Following is a summary of Three Springs Residential Treatment Center in Alabama, written by a family that attended the Paint Rock Valley Girls program.
Three Springs Residential Treatment Center program for girls is called Paint Rock Valley Girls, it is an outdoor-based program about an hour east of Huntsville, Alabama. It’s in a valley, with a peaceful pastoral setting and three creeks running through the property. The boys program is about a quarter mile past the girls, the boys and the girls do not have any contact.
It’s not a “wilderness program” but combines a lot of outdoor, back to nature experience. Girls live in large log cabins up a challenging hill which they go up and down daily. The four cabins are spacious with a large stone fireplace and rustic wooden beds which accommodate 15 girls plus staff. There is no electricity or plumbing therefore they tend to be hot in summer and cold in winter. The girls dig and move the “necessary” outhouses as needed. Also in this area or “up the hill” is a large campfire site for nightly groups and a log structure which functions as the weekend kitchen with large wood stove for heat/cooking and indoor picnic tables. On weekends, the girls haul up pre-assembled ready to cook meals and drinks for cooking Sat/Sun. This includes gathering wood for the fire. Each group is a unit unto themselves and there is little contact with other groups/parents/girls.
The Lower campus includes modern classrooms with a new computer lab with internet access (ALWAYS supervised), nurses unit, counseling/staff offices, outdoor pool, showers/toilets, commercial laundry machines, kitchen and eating area, a storage cabin for personal stuff for day use, a huge stable and horse area and fields/ceremony circle, plus more. Just up the road is a small interfaith chapel. The boy’s program has the main library, the girls have a smaller one. There are also basketball courts.
What we liked about Three Springs Residential Treatment Center:
It is easy to access through Huntsville, Alabama. Several hotels give Three Springs families a discount. Good activities website and visitor center for “town visits”. Staff was very supportive and caring. They have a strong parent monthly support, including on site groups with your child and parent support groups including seminars in co-ordination every three months. There is a stages workbook for the child and parallel one for parents to do and turn in. Special ceremonies were held for progress to a new stage. School staff was excellent and very supportive–one module rotated to things like life skills, health and safety, woodworking, equine and outdoor ropes plus other challenges. Special groups were available for sexually abused, adoption/attachment, CD/addiction.
Parent support was strong. The Family Care Worker got permission from each new family in a group to email all the others the contact information which allowed the new family to be “mentored” with support and sharing by the others in the group. We all knew about the other girls in the group from the parent email exchange, either directly, or from the individual group site, each group had their own and you only connected with YOUR group (about 15 families). These connections have lasted a long time and we still stay connected via email with a few.
One of the positives was that the child actually did their own laundry weekly, assisted in the kitchen with the cooking staff to cook and serve their tables and do clean up. On weekends, they fired up the wood stove and did all the cooking, like hot cereal, soups, stews and other meals including the clean up. This was in addition to keeping their bed area organized and cabin cleaned. There were also other ground “chores” like planting flowers, helping in the stables, etc.
What we would have liked to have seen more of at Paint Rock Valley Girls:
The biggest drawback for us was the therapy component, no individual therapy. They had good peer-peer confrontation with feedback and group feedback daily. Family therapy was not with the child present, but every other week we received at 40 minute update with the family care counselor. The child would be present for family every 2-3 months. Phone calls were limited only 10 minutes weekly at staff convenience. All mail was screened–in and out.
Due to the back to basics concept, there were only rare off campus activities, except for the “special” trips like going to the Adirondacks for a week. CD players could be earned close to graduation, but otherwise, no music, no guitars, no TV, they did have some opportunity to watch appropriate VCR/DVD’s. Medical coverage was good with the nursing office, but child needed to be at a level to go off campus for any needs like orthodontist, dental, medical unless it was deemed “urgent.”
The residents in our group who graduated seemed to have a high “return” rate, either to Three Springs or other programs so feel more transition/aftercare is needed.
Overall opinion of the Residential Treatment Center:
A solid program, many residents came via Educational Consultants. Three Springs has several levels of care and programs for both boys and girls, including more restrictive and less restrictive than Paint Rock Valley Girls. They were also starting a new therapeutic boarding school for girls. Many programs have been operating with success for years and we found only mildly negative feedback online. Three Springs website is accurate and contains a lot of information about programs, news articles, etc.
We felt the program seemed better suited for compulsive disorder issues or out of control issues than mental health issues. Aftercare is provided for those who complete the program with opportunity to return for visits.
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I was at three springs in 1992. I was 12. I was there for eating disorder and abuse. I was not there long cause my fathers insurance ran out. I remember all the physical stuff and sleeping in a cabin. I have nothing but good stuff to say about three springs. I was upset when I had to leave so soon. My favorite counselor was ms. Flannigan. I was in group kinawa
Three spring is not a place to send your child I was there in 2001 to 2003 I was eleven didn’t leave till I was 14 I was in the kids group then went to the old group the staff would do stuff out of spite if they were just mad so just sit Down ant talk to your kid before you waste your time an money on a stupid place like that both me an my sister when there she finished the program an will agree with me we were there at the same time couldn’t even look at each other it’s basically a nice prison to send your kid that cost way to much
this place messed me up in the head. what your kid really needs is a hug or a good ass kicking or both, the things i witnessed and learned while i was there will stick with me forever, sometimes i still have bad dreams about the place. heres how it will go down…. your child will learn to play along with the program and all the nonsense because you child will despreatly want to leave. a program cant change a kid, its up to the kid to want to change, when i was released i felt like i had alot of catching up to do, and of resentment inside me, i had missed what should have been the best years of my teenage life and i can never get them back. i ended up going on a two year drug binge and crime spree. i never had a drug problem prior to going there, three springs didnt teach me how to be a better person, it taught me to do better at not getting caught. i learned just as much about criminal activity and drugs there as i did in prison, i was arrested on felony charges just a few months after being released from the program. ON A POSITIVE NOTE. i probally would have never graduated high school without this program, i never was a school person, and the place sure does build character with all the crap and nonsense you are put through.
I just wanted to add another comment to give an example of the danger of using young, inexperienced counselors with troubled teens. One poster mentioned Ms. Russell. Ms. Russell used to bring her little dog (I can’t recall what breed it was) with her during her shift. Most counselors had a week to almost two week shifts at 3 Springs. Me and two other girls were the only ones at the time of this story who hadn’t earned more than one hour of school. So, when our hour was up, we three always had work project together.
One this fateful day, Ms. Russel had taken us by this abandoned white house on the campus where some items needed for our work project were stored. A campus cat (stray that was cared for by us girls and the staff) had kittens at the white house and Ms. Russel’s little dog ran in and grabbed a kitten in its mouth and shook it violently. Ms. Russel got her dog to drop it, but the kitten’s body was spastic and obviously the kitten was brain damaged. In order to put the poor thing out of its misery, I picked up a giant rock and smashed it on the kitten’s head. I grew up with cats and other types of animals and knew this kitten was not going to be okay, it would just be thrashing about until it finally died and I couldn’t bear to watch that or leave it there.
There was also a stray dog, named Marley, that we girls and the staff cared for. So, Ms. Russel was obviously upset and flustered and made us swear to blame Marley for the death of the kitten and we weren’t allowed to say it was her dog. Out of fear of punishment, we never told. We might have said something later, I don’t remember. But for months after that, the girls on campus abused Marley because everyone thought she had attacked the kitten.
Anyway, I wanted to share that story as one of the several examples of why if you’re going to enroll your kid in any program, to check the education, qualifications and experience of the staff.
For some reason this evening I googled “Three Springs” and this blog was one of the only things I found. I read through the blog and was surprised to learn of many changes that have taken place since I graduated the program in 1989. When I was there, we designed and built our own cabins, carrying all the materials up the hill. All meals were cooked and served down in the valley on the main campus. We spent most of the day in “work projects”- digging privy’s, digging a huge compost pit on the main grounds, building a bridge, building cabins, carrying telephone poles up the hill for sitting (“ready”) logs, lashing structures and other sorts of similar things.
Each group took turns planning the week meal and we planned it from the types of meals to the budget. There were 2 groups, which had been split into three before I left. There was no education, I missed an entire 18 months of high school education and somehow I still qualified to return to high school when I graduated. The classroom was small and everyone had one hr of class time. More than that had to be earned. The class time consisted of answering questions at the end of each chapter with a “teacher” who just made sure we behaved, but did no real teaching.
For me, 3 Springs probably saved my life. I was 14 yrs old when I was sent there and basically only had behavioral issues, meaning I skipped school often and ran away from home because I wanted to travel the world. Unlike most of the girls there, I had no deep seated issues like sexual abuse, drug abuse or mental problems. In fact, they couldn’t really understand why I was there and many months were spent in nightly group meetings trying to get some kind of story from me. Basically, I had a very low self image of myself at the time and wanted out from the seclusion that my mother (a single parent) felt that she was protecting me from the world. I will write that had I not been sent there, who knows what would have happened to me. At 14, I was quite naive and although wasn’t doing drugs, having sex or drinking, I was smoking cigarettes- I did steal from my mom and a friend’s mother to have money for running away. So who knows where that way of living would have led me. I remember once writing a letter to my sister before my family came to visit and writing for her to bring me a “candy cane” which was code for cigarette to us. The counselors must have thought I meant cocaine because they grilled me about it in private and then when I finally admitted to it meaning a cigarette, they grilled me longer because they didn’t believe me. That’s how naive I was! I had no clue that had been a term for cocaine until I became an adult. But that’s just how bad of a kid they assumed I was.
