Paris Jackson Recovery Update [VIDEO]: More New Revelations About Utah Program; Confrontational Treatment Could Be Harmful

Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson recently attempted suicide and has since been in treatment to deal with the bullying and familial stress that may have caused her distress. Paris cut herself and took an overdose and was thereafter taken to UCLA hospital.

The Michael Jackson civil case trial over his wrongful death is currently ongoing. Dr. Conrad Murray has warned that he will have to go "nuclear" if forced to testify. Debbie Rowe is set to testify about Michael Jackson's drug abuse. Paris Jackson was supposed to testify about her father, but family members were concerned about the stress.

According to a family member: "She can't be near that trial or hear the horrible things being said about Michael. He was a saint to her, and she doesn't believe anything bad about her father. She gets so distraught when she hears that stuff."

According to the Daily Beast, Paris Jackson was going to be sent to Diamond Ranch Academy, a Utah residential program. Later it was reported by Mstarz that Paris Jackson was rejected by a Utah residential program. The residential program was concerned about paparazzi. That rejection may have been a blessing in disguise for Paris upon further investigation.

Kpopstarz recently uncovered information about Diamond Ranch Academy. While Dr. Drew is a supporter of Diamond Ranch Academy, many people have called for him to withdraw his endorsement. More new information from former students of the program has been found. According to CAFETY, a group that represents former students of teen residential programs, former students of Diamond Ranch Academy had the following things to say:

"I had three suicide attempts there. After each attempt, I was treated like dirt, and punished. No psychiatric help was offered. No sort of therapy ensued until well after."

"They had a punishment in which you were outside from 6:15 am to 8:15 pm, doing manual labor, pulling a heavy cart around for miles, in total silence, and permission had to be asked to do anything. Literally, anything. You were in line of sight of a staff twenty-four seven. One kid said something mildly disrespectful, and ended up out there for a week."

"Since DRA I have become a completely different person. I'm not fun loving anymore and consider myself almost anti-social. I have trust issues and am nervous when people touch me. I get panic attacks and I just plain out find it hard to think about that time in my life. Sure, I got off of drugs, but at the same time, a detox center could have done the same thing for me, and it would have been cheaper."

"The difference between that place on a regular day and a day when an interested parent thinking about sending their kid to Diamond Ranch or a health inspector came to look around was as different as night and day."

"The staff of DRA put on a face when parents come to tour the place. The website is 90% false. I remember reading on the website because I myself had decided to go there in the end because I did want help and I thought it would be a good place for me. It said they had things like horseback riding . . . they had one horse there, and 'Charlie' was not rideable."

"The first time that I got to talk to my mom, you get to phone your parents when you complete the homeless part, you get to have a five minute phone call with them. And so, I remember right before they said, make sure you don't say anything bad about the place or we will hang up the phone on you. You have to make sure that you sound happy and if you say anything negative we will hang up the phone on you. And your phone privileges will be taken away. I was too scared to every say anything bad. I was so scared of the way this place worked, so I wasn't going to try and say anything on the phone. I was just happy to be able to talk to my mom. I didn't want my privileges to be taken away because you are so alone. You need that half an hour every two weeks to talk to your parents or you just can't get through the program."

"After a few months I was able to mail my parents, but mail was closely monitored and read, and they ultimately decided if it was sent or not. If you did anything to expose the ranch for what it really was, you were instantly punished and knocked back down on the level system, promising you an even longer and harder stay at the program. Same with phone calls. They were always monitored and you would be instantly cut off if you said anything that could be deemed as 'manipulative.'"

