LifeLine for Youth, LifeLine Behavioral Health, and Life-Line, Inc. which operate out of Utah, have misled the public about what they are. LifeLine tells parents that they are a therapeutic and safe treatment program, that they can fix virtually any behavioral problem an adolescent may have.
When I attended Life-Line, Inc from 1999-2000 they deprived me of even basic human rights. The right to communicate, with the outside world, or other people in the program. They deprived me of the right to move under my own volition, to use the restroom, or even what I was allowed to look at. I was not allowed to listen to the radio, watch television, or even read. I was once disciplined for reading a cereal box. I was given multiple strip searches a day. Later I had to perform the strip searches on others.
They controlled me completely. They gaslighted, accused, yelled, threatened, degraded, and humiliated me over and over again. Forced me to treat other people that way as a condition of progressing in the program. I was told constantly that without them I would be “Dead, Insane, or in Jail.” I was in a state of constant sleep deprivation. Most of the children in there with me were heavily medicated. I observed children being forced to exercise until they passed out. I witnessed children being put in an isolation room for solitary confinement. I witnessed children try to kill themselves in an effort to escape the abuse.
These practices are known as forced behavior modification. People have also described it as torture and abuse. According to a congressional report this is the same methods and practices that North Korea used on American POWs, and is what is used in so called re-education camps.
LifeLine was based upon the shuttered and discredited program founded by Virgil Miller Newton, KIDS Centers of America. LifeLine was in fact founded as KIDS of Salt Lake City [1] [2] [3] (Direct links to BES entities no longer work, but you can also visit Utah BES and search for the business name LIFE-LINE, INC or BES number 945126-0140). You can see their filing paperwork here. At the time they openly bragged about their ties to KIDS.
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KIDS suffered so many lawsuits and abuse allegations, including a 4.5 Million dollar judgement against it, that it eventually shutdown. KIDS itself was a copy of the notoriously abusive Straight Inc, where Miller Newton worked before founding KIDS. KIDS used a near exact copy of the program that Straight Inc used. Straight was also shutdown due to many abuse allegations, investigations, and lawsuits.
In 1990, amid all the controversy over the KIDS program, the Utah location simply renamed themselves to Life-Line, inc [4][5], and continued to operate the same model. They eventually made another name change, to LifeLine for Youth. Somehow this simple trick of renaming themselves has allowed them to continue operating to this day.
Lifeline now claims that they moved on completely from the KIDS program when they moved to the Life-Line name in 1990. They claim they have had nothing to do with KIDS since then, that it was a clean break. But at the time they claimed “Treatment is still based on the Kids model”.
When I attended the program in 1999-2000 they were, in practice, if not in name, still running that same KIDS model, with a few minor adjustments. At that time the core of the KIDS program remained. They tried to make you “hit bottom” as they called it, but most would call it breaking a human being. They performed “Tough Love”, which in practice was mental, emotional, and psychological abuse. At that time the majority of staff were untrained, their only qualification for being there was having graduated the program.
I have had discussions with multiple former clients of Lifeline, that were there over a wide range of years, some as recently as 2022. They have relayed similar stories and experiences. Many of them told me that they felt like they were abused. I have also had multiple people tell me of even worse experiences.
I have also had discussions with multiple former staff members, that were staff over a wide range of years, some as recently as 2019. They have also confirmed a lot of the things I have described. That they felt like the way Lifeline operates harmed many of the children. Many have also told me they themselves were manipulated and abused. Some said that when they were hired, they were immediately expected to start caring for the children, and operating “group sessions” with no training.
If you are a Parent looking to place your child in a Residential Treatment Center, Wilderness Program, Boot Camp, Therapeutic Boarding School, Emotional Growth Facility, Residential Drug Treatment, Behavioral Modification Program, or any kind of Congregate Care Facility, I plead with you to reconsider. These “tough love” treatments do not work according to National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science (pdf).
The mental, emotional, psychological, and sometimes physical, or even sexual abuse they may experience could leave them with lifelong trauma. Many survivors of these programs report PTSD, C-PTSD, anxiety, agoraphobia, lifelong physical disorders and more. These so called tough love programs have been shown to produce less favorable outcomes, and commonly leave the person worse off than they were before. That same NIH study referenced before also concluded:
“Such evidence as there is indicates that group detention centers, boot camps, and other “get tough” programs can provide an opportunity for delinquent youth to amplify negative effects on each other.”
LifeLine Behavioral Health, LLC is a separate entity (BES search that name, or BES Number 9095955-0160), but the address is the same as LifeLine for Youth (1130 W Center St, North Salt Lake, Utah, 84054), the registered agent Shane Petersen is the current CEO / Executive Director of LifeLine for Youth.
I encourage you to follow the links and information provided, and to do your own research. If you are aware of changes that LifeLine has made to their program, and are willing to share specifics about those changes, please email me at: [email protected]
You may be interested in listening to fellow former LifeLine participants talk about their experiences:
If you are a survivor of LifeLine, know that you are not alone. I understand, and I believe you. Contrary to what they tried to convince you, you did not deserve the trauma and suffering you went through. Please feel free to share your stories on the testimonials page or in the comments below. You are also welcome to email me at [email protected] if you are more comfortable reaching out privately.
Hello I am a Lifeline survivor my name is Chandler Nordmeyer and I was there from February 23, 2006 until I myself freed myself by having the runaway June 1, 2007. I’m so happy that there is a website that may reach parents that are in distress so that they may know the truth Lifeline Utah so that their children can avoid the abuse and miss treatment trauma harassment prejudice an awful separation from their home families all under the guise of “help“ help well as we all know places like this service and help themselves and are self-serving keep on keeping on I love what you guys are doing I have so much more I could say about this but I’ve commented a lot on their YouTube page and on Lifeline‘s review page you’ll see me there. I hope you don’t mind if I come back and share more. I’m in a bit of a rush now but so happy to have found you!