As the blogger implied, 3 Springs is not a good place for kids with mental health issues. During my internment there, I watched a couple young girls be sent away for mental problems, who were violent and needed care from well educated staff. Much of the staff there during my time were interns, or fresh collage graduates either looking for credit or experience for whatever child psychology degree they may be aiming. Therefore, there were brain washing type events that occurred and other minor things that happen when you put inexperienced counselors and expect them to understand how to give care and lead young women to do better for themselves. There were older, trained counselors with experience, but they weren’t supervising the younger counselors except through reports or coming up to a nightly group meeting on occasion. As I mentioned before, many of the girls in my group had serious issues dealing with being sexually molested, raped, in gangs beating up people, a prostitute who already had two abortions by age 15 and drug/alcohol issues. When working with these types of fragile minds, there really should have been an experienced counselor on staff at all times.
Nonetheless, I did learn a great deal. It was very structured, so I learned discipline and I also learned about how to think about how and why people behave the way they do. I learned leadership skills. Even though I hated it at the time, those 18 months with no phone, television, (personal computers weren’t around then), or other immersion in pop culture was actually good for me. I also learned how to work in a group setting.
The positive 3 Springs had to offer was saving my life. The downside was there was no aftercare support and also the counseling given by such inexperienced people on their own wasn’t a good idea. Although it sounds like a lot of things are different now. I think the program is a good idea and think they should have kept it more rustic then it sounds like it is now.
I was at 3springs 16 yrs ago in watalahi and then kinawA… I had alot of problems when i got there but I feel it helped some Ian aim now and can’t imagine sending my son there especially as young as I was and some others. Ms Appleton ms fuscoes bausuom all awesome and I met great girls Tara from the buckeye and Jenny and Stephanie j alot of good memories but I agree with two things the program is to long and alot of problems come from the parents I know now that mine could have used alot but trs liked there checks to much I was there for almost two years
Do not send your children here…i was sent here in 2005 with no drug problems besides smoking marijuana occasionally, and drinking sometimes on the weekend….while there i saw many things that have mentally scarred me for life….i have a social anxiety disorder now and am medicated because of it….if anything i learned more about drugs and doing illegal things while i was there if anything else….i am sucessful now and have a great job but i credit none of that to this terrible place…i wanted my life to end so many times while there because i didnt belong there….and know i have to take medication daily becuase i have so many panic attacks….thanks alot three springs
I was admitted into prvb in August of 2005 and graduated soon after my father died in August 2007. I was there for family issues, and anger issues. But what 15 year old freshly ripped out of their home in new jersey by their parents wouldn’t be? As a resident I got away with many things at the program, I feel I need to say that first, as some of you on here may know me. But when it comes to the program itself it is dysfunctional and very degrading, I was a trustworthy letter writer in my group and my stage was suspended for almost 4 months because the counselors “found” me trying to make acid in my personal area. I came to the program with no drug history and was allowed to be bullied because of that. Long story short, the day after I got home I went on a drug and alcohol fueled vendetta to get my adolescence back. This lasted all through my senior year and caused me to lose a full ride scholarship to BU for hockey. And up until about 2 years ago was getting me thrown in jail, into fights, ect ect. All I’m saying is, is don’t send youre child there, it’s not a healthy place mentally or physically for anyone staff included
I KNEW SOME OF THE COUNSELORS AT BOTH OF THE THREE SPRINGS PROGRAMS (BOYS AND GIRLS) AND ABILITIES DID VARY. AS FAR AS THE RESIDENTS WENT I WITNESSED MANY WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN PLACED SOME WHERE ELSE, BUT MOST WERE LUCKY TO BE PLACED THERE. I WAS A COUNSELOR AT THE BOYS CHOICES PROGRAM FRM SUMMER 2006 TO SPRING 2007 WHEN I MOBILIZED FOR IRAQ (OIF V). ON THE GIRLS SIDE THERE WERE MANY TALENTED AND PROFICENT COUNSELORS, BUT WHEN SOME OF THEM START COMING DOWN WITH JOB FATIGUE THERE IS A PROBLEM. AS A WHOLE I WAS VERY POSITIVE ABOUT THE AREA AND THE PROGRAM. I FOR ONE MOURN ITS LOSS.
