At the end of Wilderness Therapy the parents are invited to meet their teen at a transition camp. These are pictures at the transition camp when our son finished his 8 week stay at Second Nature Cascades Wilderness Program in Oregon. This is a very emotional time for both the parent and the teen. The teen gets to show off to the parents what they have learned and how they have grown during Wilderness. During the eight weeks the only contact we had with our teen was through letters and some of the letters are not the easiest to digest.
Now I realize this was the first phase of treatment on the road to rehabilitation. My instints when I first saw my son was to scoop him up and bring him home. But he was on his way to residential treatment which he was not thrilled about and did not go well in the beginning.
The time at transition camp was spent as a group, having therapy, including group activities, individual family therapy and then retreating to our family camps where our son prepared dinner and we slept under the stars.
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I went to second nature cascades in 2008 it is a love/hate thing, no doubt about it is a good thing but make sure your child really needs to go. i went in for very heavy drug use, thats a need, a kid smoking a little weed is not.
I was sent to Second Nature when I was 16 for what my parents thought was a good reason, but none of my other friends were sent away for the same reason and for them this teenager stage blew over like it always does. I think a parent must not overeact to teenage rebellion and risk taking, it is in fact very normal. Do try your best to keep them safe, but sending them away can be riskier than whatever the problem is at home. Many kids have died out there-do your research! Don’t google ” wilderness program”. There are thousands of websites making money off of this. To find some news google ” wilderness program deaths” Unfortunately most of the teens I was with out there were in the program for ridiculous reasons. Most smoked pot and talked back to there parents. This is not a good reason to send your teens away! I am now a parent myself and one thing I know for sure is I will never ever send my boys away to the middle of Utah to be watched by people I don’t even know. How can you trust these people with your child? They can’t even contact you if something is wrong. Personally I don’t think that a cure for depression is to take away everything they know and throw them out into the snow to sleep on the ground. I did not shower for 10 weeks! I had ticks all over my body and a flesh eating fungus all over my feet that burned like you wouldn’t believe. This did not help my self esteem at all. Many terrible details to this experience I don’t even want to think about, but I honestly still have nightmares more than 10 years later. All the teens have different experiences depending on the teen themself and especially the staff that is with the child. Maybe some have a good experience, but this is not what I saw going on around me. You don’t want your child to go through what I had to go through even if they are driving you crazy right now. Try to find more patience and understanding in your heart and remember that they won’t be a teenager forever. You made it through alive didn’t you??
I went to 2N in Utah and Island View RTC. Like most kids who land in treatment, I seemed to have every issue under the sun, even though I was only 14 when I was sent away. I spent almost 3 months in the woods of Utah, halloween, thanksgiving, my birthday and Christmas. My parents had warned me over and over again that they would send me away, I had ignored and manipulated them for at least a year before they went through with it. I had been in individual and group therapy, was taking medication and had a few stints in the acute adolescent unit of a mental hospital in my area. When I first went away it was my idea that I could spend the 2 months in the woods and then go home and do what I always did (whatever I wanted). But the woods broke me, I felt a sadness that I have felt less than a handful of times in my life. After about a month of wilderness, my therapist called me out on the lies he had been watching me make. I was separated from my group and returned after 5 days of serious thinking. I wound up working very hard and reaching water phase before I went on to Island View RTC. To be honest, even now, 3 years out of wilderness I miss that period of my life and the way things were. 2N is very different than the real world, and RTC. This is for many reasons, one is the honesty that is okay to have there. It feels very separate from the world. At RTC some of that honesty is hard to have because it is more similar to the real world. Parents need to understand, there is no such thing is a healed child. They may go through treatment but that doesn’t nessesarily mean they will be sober for the rest of their lives or that they won’t make mistakes or be unhappy. You may even find them more depressed or making worse decisions after, for me both of those things occured immediatly after my graduation from RTC. The reasoning I have behind this is that wilderness gave me a certain awareness, it forced me to truly see and feel things, which can be very difficult even with the tools I had learned. I am now a freshman in a top 5 art school and struggling just as much as any other teenager. I have been back to 2N as a mentor and hope to join their staff after this year in school. I highly recommend the program. There is a lot of feedback about Island View, and all I can say about that is that my individual experince was generally good. I was only there for 5 months, I had done the majority of my work in wilderness and was just reinforcing. I worked with a few amazing people there, but they are no longer at the program so I cannot speak to it now. The biggest thing I can warn about is that your kids will learn that there is a certain raw truth that they will likely experince both with themselves and new relationships in the programs, and as amazing as that realness is it will be difficult for them to come into the world because of it. Just give them their piece, and REMEMBER don’t ask a question unless you want the answer.