According to Heal Online, a group that represents former students of teen residential programs, a former student of Diamond Ranch Academy gave this account the program's system, reported earlier by Kpopstarz:

"I was stripped of all my possessions except for my shoes and coat. I was told to remove my clothes. My clothes were then searched and I was made to turn around many times, naked, to make sure I had nothing on me. They provided with me a bright orange hoodie and sweat pants. You'd think that the desert is hot all year round. Not in winter. I was told I was to be sent to the first component of the program called "homeless". I was literally homeless. Outside all the time. Breakfast was oats. Not those brown sugary oats you would usually eat for breakfast. It was oats, water, and powdered milk. That's it. That was breakfast every day. Lunch and Dinner were always the same. Either undercooked or burnt rice and a bean called a lentil. That's it. 16 days of freezing winds outside every day. Also the homeless component contained the most rigorous physical training throughout the program. First day I arrived I was to run a mile straight. No walking at all. You walk you'll run longer. I hadn't run more than a few meters in years. First 1/2 a lap I was dying. My chest was burning. Very little oxygen was going into my brain. My other companions in the component attempted to pep talk me to keep going. They were scolded and made to run more. There was no talking between anyone in this component. I staggered my way another 2 laps before just giving up. In this level of the program you had to pass 14 successful days. I failed my first day for this incident. The rest of this level was filled with 2 work projects a day."

Experts say that the coercive approaches found in troubled teen programs just don't work. Maia Svalavitz in Time Magazine cites a review of the literature on such programs: "Four decades of research have failed to yield a single clinical trial showing efficacy of confrontational counseling, whereas a number have documented harmful effects, particularly for more vulnerable populations." In the Washington Post, Svalavitz writes of a "billion-dollar industry" and worries about "lack of government oversight".

Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson may have avoided an ordeal by being rejected by a Utah residential program. In her fragile mental state, Paris Jackson may need a more therapeutic approach than is provided by these programs.

Evidence based treatment for suicidal behavior includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and medication.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

ITA

Jayzus! this place sounds like a total loony bin, I'm so relieved to know that Paris was rejected. Fate was on her side there - "It was not meant to be". It's such a shame she couldn't have one-2-one private cognitive therapy in the privacy of her home. They are making her out to be some sort of mentally disturbed case  I'm getting visions of that crazy film One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest........

LOL!... But honestly   Poor lass  

While Paris is evidently not at Diamond Ranch Academy, according to a recent interview with Katherine Jackson in the UK press, the Utah facility where she's being held is cut from the same cloth. When asked whether she could see Paris, Mrs. Jackson said that family visits had to be "earned", and that Paris wants to come home. This is quite different from the happy-happy stories released to the press here, about Paris being so thrilled that people "treat her like everyone else".

Why should a grief-stricken child, suffering from horrific cyberbullying, have to earn the right to see her family? It's frustrating that as fans, there's nothing we can do about this. But it's clear that Paris is being punished. What isn't clear is her crime.

Paris is not in California.

The UK press is notoriously "inaccurate", and that's being kind. They just make stuff up. But in an nterview in Hello! Magazine, when asked about seeing Paris, Katherine is quoted as saying she has to earn points to see her family. The magazine has no reason to make that up. If anything, Katherine shoud have just answered yes.

The 'troubled teen' industry flourishes in Utah because their regulations are so lax. Paris is being punished, make no mistake, and no doctor in California can stop it.

It is not my intention to upset anyone here, but these residential facilities, which flourish in Utah, definitely tend to be punitive. They are designed to break the spirit; they tout overcoming "defiance" as one of their primary goals. These schools usually require that parents sign over guardianship, so they have extraordinary power over the kids.

Katherine Jackson unfortunately has revealed herself to be very naive about matters concerning MJ's children. Perhaps she was sold a bill of goods about this place, or maybe she's relieved to be temporarily free of the responsibility. In the interview, she also says that Paris wants to come home. Yet she remains locked away.

@VC, can u show us what interview she said this and where?

The interview was in the UK Hello! Magazine. A poster on the MJJC site posted excerpts. There was also coverage on Radar Online, where it said, "There are three levels of privileges at the school,” the source explained. “Because Paris has only been there for a brief period, she is still on ‘daily’, meaning that she has to earn her privileges through a point count system for such things as good behavior, doing your homework, punctuality." I guess the school staff determines what constitutes "good behavior".

Being that it was Michael's birthday yesterday my thoughts and prayers went out to Miss Paris Jackson. I pray she comes out of this unscathed and a stronger person, she is only a child-poor baby.