have worked in a multitude of treatment settings from sober living communities, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, a university, and most recently found myself in a new container: the wilderness. I assumed that this treatment modality would be similar to the other environments I have worked in, only, it was doing therapy out in the woods. It had been a long time since I thought about how being outside unquestionably impacted my childhood. However, it didn't take long for me to remember just how profound a connection to the wilderness can be. I see this vital relationship to the outdoors forming in my students, and I know that they are learning so much from it, just as I have. I work with adolescent boys struggling with co-occurring mental health issues and substance use. These boys often are not willing (at first) or thrilled (at first) about living in the woods for ten weeks, and I quickly discover how much their substance abuse has impacted their daily lives, their relationships, and their perspective on life. When an individual uses substances, his world becomes very small. To someone who uses or depends on substances, the most important relationship becomes the one between the individual and his drug. Anytime this relationship is challenged, we often notice defensiveness or opposition. Typically, the individual will go to any lengths to protect this relationship. It compares to our protective instincts regarding the most important relationships in our lives – the ones with our parents, our children, or our siblings. Often, there is nothing we wouldn't do to protect that connection; that includes making tough treatment decisions for our loved ones who are struggling. At Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness, we utilize a nomadic wilderness model, which means that our students spend their entire time with the program living outside in nature, amongst the elements. It requires our students to create and maintain consistent connections with each other, their field staff, and most importantly, with nature. The vastness of nature forces down our walls, allows us to let down our guard and opens us up to new possibilities.It can be life-changing. Nature urges us to connect with our natural propensity to heal. The experience is ineffable, and it moves us toward an alignment of mind, body, and spirit. When a student comes to wilderness therapy, he begins to explore the dynamics in his relationships with family members, friends, school, passions, and alcohol and drugs. The wilderness provides a perfect metaphor for this dynamic. As our students spend all of their time in the woods, their relationship with nature becomes one of the most important that they have while they are at Blue Ridge. Nature can be unforgiving, it holds firm boundaries, and it nurtures all at once. Learning how to have a successful relationship with the wilderness can inform a lifetime’s worth of relationship skills. Being immersed in the wilderness twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week pushes students outside of their comfort zone. In the past, when they used substances, they had an understanding of what will happen, they controlled the when, the where and the how. However, arriving at Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness forces students to face their discomfort in the uncertainty. They learn to accept and understand that they cannot control another person’s behaviors, actions or feelings - similar to how they cannot control the weather: whether it rains, or the temperature drops, or the humidity rises, or the sun decides to shine. Students learn that what they can control is their reaction to these discomforts. Learning to change the response to stressors can alter the way that students relate to their home and school environments. Since a student’s relationship and behavior in the wilderness mirrors their relationships elsewhere, we can approach therapeutic conversations through nature. Nature becomes a metaphor for family and peer relationships. Initially, it is easier to explore the feelings of powerlessness in relationship to their environment rather than in their relationship to drugs. It is less scary to discuss the ways they are selfish while in nature living with this supportive group of peers, compared to how they have been selfish with their caregivers at home. Once we identify these patterns in the relationship with the wilderness, we begin to work on ways to change the way our students interact with their environment within nature. With a deeper awareness and understanding of their patterns and reaction to the world, students are more willing to acknowledge how these patterns have shown up and mirror other areas of their life, and how the changes they've made during their time in the woods can apply to the other areas of their lives. As I mentioned earlier, our students are learning that they do have power and control over their internal reaction to their external environment. Realizing this is a dramatic shift because students who use substances have been relying on an external object to change their internal state of being. Students in a nomadic wilderness program like Blue Ridge, learn that as they take more responsibility for their own internal experience, that the external world begins to feel more manageable as well. When this shift happens for students, they will often speak to how quiet, calm and healing it feels to be in the woods. The woods become a mirror of the student's experience and give us an excellent opportunity to see how they perceive their internal experience. As students become more aware of their internal experiences, they also begin to learn that they have to continue to engage in relationship with the external world. This piece is important because students who use substances have a propensity to avoid difficult situations. Students often report to me, "I started to use drugs to fit in, then realized it helped me with anxiety, depression, loneliness, etc.". While in the woods, using is no longer an option and students have to continue to be in and engage in relationship no matter what kind of struggles come up. Metaphor again serves as a starting point for students to begin to explore this pattern because nature is the ultimate boundary setter and students must adapt to the situation. These boundaries create a sense of comfort and help students engage more fully in the therapeutic process. Since these boundaries, in many ways, cannot be argued, even our most oppositional students do not have the choice but to comply with what is needed each day. While a student’s initial reaction is often to avoid, it quickly shifts into acceptance because you just can't argue with the outdoors. When this shift happens, we hold up a mirror for the student to begin to explore how they do, in fact, have the ability to follow through on what gets asked of them in that moment and how that reflects their ability to do the same in any environment. The boundaries and mirror that nature provides are some of the leading therapeutic benefits of the nomadic model of wilderness. No matter what, students cannot avoid their experience, relationship, and patterns. Since avoidance is often one of the strongest patterns that manifest for students who use substances, the importance of group dynamics and supportive community amongst staff, students and nature confront this pattern in full force. Source: Blue Ridge Wilderness
