs. Little A. ISBN 978-1542007887.