What Netflix’s Wayward Reveals About Parenting Troubled teen, Power, and the Family System

This article is the first in a series where I’ll be unpacking Netflix’s Wayward. Across these blogs, I’ll explore the themes the show surfaces — from desperation and silence, to power, ruptures, and the longing for healing — and connect them to the real struggles families face every day.

Netflix’s new thriller Wayward is more than edge-of-your-seat drama. On the surface, it’s about a picturesque town, a charismatic leader (played by Toni Collette), and a therapeutic school for troubled teens hiding dark secrets.

But beneath the suspense lies something more real — the choices families make when they’re desperate, the systems that fail them, and the silence that allows harm to grow.

As a systemic family therapist, I couldn’t help but see every storyline as a mirror of what I encounter in real life. Families pushed to the brink. Parents searching for answers. Teens carrying pain that no one knows how to name.

Here’s what Wayward shows us — and what every parent can reflect on.

1. Why Parents of troubled teens Reach for Extreme Measures

In the show, parents send their teens away to Evelyn’s school because it feels like the “last option.” They’re exhausted, afraid, and convinced nothing else will work.

In reality, I meet families who tell me the same thing: “We’ve tried therapy, programmes, discipline — nothing works. Maybe residential treatment is the only answer.”

But desperation often blinds us to the bigger picture. Behavioural crises are rarely just about the teen. They’re symptoms of a family system under strain: unspoken grief, fractured trust, unresolved trauma, cycles of conflict.

Reflection prompts for parents:

• When I say I’ve “tried everything,” what have I not tried?

• How much of my energy has gone into fixing my teen’s behaviour, versus exploring the patterns in our family?

• Am I reaching for external control because I feel powerless at home?

2. The Illusion of a “Fix” for troubled teen in Wayward

Evelyn promises transformation: structure, new routines, discipline. Parents believe this will “reset” their troubled teen. And for a short while, compliance might look like change.

But compliance isn’t the same as healing. You can take a teen out of their family system, but if the patterns and ruptures are still unaddressed, the chaos often returns the moment they come home.

Reflection prompts for parents:

• What would change if I saw my teen’s behaviour as a symptom rather than the whole problem?

• What ruptures (arguments, losses, betrayals) in our family remain unspoken?

• Am I looking for a quick fix because the deeper work feels too painful?

3. Power and Vulnerability in Families with troubled teens

One of the most chilling parts of Wayward is how quickly authority becomes abusive when families hand over control. Parents trust Evelyn with their children — but in doing so, they give away their own power.

This mirrors what happens in real life when parents rely on systems, services, or even charismatic voices that promise answers. Families of troubled teens don’t just hand over their teens. They hand over their confidence.

Reflection prompts for parents:

• When do I give away my power as a parent, hoping someone else will “fix” things?

• What part of me doubts my ability to influence my teen’s life?

• What would it look like to reclaim that influence in a healthy, connected way?

  
  

4. The Cost of Silence

Silence runs through Wayward. Teens silenced by fear. Parents silenced by shame. An entire town complicit in silence.

In my work, silence is one of the most destructive forces in families. The things not said — grief after a death, shame after a diagnosis, fear about the future — can shape behaviour more than any words spoken aloud.

Reflection prompts for parents:

• What conversations are missing in our family?

• What emotions do I silence in myself — and therefore cannot meet in my teen?

• What would happen if our silence turned into honest dialogue?

  
  

5. What Families Really Need

What Wayward never shows is the possibility of real systemic healing. Families don’t need exile. They need a safe place to map the patterns, acknowledge the ruptures, and rebuild their connections.

This is why I built my Thriving Together Parenting (TTP) Method. Because families deserve more than symptom management or compliance. They deserve lasting change.

Reflection prompts for parents:

• If we stopped focusing on fixing behaviour, what would we notice beneath it?

• How do I want my family to feel 90 days from now?

• Am I willing to try something different before taking the extreme step of sending my child away?

  
  

Final Reflection

Wayward may be a fictional thriller to shed lights to the dark secretes of troubled teens industry, but it shines a spotlight on very real fears. When parents feel helpless, it’s tempting to believe someone else — a programme, a school, a professional — can take over.

But true transformation doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in families, together.

Take the Next Step: Before You Send Them Away

If you’re at that crossroads — Googling residential programs, feeling desperate for answers — pause. You don’t have to ship your teen away for months and gamble with their future.

✨ Start here: Watch Before You Send Your Teen Away

✨ Try this: The [5-Day Reset] → uncover the hidden drivers of conflict and create shifts you can feel in less than a week.

✨ Ready for lasting change? Apply for Restoring Harmony in 90 Days — my flagship programme where families come back together, when nothing has worked (including residential treatments).

Your teen doesn’t need to be “fixed.”

Your family deserves to be restored.

Pei-I