Parenting Options: boot camps, boarding schools, treatment centers

Not all therapists are alike. The ReFraming Treatment Program is based upon principles that work extremely well with therapists who have training and experience in family and relationship issues. We suggest you look for a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT). An exceptional site through which you can search for a therapist in your area is www.therapistlocator.net.

Copyright Notice and Disclaimer: The information and materials appearing on the Strategic Insight Management, Inc. (SIM) websites (InsightPros.com, StrategicStats.com, SIMScholars.org, and SIMAlliance.com, and any other current or future SIM website), including all website pages, are presented for your personal, non-commercial use only. They may not be reproduced, duplicated or distributed without written permission from Strategic Insight Management, Inc. Copying these materials for anything other than your personal use is a violation of United States copyright laws. Strategic Insight Management, Inc. makes no warranties, express or implied, about the information and materials appearing on this website, which is provided "as is." Strategic Insight Management, Inc. will not be responsible for third party materials appearing on the listed websites. If you access this material outside the US you are responsible for compliance with local laws. Strategic Insight Management, SIMAlliance, StrategicStats, their dot-com designations, the ReFraming names and designs, and the SIM Two-Head and Graduate Logos are trademarks. Misuse of these names, images, or of any of the information appearing on these websites and their pages may violate copyright and trademark law. © 2003 Strategic Insight Management, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This copyright extends to the order and process of key word usage, which we do not attempt to hide on this or any other site. Although we do not claim copyright to specific words that are held and used in the general domain, the combination of these key words, in the fashion and order that we have chosen, and as we may choose to alter at any given time, are protected by copyright.

Teen Boot Camps, Boarding Schools, Treatment Centers, Specialty Schools, Wilderness Programs, and Wilderness Therapy

(See below for books to review when considering boot camps, boarding schools, treatment centers, specialty schools, wilderness programs, or wilderness therapy)

SIM and The ReFraming Parenting Program do not question the need for out-of-home treatment for some troubled teens. However, our staff and associates (whose combined experience in the youth at-risk treatment care industry totals decades) can confidently say that many troubled teens who are placed in treatment programs should have never been placed. The solutions to their problems could have, and should have begun with reinforced parenting in the home, if necessary with the assistance of a qualified family therapist.

Without question, many struggling teens who are placed suffer additional, unnecessary trauma, relationship problems, and even become exposed to worse issues than they had when they arrived for treatment. Often these young people experience staff, as well as peer-to-peer abuse.

Well-meaning parents are often victims of clever marketing tactics from program representatives and independent industry marketers. Parents must realize that the PRIMARY GOAL of most of these marketers is to remove children from homes. Why? Because it lines their pockets with cash, and increases their job security. These are normally not therapists. And even if some of them are therapists, they are not YOUR therapists.

Before you opt for any out of home placement (even into our treatment center or boarding school), we suggest that you do at least one, if not all of the following, in any order you please:

1) Contact a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and get his/her opinion of the best course of action to help your troubled teen, tween (child), or young adult. Parents sometimes avoid this move, thinking that the experts they have found through an internet search are somehow more qualified to help with their situation. Consider the irony of this line of thought: you can obtain the unbiased, educated, licensed opinion of an expert in family relationship issues, who is bound by a professional code of ethics (a therapist), OR you can obtain the biased, profit-driven, unlicensed opinion of an uneducated "expert" who knows nothing of the intricate therapeutic needs of your child and family. You choose. It's your child, your family, and your money.

2) Contact a professional Educational Consultant who is a member of the IECA (Independent Educational Consultants Association), and get his/her opinion of the best course of action to help your troubled teen, tween, or young adult. These degreed, experienced professionals are consultants, not marketers. They too are bound by a code of ethics, and their opinion is unbiased. They know the at-risk-youth industry better than any group of educated professionals in the world, and they, above any other professional will know the best options for the out-of-home placement of your troubled teen or child. They will take into consideration your child's issues, your family's resources, and will provide you with the benefit of their broad knowledge of the industry. Even if your Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist has suggested out-of-home placement, we strongly suggest that you also enlist the assistance of an educational consultant in making the final decision on the appropriate placement.

3) Carefully review the information on this site. Before placing in a boot camp, boarding school, residential treatment center, specialty school, or wilderness program, study. Follow links on your troubled teen's issues. Read more books on parenting troubled teens. We provide a clear philosophy on how to begin helping and parenting your troubled teen. Our methods are MORE DIFFICULT than those suggested by other programs. We expect and demand the continued parenting of your child, with you as the primary adult figure(s) involved in treatment, healing, and turning your child around. We provide multiple warnings on multiple pages. This industry is littered with traps that ensnare distraught parents. Be wise. If possible, build your treatment team before you ever place your child (YOU, your therapist, your educational consultant, and possibly trusted school officials should be the initial members of your child's treatment team). Of course, if there are safety concerns, you may need to make quick placement decisions. If possible, however, follow our suggestions.

If you are currently considering the services of boot camps, boarding schools, treatment centers, specialty schools, wilderness programs, or wilderness therapy, consider our ReFraming services for an at-risk teens, click here.

Recommended reading for parents who are considering boot camps, boarding schools, treatment centers, specialty schools, wilderness programs, or wilderness therapy for their at-risk youth or troubled teen: