{"id":9706,"date":"2022-03-11T16:50:55","date_gmt":"2022-03-12T00:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/?p=9706"},"modified":"2022-03-12T23:31:01","modified_gmt":"2022-03-13T07:31:01","slug":"elements-wilderness-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.breakingcodesilence.org\/elements-wilderness-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Elements Wilderness Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elements Wilderness Program<\/b> (2008-present) Huntington, UT<\/span><\/h1>\n

Wilderness Program<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

History and Background Information<\/b><\/h2>\n

Elements Wilderness Program is a behavior modification program that opened in 2008. It is marketed as a Wilderness Program for teenage boys (13-17) who are struggling with anger, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, mood dysregulation, being withdrawn, taking little or no responsibility for their actions, avoiding their responsibilities, shutting down, blaming others, and engaging in “maladaptive mechanisms” such as gaming, substance abuse, or overuse of electronics. The program has a maximum enrollment of 50 boys who are divided into smaller groups, and the average length of stay is reported to be between 8 and 10 weeks. The cost of the program’s tuition is reported to be $525 per day ($50,850 for 90 days). Although Elements is not a member of <\/span>NATSAP<\/span><\/a>, the program states on their site that they are a NATSAP research designated program. The program is also a member of the <\/span>Outdoor Behavioral Health Council<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The address associated with the program is <\/span>1190 N Mohrland Rd, Huntington, UT 84528<\/span><\/a>. However, because Elements is a wilderness program, the teens actually spend the duration of the program backpacking around the area of <\/span>Huntington State Park<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

This program participates in the University Of New Hampshire’s Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Research, along with other known questionable programs: <\/span>Anasazi Foundation<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Open Sky Wilderness Program<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>RedCliff Ascent Wilderness Program<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>New Vision Wilderness<\/span><\/a>. Elements also operates a separate program for young adults (18+) called Elements Traverse, which was founded in 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n

Founders and Notable Staff<\/b><\/h2>\n

John Karren<\/b> is the Co-Founder, Co-Owner, and Admissions Consultant at Elements Wilderness Program. Prior to creating Elements, John worked as the Admissions Director of the reportedly abusive <\/span>Second Nature Uintas<\/span><\/a> from 1999 until 2008.<\/span><\/p>\n

Karen Scrafford<\/b> is the Co-Founder of Elements Wilderness Program. Prior to this, she worked first as a field guide, assistant field guide, and then in admissions at the reportedly abusive <\/span>Second Nature Uintas<\/span><\/a>. In 2019, she was elected to be the vice-chair of the <\/span>Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Council<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lynn Smith<\/b> is the Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Elements Wilderness Program. He also currently works as a Therapist at the program. Prior to this, he worked at the <\/span>confirmedly abusive<\/b> Aspen Achievement Academy<\/span><\/a> beginning in 1994. He also worked at a variety of unidentified residential treatment centers, therapeutic boarding schools, and group homes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andrew Powell<\/b> is the CEO and Co-Owner of Elements Wilderness Program. Prior to working at Elements, he worked in a number of roles at the reportedly abusive <\/span>Outback Therapeutic Expeditions<\/span><\/a> from 2006 until 2014. These roled include Senior Field Supervisor, Staff Supervisor, Field Director, Program Director, and Executive Director. He began working at Elements in January of 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

Neal Christensen<\/b> is the Co-Owner and Clinical Director of Elements Wilderness Program. Prior to joining Elements in 2013, he worked as a Therapist and later the Clinical Director of the reportedly abusive <\/span>Outback Therapeutic Expeditions<\/span><\/a> from 2004 until 2007, and then from 2008 until 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tara Stireman<\/b> current works as a Primary Therapist and the Associate Clinical Director of Elements Wilderness Program. She reportedly began working at the reportedly abusive <\/span>Second Nature Uintas<\/span><\/a> in 2003. While pursuing her Master’s degree in Social Work, she worked as an intern at the reportedly abusive <\/span>Vista Adolescent Treatment Center<\/span><\/a> and at the <\/span>confirmedly abusive<\/b> Copper Hills Youth Center<\/span><\/a>. According to <\/span>HEAL<\/span><\/a>, she has only been licensed since March 28th, 2011 and has been working under the title “therapist” at this program since at least 2010.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kate Lierd<\/b> (n\u00e9e Kate Brown) currently works as the Admissions Director of Elements Wilderness Program. She has worked at Elements since 2015. She began her career in the TTI working as the Human Resources Manager at the reportedly abusive <\/span>Passages To Recovery<\/span><\/a> from 2004 until 2011. During this time, she also worked as the Human Resources Manager at the <\/span>confirmedly abusive<\/b> Aspen Achievement Academy<\/span><\/a> from 2009 until 2011. She then worked as the Human Resources Manager at the reportedly abusive <\/span>Oakley School<\/span><\/a> from 2011 until 2015, when she joined Elements. All three of these programs were owned by the <\/span>confirmedly abusive<\/b> Aspen Education Group<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeff “JJ” Freedlund<\/b> currently works as a Primary Therapist at Elements Wilderness Program. He previously worked as a Field Instructor at the reportedly abusive <\/span>Second Nature Uintas<\/span><\/a> from 2010 until 2013. He then went on to work as an Outdoor Experiential Education Staff at the reportedly abusive <\/span>Gateway Academy<\/span><\/a> from 2013 until 2014. During this time, he also worked as a House Coach at the reportedly abusive <\/span>Oakley School<\/span><\/a> from 2013 until 2015. He then briefly worked as a Clinical Assistant at the reportedly abusive <\/span>Evoke Entrada<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Evoke Cascades<\/span><\/a> from May until August of 2015. He began working at Elements in May of 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mike Dibasio<\/b> formerly worked as a Lead Field Guide at Elements Wilderness Program. He is also featured on the University of New Hampshire’s Outdoor Behavioral Program <\/span>alumni<\/span><\/a> page. UNH’s Outdoor Behavioral program conducts research on behalf of the Troubled Teen Industry, and is known to be pro-TTI.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah Gallimore<\/b> currently works as a Field Supervisor at Elements Wilderness Program. She is another featured alumna of the UNH’s Outdoor program- a biased, pro-TTI program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Program Structure<\/b><\/h2>\n

Like other behavior modification programs, Elements uses a level system consiting of five levels, as reported on their <\/span>website<\/span><\/a>. The levels are:<\/span><\/p>\n