Wilderness camps are a proven vehicle for helping troubled teens. The quality of their program combined with the fabulous natural environment has been known to help many young people turn their life around. Now that being the case, you still have to find the right camp for your child.
Be sure of one thing; as goo0d as a wilderness camp may be, it may not be right for your teen. Each camp is unique and offers different programs and different levels of activities and therapies. You need to know exactly what is wrong with your child and then match their needs with the most appropriate camp.
There are at least three ways you can find that perfect wilderness camp.
- Ask a parent of a teen or the teen him or herself what they thought of their camp
- Contact a body which can make recommendations on various camps
- Contact some camps yourself and carry out your own investigation
Talking with a parent who has recently sent their child to a particular wilderness camp is an excellent idea. If the parent is honest and knows you are a fellow parent genuinely seeking unbiased information, you should get a good idea of what to expect. Did the teen recover from their trouble as a result of the camp? Did their recovery continue after they came home?
Then if you can include a chat with the teen as well, that too may provide valuable data.
There are organizations which keep an umbrella watch over many camps and are in a position to give opinions on the worth of particular places. The National Association for Addiction Treatment Providers or NAATP exists primarily to help parents who have a teen in trouble. You can speak frankly to a NAATP representative explaining the problems faced by your child. With their knowledge of so many facilities NAATP are in an ideal position to make recommendations. This can cut down any investigation you may need to make to just one or two camps.
The third way is to become a bit of sleuth and investigate what the various camps have to offer. For this you need to be organized. Draw up a list of questions which could include such things as:
- What type of teen do you cater for?
- How long does your camp run?
- How much time is spent on therapy?
- What form does the therapy take - group or one to one?
- What is the cost of the camp?
- Do you carry out any research into how graduates of your camp have succeeded?
- Is there any medical staff permanently on site?
Then you could go online and look at the web sites of a number of wilderness camps in your area. See if the questions you have are already answered on their site. If not email or phone the camp and ask for answers.
Remember these camps are in the business of helping young people and it is in their best interest to have the best facilities and the best staff. They will be used to answering these types of questions and will want to be of assistance.