This school is a house of horrors. They hold themselves out to the public as a therapeutic boarding school or emotional growth school. Their motto is "shape a child, shape the future." Their idea of how to "shape a child," is through emotional and physical terror. They abuse the clients in their care in the following ways: 1. separating the client from their family and the community they were once a part of 2. no access to a phone to report abuse 3. punishment for minor infractions which include the following: sensory deprivation as a form of punishment through locking the child in a cold concrete room - there is a drain in the floor where children are left to defecate and urinate on themselves forced druggings and chemical restraint physical restraint through the use of five point restraint nets with cuffs used on the hands and feet 4. Children are locked inside the facility until they have earned the privilege of going outside 5. In most instances children are forbidden from talking to, speaking, or looking at one another Also the "therapy" sessions that the children receive generally don't last more than fifteen minutes and are only conducted once weekly. A person can't work on personal issues in only fifteen minutes of time. Furthermore, placing a child in a facility far from home doesn't allow for productive family therapy which should be given top priority since the family needs to also work on the issues contributing to a dysfunctional environment which contributid to their teens behavior in the first place. The recidivism rate for these places is very high as well because the children are not taught life skills, effective communication, or coping skills to skillfully navigate their future. Children are not taught to get in touch with their emotions and discuss them they are instead taught how to bury them and hide them from their adult tormentors. Provo Canyon School is also an environment which allows children to be sexually and medically abused. Since children don't have access to a telephone or a regulatory agency which would investigate complaints a pedophile could easily prey upon young victims without detection. Children would be afraid to complain in the first place though because of the wide array of punishments available to a pedophile. Also medical neglect is rampant because of staff's tendency to say that a student is "faking," their illness. One student almost died as a result of the neglect by Provo Canyon School's staff. They don't help children. They abuse and hurt them. When the children are terminated from their program most turn to drugs to escape the pain, I know because I worked in a homeless shelter and many of the children who were severe drug addicts were victims of Utah programs and Provo Canyon School. This school should be shut down. The reason that its not is because there is no system of oversight in the state of Utah which would adequately investigate the complaints. When I called the State Licensing board to tell them my concerns I was laughed at. The police were also notified and they told me that the Licensing board had to investigate first. So you see they are just passing the buck back and forth which does not provide for accountability or justice. DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILDREN TO PROVO CANYON SCHOOL OR ANY PROGRAM IN UTAH read more

Provo Canyon School is an abusive "behavioral health program," located in Provo, Utah. They isolate "students," from the outside world, first separating them from their communities, and then by not providing access to communication to talk to parents and friends. This is by design as they do not want the children to tell parents, educators or friends that they are being abused. If the children speak up about the abuse, privileges are taken away, or they could "lose their bed," and end up in the punishment unit where solitary confinement and torture are routine, this ensures that kids who want to make their next level, don't talk about the abusive and inhumane program they are in. Children can be placed in solitary confinement, they can be denied access to the bathroom, and may be forced to urinate or defecate on themselves, they may also be denied food. The children are in a lock-down situation where they cannot exit or leave the building if they would like to go outside for a walk or take the bus to a movie theatre. Staff scrutinize every move. Children are forced to walk single file with their heads down, in shame, as if being an adolescent is a crime. Children are forced to clean every day in the morning and in the evening. The cleaning must be perfect, if there is a single hair, spot, or other form of debris they are written up for this. Take downs are also common in this facility, where staff will tackle, then rip off the clothes of a child, and forcibly inject them with mind altering drugs which are unsafe to use on children such as Haldol. These take downs are so violent that they have the potential to cause brain damage, causing lesions on the brain. These lesions can contribute to mental health problems such as depression, seizures, and other negative mental health issues. There is no real therapy, therapy sessions are usually once a week and last about fifteen minutes. There is no art therapy, no animal assisted therapy. There is group therapy but children seem to be randomly assigned to these groups, for example, one child didn't have a drug addiction problem and yet was assigned to a drug group, and was told she needed to "admit to her problem." She had never touched drugs. Many of the children there had suffered rape by an adult or some kind of sexual abuse and the most heartbreaking thing of all was that they were basically being raped all over again, when a staff tackled them and ripped off their clothing or when they were told by a "therapist," that they needed to "admit their part in it," or forced into solitary confinement, stripped of their civilian clothes, forced to wear used pink sweats and sadistically abused by staff with more take downs, forced druggings and with holding of basic human rights such as water, food and ability to use a bathroom. For more context and detail I highly recommend the book "Help At Any Cost." Thank you for taking time to read my post. read more