Nope! June 2007, he went during a nice time of year, but definitely ruined his summer.
I am glad to see a response. kidsRTC, I was wondering what you decided to do in regards to furthering your sons treatment after wilderness. was your son there during Jan-May of 2008?
My son also had Cindy as a therapist “Mother Raven” she was fabulous. He did not like Wilderness at all. I think for some it is a good fit. This is a very difficult time for both the teens and parents. The parents are scared and really don’t know what direction is the best but also know that what they have been doing is not working. I appreciate your point of view and I am sure it is true for many.
I was a student at the Second Nature Cascade program when it was first begining. I was in Cindy’s group (she was my therepist), I can say that Wilderness was a very beneficial time for me. I learned to be self sufficient and I gained back confidence that I was missing due to social difficulites as well as a heavy drug abuse issue. I was there past my 18th Birthday which any one will tell you is a very difficult time. I made the desicion to stay and finish the program, I left on Water Phase, which is no small accomplishment. This being said, my parents then sent me to a place called the Oakley School in Utah which was a Thereputic Boarding school. where I was placed on Off-Form For having a “Negative Attitude” and I will be the first to admit that I did. however, after being placed on Off-form I was removed from the community for 6 Months unable to communicate with anyone. This was one of the most depressing times in my life. i eventually earned my way to Lower Form and was able to talk to people again. however many of the staff continued to reffer to me as a “Black Hole” and warned other students not to associate with me. This was not true even my therepist disagreed with this treatment of me. Due to all of the Verbal Harassment I suffered my therepist and I decided it would be best if I left. so in january I did. shortly there after roughly two weeks. I was again living with my parents and trying to get help to reverse the immense depression the Oakley School had caused, but I slipped further down and finally attempted suicide. I did not succeed, obviously, but I was able to get the help i needed, to overcome the immense depression Oakley had Caused
I understand that all of the parents out there who struggled with children who have issues similar to mine, wan tto listen blindly when you are told your child needs a second program. I am hear to tell you that it is true only for the vast minority. having watched many fellow students in these secondary care centers get worse and relapse I urge you to due more research and really think if they need it. many of those places are Profit Seeking Ventures and hire incompitent employees who emotionally abuse the students whom they do not like. not to sound like a conspirisist but the number of kick backs and special retreats for high preforming Educational consultants is discusting. I Implore you to LISTEN TO YOUR CHILDREN we are not trying to manipulate you, as you are so often told. you are being lied to by the administration at most of those places.
I will again say that Wilderness helpped me SO much and i was able to overcome my drug abuse issues through wilderness, and it all was un-done by the RTC
I wish you all the best with your struggle and I hope you can see a little hope when i tell you that I speek with my parents on a daily basis even though I am out of state at college
Hi David, Thank you for your well thought out comment. I know their are many parents that will appreciate the time you have taken to explain what can be the hard reality of sending your teen to treatment. Personally, what you say I think is also true for my son, but I know that he benefited from his time away. He may not know it now but someday may look back and have a different view. It sounds to me like you and your parents have a good understanding relationship.
Hello all, my parents sent me away when I was 15 for what I now believe to be a valid reason. I went to second nature utah for 8 weeks, and then to Caron, a 12 step based, 30 day RTC. Immediately fallowing Caron, I was sent to an all boys ranch in Tombstone, AZ called In Balance Ranch Academy, a long term work ranch which is centered around A.A. The stay at In Balance is a minimum of 10 months with the average stay around 16 months. I graduated from In Balance a day short of one year. I was away 15 months overall, I am now 17, I have been out of treatment for 8 months, and I am not sober.
