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Life Examined

‘Taken against our will’: the damaging legacy of ‘tough love’ boot camps

Kenneth Rosen, journalist and author of “Troubled: The Failed Promise of America’s Behavioral Treatment Programs,” takes a closer look at the “tough love” industry and the damaging legacy of wilderness therapy boot camps through the eyes of four…

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By Jonathan Bastian • Jul 31, 2021 • 51m Listen

Kenneth Rosen, journalist and author of “Troubled: The Failed Promise of America’s Behavioral Treatment Programs,” takes a closer look at the “tough love” industry and the damaging legacy of wilderness therapy boot camps through the eyes of four former residents — and his own personal experience being forcibly taken from his home as a teenager. Host Jonathan Bastian also talks with Will White, the author of “Stories from the Field: A History of Wilderness Therapy” and teaching lecturer at Plymouth State University, about the history and positive effects of wilderness therapy programs.

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    Jonathan Bastian

    Host, Life Examined

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    Andrea Brody

    Senior Producer, KCRW's Life Examined and To the Point podcast

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