Wilderness Camp

I could understand a parent wanting to send their child or loved one to a treatment center. That makes more sense to me. A treatment center is more well-equipped to deal with certain situations such as suicide ideation, panic attacks, etc. When someone is thrown into the wilderness, how much one-on-one time do they have with a therapist? Wilderness Program is based around groups---communication with me, living with them, etc. I feel that in some cases, like with my friend, needed a therapist. Going from two sessions of therapy to a wilderness program and boarding school is a big jump. There were many things that her parents could of tried---inpatient, outpatient, group therapy, different therapist, etc. What I am trying to say is that wilderness programs and boarding school need to be the last resort. There is no way that you can send your child to two therapy sessions and expect them to be healed. (Which is what happen with my friend---her parent sent her to two or thee therapy sessions, stopped, and decided that sending her away was a brilliant idea. When she talked to me about her problems, she would tell me that she just wanted someone there for her. She wanted her parents to listen. She wanted her other friends to care. You don't need to spend three-thousand dollars a month to achieve that.)

I believe that a lot of students starts to improve simply based on the fact that they are pulled away from the situation. I want to know if these programs are teaching the children how to deal with the situation once they are released from the program and go home. What is stopping the child from going home, and finding out that their parents and peers are the same? This could be similar to drug addicts who relapse and fall back into old patterns when they go back home to the same situation. A lot of drug addicts become sober for a few months, but relapse because they find themselves in the same house, with the same people, and the same problems as before.

Maybe I am worried about my friend.

She'll go back to school. Her peers were verbally and sexually abusive.

Her brother is a manipulative bastard who took her advantage of her when it came to money, items, etc.

Her parents are not that supportive. They want things to be fixed now.

Or her friends. What is to say that the changed?

Even if her family did change, there is the chance that they will be walking on eggshells around her. When she came from break they treated her like royalty----took her out to dinner, bought her stuff, etc. That is more than they did before they sent her away.

@akittystang: correction, it did not help YOU. sure helped me though. i'm thankful my parents sent me off cuz i definitely would have found some round-a-bout way of killing myself.

and for people criticizing the parents for being too lazy to handle their own kid: most of the parents are doing the best they can. but when their kid is out of control and they're scared for the child's life...well, can you blame 'em for wanting to get it nipped in the bud? i wouldn't want to have to watch my son or daughter destroy themselves from the inside out, all the while not knowing how to help. but that's just me.