Wilderness Therapy Programs In Washington

Trying to decide what to do with your behaviorally struggling teen can be difficult. When the measures you are employing at home are not yielding any results, it is time to consider outside intervention to give your teen the help she needs. While there are a variety of teen help options available in Washington and throughout the country, you should select the one that is most likely to match your teen’s needs and give him his best chance for success. One such program that has proven effective for both boys and girls is wilderness therapy. While some parents may confuse it with a boot camp style program, it is actually very different and much more effective. Taking place in the outdoors, such programs use a combination of therapy personal challenges to help each teen discover new strengths, gain confidence and learn how to explore and manage their personal issues.

Help Your Teen Now is an advocate group that specializes in helping families find the best behavioral intervention for their teen and her unique needs. Contact us today at 1-800-901-7347 for a free consultation and to find out more about what we can offer.

Why Is Help Your Teen Now So Effective?

Help Your Teen Now was originally founded by a woman with over a decade of experience with teen help programs. She recognized a needs for a resource center that was extensive, unbiased and current for parents seeking help for their children. Since those earliest days, Help Your Teen Now has developed into a valuable resource that has helped hundreds of families connect with the right kind of therapeutic intervention for their teen’s needs, including residential treatment centers, ranches for troubled teens, wilderness programs and therapeutic boarding schools.

At Help Your Teen Now, we are aware that not everyone program is equal and we take care to only endorse those that are safe, accredited, experienced and have a high success rate. It is our goal to put in the research for you and eliminate those facilities that are questionable in order to present an equal selection of options that you can choose from based on your family’s needs.

How Can Teens Benefit From A Wilderness Program?

Wilderness programs for troubled teen have a high success rate when they are done correctly. Rather than employing deprivation and intimidation, like some programs use, a good one will offer your teen an opportunity to get outside of his usual routine and discover new things about himself and his surroundings while practicing teamwork and effective communication. The outdoors is an area no longer explored by many modern teens, yet it remains a healthy and unique way to return them to the basics of life and offers a myriad of opportunities to discover confidence and determine just what they are capable of. Most programs last between two and four months, which is long enough to transition teens from the stress and triggers of their current daily lives into the more structured environment of an in house therapy program, like a residential treatment center or therapeutic boarding school.

While wilderness programs are an ideal way to jump start healing for struggling teens, it should not be considered the only line of defense when it comes to long term changes. They are an ideal way to get your teen in the right mindset and can solidify their teen help education, but should be considered a supplement to a longer term facility that will go on to help your son or daughter get to the root of their behavior and learn how to manage it.

Help Your Teen Now can help you differentiate between the many wilderness therapy options throughout the country. We provide resources that will allow you to make the most informed decision for your family.

Regulations for Teen Wilderness Therapy Programs in Washington

Overnight programs for teens and children in Washington are overseen by the state’s Department of Health. Overnight camps must be licensed according to the State Board Of Health Regulations; Chapter 246-376 WAC. All camps must meet the standards for operating regulations. Counselors, therapists and staff must pass extensive background checks.

According to WAC 246-376-030, All camps shall be located near safe and approved water supplies. In WAC 246-376-040 (2) The director of the camp will make frequent inspections for proper sanitation and maintenance with regulations. WAC 246-376-070 states that showers and laundry facilities in resident camps.must be conveniently located with hot and cold water. Separate shower rooms shall be provided for each sex in the ratio of one shower head or tub for each 15 users based upon the maximum demand at any one period.

According to WAC 246-376-090 the floors, walls, and ceilings of sleeping rooms shall be of easily cleanable construction and shall be maintained in a clean, sanitary condition. No room used for sleeping purposes shall have less than 400 cubic feet of air space for each occupant. All cabin or dormitory type sleeping rooms shall contain a minimum floor space of 40 sq. ft. per occupant. Ventilation shall be provided to all bedrooms or dormitories equivalent to an outside opening of 2-1/2 sq. ft. per person.

Reference: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=246-376