Wilderness Therapy Programs for Troubled Teens in Wheaton, MD
Within the last few decades, America (including Wheaton, MD) 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 Wheaton, MD 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 Wheaton, MD 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 Wheaton, MD area
For moms and dads from Wheaton, MD 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 Wheaton, MD area, including:
- attachment disorders
- attention deficit
- eating disorders
- anxiety, depression
- self-destructive or antisocial behavior behavior
- adoption-related issues
We lead troubled girls from Wheaton, MD 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.
Guidance for Mental Health for Troubled Youth in Wheaton, MD
Elk Mountain Academy is the first choice for Wheaton, MD parents looking for a premier therapeutic boarding school to provide help to their at-risk child going through opiate abuse/addiction, oppositional defiant disorder, or anxiety related dilemmas. Because working with highly resistant adolescents is challenging, most programs rely on level systems, punishments, and other behavioral techniques to manage a client’s behavior. Here at EMA, we recognize that the circumstances of one troubled child doesn’t always apply to all of our clients. Because of this, EMA is devoted to the life skills development and experiential education for each adolescent, and we do this with professionalism and care.
Our practitioners are devoted to not only giving guidance to our clients in need, but also the whole family; with the care and commitment required for full change. It is our desire to assist, guide, and coach parents from Wheaton, MD, with a troubled child, through a very difficult time. EMA is here to serve! There is hope... and you are not alone. The vision of EMA is to bring forth peace while rehabilitating emotional health for at-risk teen girls from Wheaton, MD.
EMA has transformed the lives of countless at-risk adolescents over the years, including many from Wheaton, MD. Our approach has improved the lives of our at-risk clients, and their families. We see that troubled teen girls can grow to be healthy adults with a desire to succeed! EMA understands that in order for our at-risk clients to experience real change, the entire family needs to be part of the life skills development and experiential education help that our practitioners provide. Our intake counselors can be reached immediately at (208) 266-1122.
Additional Guidance in Wheaton, MD
NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS (NAMI): National Alliance on Mental Illness is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive grassroots mental health community. It is devoted to building healthier lives for Wheaton, MD residents, and the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Mental illness is a mental health condition that impacts an individual’s thought processes, emotions, and bipolar disorder. It may also affect the person’s ability to relate to others, as well as function on a daily basis. NAMI strives to shape the national public policy landscape for troubled adolescents, young adults, and families in Wheaton, MD; affected by mental illness. NAMI also gives grassroots volunteer leaders with the tools, resources, and skills necessary to protect the mental health of individuals in Wheaton, MD, and all over the nation.