S24 Ep18: Fear-Driven

Something Was Wrong

Broken Cycle Media

True Crime, Documentary, Education, Society & Culture

4.1 • 24.6K Ratings

🗓️ 23 October 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

*Content Warning: distressing themes, self-harm, rape, substance abuse, substance use disorder, child abuse, verbal abuse, mental abuse, physical abuse, institutional abuse, childhood sexual abuse, sexual abuse, suicidal ideation, death, and suicide.

*Free + Confidential Resources + Safety Tips:
somethingwaswrong.com/resources

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Website: somethingwaswrong.com
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Website: tiffanyreese.me
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*Sources

Deseret News, and Amy Joi Bryson. “Teen Facility Targets Suicide Prevention.” Deseret News, Deseret News, 14 Jan. 2024, www.deseret.com/2004/7/30/19842793/teen-facility-targets-suicide-prevention

Fuchs, David. “Utah Has Seen Abuse in ‘troubled Teen’ Programs for Decades. Now, Momentum Slowly Builds for Change.” KUER, KUER, 24 Mar. 2021, www.kuer.org/health-science-environment/2020-12-17/utah-has-seen-abuse-in-troubled-teen-programs-for-decades-now-momentum-slowly-builds-for-change

Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Pathophysiology and Prevention of Adolescent and Adult Suicide; Goldsmith SK, Pellmar TC, Kleinman AM, et al., editors. Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2002. 5, Childhood Trauma. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220932/

Kubler, Katherine, creator and director. The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping. Netflix, 2024 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31183637/

Lopez-Castroman, Jorge et al. “Early childhood sexual abuse increases suicidal intent.” World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) vol. 12,2 (2013): 149-54. doi:10.1002/wps.20039 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3683267/

Myers et al v. Dr. Phil Organization et al, No. 1:2014CV00007 - Document 77 (D. Utah 2015) :: Justia, law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/utah/utdce/1:2014cv00007/91862/77/

Reavy, Pat. “Family Sues Dr. Phil, Utah Treatment Center.” Deseret News, Deseret News, 28 Dec. 2023, www.deseret.com/2014/1/29/20534024/family-sues-dr-phil-utah-treatment-center/

Transcript

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0:00.0	Something was wrong is intended for mature audiences and discusses upsetting topics.
0:05.9	Season 24 survivors discuss violence that they endured as children, which may be triggering for some
0:12.0	listeners. As always, please consume with care. For a full content warning, sources and resources
0:19.1	for each episode, please visit the episode notes.
0:23.2	Opinions shared by the guests of the show are their own, and do not necessarily represent
0:27.7	the views of Broken Cycle Media. All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty
0:33.2	in a court of law. Responses to allegations from individual institutions
0:38.0	are included within the season.
0:40.4	Something was wrong
0:41.2	and any linked materials should not be misconstrued
0:44.1	as a substitution for legal or medical advice.
0:48.8	Thank you to Survivor Katie for sharing with us today.
0:52.9	Katie was placed at Islandview Residential Treatment Center and the Oakley School.
0:58.4	Island View Residential Treatment Center was located in Syracuse, Utah, and opened in 1994 by founders W. Dean Belknap,
1:08.5	MD, Lauren Broadbent, DSW, Jared Balmer, Ph.D., and W. Kimball de la Merr,
1:16.6	LCSW. Some sources also list Stephen D. Lancaster as a founder. The founders had been associated previously
1:25.6	with other similar treatment programs.
1:28.5	In 2004, Aspen Education Group acquired Island View RTC.
1:34.4	CRC Health Group, a company owned by Bain Capital, purchased Aspen Education for $300 million in 2006.
1:44.4	Aspen and CRC Health Group owned and operated the Syracuse campus until 2014.
1:51.2	In April 2014, Syracuse RTC LLC acquired Island View and changed the name to Elevation's RTC.
2:03.0	It absorbed most of its employees,
	...

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