The men behind Teen Help
Teen Help was started by Lichfield, 45, a southern Utah businessman who lives on an estate in the spectacular canyon country near St. George. The estate features private trout ponds and a gymnasium.

Lichfield got his start in behavior modification two decades ago when he worked at Provo Canyon School in Provo, Utah. Provo Canyon is a strict punishment-and-rewards program for kids having problems getting along with their parents.

In the late 1980s, Lichfield attended encounter-group sessions organized by David Gilcrease. Gilcrease had been a trainer from 1974 to 1981 for LifeSpring, a company that perfected a form of encounter sessions called "large group awareness training."

Some psychologists call it "coercive persuasion." In December 1990, Lichfield incorporated a residential treatment center called Cross Creek Manor in La Verkin. He obtained a Utah state license to run it.

In 1993 Lichfield contracted to run Brightway Adolescent Hospital in nearby St. George. It became the receiving center for youths entering the Teen Help network.

About the same time, Lichfield developed the idea of placing teens in a compound in Western Samoa.

Teen Help's first foreign venture was Paradise Cove in the Pacific island nation. Kids would be taken from their homes by an escort service, sometimes by one run by Lichfield's brother, Narvin.

The teens would be sent to Brightway for a quick psychological assessment, then put on a plane to the South Pacific.

Lichfield hired Gilcrease to create the behavior modification programs needed to all but guarantee parents changes in their defiant teens.

Gilcrease crafted a series of seminars called TASKS (Teen Accountability, Self-esteem, Keys to Success). He also created companion seminars for parents.

Some participants say they include all-powerful "facilitators" who use peer pressure, confessions, sleep deprivation, fear, anger, loneliness and self-criticism as tools to modify behavior. Other participants say the sessions were greatly revealing.

Lichfield, Gilcrease and Facer acknowledge that they have little use for formal psychology.

"We don't deal with emotional disorders," Gilcrease said. "We are not psychologists. We do not deal in that realm. I don't need to detect emotional disorders when I'm talking about the value of keeping your word."

"I think I'm talented working with youth, but I don't have a college degree in that area," Lichfield told Dateline NBC. "... I personally don't believe it's necessary."

Facer said training in adolescent psychology isn't necessary.

"Automakers learned a long time ago that if the right system is engineered, everyone who works on the assembly line is not required to be an engineer themselves," he said. "These (Teen Help) programs have been carefully engineered by many professionals in the field, who not only have extensive educational backgrounds but also have scores of years of experience." ... The programs are continually monitored on a daily basis to insure that the designed outline is being followed."

Teen Help's corporate structure changed in 1997 when the organization formed a series of limited liability companies and limited partnerships. Kay earlier this year said that Lichfield remains the controlling power. But Lichfield said, "I no longer own, control or direct any of the programs."

Facer said he and Lichfield "only consult with the directors of the programs at their request."

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