Surviving the Troubled Teen Industry: A 16 Year Old’s Fight to Escape Nine Months in Hell

Alexandra struggled with her parents’ treatment of her, as well as suffering SA which led to a deterioration of her mental health. When she asked her parents for help, she was either dismissed or laughed at. When she was finally given some psychiatric care, it didn’t last long before her parents chose to instead hand over custody and ship her to Utah during winter for a wilderness camp. What was supposed to last 8-10 weeks went on for 13, deep in the snowy mountains with only a tent and utensils they cleaned with dirt. Compliance was expected and mental health ignored. However, even after Wilderness camp was over, she wouldn’t be permitted to go home. Instead she was taken to another facility for 6 months where her will was further broken and symptoms ignored.

Now, Alexandra is a Youth Rights Activist who advocates about the troubled-teen system— typically residential treatment centers, wilderness-therapy programs, “boot camps,” and therapeutic boarding schools aimed at adolescents deemed “at risk,” “troubled,” or having behavioral, emotional, substance-use, or academic issues. She calls for awareness and reform speaking out about her time in TTI on social media. Less than a week ago (after 4 years) she has unmasked.

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**Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**

Chapter Marks

00:00:00 Intro

00:05:31 Alexandra's background

00:08:55 Dealing with a SA experience

00:11:31 How Alexandra's parents reacted to her as*ault

00:22:13 Why her parents sent her away

00:23:26 Getting k*dnapped

00:26:32 Experience at the wilderness camp

00:28:25 Strip searched and pan*cking when reality sets in

00:34:02 Daily life at camp

00:43:21 The food they had to eat

00:47:38 "Therapy" at camp

00:53:12 Alexandra thought she was free after wilderness camp....

00:56:11 The second program Alexandra was forced into

01:08:33 They trained them like dogs

01:13:25 What returning home was like

01:23:41 How Alexandra's parents have taken accountability

01:25:31 How Alexandra is doing now

01:27:39 Linda, listen

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