I’m being sent to lifeline
I am so sorry. All I can offer is some advice. Comply, do what they want so you can get out as quickly as possible, and try not to forget who you are, or to be coerced into believing what they want you to believe. Try to remember yourself.
Is there any possibility of getting your parents to visit this website? And for them to believe it? Facebook, google, or yelp reviews on LifeLine? Or point them to https://www.reddit.com/r/troubledteens/? Or https://www.breakingcodesilence.org/? Or any of the zillion other places online that tell the truth about these places? Might be worth a shot anyway.
For profit to profit off of naïve parents and ones that are terrified. The cost and manipulation is unbelievable for what little services they claim to offer and do offer. It’s a great place go to if you want to expose your children to reparative therapy. Great place to throw a child if you want to neglect them and forget about their overall well-being and have them be raised by undertrained stranger for profits. Think about that. No really sit back and and ponder. If you do not understand what reparative therapy is look it up. Maybe this cold place is right up your alley and great for throwing your money at. No matter how bad of a parent you may think you are you’re better off trusting your instincts and acting like a parent rather than sending them here.
You could mess up no worse as a parent than to send Your child here…..
I’d like to check out the facility’s now Shane Peterson. Hey Place your kids here if you want them to be exposed to the worst kind of neglect and abuse and have your money be wasted their “educational system“ is a complete joke this place has a terrible record for the abuse that I’ve witnessed firsthand they don’t really try to help you there’s a heavy heavy heavy LDS bias bias and if you aren’t LDS or Christian You will have trouble advancing in this program.
During my time here I saw homophobia galore. A terrible excuse for food every single day for a year and a half. children that we were just in there for being homosexual or because their parents didn’t know or didn’t want to raise them. this place charges an exorbitant amount of money and they will manipulate you while saying that your child is the ultimate most manipulative creature on the planet. Shame on Lifeline this place is awful and has been practicing what should be crimes for years and years and years held unaccountable.
Why would kids have to be spending over a year or in a place other than their own home during a very important time of development -childhood. Well it’s very common for children to spend nine months to a year and a half up in this place so if you have about I don’t know $40,000 plus to have some strangers raise (abuse, neglect) and faux love and care for your child and or abuse them go for this place- I haven’t seen or heard of better in that department. Even being “helped” by the state (youth DT) was better than this place! This is one of the worst grueling experiences I’ve ever gone through. Nice masks by the way…. I know that this place does not have the ability to keep children at least 6 feet apart as it has its bottom junior staff watch your kids the vast majority of the time when you rarely see clinicians if you’re even lucky to see them once every three weeks and even then they aren’t that qualified knowledgeable or willing to work with those that are out off the cookie cutter LDS mold. I don’t think a single junior staff making minimum-wage that’s overworked really is going to be able to keep your children 6 feet apart in a cluster of a facility with masks on to. And in the mornings that’s all there is that watches you one person that is just recently graduated their own program being paid minimum-wage to watch your kids and yet you for Fork over top dollar daily. This place did not and does not allow anybody to talk for months and months and months and months. Plus they don’t even teach you real sign language! But lieu of real sign language (a useful skill to learn!) you’re “taught” their useless pathetic hand signaling system since they deprive you of your own voice. Imagine that a system that deprives of your own voice when you are developing do you think that that is healthy?!?! I’ll leave the choice is up to you! I pray you don’t send your children here. Sincerely Chandler.
Chandler,
I am trying to get ahold of you to discuss the so called “LifeLine School”. I am disgusted by the stories I have heard from my wife and would like to discuss my plans with you. What is the best way to get in contact with you? Thank you for creating this website, every family should be aware of the fake program they are sending their children too. I fully intend to make this known.
I came here in 2002. You are 100% right. I was stuck on first/second phase 9 out of 11 months because I would not comply with their LDS standards. They made me meet with a bishop as female all alone. With no chaperone. I was asked disturbing questions as a young 17 year old girl between a male that was considered a senior citizen. I was isolated from my family and my parents were going broke trying to pay for this program to fix their “horrible child”. I was a singer. I quit singing after I left here. It makes me sad. I used to sing the girls to sleep at night while they cried. I was angry at my parents. They were manipulated too and are victims of this program as well. They didn’t understand what was going on inside of the building. The staff made sure of that. I was allowed to speak to them for 5 minutes only once a week if I was good.
The five minutes was observed and I was only allowed to make “amends”. I ran out of things to say rather quickly.
I have permanent brain damage because I was allergic to the medications they were giving me. It caused me to have suicidal thoughts which I did act on. Further causing physical harm to myself and even more emotional damage trying to escape the abuse. I hate these people with all my heart and I want everyone to know what they did to us.
Thank you Chandler. I wish I would have done more research before I sent my son here. As of Oct 1st 2020 he is no longer in the program. He was admitted Aug. 9th.
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Mom for doing more research and for listening.
Well done Jennifer! You are more than welcome. Thank you for taking the time to hear my experience and knowledge. These places are really tricky, sneaky, and polished on the front- designed in a way to get one falling for their lies and false promises. I’m happy to hear your son is out of there and safe from Lifeline. Well done Mom!
