Wilderness therapy can be an invaluable asset for troubled youth when administered carefully and ethically, however the allegations of abuse that have been levelled against this form of therapy is deeply alarming.
Hyde’s experiences demonstrate how crucial it is to carefully consider staff qualifications and training before enrolling in a wilderness therapy program. Trails Carolina boasts that its staff receive comprehensive training, such as first aid, nutrition, suicide prevention and crisis de-escalation techniques.
Experienced Staff
Trails Carolina Horror Stories staff is made up of highly experienced and dedicated individuals. Graham Shannonhouse, the executive director and founder of Trails Carolina has over two decades of wilderness therapy experience while its leadership team collectively boasts 15+ years of similar programs experience. These individuals are committed to making sure students remain safe and comfortable while attending programs provided by Trails Carolina.
This program takes an innovative therapeutic approach that combines wilderness adventure with residential and academic base camps to offer holistic treatment experiences to teenagers. Students are placed into single-gender age-appropriate groups for personalized care allowing them to gain personal insight while developing new skills within a supportive environment. Trails curriculum addresses issues including anxiety, depression, poor academic performance trauma and substance abuse among others.
Individual and group therapy provided by licensed therapists are integral parts of this program, helping the teens better understand their problems, as well as identify any underlying factors contributing to addiction or mental health challenges. Therapists assist the teens in creating and implementing plans designed to overcome such addictions or challenges – leading them toward sobriety and wellness in life.
Transition Programming
Trails Carolina recognizes that therapists cannot always be present for our students’ recovery journeys and therefore prepares them for life outside our program by developing essential coping mechanisms, decision-making abilities and effective communication techniques so that when it’s time to return home they have tools available to them in order to overcome challenges they encounter when returning.
Through academic programming, wilderness expeditions, individual therapy and group therapy sessions, students learn to cope with their issues and gain the confidence needed to thrive in life. Furthermore, family relationships can be strengthened as students discover effective communication practices and build trusting bonds among themselves and with others.
Families frequently express gratitude to Trails staff for their professionalism and dedication to improving mental health and creating a balanced life for their child. In particular, they appreciate our unique approach that combines outdoor therapy, residential treatment and base camp with academics – this ensures their child receives comprehensive care as part of a holistic experience.
Alumni Support Services
Trails Carolina provides insight and feedback from alumni as a means of helping prospective students and families understand what their experience will be like at our program. This can especially helpful for parents as it gives them an idea of what the program truly has to offer.
The program helps participants keep the changes they’ve made through ongoing support services, including family coaching, phone calls with family coaches, zoom sessions and more. Furthermore, resources are also provided for siblings including a sibling handbook.
Trails Carolina recently introduced a parent alumni support series as an additional component to its bimonthly alumni calls. The inaugural classes have taken place on March 2 and May 4, followed by “Creating Healthy Habits Around School” on August 10 and “Presence Over Perception” on November 2.
These classes are intended to assist families in continuing the positive momentum created at Trails Carolina. Students need reassurance that their progress won’t go unnoticed after graduating from our program.
Nature-Based Therapy
Trails Carolina integrates therapy, wilderness and peer support to assist participants with overcoming emotional struggles. Their program features challenging outdoor activities like backpacking and primitive skills development as well as individual and group therapy sessions conducted by licensed therapists to foster self-reliance and build sense of community among members.
Studies have demonstrated the many health benefits associated with spending time outdoors. Studies have also shown it to help increase positive hormones levels and elevate mood while simultaneously decreasing stress, anxiety and depression symptoms. Furthermore, this method helps adolescents improve their executive functioning skills.
Wilderness therapy can be especially helpful for adolescents suffering from oppositional defiant disorder, a condition which often results in drug and alcohol abuse. Wilderness therapy teaches these children the value of following rules and respecting authority while helping to build relationships among their peers. But before opting for this form of treatment for your teen, some important points must be kept in mind.