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This post originally appeared in All Kinds of Therapy, written by Emily Miranda. You can find that post here. Any seasoned wilderness therapy staff knows the importance of students remaining well-hydrated. Being that our bodies are comprised of so much water, drinking plenty of it every day helps keep students’ bodies functioning properly; it helps with regulation of body temperature, aids in removing toxins, helps acclimatize the body to new altitudes, prevents headaches and even irritability (both can be signs of dehydration) and helps the skin and hair maintain moisture and deliver essential nutrients to the cells. So, when I was working in a wilderness therapy program in Utah, and one of my students was refusing to drink water, suffice it to say I was concerned. As the staff and I were processing how to support this student being safely hydrated, while still meeting her need for a sense of choice, one of the staff mentioned, “well, she’s not drinking enough water, but she also is asking for lotion because her skin is dry. So, she’s really not making the connection that if she were more hydrated, she wouldn’t need lotion.” This may come as a surprise, but hearing that comment, I felt even more concerned. This time, not about my student asking for lotion, but the staff making an assumption that my student’s request for lotion was about some sense of “entitlement” and “lack of awareness”. While wilderness staff are trained to observe a student’s behavior and to look for ways that the student might be manipulating, newer staff may be unaware of the nuances of behavior and unable to make accurate therapeutic interpretations. In this instance, instead of seeing this student as an individual, her request was generalized and therefore pathologized as “entitlement”. I felt grave concern about her being viewed this way because she is Black. I am aware that it’s absolutely crucial in this instance to see her as an individual. Her dark skin has a lower pH than white skin, contains less glutathione, the melanin is packed more tightly, among other things… suffice it to say it is different than white skin and therefore needs different care. Yes, she may not be sufficiently hydrated, but this does not mean that she doesn’t need lotion. If I ignore this difference, I further the message that people who are marginalized often experience; the feeling of being invisible--and therefore unimportant. So, I can address the physical need for her to be well hydrated and the therapeutic implications of her refusing to drink water, while still being multiculturally aware and attentive to her need for additional hygiene products in order to maintain healthy self-care. In addition, I can name my awareness of these nuances, so that my student knows I’m seeing her as an individual, and not generalizing her behavior. These things aren’t mutually exclusive of one another, and being aware of all of them is holistic therapeutic care. Any good clinician knows that the therapeutic experience should be a reparative one, so if I choose to stay silent, I further the wounding and no repair work is done. This is one small example of an instance in a therapeutic setting where the need for multicultural awareness is tantamount to the individualized treatment that we promise to deliver. Every parent who sends a child to treatment makes an overwhelmingly difficult decision to do so. It is a painful process to make a choice to send a child to the hands of strangers, with a hope that healing can and will come. And every one of those parents wants to know that their child will truly be “seen” and “heard” for the individual that they are. This dynamic is even more poignant for students who have marginalized identities, and particularly in this instance, a Black student in a therapeutic setting that is predominantly white. It is absolutely imperative that clinicians see each student in the larger context of family, culture, community and society, in order to truly be individualized in their treatment approach. And in this approach, they must be willing to consider that behavior that might be deemed a ‘mental illness’ or ‘pathologized’, is in fact, behavior that is actually about wellness for that individual. For examples, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) at one time named homosexuality as a mental health diagnosis, and has labeled gender dysphoria as Gender Identity Disorder but with continued research and practice, we know now that people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer are not, in fact, “sick” and treatment approaches such as reparative therapy/conversion therapy have been proven by research to be harmful. We also know from research that self-harm and suicidality are among the highest in people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Asexual, or Intersex (LGBTQAI). If we only conceptualize suicidal ideation and self-harming behavior through the lens of clinical depression, rather than as a normal response in reaction to aggressive community behavior such as hazing and bullying (or worse), and also in response to more passive harmful messages of not seeing themselves represented in the media or casual comments (microaggressions) such as, “that’s so gay” --meant as an insult-- we are missing a much larger boat. Similarly, when clinicians see withdrawn, aggressive or irritable symptoms in people of color (POC) and automatically label it as “depression” rather than seeing it with keen eyes and wondering if it in fact is racial battle fatigue or race-related stress, we not only wrongly label typical/expected emotional reactions in a student, we also wrongly label the individual with the “problem”, rather than seeing the structural and institutionalized oppression that is truly the fault of the larger society and culture. This experiential conflict is well stated in an APA article by David and Nadal [David, E. J. R. and Nadal, Kevin (2013) , A Colonial Mentality Model of Depression for Filipino Americans. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology Journal, 19 (3), 298-309.]: Many cultural and ethnic minorities have extensive experiences of being oppressed, which they may eventually internalize. However, psychology has yet to actively incorporate various forms of internalized oppression (e.g. colonial mentality [CM]) into the etiological conceptualizations of psychopathology. Using a sample of 248 Filipino Americans, the author tested more complete and socio-politically informed cultural model of depression symptoms. Results with structural equation modeling showed that conceptual model that includes CM better explained depression symptoms among Filipino Americans than the model without CM and revealed that CM had a significant direct effect on Filipino Americans’ experiences of depression symptoms. It is argued, through this illustrative case of depression symptoms among Filipino Americans, that incorporating the psychological effects of oppressive historical and contemporary conditions into our conceptualizations of ethnic minority mental health may lead to a more culturally accurate etiological understanding of psychopathology among historically oppressed groups. The world of mental health treatment has far to go in incorporating these perspectives into the framework. The DSM 5 (the most recent version of the DSM for psychiatric diagnoses) does not incorporate concepts such as racial battle fatigue, race-related stress, or diagnostics that reflect the emotional and psychological toll of bullying, for example. Because our students are individuals within this larger context of family, community, and society, it is the duty of the clinicians to have an awareness of the complexity of the struggles that our clients face, and to conceptualize that some of these struggles may not be just within the individual psyche of the student themselves but to truly see the student in the context of the environment and the pressures and challenges they face. When a family member is exploring programs to place their teen or young adult, it is absolutely your right as a parent, family member, or guardian to ask your biggest concern --insert your biggest bias/fear here-- (for example: “Do your staff have much experience working with Black children in the wilderness?” or “Will your staff use gender neutral pronouns when communicating with my child?” “Will your staff be accepting of my gay child?” “Do your staff and the clinician understand that my child has different hair and skin care needs than white students?”) Please do not shy away from asking the questions that matter to you most. If the program answers your question in a full, complete, and direct way you can gain a sense of their values, their training and awareness and how they implement those. If they stumble and struggle in articulating their awareness of being able to see your child in a broader context, and all the identities they hold, you have valuable insight and ask can more questions. Sometimes, this might mean speaking directly to the clinician who would be working with your child, who can speak more immediately to their awareness and training, as well as how culture and identity will be considered in the therapeutic context. It is unquestionably your prerogative to ask for this; you’re placing your most precious person in their hands and want to feel a sense of relief, hope, and reassurance that this person will truly be “seen” and heard”; to see your child holistically.
