And by the way, Mike McKinney doesn't work with the kids at Pacific Quest. I only saw him twice - and talked to him for a total of five minutes while I was there.
And the farm.. is more like a really big garden, at least while I was there. I'm sure it's bigger now but we really only grew enough food to make salad for ourselves. A lot of the work we did outside (about, probably, four hours a day) was clearing brush or gathering firewood, not necessarily things related to Farming but just living outside in general. We cooked all our food, too. That's basically what the program was structured around - working as a team to get meals and chores done effectively and with good communication. And then talking afterwards to figure out what didn't or did work well. Of course it's a lot, lot more than that, and many people's issues come out when we do talk about what came up in the efforts to "make time". For example, my general lack of integrity and laziness / selfishness.
I dunno. It was a while ago and it's hard to give you a good idea of what it was like.. but to put it simply, I carry my experience at Pacific Quest with me constantly. I found something there in myself that no one else gave me. No one forced me to do what I did.. I've seen comments about brainwashing on here. But I know I wasn't brainwashed. If I wanted to sit at my tent all day every day, the staff would have let me do that. If I hadn't wanted to talk about why I was sitting at my tent instead of interacting and participating, then they would have let me. I know because a kid in my group did just that. Instead of being in the Family he sat at his tent for 2 weeks. Solid. Just sitting there. And there was none of this rediculous, if you don't do this or that, you have to eat your beans raw, you have to hike ten miles without water, you have to carry an elephant on your back across a desert, kind of thing. Our staff was totally realistic and helpful. Non-pitying and definitely honest, but kind and loving at the same time.
I don't know how the PQ (what we call it) setup compares to many wilderness programs but we had a lot of what I consider typical activities: giving feedback, talking, that kind of thing. A main part is that one person is Person of the Day and has the only watch. A student, I mean. And they are in charge of leading and directing all activities (watering plants, getting chores done on time, cooking, etc.). And there is circle every night around the campfire which either has a prompt to talk about (one I thought up was something about family and what yours means to you) or is open for conversation, and a talking stick.
I loved it. It was hard. I practically beat my head on rocks sometimes trying to figure out what everyone was trying to tell me but wanted me to figure out by myself. I don't know if I figured out what they wanted to figure out. It's not that kind of program. But I'm happy with the person I am today and use the skills I learned at Pacific Quest of listening to my heart and giving to others, every single second of every single day of my life. For that I thank them endlessly and with great love.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me. And I ask that if anyone has criticisms or doesn't believe me, that they have an open mind and if possible, only present constructive criticism. Not all programs are bad, I don't think. I know people have had bad experiences at Residential Treatment and at Wilderness. But that doesn't necessarily mean that my experience was due to brainwashing that I didn't want.
Thanks! Blessings.