Wilderness Therapy Programs for Troubled Teens in Palm Desert, CA
Within the last few decades, America (including Palm Desert, CA) 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 Palm Desert, CA 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 Palm Desert, CA 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 Palm Desert, CA area
For moms and dads from Palm Desert, CA 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 Palm Desert, CA area, including:
- attachment disorders
- attention deficit
- eating disorders
- anxiety, depression
- self-destructive or antisocial behavior behavior
- adoption-related issues
We lead troubled girls from Palm Desert, CA 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.
Palm Desert, CA Mental Health Resources for Struggling Teens
Families from Palm Desert, CA have made Elk Mountain Academy their top choice when it comes to the healing and transformation of their at-risk child coping with problems related to anxiety, drug abuse/addiction (including marijuana), or kleptomania. Parents can expect Elk Mountain to have a team of staff consisting of compassionate, trained counselors and leaders. Our counselors operate with the understanding that transformation must first come from the inside, rather than from external influences. Elk Mountain is dedicated to the proper guidance, not only for your at-risk child, but your entire family as well.
As a result, Elk Mountain is dedicated to meeting the particular needs of each adolescent with the utmost professionalism and compassion. Elk Mountain’s counselors and field staff discourage the use of judgments and labels, and never condone one’s diagnosis to interfere with a at-risk adolescent’s sense of self or ability to form friendships with one another. Elk Mountain has provided help to numerous families from all over the nation. Our trained counselors give superior treatment to set the path of transformation for girls at-risk with issues such as technology addiction (cell phone, social media), antisocial behavior, or even kleptomania.
Our purpose is to see your at-risk child make a successful transition into adulthood, while living independently as a dignified young adult. Don’t hesitate to contact Elk Mountain’ consultants for more information regarding enrollment, tuition, and insurance options. For testimonials from current and past Elk Mountain families, reach out to our team; call one of our professional consultants at (208) 266-1122, and discover how we can give a variety of relevant residential treatment strategies (equine, life training, behavioral therapy) for your struggling child today!
Further Resources in Palm Desert, CA
MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA (MHA): Mental Health America is one of the leaders in mental health help, transformation, and advocacy. Founded in 1909, this community-based non-profit authority is dedicated to counseling families from Palm Desert, CA, and all Americans achieve wellness by living mentally healthier lives. Their services include prevention, early identification, and intervention for those at-risk, and integrated care and treatment for troubled teenagers and young women in Palm Desert, CA. They also advocate for improved methods of research, prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health and drug abuse/addiction (including marijuana) conditions.