I went here in 2014 and this place is so screwed up, I literally just made a yelp account so I could tell anyone looking to send their kids to this place not to, this is a pure case of getting your kid help at any cost, and let me tell you, money is not the only cost. This place is psychologically abusive, and the people who are supposed to be taking care of your kids and watch them 24/7 are sexually and physically abusive. If your child acts out, they can lock them in an isolation room where they are alone and if they continue to act out the staff can legally shoot them up with a drug that makes them calm down. I'm not sure what is in the drug, but I know it can't be good. They can beat the living crap out of your kid in the name of "restraining them" and if you think thats ridiculous and the staff would never do that, you're wrong, some of the staff are okay, but some are angry and power hungry. The kids are always screaming and crying and getting into physical fights, physically injuring each other, and there have been cases of some kids molesting other kids, and there are cases of the staff molesting kids. Sure, theres always the chance that your kid will experience none of this and will come out being your perfect little robot, but is that worth the risk of this place doing overwhelming damage to your child's mental state? Think about it. Because that is an honest to god risk. This place ruined my relationship with my family, I will never trust them again, 2 years after being out I still hate my parents, will never forgive them for the experiences they forced me into "for my own well being." And I am not the only one who has had such awful experiences with this place, I promise, it is not a rare case. Don't do it. You'll regret it. Please, please don't consent to putting your child into the way of obvious danger for their own good. Please just don't. read more

If your goal is to improve your child's behavior and/or the relationship you have with them, Provo is not the place to attempt it. As many other reviewers have noted, your child will be subjected to physical, mental, emotional and psychological abuse. Your child will receive massive doses of medication designed to subdue and control them, regardless of good behavior, upon arrival. The sheer amount of medication forced upon them will cause damage to their liver, kidneys and most often damage or kill off many braincells. The "education" your child will receive here is also a joke, it will setback their education years, at the least. You will be lead to believe that nothing about what your child tells you about the negative sides of this place are fabrications, that they are only attempting to manipulate you. This will only breed resentment between you and your child. They will rightfully feel you have abandoned them and are neglecting very real concerns. In the end, if your child hasn't committed suicide before being released, they will likely suffer from even further behavioral issues, mental disorders, possible brain and organ damage, ruined education. More importantly, your child will be scarred for life, and your relationship will be irreversibly damaged. Often beyond repair. THIS IS NOT THE WAY to "fix" your child. Consider any other option, besides Provo Canyon School. I implore you, for your sake and for your child's. read more

This place sucks it is practically a prison there food sucks there staff sucks especially Christian they don't pay attention to there kids if the staff make a deal with you you can count on not getting it "Matt" the supervisor for maple and cascade. You have to ask to go to the bathroom they make you shower with the door open like fucking pedo you can't talk in your room. They will send you to stable for them just not liking you " Joe" when you right a grievance for the staff trying to pick a fight with you they never get back to you like they are supposed to " Kyle " the night staff was the one who tried to pick a fight with me all the staff use profane language. " Rob " when I first got there threatened to fucking take me to the room and let the kids kick my ass for saying the " n " word but 5 minutes later he is saying it. All of these people want equal right but you can't say things that they can sounds equal right. Anthony didn't like me for no reason he was a big lier he would tell you you had a refocus then he would admit you on a year 3 witch means you can't talk to anyone for a week and you were isolated. If you have questions text me at 5307808821 read more

