second nature blue ridge abuse

All children (and I say children because I am referring to the under-18 program, in which children are sent there involuntarily, compared to the adult version), were required to carry on their backs their incredibly heavy backpacks each day on long hikes in all weather conditions. If your kid has serious behavioral problems or addicted to drugs they might benefit. 99% of the time the therapists and educational consultants will recommend your kid go to aftercare and you will end up spending a-lot more money than you initially thought. Please help us welcome Greta to the Second Nature team! i can honestly say it was one of the worst experiences of my life. The keywords are. Im very fortunate that Im healthy, have a loving family, and am educated. You think wed let you out of here? The program states that it accepts teenagers with a history of the following: mental health issues, trauma, behavioral problems, developmental issues, oppositional defiance, substance abuse/dependence, learning disabilities, academic issues, attachment issues and relational difficulties. Writing about warm things in life just to get a taste of what i knew was never to come for quite some time. Send your child to another wilderness program this is miserable for all parties. Not one person (myself included) is doing what their parents want them to do. They drove me out to the middle of nowhere and dropped me off. It's one of the worst. The fact that this even legal within the country is sickening. But thats simply because I learned that I love the outdoors! Dont be fooled, addiction is a money making industry. Luckily the staff although they were told not to bring me to the hospital they atleast didnt force me to carry extra weight after they found me unconscious when I passed out and passed myself. but if you ever spent almost 4 months out in the wilderness against your will. My mind cant comprehend the evil propelling the cruelty of the staff here. I attended second nature in the summer of 2017 and have never been in a worse mindset than I was put through at this place. They profit from the suffering of troubled teenagers, and not just monetarily. The therapist, Tracy, was nice. Second Nature cant hide the fact that abuses occurred and their staff was riddled with perpetrators. Ive only recently started to understand that this hellish nightmare of a therapy program is the root of my PTSD. One of the only real staff I met. sending any child hereis simply abuse. I beg of you. He currently works as a Therapist at Second Nature. But if there are other options, try those first. She previously worked at, worked as a Counselor at Second Nature. One of the only real staff I met. Many survivors report that they were lied to about this, and told that they would be going home after only a few weeks at Second Nature. I don't supposed it's any better out in Utah . The staff were highly mixed in attitudes toward the attendees of the program, some I quite liked and would like to have a friendship with and others were there as work and saw the students as nothing than that. The troubled teen industry is just that- an industry (not-so-fun-fact: supported by Romneys venture capitalist firm, Bain), and their first and foremost priority is to make money for themselves and their friends at therapeutic boarding schools, escort services, and educational consultants. Profiting off a familys vulnerability, confusion, fear, or even worse abusive and dysfunctional dynamic is morally reprehensible. Told the staff that I didnt want to live outside in the dessert and that once my pack and such comes on the third day (since I was rushed to wilderness because I got kicked out of Daniels academy.) You think, oh wilderness therapy, sounds like a good way to get my child out of the scene of day to day life and have them step back and work on themselves. Yea if your child was Bear Grylls. Much more to say but limited character space. Gerald (Yelp), 6/25/2018: (SURVIVOR) I wrote a review that was once on the top of this list and then it was removed due to the age restricting policy. This place gave me nightmares and health problems for the rest of my life. In a living hell. Some are strippers/prostitutes. The provider is found at 236 FILE ST. . The contractor forced them to send me off. Michelle (Google Reviews), 12/3/2016: (SURVIVOR) They took off my pictures like many other people here I got PTSD from going there along with acute intermittent porphyria. You have to lie if you want to get out of there. I spent fourth months at the program and after being released from it I have felt nothing but mistrust and hatred towards my parents, though I do not blame them for sending me to the program they thought they were doing the right thing. Money does not solve all problems. Otherwise, we were forced to vile dehydrated beans and rice with a little bit of cold water, which I can tell you through personal experience does not re-hydrate them. But some parents are. For a week. Its been two years and I can say I will never truly forgive my dad for sending me to Second Nature. I was truly struggling. A kind staff, someone you could connect with was rare. In freezing temperatures. One pair of underwear for each week. We were even forced to place heavy rocks in