Paris Hilton, an American media personality and businesswoman, made headlines in 2020 when her documentary, This is Paris, premiered. The documentary shed light on intimate details of her personal life, detailing her day-to-day corporate duties and past abuse, resulting in trauma suffered at a series of boarding schools. Reports show that, within the first month of the documentary’s release, it acquired over 16 million views.
Today, Paris has a successful show on the streaming platform Peacock titled Paris in Love. The first season of the show largely focused on Paris finding love with her now-husband Carter Reum and planning their dream wedding. In the second season of Paris in Love, Paris unveils more details about her past, particularly her childhood and shows how her past trauma has impacted her as an adult. Viewers also get to witness Paris going through another major life transition by bringing a baby boy, Phoenix Baron, into the world.
Anchor Therapy is a counseling center in Hoboken, NJ with mental health therapists specialized in helping children, teens, adults, couples, and families with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, trauma, life transitions, and more. Anchor Therapy is accepting new clients and is now providing in-person sessions and teletherapy sessions to residents of New Jersey, New York, and Florida.
Paris Unfiltered: Exploring Paris Hilton’s Traumatic Childhood
While Paris Hilton has been in the world of lights and cameras for decades, intimate details about her private life were always kept relatively private up until the release of her documentary, This is Paris, on YouTube.
In the early 2000s, Paris Hilton was considered an icon in popular culture, setting fashion trends, gaining a cult following, and even changing her voice to create a character to protect herself from outside opinions. In the documentary, people got to see the real Paris Hilton, not a character curated for a brand.
The blonde, silly character that Paris typically portrayed faded away, ensuring that she was able to discuss her whole truth. Paris revealed, “Everything I’ve ever done before was more me playing that character again. But with [the documentary], I really just wanted to pull the curtain back and show my real life- talk about things that are very hard to talk about and things that I’ve experienced in life but never discussed before.”
The documentary opens fans’ eyes to the difficult adolescence that Paris experienced. On the surface, Paris’ life seemed to be a fantasy, residing in the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City with her parents and three siblings. However, past the facade, Paris had strict parents which made her want to rebel by sneaking off to nightlife events before she was of legal age.
In an attempt to stop their daughter from taking part in potentially-dangerous activities, Paris’ parents, Richard Hilton and Kathy Hilton, took drastic measures. Paris’ parents had it arranged that Paris be taken from her bed in the middle of the night and transported to a residential-treatment center. Paris has revealed that her parents watched from their doorway as she cried for help as men carried her out of her home.
Paris was taken to a school managed by CEDU in California. CEDU schools and treatment facilities faced several allegations of abuse, forcing them to close operations in 2005. Hilton was able to escape this school by calling her grandfather, Conrad Hilton, to retrieve her.
After this encounter at the CEDU School, Paris was sent to another similar school which she escaped by jumping a flight of stairs. Eventually, Paris was sent to a lockdown facility until she was 18. This lockdown facility, also known as Provo Canyon, is in Utah and the site where Paris suffered physical, emotional, and mental abuse.
Paris Hilton’s Time at Provo Canyon
In 1996, Paris was sent to the Provo Canyon School where she stayed for 11 months until she turned 18 years old. At Provo, Paris was beaten by staff, forced into solitary confinement, and given unknown medication.
What was supposed to be a school was treated more like a prison. The school claimed to be a safe haven for troubled youth, offering mental tools and promoting behavioral advancements; however, Paris’ accounts of the school include nothing but trauma and pain.
Paris revealed, “From the moment I woke up until I went to bed, it was all day screaming in my face, yelling at me, continuous torture... I think it was their goal to break us down. And they were physically abusive, hitting and strangling us. They wanted to instill fear in the kids so we’d be too scared to disobey them.”
Paris left the school at 18 years old, when she became an adult, but that does not mean that the school did not have a lasting impact on her life.
Paris: The Memoir
Paris Hilton’s memoir, Paris: The Memoir, was released on March 14, 2023. This New York Times Bestseller was mentioned in the second season of Paris in Love, documenting the publishing process and publicity surrounding its release.
The book serves as a personal account of Paris’ experiences with trauma and the presence of trauma in general society. While Paris is a successful businesswoman running a multibillion-dollar empire, she also wants to be known as a survivor and activist.
Paris makes it a point to highlight the co-existence of trauma with other mental health disorders. In her 20s, Paris was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADHD. If you are an adult who was diagnosed with ADHD, check out our blog “CBT for Adult ADHD.”
When asked about how her life would have been different if she was diagnosed with ADHD at an earlier age, Paris answered honestly: “I think as a teenager I wouldn’t have ended up at one of these types of boarding schools. A lot of the kids there have ADHD, and they just don’t do well in school. If you’re not on medication, it’s hard to concentrate. If you’re not diagnosed, people just assume you don’t know how to be in school. But, also, I think of it as a superpower because I have a brain that moves so fast. It’s like a Ferrari. I’m constantly thinking of new ideas and being creative.”
Additionally, Paris discusses her struggles with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). If you struggle with PTSD, read our blog “Everything You Need to Know About CBT for PTSD.” It is important to note that trauma can also cause other serious mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse and addiction issues. For more information, our blog “How Childhood Trauma Can Cause Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD” for more information.”
