Provo Canyon School

Everything parents are shown about this facility is a façade. The photos on their website are an absolute joke. Through careful and systematic repression of speech of the children there, Provo Canyon School sells parents on a magic fix with swimming, activities, and family values, when in reality its success rates are dismal and they are hurting more children than they help.
I can only speak on the female campus, as that is where I was, but it’s one large building which reeks the way buildings do when windows are never opened. The pool and pretty pictures are from the male campus.
You are dehumanized and your true struggles and needs ignored in favor of fitting you into an equation of typical mental illness, addiction, or adolescent behavior. Children are medicated and threatened into obedience through military structure.
My head was shaved, I was kept in isolation (a little bare cement room), tied down, and shot up against my will (and without the consent or knowledge of my parents) with Haldol on a near daily basis for several weeks. My communication with my parents was restricted. You are not allowed to speak about abuse to your parents, or your own «therapist» will discredit you, claim you are manipulating, and you will be punished while they take time to convince your family that you’re just crazy; nothing bad is happening to you. At one point I did not go outside for over a month, and I was restricted from speaking to any of my peers. This makes children better? I don’t think so.
I was demeaned by staff, repeatedly harassed by a male staff member, and I watched many other girls suffer through emotional and physical abuse and neglect. One girls lung collapsed from illness which went long ignored by nurses and staff.
Fortunately for me, after being removed by my parents when they finally realised what was happening there, I have used the pain of the experience there to get stronger and thrive in life. I’m a productive member of society, who will always speak out against programs like this. Your children need you. They do not need to be abandoned to the hands of a FOR PROFIT INDUSTRY which runs a business by tricking parents and breaking kids. Your child’s well being is not their top priority, money and deception is. Please don’t be fooled.

Thank you Jeremy and Mary Kay. I appreciated seeing your programs. I love the gym and I can’t believe it’s 10 acres with those views. Please thank your staff for their generosity in showing me around. I look forward to following up with you.

I went to this school boys side in 2000 — 2002. I would of agreed with all the bad reports then. But before I went when I was 16. I was locked up most of my life from 12 to 16. I didn’t care. Hell I left juvenile hall in shackles to go there. Imagine first time flying and then add shackles. The school maybe all about money but the staff. The ones that care. Take u under there wing. I was molded by the best men and women. I’m now the man and father I am today because of them. They saved my life. Out of the friends and kids I knew before going 33 friends died of over doses. To hard drugs like haroen, ghb, meth. If I didn’t go I would of been with them or locked up. They saved me after getting out. I stayed out of trouble. I knew respect for my self and others. I knew how to say no and see what and who was worth being in my life. So say what you want but I thank u PCS and all the staff that worked there right down to the cooks, Landry lady and the barber. Also thank you to the staff that’s there now. I’d send my kids there if God forbid they go down my path. Ur sending ur kids here to change because u can’t control them. If you want to baby them send them to the ymca. U want them to be better send them here.
Thanks
Mike Bohne

I was at provo canyon school for 3 years. Age 12 – 15. I had mild behavioral problems and ran away from my abusive home several times. I had never done drugs or even smoked a cigarette. Alot of people point out that pcs saved their life. I can say I was in an unsafe and dangerous environment, however, the trama and pain that I suffered at the hands of staff and therapists there was pretty emotional damaging. I went through 4 therapists in 3 years due to them quiting. I was place on so many anti-​psychotics, and daily mild tranquilizers for when I was feeling an emotional outburst or seemed like I was getting worked up.
Their process of Controlling you when you didn’t do exactly what they said was to radio a dial 9. Where all available staff would full out run to your location and restrain your arms and legs lifting you off of the ground. I was carried belly to the floor down hallways and slammed on a cement floor while Lorna and Leslie processed to press my face into the floor, give me a booty injection of Haldol, and yelling at me to call down. Due to the fact that I was doing cartwheels in the gym when it was time to line up. This was not the first or last time I would be injected with a tranquilizer and made to sit Indian style or sleep in a cement room smaller than a jail cell. The physical abuse and medical neglect was bad, but I believe the mental damage done from the untrained staff was far worse. Being made to sit nose to the wall for hours without being told why you are being isolated will stay with me far longer than the cuts and bruises.
If you do not head to any of these reviews please take a vested interest in providing your child with transitioning help coming out. I went from 3 years of institutionalization to sophomore year of a public school. There is nothing they do upon your approaching release to get you ready for non structured society.
I am now 24 years old. Going to school to be a sign language interpreter, working a great job with no kids, but I Can’t say any of the tools I learned there are why I am where I am today. I am a firm believer in behavior modification, but what went on there was definitely not that.
They only teach u skills that will work in a controlled environment. Isolation is their number one behavioral control tool however u can not always remove your self if your boss, professor, Co worker makes you upset. Leaving you feeling helpless and emotionally shocked when u enter back into society where the tactics you lived by no longer apply.

