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 growing number of programs that make up this industry are today finding more customers than ever.
Maia Szalavitz's Help at Any Cost is the first in-depth investigation of this industry and its practices, starting with its roots in the cultlike sixties rehabilitation program Synanon and Large Group Awareness Training organizations likeest in the seventies; continuing with Straight, Inc., which received Nancy Reagan's seal of approval in the eighties; and culminating with a look at the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs-the leading force in the industry today-which has begun setting up shop in foreign countries to avoid regulation. Szalavitz uncovers disturbing findings about these programs' methods, including allegation of physical and verbal abuse, and presents us with moving, often horrifying, first-person accounts 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 survey 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.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Extremely one-sided? This is the side of the silenced teen.
This book looked like a good book that would be relevant to my senior project about troubled teens (I used to be one). I was most attracted to it before I read it because it seemed to be about "residential treatment facilities" like the one in Utah that I went through as a teenager for 10 months. However, I was not adequately prepared for what I was about to read.
This book contains information so true, the author seems to describe residential facilities as if directly from my brain. ... Read More
Rating: - 10 Stars!! Must Read!
This book is a Must Read for all and any parents who even think they might consider sending a troubled child to a boot camp type place. I could not put this book down. Give it as a gift to anyone with teens, every parent should know this before making a choice they could regret for life.
Rating: - A Heartfelt Plea Indeed, But Extremely One-Sided
I would have given 2 1/2 stars if possible, in acknowledgment of the thorough research as well as the sensationalistic style Ms. Szalavitz employs in her book. I just read an excerpt from Help At Any Cost in the January 2007 edition of The Sun magazine, which clued me in to this book. While I do admit I have not read Help At Any Cost cover-to-cover just yet, I have read enough of the beginning and thoroughly read other sections to be aware of Ms. Szalavitz's well-intentioned yet shoddily presented ... Read More
Rating: - Why This Industry Will Still Thrive
Although many of these reviews are thoughtful, well-written and outraged, they are for the most part written by readers who have no personal experience in the teen help industry. The simple truth is: unless you have walked in those shoes, you don't know.
The reason this type of boarding school will still thrive is this: when you have a child so out of control, suicidal or involved in such risky behavior that death or prison is a certainty, you will do whatever it takes to keep them alive. ... Read More
Rating: - Slanted Szalavitz
Ms. Szalavitz's book is a one-sided, broad-brush indictment. She clearly has an axe to grind and has no problems bending truth and facts to make her point. Where are the interviews with students who have been helped, who as a result of their parents heart-breaking, but necessary intervention, are now leading productive lives?
This book is the work of a misguided zealot and while Ms. Szalavitz may see herself as doing good, she is in fact prejudicing parents against what could very well be ... Read More
- Extremely one-sided? This is the side of the silenced teen.
- A Heartfelt Plea Indeed, But Extremely One-Sided
- Why This Industry Will Still Thrive