As a former client of the program Lifeline for Youth, I must speak up. I was there during the year of 2020. While I did not experience the full extent of Lifelines mistreatment, I will share what I had to endure. More nights than not, the clients were screaming back and forth with staff or one another. If you’re upset and overwhelmed they manipulate you into thinking that they have nothing to do with your state of mind, and that you have to solve your issues on your own. They do not offer assistance in proper coping, they just expect you to do it. I saw on multiple occasions, clients being grabbed by staff to the point of bruising. I overheard so many phone calls in which staff would tell the parental figures or guardians that their child was almost beyond help. They would assure the parents that they would be able to fix them because they found the program “just in time.” A client would hurt themselves and do so continuously, and the staff would stand by and drop their level, rather than taking the preventative measures and comforting them to a better point in which to talk through it. I overheard so so many hushed conversations between clients in which they would try to work through an issue, and staff would come and separate them because they “can’t do it on their own.” If you had an issue with a staff member, you had to file a grievance and were unable to bring it up in community. Community was a group that was held weekly to discuss issues between other people in the facility. Although staff was always there, you were NEVER allowed to confront them with the issue if others were around. Regardless of how much safer it made you feel having others in the room, staff issues were to be dealt with individually. I have heard of multiple instances in which staff has both neglected and abused clients. Many were so determined to seem better that the second they were let out for a day or night home visit, they relapsed. Lifeline is a very religion based program whether or not you choose to believe it is your choice. They tell parents that their kids will not leave until they are better, but when lifeline seemingly makes it worse, they restrict phone calls and communication with family outside of therapy. You are not allowed to converse with other clients about issues going on in your life, and if you do, there can be very serious consequences. The only time you are allowed to process any sort of trauma is in clinical group, and many times, not even then. It is difficult to gage the amount of abuse that occurred there in my time because those months have all blurred together, and most of my experiences have been forgotten. They dope you up on so many meds and act surprised when you act differently because of them. The clinicians/therapists will make you believe that you are the center of every one of your problems and that you are not allowed to be upset. Too many times I was told how different I was from every other client and how I didn’t want to get better. We would not be paying tens of thousands of dollars if I did not want to get better. They teach you that you are not allowed to assume what is on somebody else’s minds, but consistently assume what is on yours. You’re upset? Deal with it. It’s not their issue. A staff member harassed you? That sucks, deal with it. If you want to help your children, listen to them. Many times, they say what they need through their actions. Often times, much of it is environmental and needs to be resolved within their household, not a residential treatment facility. If you love them and truly want them to get better, work with them. For fear of the program itself, I will not be revealing my identity on this page. If you have questions, reply to this comment. I will do my best to reply to you.
Cant say, I was just in lifeline for the beginning of 2021. It has not changed a bit. The clinicians do not care about what is best for you. They only care about what is following their guide lines. They are always about that “everyones treatment is different” bullshit. Yet they do anything in their power to make you do the same thing as everyone else. Residential was the worst experience of my entire life. I pray for anyone who may be dealing with this horrible brainwashing program. Telling you now, just go along with whatever bullshit they pull on you. You will be out of that hellhole faster.
I was here during 2020 as well from May 13th to August 27th, I’m not sure if you were in there during that time, but thats true, it hasn’t changed. Some people went in and came out even worse, to the point of bullying others outside of the program and relapsing. I’ve stuck close to one girl I went with and we’ve both had to call the police for eachother. The program never helped. It almost killed me when I got out from the mental state I was left in. I’m sorry you had to endure going there, I hope you’re doing alright now, I know I still have nightmares and the trauma is very real, but it will eventually get better. Thank you for sharing!
I just want to reach out to you and you may not ever see this.
Please take care of your physical and mental health. I didn’t understand what was going on with me. I’ve been suffering for decades due to the abuse that happened to me. It set the trajectory for the first part of my adult life and it wasn’t good. All my friends are dead.
Take care.
It’s funny I stumbled on this because I graduated from life line 2005 and yes it was hard but I learned about myself in there but I guess it all depends on who was your councelors because yet I didn’t want to be there from day one I turned 18 and didn’t leave. I’m not saying it’s good today or before but it did change my life for the better. But I had great counselors and a good group of kids in my group that really help me. But treatments all about trust so if you can’t trust anyone and let go then yeah it’s going to feel like prison
How can you trust somebody when you have just been kidnapped in the middle of the night by people you don’t know without an explanation to be put in a place where you are stripped searched deprived of your human rights and all of this done without any oversight from any real certified institution government or the like. One isn’t strip searched by doctors or nurses its by fellow children. I’m glad it helped you and didn’t scar you, despite the inhumane nature of it all. It is depriving humans of basic human rights and inhumane humiliating ways forgive me if I cannot build trust in such an environment or after all that. It’s not really an environment that breeds that with such unnecessary confrontations over such a petty things, gay witch hunts and ridiculous traumatizing things of the like. You dodged a bullet I’m happy that you are good and still manage to trust people after that!
Agreed. Everyone here complaining, its because you refused treatment and now please grow up and stop throwing yourselves a pity party. Lifeline isn’t perfect and nor is any treatment center. I was a client for over 11 months. I got setback more than 8 times and you know what? I’m not ungrateful like the rest of you. I put holes in walls, copped out, broke the FLC door down, and shattered the bubble window with my fist. I wouldn’t take it back for anything.
This page is a complete fucking joke. If your still finding yourself pissed off about your experiences with lifeline, think about how YOU acted. It isn’t a walk in the park. It’s fucking life.
My my what an inflammatory remark from you what’s up with your reaction? I’m expressing the truth that place is damaging and practices pseudo psychology Psychology and faux help at best. Chill out Kole you’re coming off cold,
Inconsiderate, immature, and abrasive. Obviously the program didn’t help you to be a better person…. Or at least a more kind, insightful one. Still I ask what’s with your reaction? You must be a masochist to defend such a place Ah hahah.