There is an easy way to tell that Provo Canyon School does not Care about your child.
They have no after program check ups, they do nothing to see if their work on your child is a success.
I’m 40 years old, and the scars from this place when I was 15 to 16 will always be there.
You have kids of rich parents with no time, with kids with a court order for violence, with kids who have deep mental issues, or even mild ones like autism, then you throw them all together without regard, put your knee on their neck.
They are probably are no longer a Drug Testing center, (test doses on children) but they were.
I have 4 kids of my own, I ended up ok. But that was from work to rid myself of what this place can do to you.
If you’re wondering what to do with your kids, do something else. This will only damage them, your relationship… permanently. Even if you’re at your wits end and think it can’t worse, you’re very very wrong. Skip this, find another program if you’ve lost control.

You either make it or break it here at PCS (adolescent girl campus). I was sent here 2008 (16 yrs old) and left 2009 (17 yrs old). But this school (my therapist Kirk Voss and many of the staff members/​teachers/​group counselors) saved my life. YES IT WAS HELL. Yes, some staff members have been reported of abusing the girls (not sexually, but when the girls would act out in violence or run away, faculty are called to «dial 9» and they have to restrain the girls in order to put then in a observatory room). Its terrible getting torn from your family, friends and everything you once held dear to you. There was never a night when I didn’t cry – for an entire year in isolation with strangers. It is a level 14 lockdown facility, but they will keep you trapped indoors for as long as they deem neccessary (I didn’t see the outside until 4 months. LITERALLY indoors for 4 months entirely). But you’re surrounded by girls just like you. Lost, broken and abandoned. And you realize that you’re not alone. And few of these girls I’ve been trapped with in the same unit for a year are now my most closest friends today. A few gotten worse since they left. Some have passed away. But so many factors play into our success/​failure.
This place is really a last resort move. When all else fails and your child keeps running away from home. When your daughter is constantly stealing, abusing drugs, overdosing, getting arrested, being destructive, self-​harming and spiraling out of control. When all hope is lost, this is the place to go. In california, we have a bill called AB3632 and I believe my health insurance and school paid for my treatment all thanks to AB3632.
But I’m 22 years old now. I’ve attended UCSD as a nanoengineering major (really got in because of my personal statement essay). I’ve countless scholarships as a result of my turn around. Held very prestigious internships and research positions. Shit i’ve NEVER thought possible while at PCS. Literally. Looking back at it now I can’t even believe how different I was. But you have to leave PCS before college apps are due (before the start of your 12^th grade, I left june 09 and took my SATs/​ACTs back home during summer).
6 important factors to my success: 1) my parents were very stubborn: they said that unless i change, I cant leave until im 18. theres a saying that once you’ve lost everything, you’re free to have everything. they REALLY stripped me away even their love. and thats when i truly began to question the direction of my life. 2) friends wrote me letters: my best friend ryan would always write me letters of changing the world! revolution! and really, letters were the only things we ever had here at pcs. only things we could physically keep; let their friends write to them continuously and dont let the letters stop pouring in (honestly they’ll probably hate their parents for sending them so let friends write). 3) care package; send them clothes! sweatpants and candy during the few holidays we can actually get to eat candy. 4) my mother developed cancer during my stay and thats when i SERIOUSLY thought life was over. if i cant change now, how will she ever see me at my best 5) MATURITY!!! theres a level of maturity i already had upon my arrival and some girls get sent WAY TOO young (14 some 13) and never learned. 6) no medication: ive been in juvy and mental hospitals before my arrival, and i didnt like how my past meds made me feel. so when i was being interviewed by the psychologist, i simply lied my way through the previous bipolar/​bpd diagnosis i had. looking back at it now it sounded ridiculous, but mind altering substances whether legally prescribed or not, can severely cloud/​fog your clear ability to think and rationalize your way through recovery.
If my father never lied to me and said «oh its just a camping trip». i wouldnt be here to this day. What a terrible thing to lie to your child in order to trick her into a lock down rehab, but this place saved my life. also my case was severe: i had a VERY serious drug problem, self image, anger management, family abuse, personality disorder, etc. if your child simply has an attitude problem, DONT SEND HER HERE. PLEASE JUST DONT. ive seen very pretentious, spoiled bratty girls get sent here and they GET WORSE. negativity spreads there like a disease. misery loves company.