Upon reading this information you may disregard what I write as biased, or you could decide that reading this is a waste of time. What do I know?, you may be right in either case. Since I am not sober, you may even regard me as a failure. You may stop reading, or you might continue reading my story, searching my treatment process for flaws, so that you wont make the same mistakes in treating your own children. I cannot blame you, for I have just listed my own preconceived notions about you readers; and I believe that your intentions are right, for you would be doing what you believe to be in your child’s best interest. However, I share this information so that you can at least trust my message as being an accurate perspective of a kid who has graduated from the kind of programs you are considering for your child, or that your child is currently attending.
I write this to those of you who have a child in wilderness or any sort of residential treatment, and to any parents considering sending their son or daughter away. You will never understand what it is like to get sent away, just as I (unless put in your position) will never know the pain of a parent witnessing their child destroying themselves with drugs.
I have listened to many parents reminisce over the wonderful times they spent with their child, before he/she started do drugs. Any of you, who are imagining this past relationship resuming or becoming a reality once your son or daughter has completed treatment, are due for an eye-opener. I cannot say whether treatment will be positive, negative, or “effective” for your child, but I will tell you that your child will never be the same, and your relationship with your son or daughter will never return to what it once was. I have not seen it from your perspective, but I would also imagine that a parent would never be the same after sending their child away, no matter what their motivation.
For better or for worse there will be change, especially in your child, but also in your family; and do believe that such a decision effects all family members, particularly the innocent sibling (for me my younger sister). There is only so much a parent can do for their child, and once you pull the plug, there is no going back. All I ask is that before you make any decisions, realize what a humungous step sending a child away is, and only proceed if you honestly believe that residential treatment is your only chance, and that such a huge chance is worth taking since life for you, your family, and especially for your child COULD NOT get any worse. If you truly believe this to be the case, do what you believe is right and do not allow yourself to be bullied by your child. If you do decide on treatment, do not at the absence of your child, allow yourself to be bullied by therapists, program owners, and ed consultants. Your child will attempt to manipulate and argue that they do not need treatment regardless of their condition, just like therapists and most other “professionals” will always argue that your child needs further treatment. Almost all parents will receive a letter from their child during their stay in wilderness which either describes their horrible conditions, appealing to pity, or pleading for forgiveness, or both. I wrote one, I’m sure many of you have received this same letter. Do not think they are lying or exaggerating for there is no need to, but their intent is clear. Either way the child is begging to return home. Other than this letter, which is edited and monitored by therapists there, parents have no contact with their children, and therapists provide all parents with the same basic updates, and statistics about further treatment options. These people may know more about addiction or treatment, but there is no one who knows more about about a child than his or her parent. Do not be swayed, make the choice that you believe to be right. Statistics can be manipulated to support any side, allow for some time to observe your child’s change in behavior, at home or after wilderness. Leave time to see how much progress your child makes. The threat of being sent away is often motivation enough, and don’t make the decision for long term treatment to quickly, a lot can be accomplished during 8 weeks in the woods.
I’ve heard some parents say that their child’s situation at home was one of “life and death”. This was not the case for me, however my parents gave me plenty of forewarning before sending me away and I ignored them. I know that my parents believed that what they were doing was making a sacrifice for my well being. I do not know if it all ended up being for my well being, but I know they were acting in what they believed to be my best interest, so I do not blame them. For a long time I hated them, and I thought that I would always hate them for it. Many of my good friends from treatment, sober or otherwise, still hold onto that resentment.
