"Provo Canyon School Experience" - Anon, 2003
Provo Canyon School
It is now May 2005 and I am now nearly 19 years old. I am attending college part time and work as a sales representative for a printing company. I've been promoted to vice president. I graduated from High School last year and have been successful because my parents rescued me from a private prison in Orem, Utah. It wasn't called a prison of course. It was called Provo Canyon School.
In December 2003 I was 17 and became a patient at Provo Canyon School. My experience there was horrific and abusive to the best of my recollection. I had been diagnosed with severe depression and post traumatic stress syndrome. The treatment I received was in no way therapeutic for my diagnosis. On the worst day, I was given a forced injection of a powerful chemical restraint, Haldol, while 6 people brutally held me down on the ground. One staff member cried and said, "if I hold her down any harder I may break her arm." This was punishment for getting out of a chair to use the restroom without permission and speaking my mind to a rude staff member.
I was put in solitary confinement for hours upon hours with out being able to use the restroom or get a drink of water because I fought against this injection of an unknown drug. When I discussed this maltreatment in a group therapy session my therapist was called and he ordered strict isolation and seclusion for a week. This meant that I could not look at or talk to any other person. I was forced to stare at a wall most of the day and do chores.
I was not allowed to go to school or church. I had to eat my meals alone. I was punished for smiling at another patient. Could this in any way have been therapeutic for a depressed patient?
Before being placed in solitary I was thrown on the ground and against the wall to have my jewelry and clothing stripped off. This was punishment for not allowing an unlicensed staff member read a letter I was writing home.
I was tormented by the staff who I thought should be people we could talk to in time of need. I truly believe that some were sadistic. My therapist would breach my confidentiality to the staff, who would then use my innermost thoughts against me.
All of my civil rights were taken away from me. There was no freedom of speech, movement, religion. I was punished for verbal communication as well as non verbal communication. I was not able to attend church meetings and was not allowed to read my Bible.
I also witnessed abuse besides my own. I witnessed a 15 year old girl who had her nose broken by Provo Canyon School staff while they were attempting to give her a forced injection of Haldol. This dose of Haldol caused her to overdose and it was an over dose for me as well. We both had facial contortions, blindness, difficulty swallowing, and severe pain. We both asked to see a nurse and were neglected. While in observation/solitary confinement I was neglected while unconscious. I later learned that my vital signs were not taken, I could have been dead. Luckily I am alive to this day and the 22 days of hell I experienced are in the past.
My abuse started with a full body cavity search on day one. Ten days after admission I had been the victim of two human take downs and restraint, isolation for eight hours in a concrete room with a concrete floor, forced to sit in a chair for 80 hours, drugged against my will with a dangerous drug used as a chemical restraint. This drug caused severe side effects - blindness, coma, shortness of breath, rash, facial contortions, drooling, pain, and lethargy. Staff did not seek any emergency care for me or monitor me in any way. I was kicked by staff for not waking up after being placed into a drug induced stupor. My hair was pulled and I suffered verbal and emotional abuse.
When I was finally allowed to call home to speak to my parents after 10 days I was still under the influence of the forced drugging. I was only allowed to speak to my parents twice in one month and both of those calls were monitored by my therapist.
The treatment I endured derailed me mentally. I went along with an irrational escape attempt with 5 other girls. One other girl, L.D., and I were caught. Staff stripped us naked and left us in the concrete observation rooms where they had turned the air conditioner up to 50 degrees. I was turning blue. After a half hour of this nude/hypothermic torture they threw us some bright orange sweat suits to put on because police officers were coming to investigate the escape attempt. We talked to police and pleaded with them to take us to juvenile hall. They did as we asked. I felt safer there and was finally allowed to speak to my parents.
Within days my parents came to Utah and rescued me. They were horrified when they saw me pale, nervous and bruised. The other girl, age 15, was not so fortunate. Her family did not come out to rescue her and she was sent back to Provo Canyon School. Her fate still haunts me. The last time I saw her was at the court house wearing her bright orange, tattered sweatsuit with four staff members surrounding her so she could not run again. She was not allowed to speak to me, so I never had the opportunity to say goodbye.