Wow, this place was a living hell. I still have issues from this NIGHTMARE 20 years later! It didn’t change anything. I just wanted to try all the stuff I hadn’t when I got out of there. I was 10X worse at the things my parents wanted changed and when I finally grew up, I have massive abandonment issues. DO NOT DO THIS TO YOUR CHILD. IT DOESN’T HELP.

I didn’t realize what a NIGHTMARE was until I attended this «school». I was lucky enough for my father to come here for a visit and see first hand the sickness that went on behind these walls. I will never forget one second of this sick place. Physical abuse, mental abuse, emotional abuse, and lets not forget drug abuse. Without parental consent children are drugged and thrown into a cell similar to a padded room with out the pads also known as «observations». They will be left there drugged and ignored for 24 hours at a time. I think a woman by the name of Jody may still work there, she is the supreme of them all. The therapists responsible for giving you updates on your child see them once a week, if that. The rest of the time their performance reviews are based on 18 year old power hungry staff members who are there as part of an internship. Please, I beg and ask of you to please consult me or another former student of this place before you think twice about sending your troubled child to a sadistic place like this.

This is probably one of the most abusive institutions in america and should be shut down IMMEDIATELY. I was unlucky enough to be a prisoner (not a resident, mind you… residency implies you have free will on the matter) at PCS, and not just any prisoner – a privately funded one. Thats right, while 90% of the children here are court funded, the other 10% simply have abusive parents who pay a lump of money to lock their children up as an alternative to actually raising them.
Court ordered prisoners are there for a select period of time, ordered by the court to remain there and PAID for by the court. They often have felonies or several misdemeanors and are there as an alternative to juvenile hall, although the ones that have experienced both say that they actually PREFER juvenile hall over PCS and some even run away, commit crimes, or assault staff in HOPES that they will be placed in juvenile hall instead.
Privately institutionalized prisoners are funded by parents or guardians, sometimes even other sources, and an actual REASON for them to be there can simply be fabricated or exaggerated. Once admitted, the staff will simply pick the brain disorder that fits you best and pump you full of medication that has a reverse effect. I cannot stress enough how fallacious and WRONG their system is.
It is a widely known medical fact that anti-​psychotics, given to someone who is NOT psychotic will actually INDUCE psychosis. Despite this, 95% of the children imprisoned here are put on anti-​psychotic or emotionally dampening mood stabilizers that dull the quality of life and surpress emotions. What essentially happens here is on admission, a child is accused of having some kind of neurological disorder (when in reality the issues are simply a harsh family life, stressful influences, etc) then put on drugs that actually INDUCE the kind of behavior represented by this disorder. When the psychologist reviews the results, it seems that the now psychotic child had been psychotic all along! Not a single one of the staff would EVER consider that the drugs had been the problem and not the solution, so they put you on MORE drugs to try to «balance out» the ones that don’t work, instead of taking you off.
I was admitted for vague «behavioral issues», simply distant childhood events exaggerated and meant to sound like they were happening in the present. My mother displays symptoms of the sociopathic Munchausen by Proxy disorder and actually enjoyed all the attention she got from her «dysfunctional child». I was put on 4 – 5 medications at a time, and they were constantly revising my diagnosis, changing my medication. They couldn’t seem to make up my mind as to whether i was bipolar, depressed, aspergers or schizophrenic, none of the medications seemed to work! OBVIOUSLY. Despite all my protests, i was forced to consume this medication or it would be forcefully injected into me. On release, i worked with a psychologist who was HORRIFIED by the way i had been treated. Under the examination of a psychologist, i tapered off my medication and found that all the symptoms of ANY brain disorder had left completely! I am now 20, writing this 2 years after the fact. I am on no medication, receive no therapy, and i am happier than ever! I do, however, suffer memory loss and nightmares, symptoms of PTSD from my abuse in PCS. If you care about your child, DO NOT send them here.
In my stay, despite persistently being told otherwise, it was very clear to me that the intention was not to «cure» any of the prisoners. It was only to prove how mentally unfit they were, not to absolve them of this. This is exactly the reason why mental health should never be corporatized, these facilities are paid to create results, yet if a patient is cured, where does the money come from? The general practice at provo canyon is to simply KEEP people there. Much like a doctor, perpetuating or even inducing the symptoms of cancer to keep a patient paying for chemotherapy treatments. Since the only communication with the outside world is a once a week phone call with PARENTS, and that phone call is considered a privilege that can be taken away with the snap of a finger, the chances of anyone on the outside word suing for malpractice is slim. Yet, past prisoners are CONSTANTLY suing and if you even GOOGLE provo canyon school, you get a plethora of lawsuits. I don’t know how they remain open.
I have endured physical abuse from the other children AND the staff. I have endured constant verbal abuse and have been made to feel inferior to the staff. The environment is very destructive to your self esteem and much of the staff look at you worse than the dirt on their boot. It is common knowledge among the prisoners that the reason they are able to do so is because of Utahs virtually inexistent child abuse laws. The staff are NOT professionally trained and have NO experience in psychology. There is one PHD on campus and he gets his information second hand.