I will not go into the details of my drug use, or the many stories from my time away from home. Getting sent away was horrible, treatment in general was the worst thing I have ever experienced, but today I am a successful college student, I have a good relationship with my family, and I have many friends that I can trust. I do not know if I would be better off without having gone through treatment. My time away was awful and depressing, but I did a lot of things I never would have done, and met a lot of great people, many of whom (students and select sane staff members) I am still in contact with. I was completely sober for 15 months (i.e. no nicotine, alcohol, drugs, girls ect.), and I “relapsed” the night after graduating In Balance on alcohol and pot. (I put quotes around relapsed because I had no intention on staying sober after getting out so I wouldn’t really consider it relapsing). My parents are aware of my use, and during my time in treatment they were committed to me staying completely sober after graduating. Since then we have been through a lot and they have been very understanding. Today they judge my well being on how I am doing in general (school, work, life), and not on my drug use.
I have to admit that I am using as much, if not more frequently than I was before treatment, but I am certainly managing my life much better than I did before treatment. Treatment didn’t teach me the skills necessary to accomplish these things, I had them all along, its just that after going through it all, I realize that my life is pretty good, and to keep it that way I need to take care of my responsibilities. Sometimes I feel detached and disconnected from kids who haven’t been through the things that I have. I feel much more mature now, and less naive, but also much less innocent, and often times unhappy. I do not know if treatment was for better or worse, but either way I do not regret it in the least. Nor do I regret my drug use, each has made me who I am today, and I am happy with who I am today.— for those of you who simply scrolled to the end of this long explanation the main point of it is; do not send your child away unless you have exhausted every other possibility, unless you are willing to risk permanently losing your relationship with your child. you should only exercise this option if you believe that it is the only possibility you have to save your son or daughters life.
my son went to 2nd nature at duchesne in the uintas from june 23rd until sept 3rd 2009 he now is in an RTC and sometimes longs for the wilderness again and again. The staff at 2nd nature were caring and true people and took good care of my son. they taught him outdoor survival skills, how to bust a flame, how to eat the most basic foods, how to care for one another, i could go on and on. It was the best choice that my wife and i had made for our son who needed help. any parent that reads this blog and is doubtful about sending their son or daughter in to the care of the staff at 2nd nature, think again. It is a life saving place to send them. the transition camp and staying outdoors overnight with my son taking care of the both of us will remain in our hearts and minds forever.
Transition training focuses on building upon teen’s positive previous work while vigorously organizing them to transition out of Second Nature. Teens receive more freedom and privileges as they display leadership, personal responsibility, suitable interactions with others, problem solving skills, effective communication skills, understanding of strengths, and reconnection with family. With this Transition stage would definitely be an excellent wilderness programs for teens a building blocks of emotional and behavioral change for teens.
Hayley keep up the good work. You deserve the best and it sounds like you are on a good path.
the last comment was posted the very day and time i went to second nature cascades. I spent the holidays out there and hated it. i left after 3 months. and immediatly wanted to go back. its a completely different world out there, and not a day goes by where i get “homesick” about wilderness. i promise i am going back as staff. my life changed after that experience.
unfortunatly, i wentto a utah RTC 6 hours after and HATED IT. I still hate it being 3 weeks out of treatment and living at home and ten months sober. and i thank wilderness not the rtc, i encourage everyone to do wilderness for a while. Thank you second nature.
My parents sent me to wilderness for very good reason, I was imploding on myself and turning 18 soon. My mom tells me that she wanted to get me help before it was to late ( turning 18 remember ).
It changed my life, I went to RTC afterword, but without the help to further engrain the skills that i learned during wilderness, i would have fallen completely back into old patterns.
I went to second nature duchesne and i look back at it without any regret, i know that i would be nowhere without the support of my parents and for that i thank second nature for helping me realize that
Wilderness was just the beginning for us. My son hated wilderness but it was a quick intervention to get him away from his self destructive behaviors. After Wilderness he went to an RTC and that is where the changes started to happen. Good luck and let us know how it goes for your family. These are really tough decisions to make.
How are your sons now ? Our son just entered the Utah Second Nature program. Do the effects last afterwards or is it a constant battle ???
Thanks for updated news, I hope they’re both doing very well.
Our son went into Second Nature the end of March 2008 and came out June 2008. I really liked what they had done for him. He did so well there. He is now in a RTC and is not liking it. He has said many times he would like to go back to the wildnerness.