About this episode

Corey Jentry discusses his experiences in the troubled teen industry and the complexities of recovery and advocacy.

In Part 2 of our conversation with Corey Jentry, we pick up where we left off and follow the long, winding path out of the troubled teen industry and the program founded by Bob Meehan. Corey shares how years of coercive control, dependency, and identity-shaping didn’t simply end when he left the program; they followed him into the world of recovery, where he found himself grappling with many of the same dynamics inside certain corners of 12-step culture and the addiction-treatment industry. We talk about the dangers of pathologizing autonomy, the power of belonging, and why it can take decades to untangle beliefs that were imprinted during adolescence. Our conversation also explores Corey’s evolution from survivor to researcher and advocate. He reflects on discovering how the business of treatment really works, recognizing familiar patterns across the behavioral health, rehab, and youth treatment worlds, and why he’s dedicated so much of his work to understanding indoctrination, radicalization, and coercive influence. Thought-provoking, nuanced, and occasionally darkly funny, this episode is a masterclass in spotting the difference between genuine support and manufactured…

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