Hey I was there when you guys were and look, I am revisiting this traumatic experience as I have now just started a process of healing my issues with anxiety and OCD, it has been so many years, yet 10 months of hell there still gives me nightmares, i am so grateful my judge got me out at the time.
If anything I would hope that children and teens are able to find help through individualized, professionally guided therapy which LifeLine definitely did not give me.
Why are you so reactive? Do you have Stockholm syndrome or something?
Its very unhealthy to be as aggressive as you are in this post toward others sharing their personal experiences and feelings. You don’t have to agree or relate but you should be respectful and maybe try to see something from a different perspective. What is there to gain from shutting someone down or ranting about your perspective while others are talking about moments you were not present for and feelings that are not your own? Think about it this way, you don’t know everything and you’re not always right even though sometimes you are.
This page is helpful for me. I was in Life Line from 2002-2004. I was a child who suffered trauma at a young age and was in desperate need of help by the time I was admitted to the program. It was the 2nd residential treatment program my parents sent me to by the age of 15 . When my mom apologizes, over 20 years later,, I hug her and remind her that she didn’t know what to do either. Did I always make the right choices or even know where to begin to be okay? Absolutely not. Hence my presence. Was i so out of control that i needed to sit stationary with arms straight in front of me, hands on my knees staring at the 12 steps, unable to speak or move or even ask for a moment to myself for hours upon hours each day for a year and a half? Probably not, right? Was i prepared at 14 to learn the very intricate details heavy addiction and abuse that surpassed my own troubling issues under the supervision of untrained recent graduates of the youth program? Absolutely not, again. Durring one of my first nights in a group meeting, I had to pee. I didn’t know the sign to tell the teenager that was assigned to monitor my every move what i needed nor did she care. When I tried to whisper I was reprimanded. I tried to stand up to walk to the restroom and was immediately the center of attention with several people trying to pull me back to my seat. And just like that I urinated on myself in front of everyone, a room full of youth, staff and clinitians. When i was escorted out of the room in silence a staff worker said loud enough for everyone to hear “seriously, you need attention that bad?”. And thus it began. By the time they tried to send me back to school on the 3rd phase my social anxiety was so overwhelming that I actively saught out pot from kids I didn’t know on day one. I got high, called my mom and walked back in the building with my shoes off refusing to go back. I spent my days listening to stories of rape, overdoses, violence and depression from kids that were just as lost as I was with Jim Smith pontificating to the room about the smoke and the fire having no idea what I was supposed to be learning. I watched dear friends try to suffocate themselves with aid bandages and plastic chairs and was never consoled or asked how i felt, I cried alone when we learned of graduates that committed suicide, sat in awe as 5th phasers that i idolized came through the doors strung out and desperate and I watched my parents fall into financial distress trying to make it all happen for us because they were afraid and thought they were helping us (my sister was there with me). The education provided was so far behind that I never truly recovered until I was an adult. I often think about brain development and how, under distress the prefrontal cortex doesn’t fully develope and instead reverts to fight or flight. I don’t blame myself for what I didn’t know or hold guilt for my actions in such a volatile environment and realize why I struggled during my recovery process as an adult. Our parents did not know what was happening, the staff did not know what they were doing. Shane Peterson is not confused on his motives. Think of the money there is to be made off of the fear and desperation of a parent with a child in need. ADMISSIONS IS SALES. They had and have metrics and marketing budgets. There are still suicides every year, 20 years later and we still cry. So maybe you did well after being such an ass hat for your 11 month stint in the program but it remains true that other’s take away was not so fortunate.
I was compliant the entire time I was there and they made fun of me and called me I a kiss-a** and a wimp. They held me back solely on the basis that they didn’t like my personality. I have tested as being on the autism spectrum so I think that was a big part of why I had trouble fitting in. I had 2 staff members flat out say basically “I know we’re not supposed to tell people when we don’t like them, but I really don’t like you”! Gee, I really trust you to treat me well and impartially if you feel like you can say that. Oh course nobody was witness to either one.
I was there for over 2 years. I became chronically suicidal because I figured that was the only way out.
Our M.I.s made us connect our past our current situation to our eventual death. I believe that alone caused many people to become suicidal because of daily repetition of that idea. My family eventually had to declare bankruptcy due to the cost of 2 of their children being there. My parents divorced a year after I got out and our family fell apart. Nothing good came of that place.
I went through the same thing. Me and my brother were there for 2 years. It ruined our lives. So much trauma. Being forced to confess things we never did in order to move up. I’m so sorry you had to go through this too.
I’m so sorry you went through this. I was also on the autistic scale. Severe vision problems and trouble picking up on social queues. I was treated much the same. Chronic hospitalizations ever since.
Lifeline saved my life and yes strict rules but they are dealing with a bunch of teenagers. I never experienced any abuse whatsoever…. Strict rules is not abuse. I guess everyone has a different experience but mine was definitely not abuse in any way.
i attended lifeline in 2017. My parents sent me there because i was a “troubled teen” but i was never in there for *TW* suicidal thoughts or attempts, but when i was in there for over a month all i could think about was how to take away the pain of being forced to not being myself, (sorry i hope this makes sense) i ended up trying to take my own life one night. that place is more damaging then it is good. one of the other girls that were in there with me committed only 3 months after she was released. that place is KILLING people, and for what? money.
I attended Lifeline from 1997-1998. I know a lot of people didn’t have a good experience with it, but I LOVED Lifeline. I feel like the lessons I learned about the 12 steps and communication and searching and fearless moral inventory have helped me every single day in my life, to this day. Of course I had some times I didn’t like, but mostly I do feel like Lifeline improved my life and made me a better person. It taught me to be so compassionate, because every single person has a story. The kids in there need help and guidance. That’s what I received, and I am grateful for it.
I was there with Teal. I think the program changed dramatically from the time we were there to recently. There were aspects I still didn’t agree with, but for the most part life line was good for me.
Personally my plan after 10 months in there was to do as many drugs as possible until it killed me, it definitely left me much worse than I was before. I am very blessed to be where I am today, about 16 years later and I am sober and well. I hope with new legislation they are able to really step in and put a stop to these types of programs that take advantage of parents who are stressed and scared and don’t know what else to do. I sincerely feel they prey on parents, there were dozens of children in there who absolutely did not belong in that extreme of a program
How is this place still open!?! How does anyone working there sleep at night? How is there no oversight? What can we do?
I was at lifeline over a decade ago. I spent nearly 2 years there because I refused to bend and continued to be “setback” – too many of the other kids I went with have committed suicide or overdosed since.
I was groomed by a male staff there – he would sneak me treats and he made a plan to kidnap me with their big white van. There was some really disturbing and sexual things he would say to me. I was 16. He was 20. I spent far too much alone time with him, but at the time it felt like a better option than being there. No one was checking on me. I eventually told another girl and she told the staff and he was fired. I distinctly remember therapist Dan giving me a big sit down. They blamed ME for provoking him and used my sexual history I had disclosed in therapy as “proof”. Looking back I can see now that Dan was seriously concerned about my parents pressing charges. He sweet talked them out of it and I was setback in the program again.
This is just one of dozens of incidents that occurred I could write a book on. I was completely brainwashed to tell everyone I was an addict. When I arrived they told me I was a cocaine addict(I hadn’t ever done it). I refused to admit it and they refused to let me uplevel. After MONTHS i finally “admitted” it and began making up stories about doing drugs. I was rewarded by phasing up. It was a sixk cycle. I learned the more i “got honest” about my past the more i was rewarded so i made up an entire fake life for myself.
I became a real heroin addict after leaving. The brainwashing and psychological abuse were unbearable.
There were multiple girls in who had absolutely no reason too- one girl was simply gay. Another was reading/writing some slightly erotic fantasy books – I am not kidding. That is all she was there for.
I cannot believe this place is still open and Dan is still there. It needs to be burned to the ground.
Same I was 12 and interviewed by teens on intake I think I wanted to impress them and did lie saying I had done drugs. I never had. I was there early 90s when they were making changes from kids great of salt lake. I was never allowed to take back the initial statement instead kept on a lower level and called the baby due to my age until I made up lies about drug use.
Horrible place
I want to send a few thoughts and appreciate the opportunity to do so. To any recent youth or are currently in the program please be kind to anyone on this page or that has a different opinion or experience. I am asking that anyone reading this if you can’t be kind please do not interact with them in a negative or combative way. I understand some parents and youth have made contact, while the support is appreciated, it’s not necessary. If you say or do anything please be kind and respectful. While I haven’t made contact with them I have expressed to our current families that I don’t think they mean harm and do not intend to hurt any current youth or family. Anyone who wants to clarify could be helpful for our youth who have been scared of you (definitely not the ones who meow or barked at ya’ll).
Please keep in mind that the people behind this website or who are using their voice are doing so for self advocacy and the ethical and professional treatment LL provides. This is something that is deeply important and should always be a driving force for all that we do. Each employee has this responsibility. We also have the responsibility to understand what factors we can change to ensure that every person we are fortunate to work with has a positive experience. Anyone who would like to meet with me I would embrace the opportunity to learn about your perspective and evaluate LL’s strategies to make sure we hit our goal to make LL a positive and therapeutic experience.
There have been some of you who have been angry or upset by this website, protesters, etc. and I would encourage you focus your energy on compassion and having a heart at peace, remembering the Arbinger stuff or remember one of Sadhguru’s top quotes (my opinion) that “How people are is their choice. How I am is my choice. No matter what they do, no one can make me angry, happy, or unhappy. These privileges I have kept to myself”. Also be mindful that when you hold resentment or anger is likened to holding a hot coal. Spend your energy wisely!
Perhaps at a later date I’ll detail the changes LL has made over the 26 years I’ve been here. Anyone who has interest in discussing this with me or our team please reach out to us. Our goal is to create a healthy environment where the youth we serve can heal and learn strategies to combat the challenges they’ve already experienced and prepare them for what they may encounter.
Sincerely, Clinical Director, cult leader, friend, enemy, homie, human- Dan Scholz
In the interest of true transparency. Which LifeLine does not allow, not in-person, not online, not on social media. Not anywhere. I proudly present their rebuttal. LifeLine’s attempt to “make contact” was their legal team attempting to threaten me with a lawsuit, to silence me, which they explicitly demanded I do. I have already provided proof in my own Instagram posts, under the alias of “lifelinelies”. And which I will likely replicate here, again. If you are on the side of LifeLine, you are on the side of disingenuous liars.
