Troubled Teen Help Directory

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Outdoor wilderness programs specialize in helping troubled and defiant teens with behavioral and emotional problems by making use of nature and adventure as an opportunity for reflection, change and growth. By combining traditional therapy with wilderness settings, programs are able to offer unique, innovative approaches to treatments for emotional, behavioral or mental disorders.

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• Adirondack Leadership Expeditions

  Adirondack Leadership Expeditions is a character development wilderness program for troubled teens that promotes personal growth through a focus on insight-oriented experiences.

• Aspen Achievement Academy

  Aspen Achievement Academy is a flexible length of stay program for adolescents 13-17, emphasizing therapy, experiential learning and behavioral change. As one of the few licensed and accredited outdoor treatment programs, AAA has a decade of history in providing high impact professional staffed treatment to adolescents and their families and is contracted with a number of insurance companies and EAP's to provide treatment for mental health and substance abuse.

• Outback Therapeutic Expeditions

  Outback's Wilderness Program blends the best of the "ancient cultural systems" with the most effective and proven therapeutic processes. Teens will experience the highest standards of safety and therapy in the context of one of the most powerful settings for real change - the wilderness and students can earn academic credit while in the program.

• Passages to Recovery

  Passages to Recovery is an intensive outdoor drug and alcohol rehabilitation program that offers a unique, innovative approach to substance abuse treatment, integrating a 12-step treatment with wilderness journeying and rites of passage. In addition, Passages to Recovery offers primitive living skills, general physical fitness, a strong yet diverse spiritual component, family participation and aftercare planning. Passages to Recovery's staff includes experienced wilderness therapy guides, licensed therapists, and chemical dependency recovery professionals.

• Phoenix Outdoor

  Phoenix Outdoor is a licensed wilderness therapy program located near Asheville, North Carolina focusing on teenagers ages 13-17 who need treatment for substance abuse or chemical dependency. Phoenix Outdoor is a 12-Step based program that utilizes the wilderness as its treatment setting. A field-based curriculum, group sessions, individual therapy, psycho-educational classes, and 12-Step support combine to encourage adolescents to consider the changes they need to make and how to create a path to stay clean and sober.

• SUWS

  SUWS licensed wilderness programs provide families with a safe and immediate intervention by utilizing its search and rescue metaphor, individualized treatment plans, and flexible length of stay. The wilderness environment and experiential learning help students recognize and build upon their own sense of self-worth as they learn the value of helping others.

• SUWS of the Carolinas

  SUWS of the Carolinas incorporates the Search and Rescue metaphor in the serene beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. SUWS of the Carolinas has a flexible length-of-stay, typically between 4 and 7 weeks, with extended care options. SUWS of the Carolinas offers an expanded curriculum designed to address the needs of those families seeking solace for their struggling child.

• Monarch Center for Family Healing

  The Monarch Center is an organization dedicated to working with families to reconnect and move through events and issues that have caused dysfunction and stress to arise. In particular, they effectively support parents and youths who are struggling with issues specific to the parent-adolescent relationship by utilizing both wilderness and relationship-based therapy in an intensive and transformative manner. These issues may include disrespecting authority, delinquency, substance abuse, academic struggles, emotional troubles, and peer conflicts.

• National Youth Network

  Since 1990 the National Youth Network (initially known as the Western Youth Network) has been helping parents and professionals alike in providing education and information regarding programs and services for underachieving youth. Their wide range of services include self help online information, assessments, directories, and telephonic assessments with a masters level clinician. They hope that you find the right program for your child.

• StrugglingTeens.com

  StrugglingTeens.com is published by Woodbury Reports, Inc. Their goal is to be the leading online source of information for parents of children making poor decisions, and professionals trying to help those families and professionals working with at-risk teens. The focus is on residential Emotional Growth (Character) schools and programs that work. This includes short and long term wilderness and outdoor programs, home style programs, highly structured boarding schools, therapy boarding schools, RTCs and psychiatric hospitals for children with behavior and emotional problems. All emphasize teaching self-discipline, consequences, responsibility, accountability and improved self-esteem.

• SUWS Wilderness Programs for Troubled Teens

  Wilderness therapy programs help troubled teens build self-esteem and re-discover themselves. SUWS is a licensed wilderness program for ages 12-17 located in the beautiful Idaho wilderness. The wilderness experience can serve as an excellent start for teens heading off to boarding schools or long-term programs.

• Wendigo Lake Expeditions Inc.

  Wendigo Lake Expeditions is Canada's leading provider of therapeutic adventure wilderness therapy residential programs for youth with a range of behavioral and emotional difficulties. Difficulties like substance abuse, family conflict, defiance, depression, poor grades, lack of motivation, manipulations and negative peer relationships. The entire program integrates an advanced cognitive-behavioral wilderness therapy approach designed to teach and reinforce five core values: Responsibility, Effort, Attitude, Community and Honor - R.E.A.C.H.