source: http://info.blueridgewilderness.com/blog/the-importance-of-multicultural-awareness-in-wilderness-treatment-settings The Brilliance of a Circle and Nature: Working with Group Dynamics in the Wilderness A group of people sitting in a circle in the wilderness is an image we can all imagine, have seen, and/or been a part of. It's a powerful image. Why is this such a powerful image? It is something that has been going on for centuries. There is inherent wisdom, not only in the act of sitting in a circle and being a part of a group but also in what the magical element of the wilderness provides to this already rich experience. I sat in a circle throughout most of my graduate program. To those that know that I attended Naropa University for my Master's in Contemplative Psychotherapy, this is not a surprise. Our training essentially involved consistent group work for three years with the same individuals. I often describe this experience as The Wisdom of No Escape. This is also the title of one of Pema Chodron's books. There is something significant I experienced about having to face what came up for me without an easy escape. Because of my being a part of a group and working together with this group, my patterns, tendencies, and desires came alive. I, therefore, had to look at it all. (I didn't have to, but I chose to because I wanted to learn.) Something similar comes up for our students in the wilderness. They don't have to look at themselves, but being in the wilderness, it becomes hard not to see and experience their raw sense of self. The group is a mirror for this. And the wilderness provides a mirror for this. The consistency provides the intensity and opportunity to re-pattern. The instructors and therapist provide the guidance, support, and path to relating to this wisdom—the innate goodness, the information, the patterns. Ultimately, that is what it is. There is true wisdom in being in a situation where one cannot "hide" anymore from themselves. Their true selves are revealed through the magnificence of the wilderness, their interpersonal relationships, and the group dynamic. It is our job as professionals and programs to create a soft place for these students to land. Then the brilliance of what occurs in groups can begin. What I believe is unique to Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness are the mountains that serve as our foundation and platform are massively beautiful, old, nurturing mountains. These mountains and our field area exude a soft healing space that seems to envelop our students. The Blue Ridge Mountains are the soft places students get to land. And from this, an even richer group experience gets to come alive. Sitting in a circle, in and of itself, is vulnerable. You are facing other people; and that, again in and of itself, means that something internally begins to occur that couldn’t have occurred otherwise. There is something about sitting in a circle, that automatically invites a person to be more present with their internal world—their bodies, thoughts, feelings—their inner wilderness. In a circle (group), you are a part of it; you are exposed. You belong, no matter what; even if you think you don’t belong. There is an unspoken invitation to be present, to show up. There is a possibility for healing and leaning into what gets to be seen, felt, and heard. The minute someone sits in a circle (is within a group), many things begin to happen—for other people, for the individual, and therefore, for the “group field.” John Heider (1985) describes the group field as, paying “attention to the silence. What is happening when nothing is happening in a group” is the group field (p. 21). People’s speech and actions are the content of the group, however, what is occurring in the in-betweenspaces reveals the group's essential mood. In working with groups, a facilitator will work to flush out what lies beneath the surface, embrace silence sophisticatedly as it is full of information, create connections, and illuminate patterns and roles.
