Wilderness Therapy Programs for Troubled Teens in Annandale, VA
Within the last few decades, America (including Annandale, VA) has seen the demographic of adolescents deemed, troubled, or out of control, reach epidemic numbers. While experts aren’t sure as to why our nation’s teens increasingly turn to negative behavioral patterns, modern-day issues such as easier access to drugs and the advent of the internet, social media and other screen-based distractions (to name a few) are most likely significant contributing factors.
But with the number of troubled teens rising each year, cities like Annandale, VA so too is the number of residential treatment centers that advertise their services to parents seeking respite and therapeutic healing for their child.
And, while many of these treatment programs are well-intentioned and run by those who truly believe in their program’s treatment model and core curriculum, parents from Annandale, VA and elsewhere are all too often duped into sending their teenage daughter to an expensive program that at best, is ineffective in treating their child’s behavioral and emotional issues, and, at worst, exacerbates said issues even further.
Among these detrimental programs are treatment facilities that pose as wilderness therapy programs for troubled teens when in reality, they are more akin to glorified outdoor boot camps.
With the wilderness industry's increasing popularity and recent mainstream exposure, parents sometimes unwittingly send their children to programs that omit the clinical aspects of wilderness therapy.
Though technically a wilderness program, these treatment facilities omit the very foundations that make wilderness therapy effective, and instead, utilize behavioral modification and punishments to enact change within their campers.
For example, instead of providing experiential group therapy, mindfulness-based therapy, and cognitive behavior therapy, like the most reputable, adventure-based programs, these facilities merely seek to exploit the natural environment as a means to 'break' their campers, before 'building' them back up again.
These tactics are not only deceitful and misrepresent genuine wilderness therapy camps, they often aggravate the very issues campers were sent there to correct, to begin with.
Considering the average wilderness program is $500 dollars per day with a $3,000 dollar enrollment fee (not including what it would cost to transport said teen through a transport company two or more times) choosing this route of treatment is quite expensive.
Legitimate and Cost-effective Wilderness Therapy Programs for teens from the Annandale, VA area
For moms and dads from Annandale, VA unwilling to pay double (or potentially triple) for a wilderness program for their teenage daughter, there are cost-effective and dynamic treatment options to consider - like that of Elk Mountain Academy.
Elk Mountain Academy is a Christ-centered wilderness therapy program and residential treatment center for troubled teenage girls.
Elk Mountain Academy offers affordable, expert treatment for life-controlling issues and disorders in girls from the Annandale, VA area, including:
- attachment disorders
- attention deficit
- eating disorders
- anxiety, depression
- self-destructive or antisocial behavior behavior
- adoption-related issues
We lead troubled girls from Annandale, VA to seek truth and to trust in the Holy Spirit, our Holy Comforter who was given to all believers in Christ. At EMA we coach and train our students to seek, trust, and rely on the Holy Spirit, who is their comforter.
For more information regarding our treatment program, please call us today at (208) 266-1122.
Counseling for Parents of Struggling Teenage Girls in Annandale, VA
Many families from Annandale, VA who are investigating assistance, have made Elk Mountain Academy their first choice for their struggling child who may be experiencing pain medication abuse/addiction, poor academics, or self-harming behavior related obstacles. Here at EMA, our therapists understand the common issues that struggling teenage girls from Annandale, VA are faced with every day; and we offer assistance to our students, so they can recognize and deal with their social-related problems in a way that is both healthy and productive. Our robust outdoor recreation and adventure therapy programs rely on connection, trust, and respect; thus inspiring an internally motivated recovery that lasts a lifetime.
As a result, EMA is devoted to meeting the particular needs of each girl with the utmost professionalism and compassion. EMA’s therapists and field staff discourage the use of judgments and labels, and never condone one’s diagnosis to interfere with a at-risk girl’s sense of self or ability to form friendships with one another. EMA has provided support to numerous families from all over the nation. Our expert therapists offer superior treatment to set the path of recovery for teenagers at-risk with challenges such as video game addiction (gaming), hypochondriasis, or even poor academics.
EMA has transformed the lives of countless struggling teenage girls over the years, including many from Annandale, VA. Our approach has improved the lives of our struggling students, and their families. We see that at-risk adolescent girls can grow to be healthy adults with a desire to succeed! EMA understands that in order for our struggling students to experience real recovery, the entire family needs to be part of the life skills development and experiential education assistance that our therapists offer. Our intake counselors can be reached immediately at (208) 266-1122.
Additional Assistance in Annandale, VA
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH (NCBH): Mental Health First Aid - Mental Health First Aid is a course that requires eight hours for completion. This course teaches people in Annandale, VA how to offer support to struggling adolescent girls and young adults, who may be developing the signs of a mental health problem; or are wrestling with the warnings signs of an impending mental health crisis. This training educates people in Annandale, VA on being able to identify, understand, and properly respond to the warning signs of teenager and young adult mental illnesses and alcohol abuse/overuse disorders.