Dan this is complete bullshit! Cult leader? Are you serious? You want to create a healthy environment for youth to heal? What about the ones like me you groomed, emotionally abused & let be abused by Shane. Don’t gaslight or try to shame those that speak out. Apologize & take accountability like you want the kids you’re “treating” to. I thought with us meeting up I would have a little bit a clarity. Not now. This just took me back to all the bulllshit you sat back & allowed. How you pretended we were the best of friends when you were staff. How we had plans to go out, get matching tattoos & who knows what else would’ve happened. All I have to say is I’m beyond glad I was one of the first ones you played house with before you took over kids inc. I dodged that bullet. Even more telling that you ended up married to a phaser. You sick Fuck!- Lindsey White (LL abuse & trauma survivor)
Response to Dan Scholz of lifeline
I was in your torture program from August 2007 to November 2008. I was going through puberty, my mother was going through menopause, and in those hormonally heightened emotional states my mother and I struggled to get along with each other. She, an adult, could not control her own emotions, so she forced her child (who didn’t have the life experience to understand why it seemed like she hated me) into your program. After years of abuse and neglect by her, I experimented with alcohol, marijuana, and sex (aside from the assaults I had experienced since age 11, I had two sexual partners, both monogamously). Six months later at age 17 I left my mother’s house and she set the police on me. I was then court-ordered to Lifeline and legally required to graduate from the program or face time in jail… not for any criminal charges, but simply for leaving the program when I turned 18. So I finished, I graduated.
In SRG, I and many others were forced to write sexual encounters in explicit detail, then read those accounts in front of other CHILDREN and adults. Then shamed by those adults for not “taking full responsibility” for being victims of sexual assault and rape. I was blamed, by many members of your staff, for actions other people inflicted on me. This browbeating traumatized me more than the rape itself did. Because of this group, I have struggled with sex, intimacy, and shame. Let me remind you, I was in this group in 2007-2008. That is 15 years ago… my entire adult life, I have been unable to maintain healthy intimacy for nearly any period of time.
How would that make you feel, Dan? If you weren’t able to love your partner fully because of actions you were forced to participate in when you weren’t even legally an adult, how do you think that would make you feel? Maybe a lesser human? Maybe a failure? I hope you take a few minutes, practice some empathy, and just try to imagine what that would be like… to be married to the best person on earth, and to want to love them deeply and fully…. And then when you try, you cannot stand to be touched. To want to love your person and feel disgusted with yourself for wanting that, even though you know in your mind that you’re not disgusting, you’re not bad…. This is C-PTSD Dan. This is a conditioned response that I live with daily because of my time with you and your program. Before you wonder, yes I have sought therapy for this. All it did was help me understand it… the physical repulsion toward myself and being touched in any kind of sexual way remains and is directly attributable to Lifeline’s Sexually Reactive Group.
There were public shaming sessions via Confrontations, often by staff-members. During 4th phase I was finally starting to feel confident in myself and how I presented myself to the world. One of the higher ups, I don’t recall who, stood me up in front a group of kids who trusted and respected me, and told me I had to change the way I presented myself because I was looking “imagey”. Anyone else remember that term? I had made an earring out of a yellow feather from a feather duster, and was wearing my hair in multiple ponytails because it made my fellow girl-siders smile. That was it. I was dressed modestly, nothing tight or form-fitting, no makeup…. Just one yellow feather and some ponytails. And you people told me to change the way I present myself because you claimed I made people uncomfortable by how I looked. This event re-triggered my eating disorder (which Lifeline was convinced just forcing me to eat more food would fix), which took years to address. I still struggle with disordered eating, and can trace a significant of it back to my time in your facility.
Private conversations with my mother were eavesdropped on while staying in the FLC, initiated by staff who encouraged other victims of your program to also listen in, resulting in confrontations and setbacks. Because I was confiding in MY MOTHER.
I was shamed by my clinician, Kami Black, for being happy about spending time with my father and brother. I was just happy to see my family, who I hadn’t seen in several years, and I was called a liar and a manipulator. I was threatened with setbacks because I just wanted to be happy about seeing my dad. Kami forced me to tell her that I was triggered, that seeing my dad made me want to use (btw she was talking about TOBACCO), to say my dad and brother were unhealthy for me, or she would set me back to Shadow. Because she couldn’t comprehend that maybe the joy of finally seeing my dad maybe distracted me from wanting a cigarette. So I was threatened with losing my shoes and what tiny bit of autonomy because I was honest, and then was forced to lie and say what YOU PEOPLE wanted me to say, or face punishment for being honest.
Many of my sessions with Kami ended in actual, physically measurable and visible panic attacks, in tears begging her to tell me what she wanted me to say because I didn’t know what she wanted from me, because she didn’t like or believe my honest responses to her “therapy”. Hyperventilation, elevated blood pressure and pulse, inability to use my hands or stand up because of these physical responses, and accused of being dishonest or faking these panic responses.
I am lucky that I have found a healthy support system far away from you and your cult of abusers and sociopaths. Not everyone is as lucky as I have been. I and my fellow hostages live every day with the scars you inflicted, and many of us have lost our lives to the struggle of trying to cope.
You, Dan, are deranged. You, Dan Scholz, are an abuser of children. You, Dan Scholz, have directly factored in to multiple suicides. You, Dan Scholz of Lifeline for Youth, are a perpetrator of deceit, manipulation, blackmail, extortion, brainwashing, theft, and kidnapping. I hope you find comfort in your “no one can control my feelings but me” fallacy. I cannot imagine living with even a fraction of the guilt you would live with, were you not actively delusional. You too Shane… this goes for you too. Dan’s just the one who decided to enter a victim space and make his presence known.
I look forward to the day I can visit your graves.
Yours in trauma,
HM.