In wilderness, there are many ways in which group dynamics are at play: in official groups on a psychoeducational topic, process or "here-and-now" groups, group activities and chores, and the simple fact that there is a community of people together in the wilderness moving through the day with a plan. It is my belief that often we are being driven by what is unconscious within us. What underlies our behaviors, thoughts, and feelings is often driven by unconscious or even conscious beliefs, thoughts, feelings, experiences. In order to move toward health, it seems essential to know how to bring what is unknown, to the more known, and learn about how to be with ourselves with love and compassion, and to create different experiences for ourselves. Group experiences offer opportunities for learning, illuminating wisdom and understanding, and creating experiences that individuals have been longing for. Often, students are not even aware that they have been longing for these experiences. Once it happens—once a student feels validated through a reflective statement, something significant occurs. This is a pivotal point in someone's internal system where the door to feeling safe opens, feeling more willing happens, seeds of resilience are planted, and tolerance of discomfort increases. It is not just because of this interpersonal connection that makes this important or pivotal. It is because this connection happened amidst a group. This is what makes that moment all that much more powerful. The group field becomes energized with each individual having a feeling or thought about what they witnessed. This is also where there are limitless opportunities to go into learning even more about other group members and reveal their own patterns, wisdom, or feelings that will most likely be essential information for moving forward in their lives and in their own work. Louis R. Ormont (1992), an internationally renowned group therapist describes five ways in which group work can benefit people:Group elicits old patterns of behavior.How someone shows up in relationship outside of wilderness is likely to show up that way in their group in wilderness. Groups will draw out individual's patterns of behavior, old feelings, thoughts, etc. Engaging with the wilderness and all that it provides will also draw out old patterns of behavior. We want to see what this looks like, so we can understand a student better. I often find myself saying to families, "I want to see what the old destructive patterns are so that we can get in there and help a student work through them in a way that is more sustainable and productive in his life." Possibilities of addressing old ways of being are available. Students get to practice putting their thoughts and feelings into words in a way that their unconscious world can be more revealed. Hidden parts of themselves get to be seen and supported. Parts of themselves that feel shame get to be unlocked and met with love and transformation. A student receives the gift of being heard by many about something they perhaps have never shared before. This experience of being seen and heard by many in the containment of a group and the wilderness is irreplaceable. It has the potential to cut straight through to the wound and allow healing to occur. Groups enable the [students] to see how others respond to them.In seeing how others respond to oneself, a person receives information on how they are showing up in their life and how they may be having an impact on others. Members of the group learn tools in giving and receiving feedback. Members of the group become mirrors for each other. This is not to be confused with the fact that how another group member responds is completely that individual's responsibility and may actually be more about them than the person they are responding to. Whatever the case, there is yet another opportunity to learn about self and other. This benefit can translate to somebody working through family system roles and struggles. How someone might be responding to a student may be similar to a family member. Being a part of a group helps students to understand how they are coming across; they then have the opportunity to look at how congruent they are being within themselves. Groups afford [students] diverse views of their behavior.Whatever spontaneously arises within the group is information. It can be used to further understanding of self or other or facilitate a connection that could not have been formed otherwise. The group experience gives students the benefit of not one but a variety of reactions—spontaneous reactions occur in the moment. No matter the reaction or response, it will evoke key roles, figures, and experiences that likely connect to something or someone outside the group that will be important to understand. Group treatment affords the opportunity for on-the-spot self-definition.Students get to learn how they come across, how they look, and what they feel when relating to others. Interpersonal patterns will show themselves in the here and now in a group setting and the relationships that are occurring. Group work offers students an opportunity for "spontaneous introspection, [and] it enables people to label and capture their truly actuating feelings and motives" (Ormont, p. 39, 1992). Moment to moment, something is occurring. Bringing mindfulness to the moment aids to great benefit in self-awareness, ability to practice a skill, and/or connect with someone in a new way. "The rationale for using the here-and-now rests upon a couple of basic assumptions: 1.) the importance of interpersonal relationships and 2.) the idea of therapy as a social microcosm" (Yalom, 2002). Groups afford the chance to practice new behavior.Students are provided the opportunity to practice doing something different in relationship to themselves and others. Instead of shutting down when feeling their sadness, they may be invited to allow others to bare-witness to their sadness. In that moment, something is happening is potentially different: the student is validating their own emotion, expressing their own emotion, and allowing others to be in relationship with this emotion. An incredible amount of "re-patterning" can occur in just this instance. And this is one of hundreds or thousands of instances that can occur that will contribute to core restructuring of self. Examples of "life situations" will occur within a group in the wilderness, and students get a chance to embrace the situation in a new way. Having group awareness, and being able to manage and intervene in a thoughtful and sophisticated way is no small feat. Challenging feelings and roles can occur in groups, and it is important to help bring skills and understanding to these feelings and roles. Group work is always occurring, even with the complement of the deeper individualized work and individual therapy that is happening. It is all connected. We are all interconnected, whether we like it or not. We all have an impact. The group out in the wilderness is a microcosm of our society and world. How we interact with the person in front of us at that moment makes a difference. How a group of individuals is supported, talked to, and challenged makes a difference. When a group first comes together, no matter who the person is, what their background is, there is boundless wisdom waiting to be discovered. There is a plethora of inherent wisdom longing to be revealed. It is our job to step in and be of service to help make connections, create experiences, and then create space for integration. It is no small feat and certainly not something to overlook. And it is what, in my opinion, saves lives. I have trained in and been a participant in many small and large group experiences throughout my career. Many parts of