I attended PCS from August 2001 to January 2003 and I can only speak about my experience with Provo Canyon School.
The good:
1) PCS saved my life. My therapist was Sam Hill and he was the best therapist in the school.
2) My parents knew I was «safe from myself» when I was at Provo.“
3) The school’s recreation therapy program is top-​notch. My best memories from Provo are from their rec therapy program.
The bad:
1) Provo is a lot like boot camp, maybe even similar to prison.
2) I was mistreated at PCS.
–The school’s nurse practitioner (Cathy Black) once gave me a Class 3 and I had to move to Investment because I was excessively worrying about something as a result of obsessions I was having from my OCD. That infraction was completely unjust.
–Dr. Crist (the psychiatrist) really messed up my medications. He took me off of the medication I was on for Tourette Syndrome and I almost bit through my upper lip as a result of my lip biting tic.
–I was in Observation (isolation) once due to misbehavior and I needed to use the restroom. The staff wouldn’t let me go to the bathroom so I walked out of Obs and used the bathroom anyway. Right as I was drying my hands, the door slammed open and I was chased back into the observation room. I was then restrained and the staff administered a shot of something (Haldol?) into my rear-​end. As I was being restrained, I shouted «Stop! You’re hurting me!» Then Lorna pressed even HARDER on my head (as if she was giving it CPR) and I thought my brain was going to come out of my ears onto the concrete floor. This was wrong in so many ways. Mainly because the only reason staff are supposed to restrain you and administer an injection is if you are a threat to someone or yourself. All I was doing was using the bathroom.
My conclusion: Many people say horrible things about PCS, but fail to recognize the positives. If a child wants to better themselves, then Provo can really help them. I knew I was headed down a bad path and I wanted to get help. I am now a 26 year old Christian woman who has a Bachelor of Arts degree and a teaching gredential. I am happily married and my husband and I are going to adopt our first child in a year from now.
Did I enjoy my experience at Provo? No. Would I do it again? Yes, in a heart beat. It truly saved my life and is a big part of the reason behind why I am so successful today.
Note: I am one of the few success stories coming from Provo. Most of the individuals I attended PCS with are drug addicts, were teen mothers, or are now dead.

the «graduates» i know from here all are pregnant or have a kid by 20. others are into drugs and raves. i got lucky because my problems going in were attitude related not drug, truancy, behavior, ect. related. i did get a lot but i lots more than it was worth.
parents considering provo canyon school:
positive:
good balanced meals, consistent daily structure of time and schedule, positive learning tools taught as well as important life lessons. um. vacation from my family? YEAH
negative:
your child will be around others with severe problems (i myself was assaulted twice. sure, the child was punished but do you really want to put your child at the mercy of someone else’s problem they couldn’t handle either?), many of the general care staff (non therapists and non doctors) are regular people whit no unique skills to handle the special needs of many individuals, the therapists leave regularly (i had two while i was there but graduated the week my therapist at the time was moving on in work… other girls i know had up to four in less than a year. this is not good for trust building or people with abandonment issues), staff refuses to believe you if you are ill but aren’t bleeding or have visible problems (i had a major UTI and couldn’t walk. staff told me to stop faking. finally when i wet the bed that night they took me to the nurse where it turns out that i have a serious UTI…)… more and more examples. IT GOT A BIT SCARY SOMETIMES.
please. parents: do your job and raise your kids. don’t send them off and expect them to be fixed by someone else.