Boot Camps or Wilderness Camps are described as “camps” to which troubled and/or addicted teens are sent to change the teen’s behavior, whether that be anger management or drug or alcohol abuse/addiction or other types of destructive behaviors as identified by parents generally working with an expert in these matters.
I would like to suggest that when the effort is to stop a teen’s addiction, the search criteria include the camp being run by counselors/addictions specialists that thoroughly understand brain development ages 12-25, the brain disease of addiction, and the five key risk factors contributing to the development of an addiction. It is so important the camp’s philosophy be along the lines of, “We are not trying to get them to stop drinking or using drugs, as much as we are trying to help them heal their brain disease.”
Additionally, with bootcamps (or any treatment program, for that matter), it is equally important there be comprehensive family programs, as well. Sending a teen to bootcamp and then back home to a family dynamic that evolved around the untreated, undiagnosed, unhealthily discussed addiction, when there is no family understanding of the disease nor recovery/coping help specifically for the family members, can undermine what a teen learns in bootcamp.
by Lisa Frederiksen
Boot Camps or Wilderness Camps are described as “camps” to which troubled and/or addicted teens are sent to change the teen’s behavior, whether that be anger management or drug or alcohol abuse/addiction or other types of destructive behaviors as identified by parents generally working with an expert in these matters.
I would like to suggest that when the effort is to stop a teen’s addiction, the search criteria include the camp being run by counselors/addictions specialists that thoroughly understand brain development ages 12-25, the brain disease of addiction, and the five key risk factors contributing to the development of an addiction. It is so important the camp’s philosophy be along the lines of, “We are not trying to get them to stop drinking or using drugs, as much as we are trying to help them heal their brain disease.”
Additionally, with bootcamps (or any treatment program, for that matter), it is equally important there be comprehensive family programs, as well. Sending a teen to bootcamp and then back home to a family dynamic that evolved around the untreated, undiagnosed, unhealthily discussed addiction, when there is no family understanding of the disease nor recovery/coping help specifically for the family members, can undermine what a teen learns in bootcamp.
Related post: How Teens Can Become Alcoholics Before Age 21