Paris’ Path to Peace
In her memoir, Paris discusses another important aspect of trauma- a culture of shame surrounding trauma. She admits to never telling her family about the physical, mental, and emotional abuse she endured while at boarding school.
This culture of silence is not uncommon for those who have struggled with trauma. The reasons why trauma survivors choose to stay silent is incredibly personal and convoluted.
Some victims may feel a sense of guilt or shame about their abuse, even when the trauma was not their fault. For those who struggle with their self-esteem, they may feel judgment from other people if they were to reveal their trauma.
Other people may fear retaliation for coming forward. If trauma involves abuse or violence, it is normal to let the fear of retaliation stop you from speaking out. In Paris’ instance, when she tried to escape from her abusers at the Provo Canyon School, she was placed in solitary confinement for up to 20 hours a day. There was also a very obvious power dynamic in these residential schools where teachers and staff ruled supreme. Paris wrote, “I mean, think about it: On the advice of a mental-health professional, you send your struggling kid to this beautiful boarding school that costs a fortune. When the kid tries to run away, do you believe the kid who’s been royally pissing you off? Or do you believe the psychiatrist who says the kid is a crazy, incorrigible liar?”.
Similarly, a trauma survivor may feel powerless or vulnerable when discussing their past experiences. You may believe that speaking out about the situation will worsen it or, at best, not change anything about your circumstances.
As discussed in Paris’ memoir, there is an obvious societal stigma surrounding trauma, especially sexual assault and mental health concerns. Out of fear of being judged or misunderstood, many people choose not to come forward about the abuse and trauma they endured.
When discussing her time at Provo, Paris revealed that she endured sexual abuse. Late at night, staff members would perform “medical exams” on Paris and other female students. When reflecting on this, Paris stated “And I don’t know what they were doing, but it was definitely not a doctor. And it was really scary, and it’s something that I really had blocked out for many years. But it’s coming back all the time now, and I think about it. And now, looking back as an adult, that was definitely sexual abuse.”
Many victims of trauma block out memories, a development known as dissociative amnesia. It is a coping mechanism to protect that trauma survivor from the troubling emotions linked to the traumatic reason.
Here are some reasons trauma victims may block out memories:
Survival instinct
Overwhelming emotions associated with the trauma
Protection from emotional distress
Self-preservation
Lack of control
Safeguarding relationships
Time perspective
Fragmentation of experience
Paris’ memoir is a powerful account of the relief a trauma survivor can feel by breaking the cycle of silence. Sharing your story may inspire and empower others to do the same. Paris: The Memoir details a journey of trauma, healing, and strength.
Can trauma counseling help Paris and other survivors of physical, mental, and emotional abuse?
Absolutely, trauma therapy is a highly recommended treatment method for trauma survivors. Trauma mental health counseling offers a safe space where you can work through the consequences of abuse, create healthy coping skills, and carve out a path for inner healing.
At Anchor Therapy, trauma counselors can offer:
Emotional support
Coping mechanisms
Processing of traumatic memories
Empowerment
Self-compassion skills
Post-traumatic growth
Education
Connection
Validation
In the latest season of Paris in Love, we actually witness Paris meeting with a psychotherapist to help her through her past traumas that are now resurfacing as she enters her new chapter of motherhood.
Paris reveals to her therapist that she often still feels immature inside and that she is not responsible enough to assume full parental control over her child, often letting her nanny do what she thinks is best. In response, her therapist encourages Paris by stating, “Ok, what you’re telling me makes no sense. If you were so irresponsible, you wouldn’t have a multibillion-dollar empire. It makes no sense. So, how much do you want to change this? Because I can help you work on it, but I don’t want to force you.” After viewing this scene, fans rallied around Paris, offering online support and commending her therapist.
Another important part of Paris’ therapy journey has been healing her relationship with her family, particularly her parents. Viewers of Paris in Love got to witness Kathy Hilton attend individual therapy sessions as well as family counseling sessions with Paris.
When asked about forgiving her parents for sending her to residential treatment programs and schools, Paris answered, “As a teenager, I didn’t know what I know now. Now I understand that the parents of these children are just as much the victims as the children. These places lie, they have deceptive marketing, they manipulate the families. My parents thought they were sending me to a normal boarding school. They had no idea. No one in their wildest dreams could imagine the type of things they do to children in these places. My parents are so horrified now that they know the truth of what was happening. I completely forgive them because I understand.”
When a child or teen has experienced school abuse, family therapy can help by:
Creating an open dialogue
Understanding the impact of abuse
Supporting the trauma survivor
Constructing empathy
Addressing guilt
Creating boundaries
Working through family dynamics
Overall, Paris Hilton has shown remarkable strength when discussing her mental health concerns, from her diagnosis with ADHD to the aftermath of her childhood trauma. If you are suffering with childhood trauma, please know that you are not alone and speaking with a trauma therapist can help you feel like your best self again. We hope that Paris’ story inspires other trauma survivors to come forward and get the help that they deserve.
Victoria Scala
is the Social Media Manager and Intake Coordinator at Anchor Therapy in Hoboken, New Jersey. She is a graduate of the Honors College of Rutgers University-Newark. In her roles, Victoria is committed to managing the office’s social media presence and prioritizing clients' needs.
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