myself were revealed through this process; they were revealed through the relationships with the people in the group and our instructors as well as the “container” or environment that was created. Our students have the “container” of the wilderness—this awe-some environment that will challenge individuals, reflect back to individuals who they are, and invite individuals to see beauty (and what our students don’t know yet, it’s that the beauty they end up seeing is actually a reflection of themselves.). I will leave you with this poem written by my dear friend, Wendy Havlir Cherry. ChispaThere is too much to losewhen you don’t trust your fire.Let it light the way,into your wilderness.Chispa, which means "lively" or "spark," reminds me of the coal that students strive for in bow drilling (one of the common hard skills learned in wilderness). All of the effort, attention, presence, challenge inherent in building a bow drill set and working toward getting a coal is revealing of oneself. When this spark happens—when the Chispa appears—it can often be a symbol of hope, movement, life force, and our fire within! As my friend says in her poem, "There is too much to lose when you don't trust your fire." These students have too much to lose in their own brilliant lives. It is our job to help them trust their own life force again and their own fire. Group work helps light a larger flame that will illuminate their internal wilderness. It can help spark, in a way that couldn't have been created otherwise, a feeling of warmth again, strength or confidence, or a pattern of self-doubt that needs attention. The power of group is that it can connect us as human beings back to our life force—what I believe, on some level, we are all striving toward whether we are aware of it or not. Illuminating human experience and helping each other wake up to the present moment is part of what contributes to healing. Let the "chispa" light our way into the openness of ourselves through the openness that occurs in circles. Let our students thrive through this wisdom. source : http://info.blueridgewilderness.com/blog/group-psychotherapy-and-working-with-group-dynamics-in-the-wilderness.edited I had no idea what I was getting into when I started as a field guide in 2011. What I did know, however, was that the wilderness provides a powerful backdrop for anyone searching for something. I had recently gotten back from a four and a half month backpacking trip from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail (The “AT”), where I had experienced that fact first hand. When I started the Appalachian Trail, on the surface I was a confident and probably somewhat arrogant recent college grad. However, internally I was scared to death by the fact that I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I had always liked the outdoors but unlike many of the people I met during the trip, I was not fulfilling a lifelong dream by hiking the full length of the AT. Rather, I was fulfilling a dream that I had had for all of about two months after realizing that I was about to have to graduate and this was something that could help delay my entrance into “the real world.” I think it is safe to say that I was quickly humbled by the experience. Though it was certainly the hardest thing I’ve ever done physically, I had anticipated that part being difficult and knew I could do that. What was most surprising was what was happening internally. In a world that is simplified to the point that the only possessions you have are on your back, you naturally begin to find more meaning in things. In the quiet, stillness of the forest, endless electronic devices can’t hide the pieces of yourself that you would rather not think about. It is a world without deadlines, practices, appointments, classes, meetings or rushing from one activity to the next. At three miles an hour on foot, your world slows down and there is a new clarity to your thoughts. You sleep when you’re tired, you eat when you’re hungry and you live intentionally. There is no instant gratification. The accomplishments take longer and there is no monetary compensation, trophies, or plaques awarded for every peak you climb or state you complete. But those are accomplishments that are real and that are meaningful. From a mountain peak with the sun warming your face as you breathe in cool mountain air and stare out over a 360-degree view of mountains stretching out as far as the eye can see, there is a sense of peace knowing that it was worth every blister-busting step it took to get there. As I put days and miles behind me, my body was changing, but the real change was happening inside. There was an internal resiliency and authentic sense of confidence that had not been there before. The fears, insecurities, and clutter that had made it increasingly difficult to find my purpose began to fall away with the miles, leaving me with a clear view of all the corners of my life and what is truly important. I felt gratitude for things and people in my life that I had not slowed down long enough to feel in a long time. There was a restored sense of trust in the goodness of people thanks to a community of people that went out of their way to help me along the way. Most of all there was a sense of purpose I had been searching for. I came home still not knowing exactly what my career would be, but knowing that I wanted to help people experience what I had experienced in the wilderness. Shortly after returning home from the AT, I was fortunate enough to meet someone that had worked at Blue Ridge. I had no background in therapy and didn’t even know that the field of wilderness therapy existed before that, but I knew it sounded like something that I wanted to be a part of. Since then I’ve learned a thing or two about therapy, and I continue to be blown away by the amazing work being done by our therapists and field guides. Still, even before I knew about the remarkable clinical work taking place, I believed this was a place that could help young people who were struggling and who were hurting because I know what the wilderness has to offer. There is a quote on the Blue Ridge website by author and environmental advocate, Edward Abbey, that says, “Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.” I agree wholeheartedly with that, and it is why I do this work. In a world that is always on the go and full of endless options, deadlines, and distractions, it can be easy for someone to lose their way when there are obstacles and clutter on their path in life. However, the wilderness offers a reprieve from that world. It forces us to confront the difficult and sometimes painful areas of our lives and it offers the quiet, nurturing space to begin to heal. Wilderness is not a luxury. Those tend to be external things: a new car, an expensive dinner, a nice vacation, an award to recognize all of your accomplishments. Wilderness is a necessity because it creates a lasting internal shift. It helps people find the resiliency that was in them all along so that when the next inevitable obstacle presents itself in their life, they have the self-awareness and confidence to navigate around the obstacle and continue on the path they were meant to take. As the Family Support Therapist at Blue Ridge, I work with the parents of our students in the field. My role is to offer space for families to experience their own process, which often parallels the student process but is distinctly different for obvious reasons. Teens are in the woods, with both the discomfort that it brings and the luxury of not having to attend to their “normal” lives. They get to be completely present with their feelings, wrapped up in 24/7 support. On the flip side, parents are trying to manage day to day