Adirondack Leadership Expeditions
Adirondack Leadership Expeditions is a place for teens to learn why they behave poorly and through positive guidance and experiential learning, to learn better ways to meet emotional needs - ALE is proud to offer rolling admission, doctoral level counselors, very small group sizes and a track record of success and excellence.
Adirondack Leadership Expeditions takes boys and girls from the ages of 13 to 17 out of an urban comfort zone and into a rewarding but challenging program of wilderness experiential learning. Through intensive therapy, peer modeling and positive encouragement and achievement, we teach teens to look closely at the true causes of negative behaviors and to choose better ways of self expression. We teach teens healthy ways to meet emotional needs.
Adirondack Leadership Expeditions is not a boot camp, and your son or daughter will be treated firmly but with respect and encouragement.
We offer:
* Small groups
* A 2-1 or 3-1 student to staff ratio
* Rolling admission
* An experienced clinical team of doctoral or master's level therapists
* Family involvement
* Rigorous safety
* Results
A Typical Student
We believe that poor behaviors arise from unfulfilled emotional needs; normal human needs, such as a desire for love, acceptance or control. We strive to help teens identify the root internal causes of negative behaviors and then teach them how to meet their emotional needs through positive behaviors.
A typical student enrolling with us displays one or more of the following:
* A lack of self confidence or self esteem
* Defiance
* Drug or alcohol use
* Academic under performance
* Poor choice of friends
* Different learning styles
* A misguided sense of entitlement
* Causing family discord or conflict
* Isolation behaviors
* Manipulative behaviors
* Others
Adirondack Leadership Expeditions offers experienced master's and doctoral level therapists and an intensive program of experiential learning and can assist teens with a wide array of challenges. Some adolescents, such as teens with major mental illness, those who harm themselves or others or those who habitually run away, cannot be accepted into this program.
Our admissions counselors do not squeeze square pegs through round holes and if your son or daughter is not an appropriate fit for our program, we will assist you in finding a program that does match your needs.
Adirondack Leadership Expeditions is a member of the Aspen Education Group and the CRC Health Group, America's largest behavioral health treatment organization. Our knowledgeable admissions counselors can help you find the best possible treatment for your son or daughter within our organization, and if we do not offer the assistance you require, we will refer you to an outside facility that does.
Therapeutic Program
Doctoral and master's level counselors run a therapeutic program designed for troubled teens and which uses the experiential learning of wilderness activities as a base for emotional growth.
The sparse wilderness environment can sometimes spotlight emotional problems otherwise camouflaged by urban distractions and modern life. In the wilderness, teens must look inward, without external distraction, and in this physically challenging wilderness setting, through working, playing and learning together with a small group of peers and counselors, teens become ready to listen and receptive to the idea of change.
We help teens improve:
* Communication skills
* Self awareness and insight
* Self confidence
* Leadership
* Coping strategies
Therapeutic program components include:
* Individual therapy sessions
* Daily process group sessions
* Therapist guided group counseling (twice weekly)
* Weekly family therapy (phone in)
* A parental education seminar program
The Benefits of Rolling Admission
Because of our small group sizes and our incredible student to counselor ration (of 2 or 3 students to every 1 counselor) we can accommodate students on a rolling admission and can accept new arrivals very quickly, when necessary.
Rolling admission benefits parents who need a rapid response to a behavioral challenge, but rolling entry into the program offers an additional significant advantage. Teens will join a small group of peers who have been engaging in the intense experiential and therapeutic curriculum for some time. In our experience, these teens will have already accepted the worth and enjoyment of the program and will model this acceptance to new arrivals.
Adolescents are far more easily persuaded to engage in activities endorsed by those of their peer group, and so having new students join an existing and operational group can help immensely.
The average duration of stay runs 45 days, but varies based on progress and need.
Why Adirondack Leadership Expeditions Instead of a Boot Camp?
We do not believe in aggression, confrontation or extreme punishment as an answer to behavioral problems. Behavioral challenges arise from emotional needs, and unmet emotional needs will not simply disappear - no matter how severe the punitive sanction.
We believe that by teaching teens to recognize what causes their negative behaviors and teaching more positive and effective ways to meet emotional needs, we provide adolescents with the tools they'll need and use over a lifetime of better behavior and more successful relationships.
We believe in positive reinforcement and in letting teens experience the real world consequences of their behaviors (nature is a great teacher's assistant for this!) and in helping teens discover for themselves their innate strengths, skills and good character.
We believe that your son or daughter is a good person that deserves respect, encouragement and firm but fair guidance.
Safety
Nothing tops safety in importance. All field instructors are trained in first aid and CPR and at least one instructor in every group is trained as a Wilderness First Responder. We provide each student with equipment appropriate to the weather and environmental conditions and students will be accommodated in heated cabins in the event of extreme cold.
Field instructors maintain constant contact with base camp through satellite phones and a physician stays "on-call'" around the clock.
Each student receives a basic medical evaluation weekly and field instructors update safety training on a regular basis.
Financing
Many parents prefer to finance the costs of tuition, and so we work closely with an established behavioral health loans provider, Shauna Clark Loans, to offer financing solutions that can cost as little as $500 per month.
Shauna Clark Loans can deliver pre-approval in as little as 1 or 2 days.