I was at Provo Canyon School and it was hell. My first of many horrible experiences to come at Provo Canyon School was being brought to a dark laundry room and being told to "squat & cough" and for me to give them my jewelry. When I refused they called a "dial 9" over the radio and I was surrounded then tackled by staff. I was also drugged, locked in brick rooms, tied to a restraint bed and punished in the form of stress position punishment standing staring at a wall all day. My "therapist" used inhumane forms of therapy treatment on me like not allowing me to talk and if I did I was punished in the form of more stress position time and brought back to the brick seclusion room. I began having nightmares while living on the punishment "investment" unit and suffer from PTSD symptoms related to that period of my life. Robert Crist, who was affiliated with Provo Canyon School, is now listed as an owner on the Logan River Academy website. Another staff, Marc Peterson, who I vividly remember his face getting red while tackling girls at Provo Canyon School during dial 9's, is also a staffmember at Logan River Academy. read more

DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE!!! Every child is deliberately overmedicated and forced to take a cup of pills three times per day. And many of the children are locked in a room called "observation." This is basically a cold cement room that they isolate children. The children are locked in solitary confinement for indefinite periods of times. They also use sleep deprivation and starvation to punish the children. Children are forced to go days without eating or sleeping. Sometimes these punishments are for small infractions like not making your bed properly or taking too long to fold laundry. The staff are constantly looking for excuses to torture these poor kids. They are literally torturing these kids. And they have been doing this for decades. Many of the staff are sadistic and seem to get pleasure from making these children suffer. The only reason the State of Utah has not closed this place down is because it is a multi-million dollar source of revenue for them. But do not be deceived. This place is a massive child trafficking operation. PLEASE!!! FOR GOD'S SAKE!!! DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE!!! read more

zero stars. do not ever send your child here no matter what their problems are or how bad their behavior is!! i cannot believe this torture chamber is still open! if you send your child here you deserve to burn in fiery hell for all of eternity. this place is evil. the staff is evil. utah is evil for doing nothing about this horrific human rights defecation that is provo canyon school. this "school" needs to be burnt to the ground and even then all the tortured souls that survived this monster factory still wont have closure from the human rights violations and abuse theyve endured. if you care at all about the sanctity of human life, especially childrens lives, you will stand up and help close this horrifying institution so another vulnerable child will never enroll in this devils playground to be physically, mentally, and sexually abused at the hands of their "teachers" and "counselors" and "staff". please care about what happens to your children. read more

I was a patient a this school and between starving the kids to allowing staff/students to assault other kids and encouraging it as well, to not even having beds for all the patients plus keeping us in a room to stare at a wall for a week at bare minimum. The staff would punish all of us for one kid acting out leading to them getting jumped in the rooms that don't have cameras. They always played a game called bodies which is a game were you would hit your opponent repeatedly until they fall and the other kid would continue to sock and kick them until they get bored or staff felt they had their amusement and decide to break it up. The staff would have sex with patient and in return the would give the patient's weed and other drugs. Never send your kid here unless you want your kid to become psychopath. read more

I was sent to Provo Canyon School in October of 2018. I was sent there for self harm, suicidal ideation, and Anorexia. Provo canyon school is a locked up facility. You are not allowed to use the bathroom or shower with the door closed. You also have four roommates at all times, witch have issues ranging from saver Autism, bipolar disorder, and wanting to kill people. On the stabilization unit, you are not allowed to talk to anyone, or call your parents at all. You are also not allowed to go outside. I was attacked several times there, and the staff are severely neglectful, and do not care at all. I was restrained once for self harming, and the supervisor comes along and tells the staff restraining me "Oh, you can let her go, she can cut her arm off for all we care, we still won't care!" read more