life, kids, finances, responsibilities, etc. AND participate in this incredibly intense emotional experience. Parents have often been in crisis mode with their kids for months or years leading up to the wilderness experience and are quite simply exhausted. This sets the stage for discussion of self-care…before we can do meaningful work on family dynamics, parents must restore some semblance of their own emotional balance and stability. This is the essence of the oxygen mask. If you are or have been a healer, helper, parent, caretaker, or “giver” in general, you have probably heard the oxygen mask analogy. It refers to the safety spiel airlines give you to secure your own mask before you help anyone else secure theirs. Why? Because you will pass out from lack of oxygen before you even get to the person you are trying to help if you don’t. We apply this analogy in the helping professions and in caretaking because if all we do is give, give, give, we will burn out and have nothing left. It is more drawn out, more gradual than the airplane. We will not have an immediate effect. We will not die…directly. We will slowly wither and fade, and eventually crumple. We may or may not be able to recover the light inside of us that has gone out, or replenish the emotional reserves we have depleted. Dramatic, right?! If you have a hard time taking care of your own needs over other people, I have already likely provoked an involuntary eye roll or impatient sigh. You may be already coming up with the reasons in your head that taking care of yourself isn’t feasible, or perhaps even necessary. As givers, we think we can keep giving more. We can handle it. If not us, then who? What will so and so do without me? There are lots of reasons that people need us. And there are lots of reasons why we love to give. I believe mostly these reasons are admirable and genuine. We are compassionate, sensitive, loving souls. We feel and care deeply for others in pain or need. We recognize we have something special to offer, and people seem to find comfort in us. I personally have felt most alive, purposeful, and rewarded in those moments where my love and compassion has alleviated another human's suffering and created a glimmer of hope, peace, and connection. So why is this bad? It’s not inherently. Like everything in life, the key is balance and moderation. The struggle is that there are deeper needs for many of us that are getting met in the giving that can be hard to see and acknowledge. Sometimes we give to others because it makes us feel important, needed, worthy. Sometimes we pour ourselves into others because we believe we are supposed to, that to take care of ourselves is “selfish” and to take care of others is “noble.” Sometimes we give to others to distract us from being with ourselves and our own feelings, needs, and desires. Sometimes we give to others what we wish someone was giving to us. Being the giver also offers an element of safety and protection. The giver is in a position of power. The giver has something to offer that the receiver needs. Being the receiver is incredibly vulnerable and humbling. It takes courage, both to acknowledge we need something and then to allow someone close enough to give it to us. All you givers, pause for a moment and think about a time that you needed something and allowed someone to help you. Or perhaps when you needed something and you didn’t allow someone to help you! Think about what it would be like if for a whole day, all you could do was receive love, help, support, and nurturance from the people that care about you, no giving allowed. Could you do it? For me, being a good receiver is part of my personal growth journey. I’m still a giver, but I recognize the need to do both in order to do either well. I need to receive from the people that love me, so that they feel the joy of giving too. I need to receive from myself, which may be the more difficult part to figure out. I believed for a long time I was worthy because of what I could do for other people, not for who I was, so to think about “being” instead of “doing” was terrifying. Without the external validation, I didn’t know or believe that I was ok. How could I be worthy of love if I’m not providing something to someone else always? Who am I when I’m alone with me? Why do I deserve to take care of myself? I didn’t have to answer these questions when I was giving and doing. But the “being” part is how we put on our oxygen mask. It’s how we fill up our cup so we can offer others the overflow instead of emptying ourselves entirely. It’s not just about taking care of ourselves. It’s about loving ourselves enough to make it matter that we are well and whole. It’s about honoring ourselves and our spirits, sitting with the discomfort of our own baggage to flesh out our feelings and needs. It’s about courage, vulnerability, and being willing to connect as humans in our beautiful flawed condition. It’s about taking care of each other so we all get to experience the joys of giving and receiving. I challenge you, givers. Make an effort to receive. Sit in your discomfort. Love yourself enough to put yourself first. Give the gift of giving to someone you love. Put on your damn oxygen mask without grumbling. Consider for a moment that if you focus on being the most whole, full, healthy you that you possibly can, you have the potential to inspire others in ways you could never do through regular giving. Be instead of do. Let your light shine simply because you are you. Parents: We know this is hard to do, which is why we walk you through it and create opportunities to connect with other parents having the same struggles. Because while we need to learn how to care for ourselves, we don’t get extra points for gasping through it alone. It doesn’t have to be hard and unpleasant all the way through. We don’t have to pretend we know what we are doing. Get support. Maybe even enjoy yourselves! Kids learn healthy habits from watching their parents, and this one piece could make more of an impact than you know. They might thank you (someday… secretly… on the inside ☺ ). Source: http://info.blueridgewilderness.com/blog/parent-use-oxygen-mask-first
Not long ago “at-risk youth” could be defined as a young person exposed to a daily onslaught of gangs, drugs, and violence within a single-parent, low income demographic. According to the organization: At Risk Youth Programs, behaviors that result in “dangerous lifestyles” are often the result of stress that kids experience. In recent years we have seen a shift in demographics of at-risk youth. With the stress of school, extra-curricular activities, learning differences, and ever increasing mandates to test and measure progress, our kids are being medicated and go to therapy to “normalize” outcomes. As a result, our education system in America has created an entire population of at-risk youth from every demographic! Our education system in America has created an entire population of high-stressed, at-risk youth from every demographic! At Makarios Community School we aim to reverse this trend by providing a safe and supportive environment for ALL students to experience failure and success as they become lifelong learners with the confidence to make choices in pursuit of their unique interests and goals. This value is so important to us that we offer a Grant & Aid Program so that any student, regardless of the family's financial status can be a part of MCS. We also know how important it is for students and their family members to have some “skin in the game” and have a policy that everyone contributes to the betterment of the school. Please consider a timely donation so that at-risk students may enjoy a safe and supportive environment in which to learn according to their unique interests and talents.
