We Explore Wilderness Therapy

As soon as we get home from the counselor's office I start investigating the four wilderness therapy programs she has recommended. All have good reputations and I was impressed by the people I later spoke to at each one, so here are the names:

• Second Nature (Utah): www.snwp.com
  
• Elements (Utah): www.elementswilderness.com
  
• Soltreks (Minnesota): www.soltreks.com
  
• SUWS (Idaho): www.suws.com
  

More about these specific programs later, but first, some things I learned about wilderness therapy and why it works.

First off, a wilderness therapy program is an entirely different animal than a wilderness boot camp (what I originally looked into and, thankfully, got scared off from). Boot camps are informed by the military model and their objective is to gain control, compliance and obedience from wayward teens. It also relies heavily on negative reinforcement to achieve these objectives; everything from loss of privileges to deprivation to isolation to corporal punishment. It can work in the short term (who wouldn't comply when faced with harsh punishment?) but often results in long term psychological problems. Several of these programs have been shut down and some have moved their operations off of US soil to avoid regulation and investigation.

Wilderness therapy, in contrast, is driven by a philosophy of experiential education and positive self-discovery. These programs are run by highly trained clinical staff who use the challenges of the wilderness environment as a kind of metaphor for life's challenges. Getting kids away from the environment where they had developed maladaptive behaviors and getting back to basics fosters increased self-esteem, confidence and responsibility. The kids spend time not only hiking, building shelters and learning to make fire, but they also do a lot of group and individual therapy and explore their feelings through written assignments. While most kids are initially reluctant to go to this type of program, most report after the fact that it was a positive and formative experience.

I could go on and on but here is a web site worth reading to learn more:

http://www.wildernesstherapy.org/Wilderness/WildernessVsBoot.htm