I recently met someone who was at Three Springs and they spun a very disturbing story that I wonder if anyone here could validate or deny. The most serious claims discussed were the physical violence from staff to residents, brainwashing (enough so that he claimed if a line from a certain book was spoken to him it would trigger a desire to return back to the facility after he left), and that he was recently contacted and informed that the facility was in fact under investigation for Human Trafficking. Can anyone confirm or deny these allegations?
i was a resident at paint rock valley boys in 1998. Stayed there for 18 months and never moved up a single level while i was there. My mother had been planning to cut me out of her life for a few years of problems between the both of us. I remember the day she dropped me off in the gravel parking lot and drove across the bridge never to be seen for months. I felt so sad that day but it made me stronger. As the daylight faded away. I was placed in the youngest group they had called lisicha i was only 11 then. I remember many many days of hard work and rebuilding rock walls cutting grass or chopping wood. Even though i hated it at the time i believe that its what formed me into the man i am today still talk to many of my friends from the program to this day. We all agree on one thing… Thank god that chapter is over in my life. I did go on a lot of trips and had fun but i think it was all about the money for most of the staff. A few staff members went as far as stealing from me while i was there. I guess its all what you make of it. Allen Brack macon ga.
I was a resident at Three Springs almost 12 years ago in the group TalaZiDaka and I found the program to be extremely beneficial! The relationships that are formed from being in a group setting are everlasting and the lessons that were learned from the program were also. I was not perfect once I left the program, in fact I still got into my share of trouble. The program did teach me how to cope with situations in life and it is an experience that I will never forget and will always be grateful for. The staff were caring and I would recommend this program to any parent that is struggling with defiant teenagers. Sad that it closed down.
I was admitted into the program in february it was the 19th and i was 11 years old. today i am 23 and only started playing around on the internet to even find this site. i was in the girls program in alabama in a group called watalahi. It works if you work, it wont if you dont, huh. lol. what a joke. look i dont know what to say about three springs except what i feel from the heart and i am far from a weak woman. I am speaking from the views of a little girl with extreme issues emotional physical environmental and family related that got abandoned inthe middle of nowhere in another state in the dead of winter with no contact from anyone, my name is cm569 and i was a resident for somewhere around 2 years. my last moment there is quite a memory i was standing in the rain in the mud outside of a privy holding a heavy rope with around 10 other girls.granted most of the girls there were spoiled little rich girls who smoked a little weed or had sex at sixteen and there parents could not handle life, but i was not one of them and even those spoiled little brats did not deserve to feel that kind of shame guilt and abandonment. the statements i read are somewhat true but a lot of u do not sound like u were ever really there so please do not down play the emotions of those that were. i do not regret my experience it has made me a strong mother but i do not deny the place was real hell and i have been to prison, jail and jdc it is like summer camp in comparison
Dear Chelsea’s Mom, Thank you for having the courage to write and comment. Words cannot express the sorrow I feel for you and your daughter. Please read my blog post on the homepage An Open Letter To Troubled Teen Blog About Mental Illness. I hear you on how our society treats and cares for people with Mental Illness. Shame on us! I am learning that most mental illnesses are predisposed to some kind of suicide and if not taken care of they are all self-destructive. I wish I could leave you with something up-lifting. <3
My daughter, Chelsea, was a resident of Paint Rock Valley. She went on to Raleigh Durham, NC, yadeeyadee. I saw no difference in her behavior while being forced to abide by the curriculum at Paint Rock. I saw no difference in her behavior being forced to abide by ANY curriculum. Bipolar Disorder is what killed my daughter. She committed suicide on October 19, 2011. It is my opinion that legislation should be brought to task to assist ALL individuals with emotional/mental disorders. Rather, it seems that mental disorder places a “label” on the individual and they are dismissed. I am not attacking the staff at Three Springs. I am screaming out for help as my research has taught me something I’ve always known. Statistics show that Bipolar individuals have a predisposition toward suicide. My beautiful daughter was one of those statistics and I am ANGRY!
