Reply to John Volken Academy. Any know anything?

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[quote=Anonymous]The entirety of this review is based on my own personal opinion/experience, and is aided by a document regarding an official investigation by the BC Ministry of Assisted Living.

This place is not what it advertises itself as.

I went through the Canadian academy location as a client, then eventually stayed on as an employee for about 6 months before I was fired for trying to report the potential abuse of a client by a different staff member.

It is of my opinion that the staff, the program, and the organization as a whole is predatory at worst, and grossly inept at best. I do not consider this a place where true healing happens, in fact, I would argue that on average more damage occurs to clients than actual therapy. I would not consider this an addictions recovery center, instead, it is a monument to incompetence and hubris.

Sound like I might have a bit of a bone to pick, eh? Well, I do.

I am one of the very lucky few who have been blessed with a tremendously loving and supportive family, and had it not been for them, I would have left the program long before I completed it. That's right, I FINISHED the program and still feel this strongly about what a disservice it does to others.

I believe this program preys on the lost, vulnerable, and scared. On those suffering from addiction, and their families, to serve non-noble goals.

In my experience: they neglect client's wellbeing, illegally underpay staff (if you work/worked for the academy, that contract they made you sign to not have to pay you overtime is invalid, so contact your labor rep), and do their utmost to keep families in the dark to save face for the organization and keep a facade alive.

But hey, don't just take my word for it, the BC Ministry of Assisted Living investigated some of my claims late last year and this is what they found:

https://connect.health.gov.bc.ca/assisted-living-residence/1277

From my experience as a client: the majority of my time was spent working. From my experience there was zero regard for client safety on worksites (including intensive labor jobs), you work 6 days a week, and the "therapy" is a bi-weekly 1 - 2 hour group session that is unmoderated. Meaning there is no professional in the room with clients during these therapy sessions. There was staff occasionally, but no one with actual formal training. This might have changed since my time, but this was my experience. It was just other clients (or myself) running the therapy sessions.

There is so much more I could say about this place, but it would turn this review into a short novel, so hopefully this will summarize my personal sentiment:

Addiction recovery is a tremendously difficult process (I know, first hand) and I recognize that if you or someone you love is hurting, all you want is what's best for them, for them to be ok. My family wanted it for me, and at that time, the Volken Academy seemed like a dream come true, but I can tell you as someone who rose through the ranks, from a client to a program director, who saw a lot of the inner workings of this program and organization: I believe this organization is beyond reprehensible. From the way I was treated, the way I have seen others treated, to the way the academy (still to this day) takes no accountability for its actions or negligence, it is my personal opinion that anyone even remotely interested in attending, supporting, or sending someone you care about there to deeply, deeply, reconsider.
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