Peninsula Village

Truths about Peninsula Village residential treatment center in Louisville, TN

1. “Behavior Modification
Treatment”
The truths that are hidden to the world.

3. Many programs will try to
catch the worried parents
attention, by first grasping
their attention with words of
comfort. They tend not to go
into great detail.
They do not go into great
detail in the first views of
them, in fear of those
researching them to be able to
“ read between the
lines of their
invalidity.”
Peninsula Village, established in 1986, is a long-term
residential treatment center specializing in treating
adolescents who have not been successful in other
treatment settings. Our strength and
success lie in our intense clinical
approach combined with a
chemical dependency
component. Our clients, ages 13 to 18, typically
are admitted with some combination of the following:
Mood disorders
Substance abuse issues
Behavioral disorders
Character pathologies
Difficulties in school environments
Sexual abuse issues
Cutting
Peninsula Village is a not-for-profit program and part of
a comprehensive behavioral health system that has
served clients for more than 30 years. The Village is
accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of
Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and is licensed by
the State of Tennessee Department of Mental Health
and Developmental Disabilities. In addition, the Village
is a member of the National Association of Therapeutic
Schools and Programs (NATSAP).

4. This here comes straight from the
parent guidebook to Peninsula
Village. If you can look into
their words, you can see
that they are trying to
“brainwash” you right
from the very beginning.
The reason they do this, is just as they
say, because your child will tell you of
what really is happening in this facility.
After hearing these horrid stories your
adolescent will tell you, of course you
most likely would feel as if you made
the wrong decision in sending your
child to the Village.
If parents pull their kids after
hearing this completely valid
information, this angers Peninsula
Village, because it’s a loss of money
for them.
" Many times parents feel angry, anxious,
sad, and even guilty, not sure if they have
made the right decision. be prepared that
your adolescent is aware of these feelings
and either consciously or unconsciously may
attempt to arouse feelings of guilt and
anxiety. there are some typical ways that adolescents attempt to do this.
The most obvious example of this attempt is the full frontal guilt attack. ""why did you put
me here? you do not care about me. If you take me out of here I will do anything, I have
realized I was wrong, please give me one more chance. Ill Kill myself if you don’t take me out
of here"" these attempts directly attack your
feelings of guilt, uncertainty, and fear for
your child.
The second attempt is more subtle and
involves your adolescent misinforming,
lying, or telling half truths to raise feelings
of guilt and anxiety. Typical examples include: "" My therapist told me
it was your fault I am here. The staff does not know what they are doing.""
The third example is an attempt to exploit normal parental concerns regarding an
adolescents safety. Examples include;"" they are not feeding me. Staff makes fun of me. My
peer is a violent psycho. Compared to other kids here my problems are not that serious""
Do not let these attempts to make you feel
guilty work. As long as your child believes that he/she might escape
responsibility he or she will not change. Often adolescents are actually terrified of change and
their oppositional and defiant behavior is a way of avoiding dealing with the painful aspects
of their lives. So of course they are going to continue to try to avoid responsibility and
introspection. "

5. Peninsula Villages staff of program
counselors , consists mostly of what is
described here in the Program
Counselors job requirements.
People with just as much
as a high school diploma
or GED are the ones who
are most involved with
your child’s treatment.
The program counselors
are the ones who are
monitoring your child,
assessing them, and
extremely involved in
their treatment.
The average counselor at Peninsula
Village is just that. A high school
graduate.
 PROGRAM COUNSELOR
Job Code: 17673
Location: PENINSULA VILLAGE
Department: Girl's Outdoor Program
Description: Full Time Position: Four days/ three nights.
Requirements: Social services
degree preferred, but H.S.
diploma with experience will be
considered.
Duties: Work in the outdoor setting with patients in a residential
facility. Provide safety, supervision and therapy to adolescents in our
care. Need extreme flexibility with scheduling and extensive
availability.
Covenant Health is committed to a safe and healthy work
environment. Therefore, employment is subject to a successful
background check and drug screen. Also, a credit check may be
performed on applicable positions that deal with handling money.
EOE
Education: High School Diploma/GED

