A number of people who have been forced to stay in this wilderness program, has reported back to us and well as some of the parents. Here are their testimonies found on Google and Yelp
I went to bluefire in the summer of 2020 it was not a good exprice i am at home now but after 2 years at a therapeutic boarding school after the therapist made a bad decision to send me to a boarding school i lost all my friends and now i don't have any and I am still addicted to Fortnite like in the beginning
Connor Mangold - Google review
One of the biggest mistakes I have ever made. My child was struggling immensely, and we found bluefire through their therapist. It seemed like the only option so we sent them, but I promise it is not. They have bee back for 7 months, and I have never seen them this unhappy. I talked to other parents of children who went, and they shared similar experiences. Some kids will not even speak to their parents anymore, which I am incredibly thankful is not true for my family. This place should only be used as a very very very last resort. Please do not send your child here.
abc 123 - Google review
Absolutely awful. I am considering filing formal complaints with the State of Idaho. The therapist we worked with broke one of the main agreements we entered into within the first week and then tried to convince me 'it wasn't really an agreement.' This lack of accountability, outright dishonesty and unprofessionalism only grew throughout my experience as the father there. Their 'one hour of family therapy every two weeks' is absolutely subpar. Families like mine with struggles this intense need at the least, one hour every week if not two to three. In the first two weeks of her being there my daughters therapist said she needed to go to a transition program....within the first two weeks. Suggesting a young adult should attend a six month to one year residential transition program AFTER blue fire when she was only at blue fire for two weeks was, to me, absolutely irresponsible and indicated a strong sales position the school was taking that is totally at odds to what real therapy actually requires - individual consideration, time and thorough review. I submitted a nearly 17 page complaint to the school and had to record a conversation I had with the therapist in order to show how much lying and lack of professionalism this person was engaging in. In their 'agreement' they try to have the parent and client sign away their right to complain openly/publicly about the program. We voided that section and refused to sign it. I should have left the program right then and there when they even suggested we sign that. They all but admitted guilt to having a huge string of disappointed and hurt clients and parents, so much so that they try to ask new ones to agree to never speak poorly about their program.
Stay away from this place and sadly, I wish I could say where to go but the intense lack of truly helpful and supportive programs for struggling youth and their families is staggering.
Also, search Blue Fire Wilderness Therapy on YouTube and notice how every one of their video's has comments turned off.
Imagine Do - Google review
I voluntarily went to bluefire when I was 14 (I am not 19 and in my freshman year of college), my parents suggested it and I agreed. If I could go back in time and tell myself to say no I would. I lost many of m friends because I was gone for so long, and it took me a very long time to make new ones. It may sound easy, but it is really hard to get back to the same level of friendship you had with someone after not speaking to them for 3 months. Even now 5 years later I regret going there.
Oscar Untruelove - Google review
Hi i am a past student of blue fire and I am writing this for struggling parents who feel like they have no option but so send their kid here DONT DO IT this place can care less if you come out better and even less that you actually go home. At my time at blue fire they used cruel punishments on me and the kids in my group we were constantly deprived of food when I first got there it was 8 kids when I left it was 16 kids and we were still getting the same amount of food it was used against us as punishment and what made it worse is the staff knew what they were doing because me and the kids would constantly say you can’t use food as punishment and even are therapist tried to help but once the therapist left and it was just the unsupervised staff with the kids they were free to do as they please and punish how they pleased so we were genuinely scared that whatever we said about the staff out of fear that it would be used against us or that our “privilege” of talking to our family be taken away much of the program is hiking and I remember an occasion when we actually ended up getting lost in the desert and they forced us to hike 25 miles all the kids had blistered feet and we were out of food but of course the staff still had food and they were eating beef jerky in front of us when they knew damn well we were deprived of meat there I could write a whole other review talking about the food they fed us horrible beans and rice almost every meal also forgot to mention to have any contact with your parents you have to write them a letter saying how good of a program you are at and how much of an opportunity it is for you to be there and if you don’t your not allowed to talk to your parents these people who run this place are sick in the head and see basic necessities as privileges
carter kessing - Google review
Get rich quick scheeme, you have a bad kid? Theyll make your kid good in just a few weeks? This is bs. I attented bluefire for more than 2 monthes and it ruined my entire social life it ruined my family life, how are they going to help your teen when they have only 2 theripists, and you only meet with them once a week. They have the say weather u go home or not. They have more than 10 other kids cases there working on too if and if its not working out how they see it they will just say your kid needa boarding school... this is how they make there money its sad. I stay intoucu with everyone i was at bluefire with and there lifes all went down the drain as did mine. One of the biggest issues is there website is a lie. We sleep on the floor eat out the same cup have no chairs nothing and during family spark they bring out tents and chairs and acual good food only when the parents come to visit than right when the parents leave its right back to sleeping on the floor no chairs or nothing. Everyone i was there with agreed it was a front. Please dont waste your money on this scheme, dont put your family thru what mine went thru, dont put your kid through what i went through. It made me worse off as a kid made me way worse i had to learn everything myself amd i had years of therepy because of bluefire and they all agree bluefire is a scam a scheme.. they literally have tents bur won't let you sleep in them unless ur familys there. This wont help your kid dont give them your hard earned dollars just to make things worse for your family
Highway Racing - Google review
Ruined my life - it was an abusive experience. I could talk for days about how disgusting this program and the staff are. Don't send your kid here unless you are a parent who is sick in the head
julia thornton - Google review
The experience turned out to be irrelevant and a waste of hard earned money. After blue fire, our son went to one of their recommended high schools in Texas. After he graduated, he fell into the same group of people (even though we were 1500 miles away). Blue Fire did not help him. We would have been in the same position if we had not sent him there. It did not work for us.
Matt A. - Yelp
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