With your child as one of the most important people in your life, selecting the best treatment program when they are struggling becomes a vital decision. As you consider the many options of programs three key considerations will help you identify the best fit for your child and family:
1. Programs and services offered
2. Immediate outcomes for your child
3. Lasting results
Treatment Programs and Services
Many programs offer a “one size fits all” approach; however, your child is an individual with unique needs. After identifying your child’s struggles, ask the programs how they will help your son or daughter with his or her specific need. At Aspiro, for example, we offer:
- A well-defined clinical model based on mental health field best practices
- Comprehensive functional assessment to assist in the individualization of your child’s treatment
- Weekly individual therapy
- Weekly group therapy to address your child’s specific needs
- Family integration and collaboration, including involvement through a family seminar
- Accredited academic curriculum
- Individualized long-term recommendations and transitional support
In addition, at Aspiro we combine wilderness therapy and adventure therapy with these more conventional, traditional services. Because of our unique blend of traditional, wilderness, and adventure therapy, the youth and young adults are able to be more interactive and engaged in their therapy. This facilitates deeper insight and change in many youth and young adults than traditional talk therapy, and leads to a new sense of accomplishment.
This sense and recognition of their ability to do new things, to overcome both hardships and challenges, and thrive in outdoor living, increases and develops a unique form of self-confidence. Through this new-found confidence, your son or daughter will leave Aspiro with a new perspective on future challenges– a perspective of “I can try new things, and I can accomplish hard things.”
Immediate Outcomes
While the journey of healing and change will take time, most children and young adults who engage in wilderness and adventure therapy will immediately benefit. With individualized treatment plans, many youths who enroll at Asprio’s wilderness adventure therapy program achieve the following immediate outcomes:
- Increased competency and self-confidence
- Development of healthy relationships with field staff, therapists, and other children or young adults who are going through very similar experiences
- Improved communication and conflict resolution skills
- Increased motivation from intrinsic, internal sources rather than external rewards
- Increased autonomy
- Greater internal reflection
- Increased healthy coping skills
- Improved executive function skills and social skills
Lasting Results
When researching and selecting the right treatment program for your son or daughter, consider the sustained, long-term outcomes of the program. With the combination of program and services offered at Aspiro, many of the alumni of our program achieve the following goals:
- Decrease or elimination of problematic behavioral and/or clinical symptoms
- Increased Competence and self-confidence
- Greater autonomy and increased responsibility
- Enhanced life skills
- Resilience
- Improved coping skills, social skills, and executive function skills
- The ability to create, strengthen, and maintain healthy peer and family relationships
- Lower level of family conflict
- Enhanced well-being
- Increased levels of intrinsic motivation for:
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- Academic success
- Learning
- Substance abuse cessation
- Behavioral regulation
Rather than focusing on the traditional methods of treating problems (treating symptoms and remediating “deficits”), which does not necessarily lead to better mental health, we focus on building on your child’s strengths. Our research-based model is focused on the key factors associated with high quality of life, including encouraging autonomy, responsibility, and a greater well-being.
A reputable treatment program will help provide resources, client testimonials, and research to make sure that you are making an informed, educated decision. The long term, measurable results are the hardest to achieve. At Aspiro, we have invested our time and effort into ensuring that our model of change is based on valid research.
No matter what kind of treatment program you select for your son or daughter, doing your research and evaluating your options is vital in selecting the best treatment program for your child. Whether you choose a more conventional, traditional form of therapy, or a progressive, individualized form of therapy, such as wilderness therapy, make sure you are making an informed decision.
Download our Aspiro Model of Change whitepaper to learn more about our research-based wilderness therapy program.