I DON'T REPLY TO BLOGS...DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT, SO I CUT AND PASTED YOUR STUFF AND REPLIED IN BOLD -- I'M NOT "CYBER-YELLING" I JUST WASN'T SURE HOW TO DO IT...
Quote:
What qualifications do I need?
Second Nature looks for individuals with great people skills, ability to work in a team, and work under stressful situations if they arise. Field Instructors have diverse backgrounds and education. To work for Second Nature Wilderness Program you must be at least 19 years of age and have a high school diploma or equivalent. I want you to also be certified in Basic First Aid and CPR or greater (WFR, EMT).
Second Nature seeks people who have wilderness experience. It is preferable that you have fairly extensive backpacking experience. This experience can be either be professional or personal. You will be backpacking and hiking your entire shift anywhere from 2 to 8 miles a day with a backpack. Second Nature does not use cabins or have a ?base camp?; you will be moving campsites almost everyday.
Experience with youth, counseling, teaching, previous wilderness experience, or participation in similar activities will certainly improve your resume. Second Nature also offers in-house training from which you will be able to learn communication skills, crisis interventions, and many more tools that you will use working with teens. Second Nature will also ask that you make a commitment of working in the field for at least six to eight months.
http://www.snwp.com/Subsubpages.asp?id=59 Definitely some red flags with this company.
1) 19 years old and at minimum a Red Cross CPR card and high school diploma and equivalent.
Wouldn't be a cause for concern if the person your child is spending the majority of his time around in this program is barely out of high school with 7 days of training and a red cross CPR card?
I WORKED AT SECOND NATURE (5 YEARS AGO) AND I WORKED AT A LOCAL ACUTE RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM THAT WAS DESIGNED FOR ADOLESCENTS IN CRISIS. THE "FRONT LINE" PEOPLE AT SECOND NATURE GET INFINITELY MORE TRAINING. SECOND NATURE HAS A LEVEL SYSTEM SO THE INITIAL "TRAINING PERIOD" IS DESIGNED TO INTRODUCE POTENTIAL STAFF TO THE PROGRAM AND PROCESS AND SCREEN OUT FOLKS WHO DON'T HAVE THE SKILLS TO DO THE WORK. IF HIRED, THEY GO THROUGH AN INTERNSHIP AND LEVEL SYSTEM WHERE THEY HAVE TO SHOW THAT THEY HAVE MASTERED SKILLS TO MOVE UP THE LEVEL SYSTEM. AGAIN, THE FRONT LINE FOLKS AT SECOND NATURE GET MUCH MORE TRAINING THEN AT A TRADITIONAL RTC. IT'S A COMPREHENSIVE, WELL ORGANIZED
I am not saying a college degree is needed, but certainly there needs to be something more in their hiring practices. What is the work history of the applicant? Have they worked with kids before? What wilderness experience do they have other than being able to hike up to 8 miles a day with a back pack?
SEE ABOVE ---
2) The program in Utah has no base camps. This means your child could potentially go up to 3 months without properly bathing. Worst in freezing weather your child will most likely be sleeping out of doors in a tent. Given that most of the time SN kids sleep on tarps in sleeping bags, the lack of base camps really worries me. I've slept outside in freezing weather before on many occasions, and have to say their isn't very much that is theraputic about it.
IT'S EXTREMELY SAFE AND THERAPEUTIC...
Quote:
The Second Nature Wilderness Program emphasizes assessment and intervention, with attention to behavioral steadiness, student accountability and preparation for long-term stability and treatment. Unlike boot camp programs for troubled youth, Second Nature integrates the most clinical therapies with necessary behavioral interventions. Instead of teaching by instigating fear in the troubled teen, Second Nature teaches accountability and choice. In both the long and short run, this therapeutic approach has proven to be more effective in changing the lives of troubled teens than any teen boot camps you might have considered.
3) Given the above high lighted passage I think it will be a greater chance rather than lesser chance that you will find yourself being advised to seek a long term commitment, rather than intergration back into the family.
TRUE AND THAT'S WHAT THE LITERATURE SUGGESTS...(AND IT MAKES INTUITIVE SENSE)...AND, SECOND NATURE IS "UP FRONT" ABOUT THE FACT THAT THEY ARE NOT A "MAGIC PROCESS" - 9 OUT OF 10 TIMES YOU'LL SEE AN ADOLESCENT WHO WAS MAKING HORRIBLE CHOICES, PUTTING THEIR LIFE AT RISK, ECT... HAVE A SIGNIFICANT WORLDVIEW SHIFT...AND, 9 OUT OF 10 TIMES YOU'LL HEAR A KID SAY "I'M GONNA COME BACK HERE AND WORK...THIS CHANGED MY LIFE" --- 1 OUT OF 10 TIMES, IT' DOESN'T WORK AS WELL...BUT IT'S NEVER ABUSIVE --
4) Second nature utilizes a stage system for a 1 size fits all therapy. Your child need's will not be given real individual attention, he or she will be just another hobo roll carrying member of a group of lentil and bean eating kids.
THAT'S JUST SILLY, THEY'VE GOT LICENSED, EXPERIENCED (THE MOST EXPERIENCED IN THE INDUSTRY) THERAPISTS (SEVERAL ARE DOCTORAL LEVEL THERAPISTS - SUCH AS, LICENSED PSYCHOLOGISTS)...WHO ARE TREATMENT TEAM LEADERS.
THEY ARE IN THE FIELD FOR 2 DAYS (AGAIN, COMPARE THAT TO THE AMOUNT OF TIME AN ADOLESCENT WILL SEE THEIR THERAPIST IN A TRADITIONAL "WELL RESPECTED" RESIDENTAIL PROGRAM AND YOU'LL SEE THAT THE THERAPIST AT SECOND NATURE SEENS THE KIDS ABOUT 20 HOURS OR MORE PER WEEK --- THE THERAPIST IS INTEGRATED INTO THE GROUP FOR 2 DAYS A WEEK, AND, WHEN THEY LEAVE THE GROUP, THEY LEAVE AN INDIVIDUAL TREATMENT PLAN FOR EACH KID...
5) Places like Second Nature make claims about having a much lauded staff of psycologists who will personally work with your child. Your child is out in the woods most of the time moving from camp to camp. The psycologist isn't with the group but more than one time a week. The bulk of the therapy is going to come from the field instructors who have their high school diplomas and red cross certifications.
SEE ABOVE...THIS MODEL ALLOWS FOR SIGNIFICANTLY MORE CONTACT THEN A TRADITIONAL RESIDENTAIL PSYCH UNIT
----------------
I KNOW THIS IS A FORUM DESIGNED FOR FOLKS WHO ARE ANTI-PROGRAMS FOR TEENS... WE ALL KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME HORRIFIC PROGRAMS FOR TEENS... IT SEEMS SILLY TO "THROW THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATHWATER" --THERE ARE ALSO SOME AMAZING PROGRAMS AND SECOND NATURE IS ONE OF THEM...
I AM SURELY BIASED BECAUSE I WORKED THERE --- SO, I'M SHARING THAT BIAS WITH YOU... PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR OWN BIASES / AGENDA AND SEE HOW THAT MIGHT BE AFFECTING HOW YOU JUDGE PLACES...