Sending your teenager to a wilderness camp can be intimidating to you and your teen. Most teens will resist the idea strongly. According to Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein, a clinical psychologist specializing in teens, "conventional discipline strategies usually fail when applied to defiant children." California only has a few accredited wilderness camps for teens with behavioral issues.
Behavioral Problems
Aspen Education Group has a teen wilderness program for people aged 11 to 26 with "behavioral challenges" as well as substance abuse problems. Aspen Education Group states, "The wilderness takes your child away from negative peer influences and puts them in the pristine wilderness where they begin a journey that will change how they think about family and about life. Teens begin to see the value of cooperation as they work with the group."
Drug and Alcohol Problems
The Camp Recovery Center's Meadow Lodge is for teens with drug or alcohol problems. The Meadow Lodge is located on 25 acres in the redwood forest and the Santa Cruz mountains. Teens can play basketball, tennis and volleyball, hike or swim.
The Meadow Lodge has a state-certified high school, licensed by the California Department of Social Services with the Continuing Care Licensing and is accredited by CARF (The Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities). The Meadow Lodge combines the successful 12-Step philosophy, with cognitive behavior therapy. Additionally there is an experienced physician who is certified in addiction medicine, as well as a nursing and clinical staff available 24 hours per day.
Features
According to WildernessTherapy, an non-profit consumer protection organization, "wilderness therapy programs provide interventions for youth with psychological, emotional, behavioral, learning or substance abuse problems." Usually, the outdoor guides challenge kids physically, while the mental health professional(s) monitor and counsel them emotionally through the wilderness program process.
Decompensation
According to Dr. Michael Conner, of the Mentor Research Institute, Decompensation typically involves "regression" to more "childlike" behavior. Often decompensation can be seen as a severe lack of hygiene, bedwetting, disorganized behavior, a loss of energy or depressive symptoms.
Warning
In the past, many boot camps and wilderness camps for troubled teens were found to be abusive and even deadly to teens, according to the Government Accountability Office. Consumer Protection advocates say, "programs must be cautious and not mistakenly attribute such to such things as manipulation, defiant or oppositional behavior." In the cases of deaths in boot camps and wilderness camps, the Government Accountability Office found that most of the deaths were caused by uneducated staff mistakenly attributing severe dehydration or other problems with manipulation on the teens part, which resulted in death.
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