My son has just brought to light that he has been having night mares. Waking up screaming. Having flash backs about the things that were done to him here in PCS. He was there 12 days before he was life flighted to the hospital were he spent almost 2 weeks in the ICU. They shot him up with haldol even after I asked them not to do that when he gets agitated. Get this they even proceeded to bill us for this shot that almost took his life. It is now on my credit report, I refuse to pay for something that almost killed him. So my real purpose here is to find out if anyone has tried any legal approaches to suing this hell hole? I am sickened to see and read about how many children have the exact stories as my son. This needs to STOP. read more

parents! DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE!!!!! Staff are ABUSIVE and the food is nothing but sugar and grease. DO NOT listen to anything that those fast talking addmision sleazeballs tell you. I used to be a student there. It was the worst time of my life. I felt like i was in prison, not just because i had very limited communication with my family, but because of the abuse i witnessed EVERYDAY. I myself did not have it as bad because i kept my head down. Their therapy tactics are backward. These people are SNEAKY and they get away with locking girls up and leaving them in a jail cell (i kid you not. they call it "observation") and FORGET that shes in there!!! they should be closed immediatley!! read more

Disgusting place. I was forcefully sent here by my parents who are no longer really in the picture nor have control over me. I was a total whore here and slept around and did whatever I pleased as the perverted staff liked me. I saw so much you cannot even imagine. Abuse after abuse. The stabilization/investment unit being the worst of the worst. Absolute in humane acts. Do not recommend sending your son here. Although I had my fair amount of fun, (sex on the daily with the boys there as they were cute, staying up, rebellion, doing whatever I pleased), most will not have this. I was one of the very few lucky ones. I had it very easy. The amount of abuse here is absolutely terrible. read more

This place is terrible. I'm sure you've read the other reviews and I'm just so proud that a celebrity as huge as Paris Hilton is bringing attention to this school. Paris attended this school and did a deposition in court about the physical, mental and emotional abused she experienced at their hands. Please don't send your child here. Paris Hilton deposition video is on Youtube and you can see as she was testifying she was a big emotional wreck. So sad. This place needs to be shut down and all responsible people needs to be jailed! read more

This place is extremely abusive toward children. They should not even be open. The staff seem to get pleasure from making the children suffer. Kids are regularly locked in solitary confinement, starved, beaten, drugged, and raped. The owners purposely look the other way because all they care about is money. This place is a human trafficking operation. It is a prison for children. And this place should have been closed down decades ago. Abuse is not therapy. read more

I attended PCS from September 1990 to January of 1992 and in that time I was SLAMMED to the floor, molested, raped, and had my arm twisted out of the socket. I have heard that not much has changed the staff just got better at covering their butts with paperwork. I would not recommend any parent send their child to a place where 300 lbs football players work for their rent or any place in UT because these places are very well protected by the LDS church. read more

I was "enrolled" in this shit hole in 1980-81. The "counselors" were goons they hired from the BYU football team. These counselors were out of control. They would give kids "hair dances" they would pick u up by the hair and watch and laugh as your feet danced in the air. Still dream about it. Check out 60 mins story. It was a cluster fuck. Alot of good young men are for ever twisted and scared from the time they were abused at this so called school. read more

PCS is the devil.. I was a student in 1992 and was drugged, held in what amounts to a solitary confinement cell, stripped naked, body slammed by a whole pile of staff members, etc... that was just my 1st hour at the place. I endured 10 moths of that. Raise you voice and you would here the words "dial 9" on the speaker and staff would pile into the room and slam you face 1st into the carpet. Three days later you come out of the drug induced fog. read more

My brother was ordered by the court to do a program here. He endured so much abuse that he ended up committing suicide in early adulthood. He literally couldn't live with the nightmares that resulted from this place. I don't know how this place even still exists. Oh yea, it's powerful and has a ton of money because of its ties to the church and the kick backs it gives local governments for sending people there... read more