The Buried Truth About Wilderness Therapy
Written by Maya Asadi
Edited by Daisy Hong
Cover Image by Angelina Tseng
"All they said is, you can do this the easy way or the hard way but either way you're coming with us." (Theo Charles, a survivor of Cross Creek Wilderness Camp). Theo was one of the survivors of Wilderness Therapy, a program that forcefully takes troubled teens into the wilderness so they can be “normal” again. It’s a therapy program that’s been tricking parents into sending their children to them for years, and now people are finally starting to pay attention to the survivors' voices.
Let’s dig deeper into what Wilderness Therapy actually is, and what it claims to do for the children being sent there. Wilderness Therapy claims to help teens heal by using the outdoors as a huge resource. Although the parents fully consent to it, the teens never do. Theo Charles, a survivor of this program, mentioned to a Vice News interviewer that he woke up to two big men grabbing him and kidnapping him from his own house while his parents did nothing about it. In the interview, he speaks about how the program forced him to be “happy” whenever his parents would visit and describes the strict rules that were enforced. For example, Theo mentioned that his mother would visit him from time to time and he’d be forced to be happy or have to face “consequences”. These consequences were unspeakable.
Usually, when an authority figure tells you that there will be consequences if you do something wrong you don’t think of pain and torture. In these camps, teens like Theo were subjected to pain and torture. The slightest “misdeeds”, like crying when there are visitors around, could result in being tied up or publicly humiliated in front of the counsellors and campers. “I was so afraid of doing something wrong”, explained Sarah Dooly, another survivor of Cross Creek Wilderness Camp. A person on TikTok, under the handle “mariee0207”, spoke about the three types of punishments she had received: Flooring (A form of physical abuse that would occur if you were to say something out of line). She mentioned that they’d sit on her and not let her move for long periods of time, Isolation, Personal Supply Restriction (everything except for what was on your back would be taken from you, so if you were on your period, you’d have to be stuck in the same clothing for 7 days at a time. Based on the accounts of these teens, Wilderness Therapy is an unjust violation of human rights.
The need for change is causing an uproar on the internet. Not too long ago on TikTok, the movement #breakingcodesilence has been started and thousands of survivors spoke out about their abuse and trauma. The issue even received national attention when Paris Hilton went public about her abuse at the Wilderness Therapy Camps, stating that she felt like she was “just sent away to be hidden”. Paris speaks about how she was physically beaten for trying to run away in front of all of the other students in the program. She successfully escaped from the isolation center but she couldn’t go anywhere and then got caught a few days after. When reflecting on her experiences, Paris says: “I don’t know if my nightmares will ever go away, but I do know that there are hundreds of thousands of kids going through this right now, and maybe if I help stop their nightmares it’ll help stop mine.” Paris isn’t the only famous person to go through this horrible experience. A famous singer by the name of Bhad Barbie was sent to the camp by Dr. Phil not too long ago and recently started to speak out about it.
Wilderness Therapy camps are an issue that has been going on a long time and we’re only speaking about it now. It’s our responsibility to help give these people a voice because things like these should not be happening to people. A troubled teen is still a teen.
Works Cited
ParisHilton. (2021, October 21). Paris Hilton shares her survivor story from teenage abuse at Provo Canyon. YouTube. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRWMhWiXCVg
vicenews. (2021, March 29). Here's what survivors of a 'troubled teen' program say went on inside. YouTube. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av0jhwRLOAc