When does reality TV become too real?

ABC’s summer reality hit “Brat Camp” followed nine troubled teens through the SageWalk wilderness behavioral therapy program in Redmond, Ore.

Lauren was labeled a “self-destructive drug user.” Isaiah was deemed an “angry punk.” And Jada? She’s a “compulsive liar.”

Ranging in age from 14 to 17, the teens had to hike through a blizzard, rappel down a cliff and survive three days alone in the wild in a program designed to help spur emotional growth.

From its name to the grueling footage, the show sparked controversy. Child advocate groups, doctors and even police officers have spoken out publicly, questioning whether it exploited the serious problems of kids and whether this kind of tough love therapy is appropriate – on or off camera.

Yet “Camp,” which wrapped up last week, also struck a chord, averaging more than 9 million viewers. And applications have been flooding SageWalk.

It’s part of a trend evident this summer in reality TV, raising the question: When should cameras stop rolling in capturing the personal problems of young people?

On MTV’s “Real World: Austin,” Danny, 22, recently got a call from his father, surprising him with the news that his mother had died. Cameras rolled in tight to catch his emotional reaction. “I should have been home,” he wailed.

And earlier this month, Charles Higgins, 22, and his four siblings filed a lawsuit against ABC and the producers of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” saying the show took advantage of the family’s hard-luck story, promising them a home they no longer have.

Producers say these programs are simply “documentary”-style television. But critics say they go too far, capitalizing on the woes of innocent young people for the sake of ratings.

“They portray these children at their very worst moments,” says Melissa Nishawala, assistant professor of psychiatry at New York University’s Child Study Center.

“And they don’t have the power to consent. They have the power to assent – ‘Do you want to be on TV?’ But are they asked, ‘Do you want to be on a TV show showing horrible things?’ Do they have the capacity to know what they’re getting into at that moment?”

Two of the brat-camp kids have been arrested since the show wrapped up filming in January. Isaiah is accused of spray-painting racial slurs at a preschool teacher’s house, and Jada is accused of crashing a speedboat into a family on a pond.

In the Higgins case, the five Downey, Calif., children, ages 14 to 21 at the time, were taken in by the Leomiti family after their parents died in 2004. ABC built the two families a nine-bedroom house.

But soon after, relationships soured. The Higginses “left or were forced to leave,” says Patrick Mesisca, the lawyer representing Higgins and his siblings in their lawsuit against the Leomitis, the network and the producers.

“I think they’ve been exploited all the way around,” says Mesisca.

In its 16th season, “The Real World” is the highest-rated show on cable this summer among teens and young adults. The Danny episode, MTV says, was the highest-rated telecast this year on cable among ages 12-34.

“When we cast the show, from the very beginning, we’ve always told prospective cast members, ‘This is going to be four and one-half months of your life,’ ” no matter what, says producer Jonathan Murray.

“The whole point of the show is to tell a truthful story about life at this critical point in their lives, when Mom and Dad aren’t there to solve every problem.”