This year the MCS grant fund has been well placed with deserving students and is in need of replenishment so that other students on our waiting list may join the learning community. Please consider a donation to rebuild this fund so that creative, curious students have a safe and supportive environment in which to learn according to their unique interests and talents. To do our part and make a difference, we must take a close look at the undercurrents of the modern education environment. A simple Google search of stress, youth, and school will provide enough material to write a master’s thesis, let alone the antidotal stories from friends and family of the daily grind that begins before a child loses their first baby tooth. In 2010 Newsweek reported that the pressure of academic performance means that many young people have little to no time for play and creativity. And while China acknowledges that their children need time to play to foster creativity, Chinese parents (like their American counterparts) scramble to hire weekend and after school tutors to ensure academic success. In American, roughly two-thirds of youth receive some physical and/or developmental accommodation in the traditional classroom (Allen & Cowdery, 2015). What this means is that two-thirds of students do NOT fit in the traditional education system box, and while everyone is entitled to a free and appropriate education (FAPE), parents often advocate for years for the local public school to meet the needs of their children. Underperformers in traditional school are plied with medication and restricted from creative forms of learning until they can demonstrate achievement through testing. At Makarios...each student is valued as the unique person that they are...letters such as ADD and ADHD have no bearing on the outcome of their education. At MCS these are non-issues! Children are NOT expected to fit inside the bell-curve. Each student is experienced and valued as the unique person that they are, and letters such as ADD and ADHD have no bearing on the outcome of their education. At MCS we value play and creativity as well as academics, and we honor the students' freedom to pursue their interest. Makarios provides an atmosphere where everyone has access to varied learning opportunities with exposure to novel ideas, field trips, special speakers and hands on activities, as well as formal academic endeavors. In the past three years, 30% of our students have participated in the Grant & Aid Program at Makarios while in a traditional school setting about one-third of our students would have an individual education plan (IEP) to accommodate a particular special need. The beauty of Makarios is that these demographics do not matter! We are not just a school for low-income, special needs, middle class, or white collar professional’s children; we are a school for EVERYONE that values the Democratic, Free Education model that we advocate at Makarios Community School. We strive toward a diverse population with the knowledge that our students will engage and interact with people from all backgrounds as they mature into adults participating in our ever increasing global economy where they will need to be creative problem solvers. Help us make a difference! Support our North Texas Giving Day Campaign to help fund the education of an at-risk student. North Texas Giving Day is Thursday, September 14, 2017. Online giving is now open to receive your contribution. source : http://info.makariosschool.com/blog/supporting-at-risk-students How many times have we seen someone we love refuse to do something without ever trying? In our hearts, we know that if they would just give it a try, there is a good chance that they would succeed. We may think, “They lack self-esteem or self-worth”' this is partially correct, but it is missing the most important part of the equation: Self Efficacy.
Self-efficacy is one’s belief in the ability to accomplish a particular task. Self-efficacy differs from self-esteem, which is the respect one has for oneself; this is an important distinction when dealing with adolescents. For the pre-teen and teen population, the general confidence adolescents have in their ability to accomplish a task correlates directly to whether they are successful in that task or not. At Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness we find it particularly true while working with individuals suffering from substance use problems. Self-efficacy or increased confidence in the ability to sustain recovery was the strongest predictor of abstinence. This may be a moment of “well, no duh”, but the truth is, individuals suffering from substance abuse grow accustomed to “failure”. They often become the person “who does and can do nothing right”. The truth is many individuals will try and sustain recovery multiple times before it clicks and each time they fail the story becomes more and more concrete- “I can’t do this”. So let’s just believe? (Not so fast) Individuals with a diminished sense of self-efficacy - “The I can’t do it attitude”:
Individuals with a strong sense of self-efficacy - “The I can do it attitude”:
Developing self-efficacy is a skill. There are four types of experiences that help individuals increase their ability to succeed: Mastering Experiences, Social modeling, social persuasion, and psychological responses. Why Blue Ridge increases your child’s self-efficacy. 1) Mastering Experience: Accomplishing tasks and overcoming obstacles in pressuring situations. "Try again" - The wilderness demands that you try again, not just once or twice but every day. You have to keep hiking, even when your body tells you to sit. You have to communicate with your group to coordinate meals, even when your mind tells you to isolate. When the rain wets all the wood, you still have to keep working until the fire starts so that you have heat for comfort and cooking. The wilderness and wilderness therapy provides a plethora of difficult circumstances and the program at Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness can help your child learn to persevere and power through to master those experiences. 2) Social Modeling: Seeing people similar to oneself manage the demands of tasks successfully increases self-efficacy. “If they can do it I can do it too” - One of the most powerful experiences one can have is watching the pride and accomplishments of their in-group peers. This is really the power of the group at its best. Social modeling is the most important developer of self-efficacy in teens. Watching your peers complete hikes with ease after weeks of struggle, seeing someone get a coal after weeks of trying. These moments allow your child to gain self-efficacy, while simultaneously building self-efficacy in their peers. 3) Social persuasion: Social persuasions relate to encouragements/discouragements. Getting verbal encouragement from others helps people overcome self-doubt and instead focus on giving their best effort to the task at hand. “I know you can do it”- There is nothing better than having your peers cheer you on as smoke billows from your feet and you succeed in making fire from a coal. Peers challenge each other to become better group members because they “know you can,” but also because the success of the group is measured by the successes of each member. Working together to set up and maintain camps and to achieve daily goals builds camaraderie so that at the end of the day there’s a whole group of people coming together to tell each other, and themselves, that they are “worth it.” 4) Psychological Responses: Our own responses and emotional reactions to situations also play an important role in self-efficacy “I need to work on me” - In the wilderness old patterns and behaviors persist. Perhaps your child uses peers of family as a scapegoat for certain patterns of behavior. In the wilderness, those behaviors manifest but the alleged cause has been removed. There are no parents or cell phones or anything else. Being in the wilderness allows you to recognize the causes for these behavior patterns as an internal force that can be explored through therapeutic intervention. Self-Efficacy in and of itself is not the only way to promote growth and change, but it can provide a framework to begin to develop a new perspective on what has been occurring for your loved one and ways to help empower them moving forward. At Blue Ridge the wilderness therapy programs are developed to support self-efficacy and set a foundation for success. Contact our Admissions Team today to learn more. Mathew O’Connor MA, LCAS, ICAADC Primary Therapist References
A rebellious young person can be a tremendous test for guardians. They won't listen, nothing is by all accounts breaking through to them, they're carrying on dangerously–and you don't comprehend what to do. You're not the only one. Many guardians encounter this obstacle, however, there are a couple of approaches to get over it.
