Author Description

The troubled-teen industry, with its scaremongering and claims of miraculous changes in behavior through harsh discipline, has existed in one form or another for decades, despite a dearth of evidence supporting its methods. And the boot camps, rehabs, emotional growth boarding schools and wilderness programs, that make up this industry are even now finding new customers.Maia Szalavitz's Help at Any Cost is the first in-depth investigation of these tough love programs and their practices, starting with their roots in the cult sixties drug rehabilitation program, Synanon, which remains the model for many of today's adult and teen drug programs.This book tracks the rise of Straight, Inc., which received Nancy Reagan's seal of approval in the eighties and its spin-offs, explores the ensuing growth of boot camps and wilderness programs, and features an in-depth investigation of one of the dominant chains of the the 90s and 00s, the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASP), which is linked with sites still operating today.Szalavitz uncovers disturbing findings about these programs' methods, including accounts of physical and verbal abuse,and presents us with moving, often horrifying, first-person testimony of kids who made it through-as well as stories of those who didn't survive. The book also contains a thoughtfully compiled guide for parents, which details effective treatment alternatives.Weaving careful reporting with astute analysis, Maia Szalavitz has written an important and timely account that will change the way we look at rebellious teens-and the people to whom we entrust them. Help at Any Cost is a vital resource with an urgent message that will draw attention to a compelling issue long overlooked and a history that still shadows youth and adult addiction treatment in America.