our packs as punishment to make them even heavier. I did not deserve the scars I incurred from Second Nature. Please just use this as a last resort and really try hard to think about what you are doing and try to talk with your kid about it instead of just blindly violating human rights and traumatizing them by waking them up to transports. All the typical wilderness stuff. Also, being sent on solos were a real thing these counselors actually took children to remote places, where they were then left alone for days at a time (wouldnt know exactly for how long, as they had a rule that children were never allowed to know what time it was). Dont send your kid here if you care about your relationship with them. They are isolated from the other teenagers in order to increase pressure. If anything, second nature taught me to be more sneaky around my parents because I knew the potential consequences of getting caught. Im not the only one who came out worse than when they went in. i dont mean to be rude. This is not how you should treat any sort of problem. Also dont trust educational consultants or aftercares. Torturing teens doesnt make anything or anyone better, it makes things worse. They drove me out to the middle of nowhere and dropped me off. I can confirm from personal experience that a significant amount of what other negative reviews had stated are true. Parents- you have options! Maybe more. They get off on abusing minors. After waiting hours for my parents to come and get me. Its first campus was in the Uinta mountain range, in Utah, but within a few years the program had expanded to Georgia, where Second Nature Blue Ridge opened in 2002, five years before I arrived. It could make their problems worse. A psychologist and his recommended educational consultant convinced my parents to have me kidnapped the day after I finished my school year and spend my 16th birthday and the next 3 months in the custodial care of this abomination of a program. The teenager is not allowed to talk to anyone and must complete a set of assignments before moving on to fire phase, including a life story assignment. We were left with nothing other than minimal food to get by, some water, and our blue tarp and strings to sleep under in a sleeping bag. The only beneficial skills I learned from second nature were survival skills and a general understanding of my emotions. We were often bullied and treated with disrespect. the only connection to the outside world. Before I became an adult, I was counting down the days until I turned 18. They are also given a metal water bottle. The therapists are only available once a week in the field and you are given a single hour with them and that is it for the week. I have a very close relationship with my family and knew that was BS. You are a monster if you go through with sending a child there. All Animals. 2N censors written letters written by campers, and phonecalls (which are a privilege granted before one leaves) are always in the presence of 1 or more staff member. These aftercare programs are usually around 1 year. All to find out i was stuck for 12 weeks. Claim your profile and start getting more patients today. I will be checking my account. If you are in an urgent situation and need help call 911. Update on 8/7/2019: I havent been on Yelp in a long time and saw the response from Andrea. I have a very close relationship with my family and knew that was BS. The therapists are only available once a week in the field and you are given a single hour with them and that is it for the week. Ive thought a lot about writing this review because I didnt want others to think that I was writing this because I was pissed about what had happened. Someone recommended this place so off I went. You are a monster if you send your kid here. Well then you are probably just as delusional as the people who run the place. The doctor on staff decided to provide me with a very strong pain killer that I easily couldve been addicted to without checking with my parents first. Look at the other reviews more ppl left with PTSD I wouldnt wish PTSD on my worst enemy , Dont buy into the positive reviews, this place is terrible. I remember the all night forced hikes under threat of starvation, I remember defrosting my numb toes every morning, the solitary confinement and the constant shaming, I remember the pain of the untreated ingrown toenail I was forced to hike on for 2 months. BLUE RIDGE THERAPEUTIC WILDERNESS - 236 File St, Clayton, Georgia - Counseling & Mental Health - Phone Number - Yelp Health & Medical Counseling & Mental Health Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness 7 reviews Unclaimed Counseling & Mental Health, Rehabilitation Center Edit Closed 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM See hours All to no avail. Jeff Scott worked as the Clinical Director at Second Nature. CHANGE DOESNT WORK WHEN ITS FORCED. Max (Yelp), 10/8/2019: (SURVIVOR) Yelp is deleting my reviews. They are practically inedible and still crunchy and tasteless. Many survivors report that they have been diagnosed with PTSD following their time at Second Nature. Best of luck to you! Roxanne (Yelp), 2015: (SURVIVOR) I was sent here at 17. This is likely one of the incidents that contributed to Second Natures re-branding