A few guardians swing to outrage and disappointment, taking the greater part of their kid's benefits away–while frequently fills the fire. A few guardians don't do anything and enable the conduct to keep on spiraling until the point when it levels out (once in a while) or deteriorates. These aren't the main ways accessible, however. There are more compelling and productive approaches to manage a rebellious young person. How To Approach Your Troubled Teen A sign of a rebellious young person is contending each day. The contentions never appear to end and they tend to abandon you feeling sadder as a parent than any other time in recent memory. Here are a few hints for handing the contention over your support and defusing the circumstance: The dreaded, “Because I said so” The parent's acclaimed last words. This announcement can make a high schooler feel unheard or disregarded. This can make them lash out and block you out when you're endeavoring to guard them. On the off chance that they truly need something or need to accomplish something and you're trying to say no for saying no, it won't end well. Rather, apply thinking. Ensure you're stating no for a justifiable reason and on the off chance that you are, disclose to them tranquility why you trust they don't merit what they're requesting. "I was an adolescent once, as well" No rebellious teenager–no adolescent, period–wants to hear those words originate from your lips, particularly because of them saying, "You simply don't get it." To them, their issues are their own and they're one of a kind, you saying that you've experienced the same doesn't comfort them, it puts down them. Rather, take a stab at saying, "You're correct, I don't, however, endeavor to enable me to get it." Each contention doesn't need to be won You can't win each contention. With a defiant high schooler, it's anything but difficult to neglect each contention and get baffled, yet recognizing when you're wrong encourages them to do likewise. While they most likely won't be correct regularly, it's critical to yield when they do have a point. It causes them comprehend that they can be heard on the off chance that they have a decent point and on the off chance that they convey it well. What's more imperative: your pride or your youngster's basic supposing aptitudes? Tell them you're there Many guardians miss this critical point. It might appear glaringly evident, however, numerous youngsters feel that they can't swing to their folks when they're battling on the grounds that it's never been said. Letting your high schooler realize that on the off chance that they're in a tight spot, they can converse with you and you won't pass judgment on can do a great deal for a stressed relationship–but just in the event that you respect your oath when they, at last, do come to you. Trails Carolina is here for your family Hunting down the correct program that fits your battling teenager can be an extensive procedure. On the off chance that customary outpatient treatments aren't putting forth enhancements, it may be a great opportunity to investigate a wilderness Therapy program like Trails Carolina. Trails Carolina is a wild treatment program for high schoolers, ages 10 to 17, battling with issues, for example, dejection, tension, ADHD and numerous others. We endeavor to make a significant change inside our understudies using singular, gathering, family, equine and wild treatment. We can enable your family to recuperate. Source:http://wildernesswithnature.blogspot.com/2017/08/4-things-you-should-do-with-your_10.html Do you remember being a 5th-grader and savoring those last few weeks of summer before you start back to school? You treasure every day, skating in the street with your friends, swimming at the community pool and staying up to the last minute of your summer bedtime curfew. Then, all the sudden, summer is over and the first week of school comes with a barrage of emotions: excitement to catch up with old friends, nerves about being in a new school or with a new teacher, happiness over being in class with an attractive girl or popular boy, worried about getting stuck with the hardest teacher, and eagerness to start learning! (Okay...maybe only a few students experience that last one, I loved learning and still do!) Unfortunately the high from the first day of school doesn’t last long. As a teacher begins a new year with a fresh set of students, they will often prompt an entry exam. Not for a grade, but to gain an understanding of the student’s knowledge in each subject...and to observe how much material was completely erased over the summer holiday! Soon students are reviewing the syllabus and dreading the work ahead: homework, projects, presentations, and cumulative exams. In most cases, the first month or so is spent laboriously reviewing all of the lessons that the summer magically erased from kid’s brains. Ironically, students complain, “But we already learned this last year!” or “Why are we doing this again?” Yet they don’t actually remember the information. Traditional schools function in this manner: test for basic knowledge, review previously learned material, teach new information. Rinse and repeat. How would you feel if your career followed this pattern? What if every Monday your team got together to review the professional codes of conduct? At first, you’d learn new things and be engaged, but I’m assuming that six weeks later you’d be bored out of your mind and wouldn't even hear the codes of conduct being discussed...you'd all be participating in a rote and memorized manner, not really even knowing what you are learning and saying. We wonder what happens after the first few weeks of school... |
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