[10] Its founders were W. Dean Belnap, MD, Lorin Broadbent, DSW, Jared Balmer, PhD, and W. Kimball DeLaMare, LCSW.

[35][failed verification][36][29] Common statements include "I feel unsafe, they treat us like we are in prison, the faculty are trying to brainwash us, and they lied to you about what this place is, it is nothing like they said.

When asked by the Huffington Post about numerous allegations of abuse, a representative from parent company Family Health and Wellness addressed the claim in a statement, "Our treatment team employs a variety of therapeutic methods to help these teens, all of which are in compliance with state regulations and in line with our accreditation".

[16] Former residents at Island View and Elevations have alleged experiencing some form of physical, sexual, or psychological abuse at the Syracuse facility.

[40] The lawsuit further asserts that the teen was unlawfully detained against his mother's desires and subjected to mistreatment and neglect while under Elevations' supervision.

[31] Following the incident, Elevations terminated the staff member, the student returned home, and an employee reported an abuse allegation to Child Protective Services.

[31][42] In 2014, the Utah Department of Human Services detailed students' claims that staff at Elevations were mistreating them, including using restraint on them too often when unwarranted and belittling them.

[16] Around the time the facility was renamed Elevations RTC, Island View was involved with several lawsuits, including a highly publicized one with Dr. Phil,[43][44][45][46] which were subsequently dismissed.

[53][54] Several former residents of the center claimed in 2012 that they had received inadequate medical care during their time there, and that they had been subjected to solitary confinement and other harsh physical and psychological treatment.

[56][57] She was punished for running away by being put in isolation for 58 days, which included not being allowed to speak or even make eye contact with the other residents, as well as being forced to urinate on herself.

[16] Her dramatic disappearance and continued outspoken activism has played a major role in exposing alleged abuses at Island View, Elevations, and the troubled teen industry as a whole.

[19] The American Bar Association with Osherovich, Hilton, Oregon State Senator Sara Gelser, and others, explored youth being funneled into prison-like "behavior modification" centers under the guise of treatment and conversion therapy.

[67] More recently, in 2023, another survivor of Island View, Kayla Muzquiz, joined Senator Jeff Merkley, Senator John Cornyn, Representatives Ro Khanna and Earl “Buddy” Carter, Paris Hilton, Jessica Jackson, and other survivors of abuse in residential treatment facilities to introduce the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act.

[76] Prior to Island View, Kimball Delamare was the director of KIDS of Salt Lake, an offshoot of Straight Inc., which was investigated[77] and ultimately had its license revoked.

[78] Delamare also worked as a director of the Rivendell Psychiatric Hospital, which Balmer cofounded and was the subject of multiple allegations, including from one former resident and journalist, Lyn Duff.