I'm a parent. I sent my 16 yr old daughter there in 2002.
It's terrible to think that, parents and kids can become so out of touch that they even 'need' to send their children to a place like that.
It's not as rare as you might think. I can name several hundred parents all over the world that I have personally met. What would you do with the
teenager who is defiant, violent, has no respect for authority, you suspect drug use, and you lie awake at night and wonder if she'll be alive in the
morning?
Well, first you try counselors, then you try therapists, then you try psychologists, then you try psychiatrists, then you try out-patient behavioral
health, then you try in-patient behavioral health, then you try a group home, oh... don't forget Zoloft, Effexor, Paxsil, Prozac, etc.
You ask the school... no help.
You ask the police... no help.
You ask everyone you can think of, and no one can help.
Finally, you find a sliver of light in all the darkness. So you check it out. And you keep checking. And you hear questionable stories, but none
from anyone who has actually been there, and STAYED there for very long. You call a referral list. All those stories are positive. You go to a
support group meeting and for the first time, another parent knows exactly what you're talking about when you say you are afraid of your child. So
you take that chance.
Expensive? Extremely. What price do you put on your child's life?
Tranquility Bay is only one of a group of associated behavior modification schools. More than 5 schools with similar programs are located in the
continental US. All of the schools operate on basically the same program frame which believes in building whole and healthy families. They don't
just work on the children. Parents attend seminars and workshops that mirror what the child is learning in the school. Parents and children attend
seminars together to work on issues within the family.
In a nutshell, the program is based on family values:
Integrity
Trust
Faith
Relationships
Love
Question: If you send a child who lies to you to a place that they don't want to be, do you think that child will tell you the truth about the
place? Or will they say anything and everything to get you to bring them home?
My daughter has since graduated from the schools. She is alive, healthy, happy, respects herself, treats others with respect, has dreams and hopes
for her future, and on top of it all, wants to make her life's work helping other troubled teens.
When I say that I still live the program, I mean that I have clearly defined values that I live by on a daily basis. I mean that I live accountably
and look at how my words and actions affect myself and others. I mean that I am able to love unconditionally regardless of actions.
I didn't "need" to send my daughter to this school. I "got" to. I believe it saved her life. (So does she) I also believe it saved my
marriage and my family.
Mortis.