If you are considering this facility or another one that uses behavior modification, or if you have your child friend or relative in this facility - PLEASE subject yourself to the following experiment: Sit on the concrete floor of your garage when it is about 40 - 50 degrees outside, have nothing more than a sweat suit on, stare strait ahead for two hours. After the two hours ask yourself if any person should be punished in such a manner.
Realize that your child will be punished like this for any arbitrary reason - like talking without permission, standing, looking the wrong way, rolling their eyes. Imagine if you had to do this for 4 hours, even 8 hours a day.
This is what children are subjected to on a daily basis for any minor infraction at Provo Canyon School. One girl was in this room every day. Staff told her it was "her home."
The United States signed the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Would you consider being forced to sit in a cold, small concrete room on the concrete floor for hours degrading, even painful. State authorities who are supposed to protect children in the states that host these programs allow these atrocities to occur. My mother informed many authorities in Utah about the abuse I experienced and witnessed and they did little to nothing to protect the children from this type of abuse. In my opinion these authorities should be removed from office because they are allowing children to be abused, degraded and inhumanely punished in the name of treatment. These tactics are used solely to brainwash, terrorize and change minds.
DEFINITION OF TORTURE:
UN definition: Part 1 Article 1: the term "torture" means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or FOR ANY REASON based on discrimination of any kind...
PCS uses a concrete closet to imprison students. The children must sit on the cold floor for hours, isolated from others. They also use powerful and dangerous drugs as chemical restraints to place adolescent patients into drug-induced comas. They force children to sit in chairs for most of the day as punishment. Any child with a will or "attitude" will be broken by this punishment. They may never be the same - but that is what the intent is - TO CHANGE. Whatever works - includes torture. This must not be allowed in our country. I'm sure Provo Canyon School is not the only facility doing this.
All of these programs must be better regulated and the patients/students must have their basic civil and human rights protected by the government.
The only thing that possibly benefited me was that I was better able to appreciate my freedom and home life because I had just spent time in HELL.
Provo Canyon School was shut down once before in the 1980's. The authorities must close it again.
Sources:
http://www.caica.org/STORIES%20PCS%20Angie%20Taylor.htm
It is now May 2005 and I am now nearly 19 years old. I am attending college part time and work as a sales representative for a printing company. I've been promoted to vice president. I graduated from High School last year and have been successful because my parents rescued me from a private prison in Orem, Utah. It wasn't called a prison of course. It was called Provo Canyon School.
In December 2003 I was 17 and became a patient at Provo Canyon School. My experience there was horrific and abusive to the best of my recollection. I had been diagnosed with severe depression and post traumatic stress syndrome. The treatment I received was in no way therapeutic for my diagnosis. On the worst day, I was given a forced injection of a powerful chemical restraint, Haldol, while 6 people brutally held me down on the ground. One staff member cried and said, "if I hold her down any harder I may break her arm." This was punishment for getting out of a chair to use the restroom without permission and speaking my mind to a rude staff member.
I was put in solitary confinement for hours upon hours with out being able to use the restroom or get a drink of water because I fought against this injection of an unknown drug. When I discussed this maltreatment in a group therapy session my therapist was called and he ordered strict isolation and seclusion for a week. This meant that I could not look at or talk to any other person. I was forced to stare at a wall most of the day and do chores.
I was not allowed to go to school or church. I had to eat my meals alone. I was punished for smiling at another patient. Could this in any way have been therapeutic for a depressed patient?
Before being placed in solitary I was thrown on the ground and against the wall to have my jewelry and clothing stripped off. This was punishment for not allowing an unlicensed staff member read a letter I was writing home.
I was tormented by the staff who I thought should be people we could talk to in time of need. I truly believe that some were sadistic. My therapist would breach my confidentiality to the staff, who would then use my innermost thoughts against me.
All of my civil rights were taken away from me. There was no freedom of speech, movement, religion. I was punished for verbal communication as well as non verbal communication. I was not able to attend church meetings and was not allowed to read my Bible.
