Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Facility Question and Answers
Help Me Please!!
Anonymous:
To the original poster: I think you are now quite able to see how one-sided this forum gets. I just stop by from time to time to give my personal story.
Anonymous:
Wow ... a whole bunch of responses, but not really complete.
I believe that for many adolescents and young adults a therapeutic wilderness program can have great value. While I don't think SUWS "abusive", others may have a different view of what constitutes abuse. Finally, I keep seeing reference to "studies" that purportedly "prove" wilderness (and other programs) ineffective or worse, but have only been directed to a couple that studied a smallish group of atypical, court-adjudicated kids - atypical as in not very similar backgrounds or issues to those whose parents make the placement decision.
All that said, I think 12 is a bit on the young side for wilderness. If he's not especially athletic, that will work against him as well.
You say your son is a "very troubled boy". What are those troubles? What, besides psychiatrist visits (and medication? - which could also be problematic in wilderness), have you done to help? Have you tried working with the local schools to get in-school supports/help or to find an alternative school?
If, in the end, you do decide to use a wilderness program, you should know that there are a few that are costly and largely ineffective, a few that are less costly and sort-of "run of the mill", several excellent but costly and quite varied programs, and a few excellent, low-cost programs for early intervention, not well-developed problems. NONE of these programs are enough in and of themselves. If you haven't figured out what you will do for follow-up, do that first.
For planning purposes - figure that wilderness will cost from $10,000 to $30,000, and a residential therapeutic placement can easily run $5,000+ per month for 9 - 20+ months. Be sure before you start down that road. And, half a good program may well be worse than none.
So, while I disagree with disfunctional presumptions and pseudo-facts, I agree that you've a long way to go first, and what you are considering is not the first, or second, or third choice.
Anonymous:
Original poster: I'm sorry to say that I just looked at the Second Nature website and they begin taking kids at 13 years of age. My son was 16. Good luck.
Troll Control:
--- Quote ---I believe that for many adolescents and young adults a therapeutic wilderness program can have great value.
--- End quote ---
Can you support this statement with any research studies or independent documentation? Or is this just your opinion?
If it's just your opinion, please tell us what your educational background is in psychology/sociology that would lead you to a reasonable, fact-based assessment of the "great value" these facilities provide.
Also, I think you must not have read much of the research available. You seem to be only referring to a single study that, in your opinion, doesn't apply. It's failrly obvious that you have quite a bit more reading to do before you can comment intelligently on the research. I've pointed out many, many sources to research studies, professional journals, policy statements, etc. You should do a little more work before you call documented truths "pseudo-facts."
If you don't care to look at the dispositive evidence, please simply provide evidence of efficacy other than your opinion or some anecdotes.
Thanks.
Anonymous:
If the "mom" posting and testifying about Second Nature is actually "Karen," then she also posts on Struggling Teens as Hstreet, and just posted there that she has just recently changed her name to Random Walk. STRANGE, STRANGE.
The orginal "mom" looking for advice: you have a 12 year old little boy. Kids die in these wilderness programs, and that is a FACT.
Pull up the names Aaron Bacon, or Michelle Sutton: and that is only two out of many children who have died in wilderness programs.
Think hard before you send this boy off.
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