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Troubled Treatment

Troubled Treatment

Written by: Sophia Young
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About this listen

 “Troubled Treatment” is an award-winning serial investigative podcast examining one small, therapeutic boarding school in Spring Valley, Arizona, called Spring Ridge Academy. The school is one of many that existed in a network commonly referred to as the “troubled teen industry,” which markets itself as a supportive and caring environment for teenagers to heal from trauma and personal struggles and develop as a young individual. However, former students have spoken out about traumatic and even abusive experiences in the “therapeutic” program that was meant to help them.Sophia Young Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Episode 1: Troubled

    Episode 1: Troubled
    Apr 19 2024

    What happens when the place meant to help people heal ends up leaving them with more trauma? In the first episode of "Troubled Treatment," we learn about Spring Ridge Academy (SRA), a therapeutic boarding school for teens meant to help them through a wide range of struggles from addiction and mental health challenges to defiance and family conflict. We also meet the individuals who found their experiences in the program to be more often damaging than therapeutic. In the first episode of this limited series, we unpack just what the so-called "troubled teen industry" looks like from the inside.

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    17 mins
  • Episode 3: Action

    Episode 3: Action
    Apr 19 2024

    The therapeutic model at Spring Ridge was not what most would consider conventional. The program included a myriad of individual, family and group therapies, but also required students to participate in several days long "workshops" to progress to graduation. This episode, we explore the origins of the unorthodox exercises and programming which many students named as the most traumatic part of their time at SRA.

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    18 mins
  • Episode 5: Phase 5

    Episode 5: Phase 5
    Apr 12 2024

    In our final episode of "Troubled Treatment": what some of those who worked at SRA are still doing in the troubled teen industry and how those who experienced these programs are moving forward advocating for reform.

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    10 mins
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