I also witnessed abuse besides my own. I witnessed a 15 year old girl who had her nose broken by Provo Canyon School staff while they were attempting to give her a forced injection of Haldol. This dose of Haldol caused her to overdose and it was an over dose for me as well. We both had facial contortions, blindness, difficulty swallowing, and severe pain. We both asked to see a nurse and were neglected. While in observation/solitary confinement I was neglected while unconscious. I later learned that my vital signs were not taken, I could have been dead. Luckily I am alive to this day and the 22 days of hell I experienced are in the past.
My abuse started with a full body cavity search on day one. Ten days after admission I had been the victim of two human take downs and restraint, isolation for eight hours in a concrete room with a concrete floor, forced to sit in a chair for 80 hours, drugged against my will with a dangerous drug used as a chemical restraint. This drug caused severe side effects - blindness, coma, shortness of breath, rash, facial contortions, drooling, pain, and lethargy. Staff did not seek any emergency care for me or monitor me in any way. I was kicked by staff for not waking up after being placed into a drug induced stupor. My hair was pulled and I suffered verbal and emotional abuse.
When I was finally allowed to call home to speak to my parents after 10 days I was still under the influence of the forced drugging. I was only allowed to speak to my parents twice in one month and both of those calls were monitored by my therapist.
The treatment I endured derailed me mentally. I went along with an irrational escape attempt with 5 other girls. One other girl, L.D., and I were caught. Staff stripped us naked and left us in the concrete observation rooms where they had turned the air conditioner up to 50 degrees. I was turning blue. After a half hour of this nude/hypothermic torture they threw us some bright orange sweat suits to put on because police officers were coming to investigate the escape attempt. We talked to police and pleaded with them to take us to juvenile hall. They did as we asked. I felt safer there and was finally allowed to speak to my parents.
Within days my parents came to Utah and rescued me. They were horrified when they saw me pale, nervous and bruised. The other girl, age 15, was not so fortunate. Her family did not come out to rescue her and she was sent back to Provo Canyon School. Her fate still haunts me. The last time I saw her was at the court house wearing her bright orange, tattered sweatsuit with four staff members surrounding her so she could not run again. She was not allowed to speak to me, so I never had the opportunity to say goodbye.
If you are considering this facility or another one that uses behavior modification, or if you have your child friend or relative in this facility - PLEASE subject yourself to the following experiment: Sit on the concrete floor of your garage when it is about 40 - 50 degrees outside, have nothing more than a sweat suit on, stare strait ahead for two hours. After the two hours ask yourself if any person should be punished in such a manner.
Realize that your child will be punished like this for any arbitrary reason - like talking without permission, standing, looking the wrong way, rolling their eyes. Imagine if you had to do this for 4 hours, even 8 hours a day.
This is what children are subjected to on a daily basis for any minor infraction at Provo Canyon School. One girl was in this room every day. Staff told her it was "her home."
The United States signed the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Would you consider being forced to sit in a cold, small concrete room on the concrete floor for hours degrading, even painful. State authorities who are supposed to protect children in the states that host these programs allow these atrocities to occur. My mother informed many authorities in Utah about the abuse I experienced and witnessed and they did little to nothing to protect the children from this type of abuse. In my opinion these authorities should be removed from office because they are allowing children to be abused, degraded and inhumanely punished in the name of treatment. These tactics are used solely to brainwash, terrorize and change minds.
DEFINITION OF TORTURE:
UN definition: Part 1 Article 1: the term "torture" means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or FOR ANY REASON based on discrimination of any kind...
PCS uses a concrete closet to imprison students. The children must sit on the cold floor for hours, isolated from others. They also use powerful and dangerous drugs as chemical restraints to place adolescent patients into drug-induced comas. They force children to sit in chairs for most of the day as punishment. Any child with a will or "attitude" will be broken by this punishment. They may never be the same - but that is what the intent is - TO CHANGE. Whatever works - includes torture. This must not be allowed in our country. I'm sure Provo Canyon School is not the only facility doing this.
All of these programs must be better regulated and the patients/students must have their basic civil and human rights protected by the government.
The only thing that possibly benefited me was that I was better able to appreciate my freedom and home life because I had just spent time in HELL.
Provo Canyon School was shut down once before in the 1980's. The authorities must close it again.
Sources:
http://www.caica.org/STORIES%20PCS%20Angie%20Taylor.htm