To everyone who survived , became stronger, whether it worked for you or not, we were all there for a reason! At least own up to taking responsibility for our “own” actions! Yes, we each had issues of some sort, & as a parent, I know now,what horror in worrying is! Unfortunately, children do not come with instruction manuals! It would be wonderful, but they don’t! And correction on councilor that called me “Tina Toe” & was so kind to me, her name was* Ms.Hudson*! I also need to Thank many more of the awesome staff, teachers & parents! Thank You all & many blessings. Tina Lane
I went in at 13 and there was only one group at first, then split into two! I was placed into the group Watalahi, with several really great girls, whom became wonderful true friends, and there was a few not so nice girls & staff, that was eventually let go!! Ms.Russell was awesome, she was firm but caring, she called me “Tina Toe” LOL, because I unfortunately had to undergo 6 foot surgeries during my residency! Ms. Warner , Ms. Harris, & Ms. Kim were tough at times, but they all helped me to realize my inner strength, & helped me take back power of my life! Yes, there were some other council there , who probably weren’t qualified to take on such responsibilities of teens in need of self worth, guidance, etc! But overall , For me….I have to say…they changed my life! I never made it to graduation from the program….I had very deep issues from years of abuse..I was 15 when I left, and I through the help of Three Springs & God Our Savior, am a Surviver today at 36! Parents, yes, definitely research , research, research any treatment programs & or centers , before admitting your child, as each has their own types of treatment regimens & qualifications to each child’s unique personality & needs!! For the great & wonderful group of girls & friends, that I never got the chance to see or say goodbye to, Sheila S. , Mel R., Lucy aka Jersey, Latasha, Robbin, Lori, & several others, please know that I am so thankful & blessed to have been in you alls presence , dug privies , trenches , tred 5 gln water jugs on shifts up the stairs with, huddled at every kind of hour day & night with, I could go on & on! But each & every single one of you are forever in my thoughts, & my prayers, engraved in my heart & memories always! I’ve went back & tried to find some of you in Gurly, on Facebook,ect,.. I hope you all are safe, well & greatly blessed! Sincerely , Tina Lane
Three Springs made a difference in my life, but it was kind of counter productive seeing as my parents were 70% of the problem. The programs is borderline brain washing in my opinion – you are punished if you don’t listen to your bachelors degree counselor who probably went thru a week-end seminar for the job. I fought the program and I still believe I was correct after years of therapy and psychoanalysis.
Three Spring would have been better suited if they allow more family communication, less group dynamics which bordered on mob mentality and human rights. I remember JY needed to go to the bathroom frequently due to her small bladder. I remember her peeing in the bed because she was so fearful of being verbally accosted for her involuntary functions. I remember the CNA being so incompetent. I would rather no speak further on this subject – due to people putting two and two together.
I was in a group with one of the members on this review. I remember in memory psychology how we learned about how manipulative memory is; that resinates with her/his review. I was the scape goat, I will willingly admit that I fought the system, but that fight has saved my life on many occasions.
I see Three Springs as a alternative to parenting. Used so they don’t have to take responsibility for their own children. The counselors probably didn’t have proficent grades to get any other job. I have stayed in touch with many of my former counselors. I wouldn’t trust most of them to skew in a lightbulb.
I realize that this place closed- I was invited to the reunion. I am sad to say that I was still fearful of this place; even though I am person who isn’t scared by the down dropping 2,000 points.
My childhood was stolen by the people who create place like this. They make uneducated guess, use faulty logic and then make lasting problems for the people they treat. I am blessed that I have met thru my resources – people who are going to create new psychiatric techniques that will make places like these merely dark history.
This place has truly changed my life. I hade went their in 2009 and I think it was the best dission my dad has ever made.
I got to admit the place is not for everyone but what place is.
For three springs you have to be in the right mind and place to go and to accept the thing you learn. It’s true about how much you put in you get at least twice the amount you put in as you get out.
I was a resident at Paint Rock Valley Boys in 1997 at 16. Physical and mental abuse by the hands of the “counselors” was condoned and encouraged by
the more senior staff as a matter of potocol. I hope the people who sent their children to this place, as well as the employees there have
the capacity to feel a little bit ashamed of themselves. But then again, thats
probably like asking a bear to sh/t in a toilet.
AKW- I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU EVERYWHERE. EVERY GIRL IN TALAZIDAKA HAS BEEN! PLEASE EMAIL ME AJSELLERS01@GMAIL.COM
Just in short: I wasn’t a resident at the program, but I did learn allot from it. People need to realize that there are two sides two very story with multiples of views. True, I was a Counselor on Choices side of the facility and did not see the program very day. I do feel that as a counselor that the training I received was more than adequate. Some people may laugh, but the trainging and the people I met helped me through both Army Accelerated Trucker School and the Year I spent in Iraq. I miss Three Springs Paint Rock Valley! Oh yes Mr. Donnie Bucy, if you think that life “in the valley” was rough then don’t make the mistakes- life in a military Boot Camp is a whole lot worse!
i did not like it at the time. i ran on buddy system. i ran and ran and they finally let me go, still on buddy system. i remember jan russel. ms rousch, m mcdonald ,ms flannigan and all the girls there. i am 37 now.