as Evoke and 2N Blue Ridges rebranding as, This place damaged me permanently. Ultimately it is up to the patient to decide if they want to change, and I know for a fact that the former patients in my group and my friends who also went to second nature have not changed (Im friends with them on social media) even if they went to aftercare (most went to aftercare). But before you send your child there, see if that is really the right option for them. Im very fortunate that Im healthy, have a loving family, and am educated. We were left with nothing other than minimal food to get by, some water, and our blue tarp and strings to sleep under in a sleeping bag. I now suffer from crippling PTSD and depression, as well as permanent nerve damage, over a decade later. The only way I made it through was because of them. not to mention that therapists lie to parents and kids to forward there own agenda of actually doing something and the fact that most staff are just barley out of there 20s and have no clue how to handle kids. The staff are all you have. This program added more traumas onto the young girl. Im sober, im happy, and healthier than ive ever been. I was extremely uncomfortable being thrown into a new environment with no one that you know and being forced to do this. She told my parents that I shouldnt be brought home and that I wouldnt be able to last at home for a while without having another episode. These poor kids should be in the hands of incredibly qualified, trained psychologists and psychiatrists, not counselors looking to make a couple bucks. Jobs: 10 Industry: Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities. The program states that it accepts teenagers with a history of the following: mental health issues, trauma, behavioral problems, developmental issues, oppositional defiance, substance abuse/dependence, learning disabilities, academic issues, attachment issues and relational difficulties. They were very heavy, and not all kids are the same size. It is reported that the tuition is approximately $500 per day, meaning that parents typically pay between $42,000 and $56,000 for 12-16 weeks. I went here and I was in group 11 with therapists Vaughn Heath and his then wife Carrie (appropriate right?) I've read up on the terrible things Second Nature did in both Georgia and across the nation. Im happy to say that now Im doing very well . They are practically inedible and still crunchy and tasteless. * Andy arrived at Second Nature, Utah in the Spring of 2000. . I spent fourth months at the program and after being released from it I have felt nothing but mistrust and hatred towards my parents, though I do not blame them for sending me to the program they thought they were doing the right thing. The staff I had knew something was wrong but they were helpless because of her orders. You are sending your child to a marching internment camp where they could be eaten by a bear because someone else brought food in their pack to bed. I am a former camper, and I ended up swept through the system, and away from home for a bit more than two years. I want to emphasize that wilderness therapy programs are COMPLETELY UNREGULATED. Not Ready for Residential Treatment What Are My Options? He previously worked at the, worked as a Therapist at Second Nature. Some are using and selling drugs. Details. He previously worked at the Willow Creek School in Provo, UT. The program promotes conformity to the system which does not create real results, I have been in contact with most of the other students that I spent time with at second nature, and I have yet to find one of over twenty that has no relapsed or though the program was a waste of time and damaging, as for me relationships with my family have become distant and fake. But this place is truly not therapeutic, the schoolwork is very hard to get help with. After leaving second nature the therapist Vaughn Heath used the platform of Facebook to seek out and sexually perpetrate on a previous group 11 patient. Anyone considering attending this program should really do their research. Your solace and comfort in a time of stress. Yes that is the same type of blue tarp that would be laid over the back of a pick-up truck to cover up lawn equipment, for example. Teens can benefit from Second Nature Blue Ridge if they struggle with depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, substance abuse or dependence, computer addictions, poor self-esteem, ADHD and learning difficulties, attachment and adoption issues, grief and loss, NLD and Asperger's, and more. Essentially, there are far too many horror stories but the bottom line here is: do your research. Im not really sure what Im trying to do by posting this review but I just want to warn parents that this can severely mess up your kids relationship with you. I have a steady job and true friends who are good and are their for me. Georgia Regulatory Laws. You are a monster if you send your kid here. They also had to read. Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals , Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities . I prayed every week to heaven or hell that I got these guys as staff. I had pictures that were taken down part of porphyria is you get sun blisters my face back and chest have scars from the sun sores that will never be healed or covered up. I went into the woods a teenage drug addict and came out sober. Just a boat tarp you string up with paracord, so rats run over you in the night, mosquitos swarm you in the hundreds, so loud their buzzing is what wakes you in the morning. Honestly, the experience sucked but I am glad I did not get sent to aftercare like many other patients. Finding Schools for Troubled Teens Near Me, Therapeutic Boarding Schools For Troubled Teens, The Best Boarding Schools For Troubled Teens. Where they make you walk miles without water on dehydration hikes. Others may have had better or worse experiences, but the following is what I went throughIt is my feeling that the entire operation should have been shut down years ago. Jennifer Wilde worked as a Counselor at Second Nature. I had my will written inside my boots telling my parents to get an @autopsy done. 18-25. The recruiter took advantage of my mother who was desperate for an answer to get me help bc I smoked weed. Being 64 this was extremely uncomfortable. She was kind and counseling but only came out once a week. I am 100% fo serious (research it!). Second Nature Uintas is a behavior-modification program that was founded in 1998. Of course this is only my experience and I know there are ppl who benefit from it. My therapist was nice but the staff does NOT CARE except for a select people. I proceeded to go through hell. I was just a kid with depression who smoked some weed. . Second nature did not teach me anything of value. If it is the last resort, try it. www.snwp.com. If your kid is feeling depressed or anxious I wouldnt recommend it. The staff are harsh, cruel, selfish, and are solely focused on the objective of leaving the next week. This place is terrible, I have a deformed eye and ocular bone because of second nature. Fish and Wildlife Service for its failure to protect the imperiled . Not one person (myself included) is doing what their parents want them to do. Your email address will not be published. The therapist kept telling them I needed to stay longer. Jen Murphy worked as a Counselor at Second Nature. Some time into living on the streets I was picked up by police as a juvenille runaway and taken to the hospital. This program often leaves you hungry at night and staff will get aggressive over small things such as exchanging phone numbers, whispering, etc. This is not a drug rehab center or a fruitful method of counseling it is a money making corporation that is pushed by educational consultants as a viable option for any form of counseling. , Went here when I was 15, am now 31. As soon as I got there you are strip searched and examined. The worst part of it all is that Ive been distrustful and afraid of therapy ever since the program, even as an adult. A residential treatment facility (RTF) is a facility or distinct part of a facility that provides to children and adolescents, a total, twenty-four hour, therapeutically planned group living and learning situation where distinct and individualized psychotherapeutic interventions can take place. He previously worked at, for nearly four years. i dont mean to be rude. I prayed every week to heaven or hell that I got these guys as staff. Therapeutic Boarding Schools vs. She previously worked as a Lead Peer Group Counselor for two groups as well as wilderness counselor at The Academy at Swift River, a reportedly extremely abusive Aspen Education Group program. I was on a lot of anti anxieties bc I would get panic attacks which made me extremely tired. Whether in a snowstorm, windstorm, rainstorm, or any other weather. She tried to stick so many disorders and diagnoses on me that werent correct. The therapist was on the phone line and told me what I needed to tell my parents if I wanted to leave any time soon. Lies. If you dont want to deal with your child and send them elsewhere do be dealt with you dont truly love them or deserve to be their parent and this is how it will look to the child for the rest of their lives after. This phase typically lasts about a week. kept me an extra month against my parents will bc they wanted to take me home instead of transfer me to a RTC in Utah. Maybe for a few this might work, but this has made my life hell in unimaginable ways. Fischer Wildlife Control & Repairs. They knew I want faking but the therapist believed I was. Wed rather say you died at the hands of a wild animal than say you walked out of here. SUBSTANCE ABUSE. This is a work camp and labor camp used to humiliate and break clients. Dont even think about sending your kid away. As a kid, this caused incredible feelings of fear, powerlessness, and that of what a prisoner likely feels. Wilderness Program History and Background Information Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness is a behavior-modification program that opened in 2002. I proved the therapist wrong and I am thriving at home, two years later without being sent to another therapeutic program and have a great relationship with my family due to my current therapist. , as someone who spent almost 4 months at second nature just a few years ago. He began working in the TTI at the, worked as a Therapist at Second Nature. They were good, kind people who struggled with addiction, mental illness and pain in