#suws

[concertbflat]

Ahhh, wilderness programs;

Where being unable to eat due to your inability to carve a spoon from sticks you found was considered therapy 🙃

[tankgirl777]

Watch "National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) Leaked Call" on YouTube

For people who preach accountability so intensely, you'd think they'd have a modicum of accountability themselves... but no every single one of them is a lying scumbag con artist. I hope they're as terrified as they made us, and I hope it lasts for.ev.er.

🖕🏼😭🖕🏼😭🖕🏼😭🖕🏼😭🖕🏼😭

[heidihexx]

When I die

let my bones lay

in the carolina sun

let me rest in the shade

lay me under the pines

- unknown

when I was at SUWS I read a poem etched into a pine by the railroad tracks. I think this is sort of how it goes; if anyone knows it better please let me know!

[placesthatchangedpeople]

C. Clark at SUWS Carolinas

I have spent the last 15 years trying to heal from the emotional and physical trauma SUWS put me through. I’m now a registered nurse & have a background with young teens, & specializing in behavioral health.

First let’s talk about how two grown men pulled me out of my bed at 3am, not telling me where I was going, only that I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone goodbye and if I resisted they’d ‘tie me up’. As parents, your children will look to you for safety and stability, having them professionally kidnapped will forever harm that relationship.

The program itself is set up and founded on outdated and damaging psychology. There is now decades of research and thousands of former ‘campers’ like myself coming forward to talk about how traumatizing and harmful these programs are, and it blows my mind that people are desperate enough to pay over 30k to send their child away but not ACTUALLY DO THERAPY with them.

Your children will be at high risk of developing an eating disorder. Your child may develop PTSD from being kidnapped. Your child might become more isolated. Your child WILL learn they can not ever fully trust you again. Your child will resent you.

The parents weekend they have when you pick up your child is all a show. Your child will not have the opportunity to shower regularly (I went 28 days without being allowed to bathe) your girls will be at such a risk for UTIs, they give them supplements to prevent, but not actual hygiene. Your girls have 2 pairs of underwear to last over 21 days with no shower, think about that. No deodorant, no shaving, so if you’re queer or female presenting, you may also develop some dysphporia.

The real kicker? The staff watching your child are not qualified to do so. The counselors are often early 20s people who like hiking, no mental health experience. The one therapist they see happens once a week, for under 45 min.

Please just do some research. Don’t listen to google reviews from parents saying “my kid behaves better” because Of course that is what will happen, your child was legally in an outdoor prison for over over a month with no contact with friends, family, loved ones. TEENS. where socialization is detrimental part of development. Congratulations, your children don’t respect you, they’re just scared of you now.

[placesthatchangedpeople]

I attended SUWS in 2012 in the boys group. None of the staff that was working there at the time was still working there a few years later, not even the therapists. Their staff turnover rate is extremely high. That should tell you something. Also, their "field instructors" are college students being paid minimum wage to babysit. They aren't therapists, and they get very little training. We did have brief (maybe 30 minute) meetings with an actual therapist about once a week.

I didn't have any issues with not being fed or given enough water, but I can confirm the other reviews about the poor hygiene. In the 2 months I was there, I think they allowed us to shower 2-3 times in total. Even when we were back at the base camp, they usually didn't let us shower. Not being allowed to shower for 2 months is very unhealthy, and nearly caused me to get an infection. Guys know what can happen when you don't regularly clean down there. I was too embarrassed to bring it up to any of the staff, who I barely knew. Even without a full shower, they should have at least given us wet wipes or something to use daily to clean private areas.

There was essentially no privacy, except when using the bathroom or showering. Even when doing that, we had to yell out every few seconds so the staff knew we hadn't run away. We weren't allowed to have "private conversations" with each other. All conversations had to be within earshot of the staff, and they controlled what we were allowed to talk about. We weren't even allowed to know what time it was for some reason. They never really explained that one. Also, the letters we wrote to our parents weren't private either. They were first read by the staff before being sent to our parents.

Also, I was there during Hurricane Sandy. They knew the storm was coming, and didn't take us inside to the dry, heated cabins. Instead, we had to sleep outside in the woods under a tarp (not even a fully enclosed tent), while we got several inches of snow and ice with strong winds all night. Most of us didn't get any sleep from the noise, and because we were afraid a tree would fall on us from the strong winds.

When our parents came to pick us up, they didn't have them come to the main location where we had been for 2 months. They moved us to the much nicer Wolf Creek cabins, and allowed us to shower to make it look like we were being treated nicely.

[placesthatchangedpeople]

7 years ago, I was dragged from my bed at age 14 from 2 guys in uniforms and was sent to SUWS for 3 months. The moment I got there, I was getting treated horribly by most of the staff members. Such as getting picked on for the way I move and talk. The only experience I enjoyed was sleeping on bunk beds the last week of my time staying there. Since then, I have had heavy trauma and increased anxiety for most parts of every day, along with lack of self confidence.

[joachimkrudtson]

932. Participant on the Dr. Phil show

Quiet a few teenagers found themselves being used as entertainment on the DR. Phil show. It is a show that criminalize the entire transition process from child to adulthood. In Denmark where most of the authors come from, we have managed to provide the teenagers a safe environment where they can socialize over beer and wine. In fact teenagers in Denmark can buy alcohol on their own once they…

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[placesthatchangedpeople]

SUWS testimony

I went to SUWS for 101 days.... Every sunday for the last 1.5 months of my stay where hell because I didnt know if I was going to be leaving or not ... One sunday I threw up at night and had a panic attack because I wanted to leave so bad..... There is a lot of stuff that goes down at suws that no one tells you about.... You get a 10 minute shower once every 3 or more weeks and the laundry is done almost every month... They didnt tampons and i could only use pads.... I am allergic to latex wich was in the pads and they would not provide me anything else without latex and while I was there it was winter and another group got strep throat and had to continue hiking!!!!! You also have to drink 3 liters of water a day or you where considered a "danger to yourself" anyways there is more things to say but it would take a long time to type them all.. Hope this helps but if your child is in a lot of danger I would recommend this place