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Therapeutic Process
Our therapeutic process is
grounded in the wilderness environment. As
students become adept at living and taking care
of themselves in the outdoors, they begin to
build the confidence and sense of capability
that will sustain their learning and emotional
growth process. Students use the landscape
around them to explore their personal strengths
and skills and address limiting behaviors. Life
in the backcountry is rich with metaphor and can
be a powerful mirror for the struggling
adolescent.
Group interaction offers
opportunities for leadership, mentoring, and
teamwork. At True North, our groups are
carefully structured to be a safe and supportive
environment for students to practice their
relationship and communication skills. Groups
are small, with a maximum of six students living
and working together with the support of two
caring and experienced guides. Students learn to
work together in order to successfully manage
daily living skills and experiential challenges
throughout the program. This valuable training
ground encourages our students to establish and
maintain healthy and appropriate relationships
with others.
Individualized treatment plans are updated daily
and include the goals and objectives identified
by the students as well as those recommended by
guides and therapists. This collaborative effort
encourages a change process based on the
internal motivation of each student. Therapists
meet with students in individual and group
sessions at least twice weekly and supervise the
group dynamics. Daily communication with field
guides ensures that therapists have up-to-the
minute details of events in the field, allowing
them to customize program goals and stay
connected to the experience of each student.
The unique challenges and rewards of living
outdoors within the group dynamic provide
opportunities for students to receive immediate
feedback from both adult mentors and their peers
related to each student’s attitudes and
behaviors. True North staff will guide students
as they respond to this feedback while helping
them to capitalize on the practical and
metaphoric lessons of each interaction. We
emphasize critical thinking and acceptance of
natural consequences. Students practice managing
their emotions appropriately, taking more
personal responsibility for their choices,
honing problem solving, time-management, and
organizational skills. Our flexible length of
stay and individualized treatment plans ensure
that all of our students are able to address the
issues most central to their growth.
Students will complete a curriculum that
encourages self-reflection and skill building.
Our Curriculum also includes academic
assignments for which students can earn credit
hours. Parents will be encouraged to complete
various assignments that mirror some of their
son or daughter’s curriculum and journal work.
This process helps parents communicate clearly
throughout the wilderness experience and
contributes to a successful transition by
establishing points of connection throughout the
program.
A full psychological evaluation is available
upon request at an additional fee. We work with
licensed testing professionals who have
experience testing adolescents in the wilderness
environment and who offer a variety of
educational and psychological testing services.
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