6. This is from Peninsula Villages website
before they edited it, after the
commotion about Dr. Adam McLain.
Back in 2003, when he entered PV, he
was not licensed as a Psychologist
(show in next slide).
Dr. Adam McLain was
misrepresenting himself to everyone
for some solid time.
Seems to be something Peninsula
does quite a lot.
Note how this description
does not include the fact
that he is a licensed
psychologist, yet he is
performing tasks done by
psychologists.
Clinical Director, Girls' Continuum Dr. Adam McLain
joined the Village team in 2003 as clinical director of
Girls' Continuum. He previously served as regional
director of behavioral services at the Individual
Advocacy Group near Chicago, Ill. In that capacity, he
oversaw the psychological assessment, behavioral
intervention, system analysis and development, and
staff development of RNs, licensed therapists and
line staff, for a program providing services to
adolescents and adults with severe emotional
disorders and other mental illness. Dr McLain has
experience and training with adolescents suffering
from chemical dependence, backgrounds of sexual
abuse and disorders included but not limited to
conduct, anxiety, mood and adjustment. Dr.
McLain holds a doctorate of psychology
in clinical psychology from Adler School
of Professional Psychology and a
bachelor's degree in psychology from
Olivet Nazarene University. He is a
certified therapeutic crisis intervention
instructor.

7. Here are the notes from the
Tennessee Board of
Examiners in Psychology
regarding Adam McLain’s
asking the board to
determine his internship is
equivalent to an APA or
APPIC internship program.
These notes are dated from the
year of 2005.
 
Violations section of rules governing
psychologist:
 Knowingly assigning, permitting or hiring any
unqualified person(s) to perform functions of
assessment or treatment or delegating the
provisions of psychological services to
unqualified
person(s);
 Providing or claiming to provide health
services as a Psychologist without a
designation as a
HSP.
Licensure denial appeal by Adam McLain
 
The board was presented a licensure denial
appeal by Mr. Harry Weddle, Litigating
Attorney, for
Adam McLain, Ph.D. who is asking the board
to determine his internship program is
equivalent
to an APA or APPIC internship program.
Upon conclusion of Dr. McLain’s testimony
regarding his internship program, Dr. Martin
made a motion seconded by Dr. Davis, to
accept the findings of fact that Dr. McLain’s
internship
program was not APA or APPIC approved.
 

8. MCGREGOR'S THEORY X
PERTAINING TO PSYCHOLOGY IN THE WORK
FIELD
MCGREGOR'S THEORY Y
PERTAINING TO PSYCHOLOGY IN THE WORK
FIELD
Theory X
assumes that workers are
basically lazy, error-prone,
and extrinsically motivated
by money
they need simple tasks, close
monitoring, and incentives to
work harder.
Peninsula Village tends to
fall under this theoretical
viewpoint.
Theory Y
assumes that, given
challenge and freedom,
workers are intrinsically
motivated to achieve self
esteem and to
demonstrate their
competence and
creativity.

10. 1. No moving about unit without permission
2. Your child may not journal. they need to learn to
express feelings verbally.
3. Beds must be left neat and tidy when an
adolescent gets up off of it to attend an activity.
4. Staff should be addressed as Mr., Mrs., or Dr. or
"yes Madame"
5. Do not speak without permission

11. 06:30 Wake up, make beds, do morning hygiene
07:00 Breakfast
08:00 Chores
09:00 Morning activity (Monday through Friday schedules changed)
11:00 Group Psychotherapy
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Priority time, necessaries group, exercises, quiet time
13:30 School
16:00 Afternoon activity
17:00 Dinner
18:00 Group Psychotherapy
19:00 Priority time, necessaries group, exercises, quiet time
19:30 Evening hygiene
20:30 Evening activity
21:30 Wrap up 22:00 Spiritual time
22:05 Lights out

14. These are photographs
taken by one Peninsula
Village counselor. This is
what she calls artwork.
This tends to be her hobby
outside of working at
Peninsula Village