I am noticing a distinct pattern of those who claim Three Springs worked for them and those who claim it was absolutely the worst possible thing on earth. Ever. Now, I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes but I’m going to. We’re all adults here. I think you can handle it and if not, you will get over it eventually, I am sure. Those who claim Three Springs is horrible seem to have a very different definition of “horrible”. Let’s take Donnie, for example, who was at Three Springs 20 years ago when he was 12 and is now 35 (I’m not sure how that math works, but whatever. I’ll go with it) tells us that the “pintoe” beans were undercooked and that is “horrible” and he had to get the hell out of there fast! I don’t want to pick on Donnie, he seems like a nice guy and all but these people who tell you how horrible it is have failed to tell you one other very important thing: why they were sent there in the first place.
I said in my first comment that one of the most important things (to me) that Three Springs taught me was to take responsibility for my actions. I will just tell you, if your child fails to grasp this very simple concept then yes, Three Springs is going to be very difficult for them. And yes, it is going to take them a very long time to graduate because it is going to take them a long time to progress. You cannot progress in the Three Springs program (or in life for that matter) if all you do is constantly blame your problems on other people, be they parents or counselors or teachers or whatever. You have to decide if this concept of personal accountability is something you want to instill in your child. If not, don’t send them there. If so and they run away like Donnie there, send them right back. Shoelaces optional, of course.
It’s wierd, it wasn’t jail, it wasn’t war, but it had it’s own way of cruelty, why would a 5 stage system take almost 2 years for most people to complete. I knew this annoying white kid named Paul Jarvis that just wouldn’t shut it, lol. I think he moved up faster than me. Oh well I thought most of the program was just too buried in the sticks to be so serious about reform, and sure enough they had a kids group, what type of place admits 11 year olds? In Alabama they used to hang blacks so what do you expect. By the time I left I felt like Tom hanks in that movie where he is stranded in the middle of the ocean, I just went nuts from isolation. The place was very military in it’s way, taking cold showers with other men is kind of gay. Any wAy I spent 2000 new years in there, but what did I miss when I got out bush was president and we’ve been screwed ever since. “@&$! It
let me tell some of you people something. i was in three springs around 20 years ago in tn right on the duck river. i stayed in there for over a year and still never made it to group member. some of you on here make it sound like it was all fun and merry. some of you say it was ruff. well i say it was pure hell. im reading some of these peoples stuff on here about how good it was for them. lets just say theses people was probably one of the staff favorites. before you send one of your kids to any place like this you really need to do your home work on something like this. now im not gonna sit here and dog three springs the whole time because there was some fun times there! but that still does not take away the bad. for instance…..super cold showers…you had to ask your group for any kind of seconds for food… really??? i thought that was the adults job…on the weekends we had to cook our own food on a open fire pit. now i know that sounds fun cooking outdoors with your mom and dad over a camping trip. but for a twelve year old kid cooking your full meal thats just wrong. and remind you we had thirty min to cook and eat. after that your food was thrown away. im not making that up. im 35 years old now so why lie about it… after a while i had enuff and i tried running away…did not happen..i got cought…lol. and they took my shoe strings away from me..lmao. and it went on like that for a long time. i remember my last night there. it was a cold winter day. it was a sunday and after doing nothing all day in the cold the staff thought it would be good for us boys to take baths in the spring there. well that was the straw that broke the camels back! after super that night of half cooked pintoe beans and bread, me and 2 other boys made a run for it. me dustin and jimmy. well poor jimmy got caught but me and dustin walked for 3 or 4 days in the cold winter rain and snow. i made it to lebanon tn!! home!! and i have never seen that place till this day. now what is it that would make a 12 year old child walk all that way in that kind of cold to get away from that place? like i said before…do your home work FIRST before you send your child to any kind of wilderness camp. there is so many more stories i can tell about this place but dont have that kind of time….
