Best wilderness programs

[Anonymous]

Starting to research these for teen with severe OCD and resistance to meds. We hear terrible things about wilderness therapy, but also have had one provider say that they can be really good and life changing. We won’t be seeing that provider for 2 weeks, and in the meantime, things are imploding. If your teen has had one of these life changing experiences please recommend the program here.

[Anonymous]

There are Facebook groups with better discussions of this than you will get here. Look for WTRS.

I would worry about a kid with OCD in a wilderness program however. Have you done residential OCD treatment? My teen has been treated at Rogers, which is excellent at OCD. How old is your child? Also, are you working with a local ERP therapist?

[Anonymous]

There are some long threads in this forum, including threads I was reading when my DD with generalized anxiety disorder/depression was in-patient for suicidality for the second time last year. What I read scared me off.

This is one of the articles posted on that thread: https://www.hcn.org/articles/wilderness-do-wilderness-therapy-programs-really-work

I did a lot of looking at websites, but anyone can build an amazing-looking website with gorgeous pictures of wilderness and happy kids canoeing or rock climbing or whatever. You really have to dig deep. I think the thread in this forum recommended (expensive) consultants who can point you in the right direction, but we didn't follow through on that. I was looking at non-wilderness residential programs, but we ended up not having to go down that road either. If I'd had to, though, it would have been for a residential program (even tho my DD is very outdoorsy so there was a lot of superficial appeal to the idea of a wilderness program).

If your son is imploding you need help now, and any good program is going to take quite some time to get into -- have you called your provider's emergency/back-up line?

[Anonymous]

Join WTRS on FB. They will be a great source of help. One of the members wrote a book about her family's journey. It's an amazing story.

Before you head to far down this path, a few things....
You can hire an educational consultant who will be able to place your child quickly. They have relationships with most of the programs and through the intake process with the EC, they will be able to match your child to a specific therapist with a specific group. It's not enough to look for the best WT program, you have to make sure that the specific therapist your child will be working with is going to be able to get through to them.

ECs are not inexpensive. Patti Murphy at Life Compass which is local was around $8K when I spoke to her about 2 years ago. WT is going to run you around $500-$600 per day and most kids are there 12-14 weeks. That doesn't include outfitting ($2k), any other testing needed while there like a comprehensive neuropsych, or transportation to get an unwilling child to go to the program. It's also good to be aware that a significant majority of kids that graduate WT go onto therapeutic boarding schools.

Most people say that by the time they get to placing in WT they have tried everything else. Multiple inpatient, IOP, PHP programs, community therapy, in home family contacts, etc.

The WTRS group is very supportive. If you're at this point with your child, I'm sorry. It's a very hard, lonely place to be. I'm in the group b/c my kid is at RTC. WT was not the right fit for him but I did a lot of exploring of options before I went the RTC route.

https://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-Journey-Story-Teens-Healing/dp/0578331934/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TJ1KEGH7S2AO&keywords=a%20wilderness%20journey&qid=1641687733&sprefix=a%20wilderness%20journey%2Caps%2C386&sr=8-1&fbclid=IwAR3y1FwQhCcge9G4byjtWN5e364R9yG__95hHyAV34QNQd7qUXdejH0fvmk

[Anonymous]

Is it possible to hide one's identity from the WTRS group? Its my child's story and he does not want it shared. And we live in a small world. I would not want even sympathetic fellow parents to know who I am "just in case" our paths cross. Or if someone we know also joins the group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible to hide one's identity from the WTRS group? Its my child's story and he does not want it shared. And we live in a small world. I would not want even sympathetic fellow parents to know who I am "just in case" our paths cross. Or if someone we know also joins the group.

I guess you could make an alternate fb account

[Anonymous]

This is a good resource https://www.allkindsoftherapy.com

[Anonymous]

So, there are programs that I consider hybrid programs. They are a bit longer than what I usually thing of as wilderness. They have a lot of outside time and work. In addition to talk therapy and medication management, they have work obligations in order to keep their lives moving. For example, in a residential treatment center, meals are made for kids, but in these programs, the kids have a significant amount of responsibility relating to meals - like maybe cooking, or deep cleaning the prep area, or whatever. In the course of doing the work to keep life moving, they learn lots of life skills like working together, managing your frustration and emotions, dealing with someone not doing their part, which in turn stops the process.

Anyway, you might want to look into this as well.

[Anonymous]

Mountain Valley Treatment Center in NH is amazing for OCD. Patti Murphy is great....WTRS is an amazingly supportive group. Make a second FB account if you want to be anonymous.

[Anonymous]

My nephew had a life changing positive experience but his issue was drug dependence. When my sister could visit for the first time, theirs was one of the only happy visits. The other kids (and the girls in particular) were still too mad at their parents or too miserable to even look at them. That’s stuck with me. I have no idea if those families were able to get through this. It’s a huge financial decision and the horror stores are terrifying. But my tiny bit of knowledge is that it can also be good for the right kid, in the right circumstance. He was also very motived, having hit his own rock bottom and being in serious trouble with the law. He needed to go to avoid legal consequences and (correctly) felt grateful for the chance.

[Anonymous]

There are some top programs mentioned on the WTRS page:
Open Sky
Second Nature
Evoke
Blue Ridge
True North
BlueFire
New Vision
Outback

What's nice about these programs is that they all include a strong family component, which is essential for going forward following WT.

[Anonymous]

My nephew had a good experience at Elements.

[Anonymous]

Seconding the excellent therapists at Rogers. Our DD was there as well, in the Depression unit. It’s also likely covered by your insurance since it’s a hospital-based program with outings. The waitlist can be a couple of months so please get them on the waitlist now while you’re evaluating other options. The time can be ticking while you’re doing that.

[Anonymous]

Highly recommend Blue Ridge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Highly recommend Blue Ridge.

Me, too. My kid had a life changing experience there.