The best wilderness programs have a high ratio of field instructors or counselors to students. This makes the therapeutic experience the most rewarding, because no student can be "lost in the crowd." These programs have been in existence for a number of years, and are some of the most respected therapeutic wilderness programs for troubled teens in the United States.

Each program has its own individualized therapeutic program that allows students to progress in their skills, group participation efforts, and behavior and attitude. Mother Nature serves as the ultimate teacher, leading teens to explore their self-limiting and self-defeating attitudes and behaviors.

We also have related residential programs that can equally impact and transform troubled teens, such as our working ranches in Utah, Aspen Ranch and Turn-About Ranch.

Adirondack Leadership Expeditions is a character development program that promotes personal growth through a focus on insight-oriented experiences. The forested, mountain setting removes urban distractions and simplifies options to help students gain insight into their core values and accept responsibility for their choices. Our program's nurturing approach helps participants address personal issues, achieve success in a safe environment, and develop their leadership potential. Set in the beautiful Adirondack mountains near Saranac Lake, New York, our leadership expeditions offer individualized treatment plans, flexible lengths of stay, master's and doctorate level therapists, individual counseling, and a powerful family involvement component.

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Our motto is "Change for Life."

Wellspring Camps are the first comprehensive summer treatment programs for overweight children and young adults. Wellspring's clinical program has been designed by leading researchers and clinicians to maximize long-term behavioral change, which will result in substantial and permanent weight loss. And it all happens at two incredibly fun summer camps. After a summer at Wellspring, young people return home feeling great about themselves, ready to change their lives. Plus, there's no better place to make new friends this summer! Camp Wellspring near Lake Saranac, New York, is the best place for overweight girls and young women ages 16-23 to lose weight and change their lives this summer. Wellspring Adventure Camp near Asheville, North Carolina, is a fun, action-packed adventure where overweight boys and girls ages 10-15 develop healthy habits, lose weight, and build confidence.

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Located in Shoshone, Idaho, the SUWS Adolescent program helps teenagers search for and address the limiting beliefs and unhealthy behaviors that can often prevent their pursuit of constructive goals and personal achievement. Students respond to the positive peer environment and slowly take on greater responsibility as they learn to cooperate with the group and acquire exciting new skills. Teens experience great feelings of accomplishment and self-confidence the first time they make a bow drill fire or learn other primitive wilderness skills.

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Outback's Wilderness Programs, featured on the Dr. Phil Show, blend the best of the "ancient cultural systems" with the most effective and proven therapeutic processes. Your troubled teen will experience the highest standards of safety and therapy in the context of one of the most powerful settings for real change - the wilderness.

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The SUWS Youth Program is a 28-day, outdoor experiential program addressing the needs of struggling youth between the ages of 11-13 who are demonstrating negative behaviors and unhealthy coping patterns. For the younger adolescent, the youth wilderness program provides a challenging and rewarding experience that gives each child a positive foundation for future growth.

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Located in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, SUWS of the Carolinas is a treatment program with a focus on intervention and assessment. The program uses the outdoors as an alternative to conventional treatment environments, while engaging students using traditional therapeutic methods.

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Research and developmental psychology indicates that 11 to 13 year-olds have very specific needs: primarily safety, security, and predictability. Pre-adolescent children and younger teens think in concrete terms and require tangible experiences from which to build.

The goal of the Seasons wilderness program is to create reference points that each child may tap into later for positive self-reinforcement. The staff and daily curriculum give students the tools they will need to chart a course for future growth and success and begin making progress in their lives.

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"Through the medicine of wilderness and relationships we discover the fire within".

That quote tells the story of Aspen Achievement Academy, and outdoor therapeutic program in Loa, Utah. AAA challenges students to face their self-limited behaviors, forge positive peer relationships, and recognize the need for personal responsibility.

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Provides exciting adventures for boys and girls ages 9-17 with learning disabilities (LD), attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and Autism Spectrum Disorder and Asperger's Syndrome. Participants live on campus in rustic cabins. Activities include white water rafting, rock climbing, backpacking, and much much more.

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Camp Huntington is a co-ed, residential, seven-week program for children and young adults with a variety of special needs. Our program is designed to maximize a child's potential and develop their strengths and hidden abilities. We offer a unique program approach we've developed: Adaptive Therapeutic Recreation. Your child will enjoy the fun-filled days of summer camp while learning practical life skills. All our activities are instructional in nature. Our activities are designed to stimulate a child's awareness and interest in their environment and in relationships, while building their confidence, self-esteem and growth towards independence.

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SageWalk, The Wilderness School for troubled teen students, is a therapeutic wilderness program that serves as an intense intervention program for troubled teens between the ages of 13 and 17 who may be experiencing emotional, academic, and/or behavioral problems.

SageWalk provides help for troubled teens and help for troubled children by bringing students and instructors together to live in a nature-based setting that provides an opportunity to learn about the natural environment, wilderness-oriented survival techniques, interpersonal relationships, communication skills, and accepting responsibility for actions and consequences.

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Phoenix Outdoor is a wilderness therapy program located near Asheville, North Carolina. We work with teenagers, ages 13-17 by stepping in when a teenage crisis has escalated. The program utilizes an outdoor setting to remove distractions, accelerating the process of understanding the issues that are driving negative behaviors. We help you create a plan and process for long-term success and get your teenager to buy into that process, making needed behavioral changes.

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Passages creates a unique environment for adults struggling with alcohol or drug addiction. Participants take both a physical journal and a journey within as they discover their self-limited beliefs and develop the skills needed to remain sober and clean in the outside world.

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Four Circles Recovery Center is an innovative addictions, substance abuse and co-occuring mental health disorders treatment program for young adults ages 18-28 that combines a traditional counseling setting with extensive wilderness experiences. Four Circles employs the most effective, cutting-edge clinical modalities with an underlying traditional 12-step philosophy to create the foundation for sustained recovery.

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