I arrived at Three Springs 20 years ago when I was 14 years old. Man, that makes me feel really old. :/ I still have my medicine bag with all my stones and I still have my graduation shield. I remember that very first group and Miss Russell asking me why I was there and I said, “Because my parents caught me smoking cigarettes.” Ha! At that moment I really couldn’t think of any other reason why I was there and I was furious with my parents for dropping me off in the middle of nowhere, but I would not trade my time spent there for anything else in the world. It taught me to be realistic about my strengths and my weaknesses. It taught me to take responsibility for my actions. It taught me to address my problems directly, be they problems I have with myself or with other people. Yes. The work is strenuous, or rather it was when I was there. We slept on campsite every night except for really cold nights. If it snowed or turned very cold we slept on the main campus where there was heat. Yes, the toilet was an outhouse. And when the hole was full, we had to dig another one and move it. The trail to my group’s campsite was the shortest but it was also mostly straight up the mountain. We had to carry water up every night and kerosene for the heater every night during the winter.
If you are actually a parent reading this and you are wondering whether or not to send your child here, well you have to decide what you want for your child. You can continue to allow them to act the way they act if the thought of a little hard work might make them cry and you just can’t handle THAT or, you can decide that a little hard work and discipline might (just might) be good for them. I was a spoiled, rotten brat before I went to Three Springs. I expected to get everything my way. It sounds like some of these graduates still expect that a little bit. Disappointing, really. But, I digress. My parents tried everything from counseling to military school and nothing worked. Three Springs changed my life and as hard as it was (and make no mistake, it was very hard) it was the BEST thing that ever happened to me.
A.K.W. Is what they called me, I finished the program 8 years ago and oh my god has it made a big difference in my life. I still to this day tell people about the program and also tell parents that have kids that need help. I will never forget Three Springs. The staff there are very caring, dedicated and just all around good people. I would go on aftercare trips for about 4 months. At first I thought that the “south” would never change me, but after being there for 14 1/2 and knowing that I was not going home till i finished was what helped me accept the program. I could go on and on about Three Springs but I dont have enough time. To any parent out there, If you have a son or daughter that needs help, This is truely the place you would want your child at. I will say one thing that my parents told me, Its not only your child going through the program but the parents as well. So If you decide to sent your child here you need to know that its a changing process for you as well. You only talk to your child once a week and by letters as much as you would like. Good luck to anyone that is thinking about starting the program it will make a difference in your lives.
-Amy W. Minnesota
wow kate, you wouldn’t believe it, I was admitted in ’99 and left in 2001
LMAO I remember the blinders and all that, putting the gravel on the hill, d-hall, school, etc. the totem thing
anyway I remember when going to the horse barn or whatever, we were supposed to use blinders or something, but it’s so crazy we would always stare over at the girls campus whenever
the showers sucked but everyone one of us would make jokes saying if we ended up over at the girls shower one day every one of us would get laid because of depravity from both sides
wasnt there some special ‘privelege’ for magazines or whatever?
anyway that is so weird if you left in 2002 and i left in 2001, im guessing you were admitted in 2001, you were probably one of those people I fantasized about and crap. No offense. I mean I was always flattered by the idea of ending up on the girls campus. Unfortunately never happened. But hey, wtf so many people complained that at choices or whatever the chicks sucked but that at the main girls campus the chicks were awesome.
anyway, back to the main topic
michelle, the funniest crap ever, is the fact that i didnt know the place has been around for 36 years, I thought it had only been around for 26
anyway you must have been one of the first people there, for three years though?
one thing all jokes aside i hated about the place 10 years ago, because I have no idea what it is like now, is that people didnt level up based on their behavior, they leveled up based on ‘improvements’
i really thought it was a money grabbing scheme
i can tell you, I’m sure I have way more behavior problems now than then, I had practically no behavior problems then, and I was there for probably like almost 2 years, and other people passed me
of course it wasn’t supposed to be a contest, but being that no one wanted to be there it kind of turned into one, between us I guess
of course that was , geez, 10 years ago or whatever
i dont know what its like now, crazy place, always busy, way in the middle of nowhere
oh well whatever Im gone now, at least it wasn’t jail I guess getting beat by blacks or whatever
also back then i knew mr cooch, mr stephens, mr foster
i just called recently and I have no idea if mr cooch is still there, mr foster is gone, and mr stephens…. definately left a long time ago
being that groups could never communicate, i actually think there were some counselors i didnt know at all…. although to be honest we could talk to them at the time, and yeah it was sgm back then not sgl, before sgm was dgl dont know if that is still around, but yeah they could go from group to group, dont remember if it was random or if it was just when allowed because they had to sleep on campus. or wait actually i think they were allowed to sleep with another group if allowed
This is coming from a previous “tenant” of the Three Springs Wilderness program.I was 14 yrs old when I got to Three Springs and stayed till Iw as 17 and am now 36.I can honestly say it opened my eyes to alot of things.If not for Three Springs and the counselors and all the caring people there I wouldn’t be who I am today.I thank Three Springs from the bottom of my heart for what they showed and taught me.It’s by far the best program out there for kids with troubles….
