Dont believe Paris Hiltons bull about the troubled teen industry

Paris Hilton was back in the spotlight — not for a new reality show, but as the face of a movement to abolish youth residential treatment.Her claims of abuse at a Utah facility in the 1990s helped launch the viral #BreakingCodeSilence campaign, which has since inspired a dozen state laws, a federal law, and an upcoming Netflix dramatization of the “troubled teen industry.”The message pushed by Hilton and other self-identified “survivors” is clear: All residential programs are abusive by design.

But behind the documentaries, exposés, and TikTok testimonials lies a far more complex truth.Residential treatment isn’t where parents send kids for typical teenage rebellion — it’s often a last resort for kids in crisis.These programs vary widely — from locked psychiatric facilities to wilderness therapy — in structure, clinical intensity, and quality.

Some serve suicidal, psychotic, or violent youth under 24/7 supervision.Others help emotionally dysregulated or developmentally delayed teens stabilize and learn life skills.Hilton isn’t calling for oversight or reform.

She’s repeatedly declared that it’s her personal mission to shut down the “troubled teen industry.” When asked what parents should do instead, she’s suggested grounding their kids or taking away their phones.That’s not a serious solution for families in psychiatric crisis.

It’s the mental-health equivalent of “defund the police” — a call to dismantle a vital system with no viable alternative.The consequences are already visible.Since 2021, Oregon, Michigan, and Utah have passed laws restricting physical restraint in treatment settings.

Hilton testified for the Oregon and Utah bills, helping to push them over the finish line.The result? Programs have turned away hundreds of high-acuity youth they can no longer serve.

Emergency rooms, juvenile detention, and homeless shelters are left to absorb the fallout, straining resources for others in need.Facilities report a...