Dan
You prey on a parents worst fears and promise results that are now laughable. My son was there for 4 months and I regret every day sending him there. His therapist was a joke and told me that he drove her crazy and that we were enablers and most of his issues were our fault but yet she never helped us gain tools to actually help. We asked for another therapist but were told you didn’t do that there. The shame and trauma we all survived is horrific when we were in a place supposedly to help us. I am so anti residential treatment at this point, even though at the time it seemed like our only option. My son has since been diagnosed with bipolar disorder which I’m shocked your “medical professionals” didn’t catch. We were told his issues were ODD and ADHD only.
It’s very strange that you don’t have a single thing to say in response to the testimonials given here, nor its claims.
Instead you chose to pretend that the people running this page threatened you and your staff. I see nothing of the sort.
What I do see is what narcissists do when gaslighting: pretend what’s being said is not what’s being said. You got called out for abuse, and with the changes in law making it so the statute of limitations no longer exists for abuse, I can see why.
Dan,
You’ve got to be kidding me.
During my time at lifeline in 2011-2012 You completely enabled the abuse of my parents. When one of your therapists saw the abuse and confronted my parents I was moved under you as a therapist because they were not happy.
The “care” i recieved had nothing to do with bettering my life, but lining the pockets of the facility by keeping my parents happy so they wouldn’t pull me from the program. I hope you’re happy to hear that the abuse YOU ignored and enabled continued well after I left the program and was certainly the root of any problem you witnessed while i was in the program. I didnt need “accountabily” because the abuse wasnt my fault- a lie which you and your staff tried to convince me of multiple times.
Not only that, but you yourself screamed in my face for not being “respectful” to another kid within the program simply for not looking at them while they were talking because I was having a breakdown and felt uncomfortable. Pretty abusive from my point of view.
While I’m sure we could all give feedback that could greatly improve the experiance of many children the fact remains that YOU are the professional, and YOU should know thay based on the research yours and the facilities tactics are not only ineffective but harmful. If you don’t take the time and ownership to educate yourself within your own profession nothing we say will fix this issue.
I would like to hear about the changes LL has made over the years. If the broken parts were fixed, acknowledging past mistakes is required. I’d like to hear you speak on that. I was there in 2001 and remember you then.
Dan how can you say that? The suffering that comes from that place is so real and you choose to ignore it because it pays your bills. After being a client for damn near 3 years and a staff employee for less than 3 months this place is absolutely awful. I really hope you, if you do have a heart, can change this place. Damage is already done. Maybe fix it starting today… baby steps.
Dan Scholz,
Get off your high horse. You’re not a god or a cult leader. You’re just a shitty person. And probably delusional. No one owes respect or kindness to someone who is directly responsible for child abuse. Including the child abuse inflicted on me over 15 years ago. I hold you responsible for that. We have a right to a voice. And you have no power here. Fuck you.
Becki
Our son has been a client at LifeLine for several months and we’ve had nothing but good experiences there. The staff is amazing. We’ve never questioned our decision to admit him and he has told us himself that it was the best decision that we have ever made for him. We ♥️ LifeLine.
Ask him again, in a few years. Once he is no longer under control of LifeLine, and given enough time that he is no longer terrified of being sent back. Of course, you will be lucky if he is still willing to talk to you, and has not cut you out of his life entirely (pretty common actually) for the abuse you inflicted upon him.
“We’ve never questioned our decision” that alone is a red flag. Do you even know what your son lives through on a daily basis? They dress up and pressure/Threaten kids by being held back if they don’t act a certain way on partners weekend, family meeting etc. he doesn’t truly have a the right to free speech and many other basic human rights. This isn’t right and I fear you’re not getting the whole picture. Look deeper. Insist on sitting on on a whole day- multiple days. Insist on talking to your child alone one on one with out repercussions. I doubt the program will even let you, or talk/manipulate you out of it. Children are always better off at home with family and loved ones one can easily obtain more humane, more helpful real therapy while living in the home you’ll save thousands of dollars and potentially decades of emotional damage or even a lifelong stunting experience. Just a thought. Please consider what I say.
Good day.
Scott,
When I was in the program it was very clear that I was not to say anything but positive things about lifeline or I would be set back and spend even longer trying to work my way out. I said the same things your son said, put a smile on my face and told them this place is great! I do hope it is helping your son, but I would heavily scrutinize a program that doesn’t let your child talk about their true feelings without threat of reprocusions. My parents had no idea what my experiance was actually like until I was leaving. I came back to talk to the group to give “inspirational words” and they witnessed some of the abuse first hand. These programs have been proven to be damaging to children. As a parent of a pre teen I would highly recommend doing some research into the impact programs like these have on children, and I would recommend making a safe place for your child where they can share the bad too.
I was in lifeline back in 1994 when it was in South Salt Lake. It was a total hell hole. I was there for months and signed myself out the second I turned 18. I was so traumatized by the experience that I didn’t care if I ever saw my family again. Leaving that place was the best decision I ever made and I forgot completely about it (most likely due to it being the worst situation of my life). I am only writing this now because I watched a program on Netflix about these abusive “troubled teen” centers and remembered that I had once been abused at one of these facilities. To hell with Lifeline. They brainwashed my parents and did not help me one iota. They caused me grief and PTSD. They made me hate and resent my parents. I feel bad for the kids that are trapped there.