their home lives. Never have your child kidnapped people. She previously worked at several reportedly abusive institutions, including, for 7 years and as the Clinical Director at the, worked as a Counselor at Second Nature. She tried to stick so many disorders and diagnoses on me that werent correct. including all the censorship you make the kids go through. During this phase they are slowly being integrated into a peer group and given assignments within the daily framework. Being Gooned/Transported. And to tell you the truth I have not forgiven them. For example, it is absolutely true to my experience as well that the counselors required that children created a fire by themselves with sticks, string and a rock each day in order to eat anything cooked on a fire. Otherwise, we were forced to vile dehydrated beans and rice with a little bit of cold water, which I can tell you through personal experience does not re-hydrate them. Skyland Trail. I was arrested and the bailed out by second nature to then be put in a room full of those same staff from before, now they wouldnt hit me though since my charges got dropped when that cute girl guide or what ever told them what had happened the night before and in the morning. Its a problem and it makes me nauseous that its still open. Alias (Yelp), 11/8/2020: (SURVIVOR) I am not writing this review to spite this place. We hiked in over 100 degree weather most days . refusing to do what they told me to do. I remember the all night forced hikes under threat of starvation, I remember defrosting my numb toes every morning, the solitary confinement and the constant shaming, I remember the pain of the untreated ingrown toenail I was forced to hike on for 2 months. staff calling the girls names, encouraging us to call each other names, encouraging verbal abuse -group meetings that existed purely to humiliate and shame. Please read any literature related to the recent Kelief Browder tragedy if youre curious about whether or not isolation/solitary confinement is an effect form of treatment. It could make their problems worse. "We found thousands of allegations of abuse, some of which involved death, at residential treatment programs . Look at the other reviews more ppl left with PTSD I wouldnt wish PTSD on my worst enemy Fred (Yelp), 7/25/2016: (SURVIVOR) Dont buy into the positive reviews, this place is terrible. Brad M. Reedy is one of the Founders of Second Nature. Approximately 8.1 percent of adolescents in Georgia, age 12-17, experiment with illicit drugs monthly. Many people who participate in this program are not as fortunate and are therefore less likely to talk about their experiences. Allie (Yelp), 4/16/2015: (SURVIVOR) I highly doubt that anyone researching programs will look here.. on Yelp, but I would be remiss not to warn parents and families at every turn of this abusive program. Every type of abuse happened in tandem with living outside, excessive hiking, crazy weather, poor hygiene, unqualified staff, malnutrition, and medical neglect. This place made my condition worst. However, the program actually operates out of two basecamps depending on the time of years. Shout to the homie Corbin. Finally in order to leave the program I would just flat out lie to the staff and say everything they wanted to hear. No one ever understood or tried to understand without anterior motives. Best of luck to you! , I was sent here at 17. I was stripped naked, i was forced to hike 20+miles a day bc I was a bad person. On what planet should young, inexperienced, uncredentialled adults be physically and emotionally responsible for taking full care of sometimes very emotionally damaged, addicted children, some of whom had psychological disorders. The fact that this even legal within the country is sickening. Though counseling through letters in highly in effective and is easily squandered. I was willing to participate, I just didnt agree with the diagnoses she was making. I was stuck back there for 12 hours. I was sent to second nature some time ago because my parents thought I was doing drugs too often (intentionally being vague to remain anonymous). Second Nature AKA Evoke and Blue Ridge Wilderness (Second Nature) is on the HEAL Mission watch-list (of fraudulent and abusive programs) and enrolled in the COPE Conversion Program based on your reports to the HEAL Mission alleging fraud, abuse, and/or other violations. Send your child to another wilderness program this is miserable for all parties. Its not worth it. i was forced to spend thanksgiving and christmas out there. The process was awful. Second Nature Uintas has been a NATSAP member since 1999. Read More. Do not listen to the positive reviews. All rights reserved. I am not anti-wilderness, as I think it is a great experience. Whether in a snowstorm, windstorm, rainstorm, or any other weather. California "Search & Seizure" laws protect California residents from illegal search and seizure by using the Fourth . Its been almost 12 years since I was kidnapped and dropped in the frigid wilderness of the Uinta Mountains for 3 months. Just remember this is your child. Zac (Yelp), 6/30/2019: (SURVIVOR) This review goes out for all parents thinking even for a second about sending their child here.
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