15. Sit with it
 At the Village, the kids spent the first two or three months of their
treatment sitting on their beds staring at the wall. No talking except
in Group Therapy, no reading, no journaling. Just sitting. The idea
was that they'd not be able to avoid their feelings. It was incredibly
uncomfortable for them. Most of them numbed the feelings out for
weeks, even months. When they couldn't run from them anymore,
that was when the work started. When they'd have a painful
feeling, we'd tell them to "sit with it".
I'm not comparing my life to theirs, because I spend a lot of time doing
things. But sometimes I can't think of anything else to do. I just sit and
feel crappy and it sucks. Being alone is very uncomfortable for me. But
then, that's how I know it's working. I always told my kids, you have to
go through things, not around them. I wish someone would force me to
sit and have 8 hours of quiet time every day. I can only stand it for
about an hour. Then I write a blog. I'm such a cheater ; )

16. 
*I was covered in bruises from the head down.
*Being Physically restrained about twice daily on average where there was no
reason for it whatsoever. An alarm kind of like a car alarm except much louder
would be turned on and about 20 staff would come running into the unit and all
basically jump me, throw me to the ground and sit on me to hold me down
*When you were restrained they would strip you of your clothing and make you
wear hospital gowns until you contracted to move up to wearing scrubs then
contracting to wear your clothes
*I would not see my dad for weeks sometimes over a month
*If when i was talking to my dad and I tried to tell him how bad it was there
they would end the family therapy session right there. they also told him I was
incompetent and did not know what I was talking about when he heard me tell
him about my bruises
*I was shoved into a metal chair in front of the staffs desk. I signed my life
away. when I went to ask a question, I was shut down.
*Next thing I knew, I was grabbed, kicked in the back of the
knees and fell to the floor

17.  NOROVIRUS OUTBREAK 2007
A Blount County Health Dept. official confirmed
last week that they were investigating a
gastrointestinal virus that sickened more than fifty
patients at Peninsula Village, a residential
treatment center for troubled teens in Louisville
TN. Repeated calls to the nurses station at PV were
not returned but an inside source confirmed the
outbreak was one of the group of Norovirus.

18.  April 2, 2003
A Chattanooga resident filed a lawsuit against the owners of
Peninsula Village Monday claiming she contracted E. coli
while at the Louisville facility.
 In Blount County Circuit Court, Catherine Russe sued Covenant Health, doing business as Peninsula Village.
 According to the suit:
 In June, 1999, Russe was a resident at Peninsula Village, a facility that houses about 70 teens, ages 13 to 18
years old.
 Later that month, the infection control nurse at the facility reported a number of cases of diarrhea. On June 24,
Russe began experiencing diarrhea, required medical care, and a culture was taken and returned positive for E.
coli.
 The Centers for Disease Control opened an investigation and learned Russe and a male resident shared a
pattern ``indicating a single source of the E. coli outbreak.''
``The CDC, after a thorough investigation, concluded that the
most likely source of the E. coli infections were meals served
in the kitchen at `Peninsula Village,''' the suit said.
 After onset of diarrhea, Russe's condition quickly deteriorated, she was hospitalized at Fort Sanders Hospital and
then transferred to East Tennessee Children's Hospital for acute diarrheal illness.
 Russe's condition didn't improve and while at Children's Hospital, her kidneys began to fail and she was
transferred to University of Tennessee Medical Center. At UT, Russe was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic
syndrome, a life-threatening condition for which there is no known treatment, the suit said.
 Russe remained at UT for 17 days, was discharged on July 17, 1999, and has continued to suffer complications.

19. Jamie Abernathy received a workbook used in the treatment programs at
the village from a friend she said used to work there, and became
extremely alarmed after reading its contents.
According to Abernathy, the "Medicine Wheel Workbook" written by
founding director Dr. Patte Buice Mitchell, is an effort to "force this North
American (Indian) religion on kids who have to be there.
"We're talking about a locked-down
environment, they have no choice but to be
there and they're being forced to learn
this," Abernathy said.
"It's illegal. You can't have an institution
receiving state funds promoting a specific
religion," Abernathy said.

