There are three main types of wilderness programs. The first type of wilderness program is a boot-camp style of wilderness therapy, the second is a therapeutic style of wilderness therapy, and the third is a combination of the two. The problem is that there are no clearly defined lines for classification of what type of wilderness program a parent is sending their child to. I will be focusing on Boot-camp style of wilderness programs.
Boot-camp style wilderness programs are focused on the idea of compliance through force. The idea came from the Army and the judicial system, from where inmates would be “reformed” by an Army style boot-camp. The main benefit is that they change behaviors in a very short period of time. The downfall, however, is that the change is short-lived after the conditions of the environment are changed. For example, after the inmates have shown that they are “reformed” the structure is eliminated, and a majority fall back into old behaviors, which were the ones that got them into the boot-camp in the first place.
The Army has had success with these types of programs because of the longevity of the “treatment” because of the time spent in active service (ranging from two to twenty years), in which the structure has enough time to become ingrained into the mind of the individual.
The discrepancy comes from the fact that wilderness boot-camp style programs only last four weeks to six months. In my mind, this is not a viable solution for a variety of reasons.
First off, boot-camps expose the patients to extreme hardships. While this can be therapeutic, the manner in which it comes across, from personal experience, teaches the patients to manipulate and lie to get them out of the program. A common phrase emanating from these types of programs is “Fake it ‘till you make it.” The patient knows that the force and hardships will not be in the environment that they will be returning to, so in their mind, why try? Also, the child does not figure out why they act they way they do, just the consqunces of their actions.
Second, only a select few actually get recommended to go home after their stay at a wilderness program. There are countless accounts on the internet about the “therapeutic monster” that gets kids. The reason this happens is because the educational consultants, who usually recommend the wilderness program, and get a “kickback” for doing so, Also will get another “kickback” for recommending anther program. So even if the kid IS reformed, they go along with the line “just to be safe, your child should spend some time here to make sure he has changed.” Meanwhile, the Patient is now having to struggle with having no control over his/her life, and the abandonment issue of having his parents giving him/her up and throwing him/her to the wolves, so to speak.
So what is a parent to do.....I don’t have the answer for that. I know what they shouldn’t do, any program that just blames the kid, and not the parent is never going to help. If yu want your kid to hate you and always be paranoid about therapists and have trouble relating to his/her peers, just to get them out of your hair for a while, then, and only then, when you decide to ruin your kids life, or at least make it a living hell, and can live with that, then send your kids to one of these programs. Just don’t expect any forgiveness........
by the way, i have been to 3 widerness programs, The Grove School, Hidden Lake Academy, Grayon Manor....just for them to realize seven years later...i'm fine, but the drugs they put me on where making me crazy.......ironic isn't it
