Podcast Summary: "S24 Ep21: A Lot of Horsesh*t" – Something Was Wrong

Podcast: Something Was Wrong
Episode: Season 24, Episode 21
Release Date: November 13, 2025
Host: Tiffany Reese (Broken Cycle Media)
Feature Survivor: Haley

Overview

This harrowing episode centers on Haley, a survivor of a now-closed Montana therapeutic boarding school. Haley recounts her troubled childhood, tumultuous family life, her forceful placement in a wilderness youth program, and her subsequent experience in the so-called therapeutic boarding school. The episode vividly exposes the abuse, trauma, and manipulation endured in these institutions and underlines the ongoing impact these experiences have on survivors' adult lives. Haley’s voice is raw, articulate, and deeply honest, offering a personal lens into the larger industry of institutional child abuse.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Disclaimer & Institutional Denial (00:00–02:51)

• The episode begins with a detailed content warning.
• Tiffany Reese reads the institution’s legal response, in which the founder and school "deny the allegations" and claim "the school was a successful institution with real outcomes that changed multiple lives for the better." (00:00)
• Tiffany clarifies that the school’s name isn’t disclosed, but the allegations are based on survivor accounts and research.

2. Haley’s Early Childhood and Family Dynamics (02:51–04:07)

• Raised in Tucson, Arizona, in a seemingly idyllic but internally tumultuous home.
• Her mother was described as charismatic and stylish but volatile, often acting violently. Her father was more childlike and loving but also reactively violent.
• Family life was unstable, with frequent episodes of yelling, violence, and emotional chaos.

“I would make myself as big as possible and as loud as possible to break it up or to cause the attention to be more on me.” – Haley (04:09)

3. Childhood Trauma and Early Acting Out (04:09–13:18)

• Close friend Jakey died at 10, leading to her mother’s emotional withdrawal and Haley’s further isolation.
• Persevered through bullying at school, started using drugs, became sexually active at 11.
• First experience of betrayal when her mother learned of her sexual activity and exposed it to her pediatrician, leading to a traumatic pap smear.

“I did not have another pap smear until I was pregnant with my child at 36. I was totally traumatized from the experience.” – Haley (11:00)

• Family dysfunction escalated: her mother sought an MSW and left, father took over business, academic difficulties increased, and substance use escalated.

4. Forcible Transport to Wilderness Program (14:31–21:51)

• Haley’s parents arranged for a transport service without her prior knowledge.
• She was forcibly removed from her home in the middle of the night, handcuffed, and flown to a wilderness program in Utah.

“They put handcuffs on me outside of the house and in the vehicle. The woman sat in the back seat and held onto my legs because I was trying to kick.” – Haley (15:42)

• On arrival, she was strip-searched, given new clothing, and subjected to isolation (“Earth Phase”), with minimal food and hygiene.
• Describes relentless hiking, physical deprivation, and lack of communication.

5. The Wilderness Program Experience (21:51–23:46)

• Sparse staff; only saw therapist three times, who delivered the devastating news that “your parents don't want you home.” (22:04)
• Therapy centered on “impact letters” outlining perceived failings and pain caused to family.
• No therapeutic benefit—just labor, deprivation, and exposure.
• Her “solo,” a week-long isolation, was spent shuffling through the snow to create physical mazes—a metaphor for her state of mind.

“I don't remember anything positive about that experience.” – Haley (23:31)

6. Therapeutic Boarding School in Montana (24:36–40:00)

• Transferred directly from wilderness program to the boarding school; parents led to believe it was wholesome and therapeutic.
• Daily life: Chores, manual labor (shoveling horse manure, building fences), minimal or nonexistent actual schooling.
• Therapy was largely attack-based, group “forced disclosures” about sexual history, food history, and trauma, which were then shared without consent with parents.
• Heavy focus on physical “metaphors,” often humiliating or punishing (e.g., being forced to wear a six-foot “victim triangle” for a year).