I was sent to LifeLine against my will twice. Initially I was sent for mild depression & defiance with my parents (I just saw my initial eval report – those were the results). To stick me in a brain washing, break them till they confirm, intense inpatient rehab where groups are all about drugs & sex I knew nothing about till then but after being there for so long as an impressionable sheltered Mormon where I was abused & traumatized, I immediately began drugs & sex once I got out to cope. It was LifeLine that caused my life to spiral & HARMED me vs help me. They constantly accused me of lying & demanded I tell them I did drugs when I didn’t even know “how to do weed”, they called me a baby when I fell during a group activity & sprained my elbow not letting me go to a dr without begging over & over & over as I cry in pain & they said I was just doing that so I could see my parents, then they downplay my sprained elbow when Dan asked what happened / why I was wearing a sling saying no I didn’t break it, it’s just a sprain – the dr said sprains hurt just as bad as a broken bone. The bottom of my elbows were smacked upward by another kid in treatment over me because my arms weren’t straight enough as my hands are on my knees sitting in those awful blue chairs for groups we were in for countless hours every day, I was strip searched, unable to stand without someone putting their hands on my shoulder, unable to wear shoes even to the car outside as it’s snowing, unable to look where I wanted, unable to speak when I wanted, unable to wear what I wanted, unable to talk to who I wanted, forced to eat I believe it was 90% of the food causing me to gain 20+ pounds, I was medicated on a dose that made my heart beat so fast it caused anxiety I didn’t have before but now have a life long of anxiety from constantly walking on eggshells, feeling like I’m in trouble for any/everything, can’t trust my own thoughts, etc. The way you can’t tell your parents what’s going on in there – I told them in my first therapy session with them that groups were all about drugs & sex & I didn’t know what they were talking about & after they left, my therapist Denise calls me a lying manipulator & I can’t ever do that again! Nothing I said was a lie or intended to manipulate! Btw I only saw a therapist 2-3 times the entire time I was there which over my 2 admissions was nearly a year. There is no true therapy there – their therapy is talk in a group in front of everyone about an incident you regret & then choose people to give feedback where they call you a liar, your tears aren’t real, you aren’t being honest, I didn’t feel your feelings, etc just so they look good & progress in the phases, etc, etc, etc. Jessi is pure evil & I will never forget her abuse towards me. Jim’s therapy was tell my mom she’s an enabler, ask how many times I had sex in front of my parents & if I used protection, & tell them I’m reserved not shy. To sum it all up, this place gave me trauma, abused me, & HARMED me. They didn’t give a damn about me – only my parents $. I was treated as a cash cow & abused for profit. If they cared, they would’ve referred me to a therapist for my mild depression & defiance with parents at my initial eval.
My parents regret sending me there. Growing up, I was raised pagan and not allowed to go to the Mormon church. Imagine my shock when I was sent to LL. I was never able to tell my folks about how I not allowed to worship anything but “God” because it was “manipulation”. I was able to explain to my folks what that place really was. I HATE that it’s one of their biggest regrets, but I am also grateful that they can acknowledge how that place fucked me up.
I went to lifeline when I was 15. I had only tried weed a few times. By the time my intake was over. I was convinced that I was a horrible drug addict who had a sex problem. I stayed on first phase for over 10 months because I had no ambition to get off of it. It took me less than a month to get to 4th phase and I ended up running away from the building during school. They had no clue that I was gone until my parents had come for family night. They stood up and I was nowhere to be found. I was gone for well over 10 hours. I was tired of being drugged up by medication that I never needed and brainwashed. My family suffered and still talk about it as well. This place didn’t show me how horrible things were. They showed me how fun the party life could be. What I was missing out on. The level of control they teach people are out of control. Looking back I’m so shocked that they were even a program. They’re more of a colt. Eating pbj sandwiches almost every day or every other was miserable. Not being able to look at someone or talk when you wanted to. Everything stripped from you. I felt like a prisoner in my own mind.
I absolutely regret sending my daughter here when she was 12. At the time we felt great about it. We had nothing but good to say. Now that my daughter is 29 and we know what went on, what she learned there is so sad .
I just did what we thought was best. It has caused her so much trauma and PTSD.
She has come such far and we are so proud of her.
But I 1,000 percent regret! Please DONT send your children here.
This place is not OK
It’s so interesting to see old names of people I use to know! I don’t have social media but have thought about my peers from life line often. My name is abbey and during the 22 months I was there it was abbey vanorman. I hope anyone who has been living with complex trauma I hope you can all still be open at working trough that without fear.
I was at lifeline in 2022, and it was still pretty bad. No where near where it was 20 years ago, but still very outdated. I was made to believe that I had a serious drug and sex addiction. I had been using weed to cope with my rape and also became hyper sexual. We did get to the root of the problem, but I always thought terribly about myself because I thought I was a raging drug and sex addict. Now today, I have a hard time with physical touch, and it is hard for me to do anything physical with my partner, because it makes me feel so gross and awful, like it is wrong. When I was at lifeline, the worst thing for me was sitting in groups and everyone just trauma dumping. I heard about how a girl was sexually abused when she was a child. That is not something that should be shared to a bunch of teenagers that are in recovery for their own sexual trauma.
Not to mention, I also struggled with an eating disorder going into lifeline, and they thought the solution was to shove as much food as possible down our throats, and our only exercise was just dance. I was my highest weight when I got out of lifeline, and that caused a lot of problems for me with my body dysmorphia and eating disorder. I was not a healthy weight when I got out, and they should have had us outside exercising so much more.
After I got out of residential, I was in the day program, but then my mom kicked me out of the house. I was a couple weeks away from turning 18, and I had no where to go and no one willing to take me in, which resulted in me couch hopping and getting into dangerous situations. I asked Dan if he could help me in any way, and he did absolutely nothing, even left me on read. He saw a child who was homeless, and did nothing.
When I got in the program, I was someone who smoked a bit too much, and had some under eating issues. When I got out of the program, I tried more (harder) drugs, I was homeless, and I was binge eating to cope with it all. I’m so happy it finally got shut down!