The Blog of P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff

On a weekly basis we receive calls from parents asking about wilderness therapy programs. In many situations they have already parted with thousands of dollars to an educational consultant that has recommended this type of program for their child. Sadly, we've heard this scenario it causes us to wonder what the motivation is. In our opinion, they must have their reasons - which hopefully parents can figure out. In the meantime, this is not against the reputable wilderness programs that are in our country, it's more about the awareness that the majority of teenagers need more than 6-9 weeks to change the behavior that causes you to read this post or call that educational consultant. Learn more about wilderness programs and our thoughts here . Be an educated parent before you spend that extra $15-30K.

As I share with parents, residential therapy is a major decision not to be taken lightly.  It's not about teaching your child a lesson, it's not about punishing your teen or scaring them straight -- residential therapy is a huge financial and emotional decision that is made after you have exhausted all your local resources. Residential therapy is a choice made out of love to give your child a second chance at a bright future. Usually a parent has reached their wit's end ; they have been to local therapy, some have even tried having their teen stay with a relative.  Some have been through extensive out-patient programs but it isn't until you remove (residential therapy) the teen from their environment that they will be able to heal and gain an objective view on what is the root of the issues. In the majority of families that contact us, these are not bad kids, these are kids that come from good families - raised with morals and taught right from wrong, however...