“The theory was that they had to break us down like the horses that he was obsessed with breaking.” – Haley (27:29)

• Restrictive visitation with parents, manipulation, and constant surveillance.
• Recalls the “intervention” where girls were forced to live outside and perform hard labor as punishment for group “dysfunction.”

"The way that I beat the system was by my bone condition...I kept bringing up the pain...and so that is actually how I got out." – Haley (38:53)

7. Long-Term Trauma and Adult Life (40:00–44:06)

• After release, struggled with re-integration, used drugs again, and was expelled from high school.
• Difficulty forming relationships, lacked social skills due to years of forced attack therapy, and absence of real medication or diagnosis.
• Emotional impacts endure: trust issues, anxiety, deep-seated fears of “being in trouble” or losing love, and physical illness.

8. Reflections and Hope for the Future (44:06–45:45)

• Haley expresses hope that such abusive programs are exposed and eliminated.
• Stresses that survivors’ ongoing suffering is a product of greed-motivated institutions that prey on troubled children and families.

“It's this disgusting hidden greed machine extorting children and families... People, us as humans as a whole, don't have to suffer the rest of our lives as adults because of the trauma we endured on this level in a place we should have been getting help.” – Haley (44:12)

• Her personal vision is for peace, healing, and to be a “peaceful parent.”

“I want peace. I want healing. And I think I'm on the right track now.” – Haley (45:20)

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On family turmoil:
  “My mom was really violent. I know that my dad was too. He was reactively violent. My mom would back you into a corner. She did it a lot with me. She did it a lot with my father.” (04:09)

• On first betrayal by her mother:
  “My mother decided that I was out of control... I was pretty obsessed with the idea of being adult at a young age.” (09:23–10:12)

• On the trauma of being forcibly removed:
  "All of a sudden I hear my father's voice in our house and he shouldn't have been there because he didn't live there … there was just a huge man in my doorway… They put handcuffs on me outside of the house." (15:01)

• On life at the school:
  “Supposedly we're supposed to be having equine therapy, but... There was no equine therapy for us. We just shoveled the shit of these horses and there was 21 of them. A lot of horseshit.” (27:19)

• On the psychological manipulation:
  “It's such a mind fuck. And they're brainwashing us... I saw my mother twice in the two years that I was there.” (36:51)

• On ongoing struggles:
  “I turned 40 this year. I still feel 15. I still feel part of me is still there. Like so many of us that experience traumatic things, part of you is still there not even realizing that it works its way into every part of your life.” (43:25)

• On what she hopes listeners take away:
  “It's this disgusting hidden greed machine extorting children and families. How is this not completely exposed?” (44:12)

• On her hope for the future:
  "I want to live peacefully… I want peace. I want healing. And I think I'm on the right track now." (45:06)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:00 – 02:51: Content warning & legal response from school’s attorneys
• 02:51 – 14:31: Haley’s childhood, family, trauma, and escalation
• 14:31 – 21:51: Forcible transport and wilderness camp experience
• 21:51 – 24:36: Details of the wilderness experience and therapy
• 24:36 – 40:00: Arrival and life at Montana boarding school, forced labor, attack therapy
• 40:00 – 44:06: Aftermath, adult struggles, and continuing impacts
• 44:06 – 45:45: Reflection, calls for awareness, and hope

Tone & Language

The episode is spoken with candor, raw emotion, and, at times, dark humor. Haley’s narration is vivid, detailed, and often heartbreaking. The tone carries a sense of ongoing grief, anger, validation, and hope for healing. Host Tiffany Reese maintains a compassionate, validating presence throughout.

For Listeners

This summary covers all pivotal narrative elements and should resonate with those affected by such institutions, those working in trauma-informed care, and advocates against institutional abuse. Haley’s story stands as testimony to the resilience of survivors and the urgent need to dismantle systems that exploit vulnerable youth under the guise of therapy.