What Makes a Great Wilderness Camp

So you have a troubled teen and you have decided that a wilderness camp is the best way to help your teenager recover. Fine, but the camp is most suitable for your teenager?

Well of course that depends on the type of problems with your teenager is in, and which in turn will determine what type of Wilderness Camp to select. There is a wide selection and here are some tips to help you find what is best for your son or daughter.

Therapy levels. If your child needs a full-on care program includes treatment, then select the camp that offers just that. Some wilderness camps have a limited amount of reading and allow such things as the great outdoors and challenging physical routines to achieve healing. Ask for details of the treatment - how much, how often and in what format?

The number of employees. You must know everything possible about the staff. What are their qualifications, how long have they worked with troubled teenagers, where they are studying and how long have they been in this wilderness camp? So how many employees and how many students are present? Keep a low student staff ratio is usually preferable, provided that the quality of therapists and the program is tip top too.

Setting. A Wilderness Camp is so named because of its location. Make sure the setting is as good as possible. Your child must be far from the bait crowd, in the pristine great outdoors where they can appreciate nature and not be distracted by the people and places they know when at home.

Long-term benefits. This is not a holiday, although this might prove to be great fun. A Wilderness Camp is an opportunity to change mindsets, attitudes and abilities of your son or daughter. You want them to gain confidence and self-respect and respect for others. And you want these changes to last. The best wilderness camps to show research that shows how their campers become and remain happy campers with lasting benefits.

Good balance. The best camps will be the right amount of reading and outdoor living experiences. Hiking in the desert, lighting your own fire and cooking your own meal, which survive in the wild are all part of the experience. But it is also therapy to help your child become a teenager again. The best camp will have the right balance between the two activities.

Specific programs. There may be a large part of reading and most of them could be on a one to one. But it is the right treatment? A child with drug problems, and another that has ADHD, will not receive the same treatment. The best camps will match the needs of the camper with expertise.

Do not rush your choice. There is a camp or camps that will have the quality to really make a significant change in the life of your troubled teen. Find the Wilderness Camp and you can get a new teenager on your hands.