I am a past graduate of Three Springs Paint Rock Valley. I was sent there in 2006 and graduated in 2008 and still attend aftercare. In my opinion, Three Springs PRV has gone downhill. It is no longer a stable place; the training for the counselors is lacking, the girls have not enough structure, and due to lack of training the girls are no longer held accountable, and seem to be just a bunch of brats (I love the girls, but it’s the truth). If you want your child to be taught that child abuse is ok, then send them here. Restraints are ridiculously violent, and we were forced to do labor that I’m sure is against the child labor act. Also, due to lack of funding, they have put both the girls and the guys sides together, expecting that they won’t notice each other, and if they do notice (which always happens) they must suffer illogical consequences. Also, the consequences there have no logical explanation, they are very intense and irrelevant to the bad decisions made by the child, which from my point of view is another source of child abuse. It was in the beginning, a helpful program, but I think that now, due to lack of training of staff and funding, it is one of the worst places to send your kid.
I am graduate of Three Springs from two years ago. Currently they have decided to treat us like SGL’s. Which they changed the stage system recently so that is the new SGM. It’s very confusing but the point is they no longer let graduates walk around freely, wear normal clothes, or even let the female graduates wear makeup. They are supposed to put up blinders and act as residents while on campus. This type of treatment is degrading and uncalled for when we as graduates spent 16 plus hours each day while at Three Springs to work to graduate and get respect. If this is what I am reduced to I wonder why they allow us to graduate at all.
yeah, i went there i don’t know 8 or 9 years ago and i didn’t think too great of it. I really learned that it’s as if the place kept certain people there longer if they thought their parents could be convinced so. Anyway i was in a group called matowa and that disbanded quite a while back. it was like said above we went to a gazebo and built fires and had a privvy or something or another to use the bathroom and also ate in d-hall and rotated which group cooked each week. It was ok there was a cool conselor named mr stephans who no longer works there. Last time i was there was about 8 or 9 years ago and the last guy i remember talking to was mr cooch pronounced mr couch. I don’t know if the chick saying they broke her ribs and restrained her was telling the truth a lot of people there would lie about crap like that I don’t remember the restraints being really violent. Anyway whatever beautiful place but hard to move up in rank. I left a rgm never made it to sgm or graduate after about 18 months. Don’t know if they still have the same system
Or dont! I was there many years ago I do not know if it is the same as when I was there as I was one of the firsts one there! There was 1 campsite with cabins and a outdoor potty and a open area where they did a bon fire every night and did group therpy the other campsites had tents and again the area for the bon fire . I helped while there build a gazebo where the fire would be at later but the “hill ” you have to climb we had to carry pea gravel up[ and down it on our backs! in a FULL 5 gallon bucket try that see how much it weighs we did it every day a couple times a day that would keep the ground from being soft and would give us something to walk on they took us on a outing one time to the nashville zoo because I was from Tennessee they had me ” watched” by 2 staff and 2 teens and at lunch at mcd’s I got up I guess fast but I was only putting my trash up they jumped me ( restrained ) and held me down and said it was me running away they broke my arm and 4 ribs they popped my knee out with there weight and I later had to have 2 pins put in it to hold it in place all this and I did not even resist them I did scream as that hurt so bad shorty after this happened my worker fro the state removed me from 3 springs and I was the last one from my county to ever be placed there! I spent 4 days in the hospital in Nashville then they took me to 3 springs I later had to spend 4 more days after surgery and several trips to the doctor…..I later got a settelment from 3 springs as they admitted they were wrong and that there methods do dealing with me were far from professional……. I hope that this makes you just think this through before you send your child here!
10 years ago, when I was 16, I was admitted into the program. I graduated high school while there, and graduated the stages program after about 17 months. I continued on with aftercare, and graduated that program in 2002.
I can’t say enough good things about the program. Seriously. I absolutely would not be able to do the things i do now without it.
As far as the one on one treatment, yea, its good to have. You need to talk about whats going on in your life and what you’re feeling, but in reality, (as most of us know) sometimes we also need to be able to function while we are going through these things. For me personally, I needed to learn to “suck it up”. that’s where the group came in. I had a group of girls I could express feelings to, and rely on to help me get through the day to day stuff. Just my thoughts.
If you are thinking of sending a child to three springs, do it. And stick with it! It only works if you are in it all the way!
They actually do offer one on one therapy now. At least once a week each residents meets with their clinician. The residents also are able to see both a psychologist and a psychiatrist.
I would like to learn why they do not have one on one therapy