327. Second Nature Wilderness program

Second Nature Wilderness program is marketed as a wilderness therapy program. When the business was largest, It had departments in Georgia, Oregon and Utah. As of 2021 the website only mentions Utah. The wilderness program was founded in 1998.

The students are often forced to attend the program against their wishes. Many are transported to the office by professional muscle persons hired by their parents who collect the teenagers from their own beds using the force and tools necessary for such an pickup.

Each student often has to complete fours phases. If the parents run out of money the teenagers can be kicked out before. Often the program has a referral list of boarding schools they can offer the parents. The program often receive payments from some of the boarding schools and treatment centers when they refer a child.

It cannot be fun to be there as a teenager.

Sources:

• Staff list for the program (HEAL-online)
• I went into the woods a teenage drug addict and came out sober. Was it worth it? (Vox)
• The Horrifying Truth Behind Wilderness Therapy Programs Such As Second Nature (Medium)
• Second Nature Wilderness Program (The Fornits Home for Wayward Web Fora)
• Second Nature Uintas (1998-present) Duchesne, UT (Reddit Troubled Teen database)

Student testimonies:

• Former student testimony #1 (Just another hike testimonal blog)
• Former student testimony #2 (Just another hike testimonal blog)
• Former student testimony #3 (Just another hike testimonal blog)
• Survivor, Eva Carlston Academy & Second Nature Wilderness Therapy 2014-2015 (Survivor Stories – Survivors Breaking Silence)

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2021 Update

A father and a son sued the program claiming that the services offered were not real threapy.

• Kidnapping Isn’t Therapy, Dad & Son Say (Courthouse News Service)