*Content warning: self-harm, childhood abuse, institutional child abuse, suicidal ideation, suicide, psychological, physical and sexual violence against adolescence, disability abuse, abduction, kidnapping, stressful themes, substance use disorder, medical abuse and neglect, gang rape, imprisonment. In Episode 3, survivor Malia bravely recounts her time at Second Nature Entrada, a “wilderness therapy program” her parents placed her in 2009. Her heartbreakingly powerful testimony sheds light on the emotional toll and lasting impact of an industry that often operates without oversight.

*Content warning: institutional child abuse, childhood abuse, death of a child, suicide, psychological, physical and sexual violence, abduction, kidnapping, disordered eating, stressful themes, disability abuse, ableism, PTSD, medical abuse and neglect. In Episode 2, you'll hear from survivor-turned-advocate Meg Applegate, who spent three and a half years in two residential programs during the early 2000s. After confronting the lasting impact of her experiences, Meg transformed her trauma into action, sharing her story in her memoir Becoming UNSILENCED and founding the national nonprofit Unsilenced, a leading voice in the fight for reform. In this episode, Meg opens up about her path from survival to advocacy.

Season 24 of Something Was Wrong shares the harrowing truths of institutional child abuse through powerful interviews with survivors of wilderness therapy programs, therapeutic boarding schools, and other institutions around the world. These firsthand accounts expose an alarming pattern of abuse, neglect, and trauma disguised as treatment, alongside testimony from parents who entrusted these programs with their children. With expert insights from leading voices in the children’s rights advocacy space and adolescent mental health, Season 24 explores how programs have operated in the shadows for decades and why their harmful practices continue today.

Season 24 of Something Was Wrong shares the harrowing truths of Institutional Child Abuse (often called the ‘troubled teen industry’) through powerful interviews with survivors of wilderness therapy programs, therapeutic boarding schools, and other institutions around the world. These firsthand accounts expose an alarming pattern of abuse, neglect, and trauma disguised as treatment, alongside testimony from parents who entrusted these programs with their children. With expert insights from leading voices in the children’s rights advocacy space and adolescent mental health, Season 24 explores how programs have operated in the shadows for decades and why their harmful practices continue today.