Allow me to vent a little about residential programs for "troubled teens":

[hedgehog]

I just found out that my sister has paced her daughter in a residential program. Now, I can trace depression running through at least three generations of my family and in numerous members of my niece's generation. I can understand that sometimes hospitalization is needed. But when the kid gets placed in an institution that touts its use of a copyrighted therapeutic method, all my alarm bell go off big time!

People familiar with situations in which a family's dysfunction was piled on one member, feel free to chime it!

[EFerrari]

1. We were just too lucky. My son was in a long rehab

where a requirement for his admittance was the whole family committing to weekly family sessions + participation in the family organization. These people really, really knew what they were doing. And even so, it was hard as hell.

They even got both his grandmas in therapy because you couldn't visit the kid unless you participated!

[hedgehog]

2. I've been back and forth on this all day. I really hope this place helps my niece,

but I really think the entire family needs to be in therapy.

[EFerrari]

3. It's difficult if not impossible for only one person in a family to change

because it upsets the balance of the whole system, imho. That person generally winds up moving back into their old role.

[HopeFor2006]

4. My daughter was in a treatment center for 5 months

There were both good and bad results. She was cutting, drinking and engaging in very dangerous activity by the age of 12. We were going through a terrible divorce and I was diagnosed with ptsd- the result of 15 years spent with an abusive and controlling husband. During the separation he engaged in stalking, property damage and other forms of harassment which of course affected our children. The best thing about having her in a residential treatment facility was that she was away from her father and his abusive behavior. She also was monitored so she could not engage in the self harming behavior. I was in no condition to handle her extreme behavior, and our separation made us appreciate each other more once she returned home. On the other hand, she was exposed to children older and with much bigger problems than her own. To this day she still has separation anxiety and fears that I will send her away if things get worse again.

[hedgehog]

5. There are kids out there in real need of medical care and/or solid counseling.

Unfortunately, it's hard to find places that provide it. Instead we have a huge high profit industry for treating "troubled teens". As near as I can make out, most of these places will treat any kid for whatever the parents say is the problem as long as the money keeps coming. Kids who need medical care are mixed in with kids who are throwaways from wealthy families. I put my niece in the latter category, but the fact that she is a throwaway (IMO) certainly means that she needs first class counseling and support. The place she is in has some credentialed people on staff (MS in clinical social work) but it also pushes some pure quackery. She may get some help, but I'm afraid the best I can hope for is no further damage.