Wilderness Therapy Programs for Troubled Teens in Council Bluffs, IA
Within the last few decades, America (including Council Bluffs, IA) 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 Council Bluffs, IA 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 Council Bluffs, IA 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 Council Bluffs, IA area
For moms and dads from Council Bluffs, IA 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 Council Bluffs, IA area, including:
- attachment disorders
- attention deficit
- eating disorders
- anxiety, depression
- self-destructive or antisocial behavior behavior
- adoption-related issues
We lead troubled girls from Council Bluffs, IA 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.
Mental Health Help in Council Bluffs, IA for At-risk Teenagers
Families from Council Bluffs, IA have made Elk Mountain Academy their first choice for child transformation and help. Parents, wanting guidance for their child, can expect a team of compassionate, professional counselors and leaders here at Elk Mountain. Elk Mountain operates from the understanding that "transformation" must come from the inside-out, not from the outside-in. We are dedicated to the life skills development and experiential education for all teenagers, who may be coping with bullying (or being bullied), food addiction (overeating, binge eating), or child abuse issues, but also the entire family; with the help they need for lasting transformation.
Our counselors are dedicated to not only providing help to our young students in need, but also the whole family; with the care and commitment required for full transformation. It is our desire to assist, guide, and coach parents from Council Bluffs, IA, with a at-risk child, through a very difficult time. Elk Mountain is here to serve! There is hope... and you are not alone. The vision of Elk Mountain is to bring forth peace while recovering emotional health for struggling adolescents from Council Bluffs, IA.
In short, the counselors at Elk Mountain are skilled at counseling at-risk teenagers from Council Bluffs, IA with lasting transformation. As a leading therapeutic boarding school, we offer a variety of relevant residential treatment strategies (equine, life training, behavioral therapy), outdoor recreation and adventure therapy, and life skills development and experiential education; leading our young students to a healthy, balanced life. If you feel you may benefit from our therapeutic boarding school, we encourage you to contact our consultants as the first step to creating lasting change in your struggling child’s life. We give help to vulnerable adolescents from Council Bluffs, IA. Call us at (208) 266-1122 to speak with one of our knowledgeable consultants today!
Additional Resources in Council Bluffs, IA
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (AA): Providing a global authority for anyone who has issues with alcohol, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) operates in Council Bluffs, IA, and across the globe. The institution is based on the principles set out in the twelve step program described in the iconic Alcoholics Anonymous book, published in the late 1930s. AA is self-financing and has no political, religious or racial bias. It is open to all who have drinking issues that they want to address. Over the past few decades, AA has been counseling millions of at-risk teenagers and young women nationally, internationally, and in Council Bluffs, IA; to maintain a sober lifestyle.