As I said in my
previous post I’m going to talk about the alternatives of Boot Camps as well. Actually
it’s just one effective alternative that I found on the internet and it’s
called Wilderness Therapy Program.
The huge
difference between Boot Camps and this Therapy is that in the latter the
leaders are real specialists, whereas in Boot Camps these “specialists” have
neither a therapeutic, nor a pedagogic education. There are no qualifications
for Boot Camp leaders so it simply can be done by anybody. “It is harder to
get a fishing licence then to lead a camp of boys”, so the senator Chris
Cumminskey from Arizona.
Generally, the Wilderness Therapy Program uses an outdoor setting to
avoid distractions and this is said to fasten the process of accepting the
negative issues that have caused the bad behaviour. The teenagers or adults go through an emotional, behavioral and therapeutic
journey in a wilderness environment, which shows behavioral changes after only
one year. Besides, the participants had shown a reduction of
behavioral and emotional symptoms due to the outdoor healthcare. More than 83%
made a clinically significant improvement and teens aged among 13 had shown the
highest reduction.
The aim of this
therapy is to succeed in changing negative behaviour for a long time. They
promise you a long-term success, instead of a success that lasts just a while,
like in Boot Camps.
Other
differences are:
|
Therapeutic Wilderness
Program
|
Military-Style Boot Camp
|
|
Respect
of authority
|
Fear of
authority
|
|
Self-Discipline
|
Doing
"as told"
|
|
Cooperation
|
Obedience
|
|
Responsibility
|
Repression
|
|
Self-Esteem
|
Resentment
|
|
Self-confidence
|
Need for
structure
|
I think it’s totally clear that the Therapeutic Program
is way more effective than a Boot Camp after reading these differences!
"The
program I chose for my daughter was "NOT" for her. It was more of a
"boot camp" program. I was looking for therapy and internalization
through the help of professionals. I believe if you take a negative child, and
put them in a negative environment, such as a boot camp, it builds resentment and
anger. I had no idea as to what I had done. I had always valued myself as an
intelligent person, and this was a rude awakening”, a parent’s true story from Lon
Woodbury's Struggling Teens.
This quote demonstrates that Boot Camps are
shown as a harmless and therapeutic program to achieve a behavioral change, but
actually they are the opposite. A Wilderness Therapy program could be described
as harmless, therapeutic and successful – as it really is ;)
I volunteer for a human rights organization called "Domestic Prisoners of Conscience".
ReplyDeleteHaving examined several hundred of residential treatment program I have to say that it is very difficult to figure out who is abusive or who is helpful. The title and the destribed nature of the program in various marketing materials are often a lie.
The problem is basically the drive for profit and a the failure in believing in a one fit cure for everybody.
Wilderness programs are often dangerous because the medical screening of the teenagers are done in a few hours instead of several days of examination. Many remembers "Brat Camp" from Television. The wilderness program shown in the TV-show was closed in 2009 after a boy died only a day into the program.
Teenagers die from heat, cold, restraints when they try to escape. Medication has side-effects which leaves them more exposed to changes in temperature. Restraints are always dangerous when you place full-grown therapists on a small teenager. The teenager cannot breathe due to the weight and die.
Wilderness therapy is a marketing label. Beware what you buy as a parent.