20. TENNESSEE
Blount County
Peninsula Village (residential treatment facility for adolescents)
12-year-old female in Special Treatment Unit placed in straightjacket
"It’s called a burrito…I would be in the middle of the floor where everybody
could watch me."
Medication cut in half against advice of regular psychiatrist; discharged in
handcuffs in worse condition than when admitted
STU patients can write home, but cannot receive mail from or talk on phone with
parents; girl wrote letters that family never received
For "less serious outbursts," staff take patients down to ground and pin
them
more serious episodes put patients in a "burrito" or 5 point leather restraints
on a bed
The doors are locked, windows covered, lights on 24 hours a day

1994/reported by mother and Metro Pulse 1/97

21. Peninsula Village’s
admission criteria for
patients that they cannot
admit are as follows:
-Those with physical problems that would
interfere with vigorous physical activity.
-Psychosis
-Active homicidal tendencies
-History of fire starting
-Verbal IQ below 85
However, Peninsula Village does
not seem to follow their own
criteria. Here are some examples
of patients admitted to the Village
that do fall under this criteria.
Andrew G. Klepper
 Sent to Peninsula Village after participating in a
brutal sexual assault on an escort
as part of a plea bargain that allows him to serve five
years' probation.
Matthew Grant

Convicted and found guilty of slaying a
sheriff deputy with a
shotgun after his stay at Peninsula Village.
Dominic Hawranke

Ringleader of an alleged school
bombing plot of murder and
suicide.
Prosecutors believe that Hawranke and three other
boys planned to attack the high schools on the
anniversary of the
Columbine massacre.

22. These are warning signs listed
on the HEAL (Human Earth
Animal Liberation) website
of potentially abusive
treatment facilities. The
warning signs seen here, are
the ones that apply to
Peninsula Village.
Verbal and/or written communication between the
client and family members is prohibited, restricted or
monitored.
The program requires the parents or client to sign a
form releasing the program of liability in case of
injury during treatment
The program requests/demands legal custody of
juvenile clients
The client or parents are forbidden from discussing
the daily happenings at the facility. Often this policy
is called “confidentiality.”
The client is denied access to a telephone
Client phone calls are monitored
The program uses confrontational therapy
The staff includes former clients of the program
Clients are restrained or otherwise physically
prevented from leaving the facility
The program claims that self-injury or cutting/carving
on ones body is normal behavior for a client in
treatment

23. These are warning signs listed
on the HEAL (Human Earth
Animal Liberation) website
of potentially abusive
treatment facilities. The
warning signs seen here, are
the ones that apply to
Peninsula Village.
The program inflicts physical punishments on clients
such as exercising, running, food restrictions, and
cleaning
Reading materials are prohibited or restricted
Clients must submit “chain of commands” or any
other such requests for basic needs such as clothes,
shoes, personal items and medical care
The program is run or staffed by persons who lack
adequate experience or credentials
Clients of the program conduct, participate in or
supervise the intake/entry process
Clients are observed on any level of the program,
while bathing, dressing or using the toilet
The program requires clients to be strip-searched
The program does not allow clients to follow their
religion of choice
Staff members must approve friends, siblings, family
visits, or employment
Clients escort/supervise other clients
Clients have to “earn” the right to speak during group
sessions
Clients are denied outside activities on any
level/phase

24. These are warning signs listed
on the HEAL (Human Earth
Animal Liberation) website
of potentially abusive
treatment facilities. The
warning signs seen here, are
the ones that apply to
Peninsula Village.
Staff must approve the withdrawal of clients from
treatment
The program expects total and unquestioned support
of parents
Clients on any phase/level are forbidden to speak to
other clients

25. Don’t Let Them Get Away With It

26. Fighting Institutional Abuse Around the World and
Around the Clock
Best Regards,
www.troubledteensurvivor.com