Outback Therapeutic Expeditions Introduces New Roots & Wings Family Expedition Wilderness Experience
LEHI, Utah (PRWEB) July 18, 2013 -- Outback Therapeutic Expeditions, a strengths-based therapeutic wilderness program for struggling teens, has introduced a new “Roots & Wings Family Expedition” that will unite families in crisis in a unique, three-day intensive wilderness experience and engage them in a healing, therapeutic process facilitated by professionals.
“We are very excited to introduce this new feature to our program,” said Andrew Powell, MBA, Executive Director of Outback Therapeutic Expeditions. “The Roots & Wings Family Expedition will help families apply skills, learn and practice new ways to resolve conflict and more effective ways to express oneself, and teach the power of empathy and validation for healthy communication. This type of programming reaffirms Outback’s position as a top tier program when it comes to family systems work within a clinical, therapeutic outdoor program.”
During the expedition, families will receive the full-time attention and aid of a Master’s level family therapist with years of experience on the trail and graduate-level training in family dynamics. These facilitators will customize the experience based on each family’s current needs, working on the hard and soft skills of functional relationships and healthy family dynamics.
“This family expedition is designed to provide a comprehensive, high-powered capstone for a current student’s time at Outback,” explained Powell. “Having the family accompany the student for several days in the wilderness will help ensure a successful transition out of the wilderness and forward in life.”
Powell continued, “The family expedition is the perfect opportunity for families to continue to develop, practice, and apply new skills of family communication and conflict resolution. It includes psycho-education, therapy and experiential activities, and will focus on helping families interrupt and let go of old conflicts while learning and practicing skills for successfully managing co-parenting and parent/child relationships.”
Outback Therapeutic Expeditions is prepared to work with all types of family issues including adoption, conflict resolution, lost trust, substance abuse, manipulation, aggression, divorce, blended families, grief and loss, after-care planning and home contracts for sustained positive behavior.
The Roots & Wings Family Expedition day-to-day schedule will depend on many individual factors including current treatment plan, weather, physical fitness levels, and dynamics that come up in the moment while on the excursion. Industry-standard safety procedures, including the presence of CPR and First Aid trained personnel, will be applied, and all gear except clothing will be provided.
“We’ll start the family therapy process with assignments before the expedition,” said Powell. “These assignments will guide much of the process, punctuated by a wide variety of activities such as hikes, team-building initiatives, solo-time, cooking meals together, primitive skills practice, and enjoying a fire together at night. As important as the hard therapeutic work is, having fun together as a family through the experience is also an important part of the whole Roots & Wings Family Expedition. When we clear out old resentments, we often find a light we haven't experienced in years. That is when we can work towards solutions and establish new and realistic expectations that before seemed out of reach.”
Based in Lehi, Utah, Outback Therapeutic Expeditions has created a solid reputation for its strengths-based approach to helping teens, blending the best of ancient cultural systems with the most effective and proven therapeutic processes. Incoming students are typically experiencing family conflict, negative peer interaction, isolation, low self-esteem, academic difficulty, or addictive drug, alcohol or computer habits. In addition, Outback’s certification with the Kinship Center allows therapists to address the specific needs of teens who are adopted. Outback incorporates the highest standards of safety and therapy with one of the most powerful settings for real change: the wilderness.
Outback Therapeutic Expeditions is a program of CRC Health Group, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive network of specialized behavioral health and addiction services. CRC offers the largest array of personalized treatment options, allowing individuals, families, and professionals to choose the most appropriate treatment setting for their behavioral, addiction, weight management and therapeutic education needs. CRC is committed to making its services widely and easily available, while maintaining a passion for delivering advanced treatment. Since 1995, CRC programs have helped individuals and families reclaim and enrich their lives.
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Kristen Hayes, Corporate Communications Director, Outback Therapeutic Expeditions, http://outback.crchealth.com/, 408-343-4086, [email protected]
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