Wilderness Therapy & Residential Treatment Center Journey

This podcast episode is an announcement for a new podcast, called Winning Parenting. It is focused on all aspects of parenting and leverages the training and experience I have as a parent coach. It provides insights and approaches for parenting beyond children in programs.

In this episode, we speak to Susie McDaniel, Executive Director of LearningRx.  LearningRx offers brain training programs for kids, teens, adults, and students who are having learning difficulties!

With brain training, you or your child can improve core learning and thinking skills, including attention span, memory, and thinking speed. They also offer programs that focus on specific brain training goals, like improved reading skills, or cognitive training for brain injuries.

During our discussion, we covered the following topics:

• Background
• Whom do you serve
• Types of programs
• Results achieved/difference from other programs
• Process to engage
• Locations
• Costs
• Contact info

In this special episode, Andy Goldstrom shares that our treatment programs are being threatened by celebrities, lobbyists and older recipients of treatment.  As a result, for those who care about our kids and their parents, we need to act.  Write an email imploring these governmental leaders to help our programs, not further restrict them or take them down.  If they do, this will be a real tragedy.

Email addresses are:

Today, we chat with Jeremy Whitworth. Trails Carolina is a very unique program. Based outside of Asheville, NC, this program caters to 10-17 year-olds and supports their families as well.  It has an academic, wilderness and campus focus.  In addition, they have completed an objective study with an outside party about the effectiveness of their program.  The. results are impressive and also indicative of the success of the programs in general, not just with Trails Carolina.  Tune in and enjoy!

In today's episode, we talk with Dawn McCord, mother of Carson McCord.  

In this episode, Andy is interviewed on the topic "How to survive wilderness therapy as a parent?".  

On this episode, we speak with Casie about the new virtual community she and her partners have created.  It is a virtual membership platform that is building a safe community for parents of children struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues.  They offer multiple daily meetings, held on zoom where parents can share their stories with unlimited access as well as guest speakers and an invaluable resource hub.

In this episode, we follow up on our discussion about parents and their children who have or are struggling with substance use.

Brittany Garner, Program Manager at The Phoenix, joins us to discuss their community programs and how it helps people who chose to live a sober life and support mental, physical and spiritual well being.

The topics we discuss include:

·  Background

·  Why do you suggest to parents, they aren’t responsible for their children’s addictions?

·  Why do you call The Phoenix an AND program?

·  Give us some details about the program itself.

·  You are all over the country to support people.  In these locales, how and where do you meet?

·  Why is it important for those who choose a sober life to have good mental, physical and spiritual well-being?

·  What is peer to peer mean at The Phoenix?

·  The Phoenix isn’t a treatment center or hospital, but has access to resources.  Can you please describe what this is?

·  How can parents best reach you to find out more about The Phoenix?

In this episode, we interview Elizabeth Fikes, Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center's Found and Director of Outreach & Communications.  They are based in Oxford, MS and serve adolescent boys experiencing substance use issues while also supporting their families.

We engage on the following topics:

·  Background

·  What makes a program like yours that focuses on substance abuse first unique?

·  Tell me about your Private School and why you wanted to incorporate it as an offering?

·  Why do children’s substance use and associated mental health issues continue to grow in our society?

·  What can parents do to best stay in front of their children before they get into substance use?

·  When children are battling substances and are at your program, how do parents stay engaged?

·  What is it about the CS Lewis quote I’m about to read that resonated with you?  “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”

·  How can parents best reach you to find out more about Stonewater?

In this impactful episode, we once again connect with Joe Feldman.

In this episode, we speak with the Founder and Executive Director of a unique program based in Southern Utah.

Shayne Gallagher shares with us the following:

·  Background

·  Wingate Therapy origins and focus

·  AWE/Actual Wilderness Experience

·  Good candidates for the program

·  Typical day

·  Trends in the industry

·  Recommendations for parents who are struggling with their child right now

· Contact information

In this episode, which was recorded on site at Eternal Strength, I interview the co-founders, Wes Robins and Zac Sweat.

They have a market disrupting therapeutic youth center that offers a wide array of holistic therapeutic support.  They provide counseling/psychotherapy, therapeutic mentoring/coaching, process therapy groups, psycho educational therapy groups and integrative wellness/fitness/nutrition support.

The center includes a multitude of experiential/activity arenas: musical jam area, full recording studio, podcast room, art studio (paints, sketching, graphic design), ceramics studio, rock wall, wim hof station, recreation arena (pool table, dart board), video game arena, virtual reality and finally a state of the art fitness center.

In this episode, we talk with Sheldon Nelson, President of Crossroads Discovery.  

It is an AZ based program that helps adolescents through outdoor living skills.

Unlike traditional wilderness programs, Crossroads offers shorter length programs that run 6 to 21 days, which have a unique impact, but at a far lower cost.

In this episode, we speak with Suzie Courtney.  

She is the enthusiastic and articulate Executive Director of a unique program based in AZ for teenage girls.

She is also a fan of this podcast, for which I am very grateful.

In this impactful episode, I am joined by Clinton Dorny, Executive Director, and Shelly Thomas, Admissions Director, from Discovery Ranch for Boys as well as Sarah Yardley, Admissions Director from Discovery Ranch for Girls.  They are multi-campus, Utah based, residential treatment centers that serve struggling teens to learn the skills they needed to heal, thrive, and reunite with their families.  Their programs focus on experiential learning, including raising calves, equine therapy, sports and theatre activities.  

In this episode, we have a really interesting discussion with Andrew Taylor, the Founder of Purelife Adventure.

Based in Costa Rica, Purelife is a young adult adventure therapy program.  It uses the outdoors and a success plan to help young adults struggling grow.

Pure Life uses a strengths-based, integrated clinical model in which students quickly learn new, healthy coping strategies, behavioral and emotional regulation, leadership skills, and life skills that lead to future success.

A truly interesting part of the discussion focuses on helping young people "bump into the world".  You can't learn and adapt without trying, while both succeeding and making mistakes.

In this episode, we talk to Patrick Barrasso, Founder and Executive Director of In Balance Academy Therapeutic Boarding School, in Tucson, AZ.  

He is a noted psychotherapist with over 25 years of extensive training and experience in adolescent and adult substance abuse and mental health treatment. He is the "heart and soul" of the In Balance programs. His dedication, direction and personal commitment to helping adolescents and their families is demonstrated in all aspects of treatment. His extensive experience makes him a frequent presenter at both local and national conferences. He has presented at the U.S. Journal Training National conferences, and the FACES, Family and Addiction Conferences and Educational Seminars on a variety of adolescent treatment topics including the challenges of overcoming the culture of adolescent substance abuse.

In Balance Academy is a nationally recognized, Joint Commission Accredited, family owned and operated, therapeutic boarding school developed around a clinically sophisticated model that effectively blends evidence-based, research-proven traditional and non-traditional therapy and the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Additionally, the program incorporates relapse prevention techniques, equine therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, E.M.D.R., family therapy, Positive Peer Culture and an array of experiential treatment modalities. In Balance serves young men, ages 14-17.8, who are struggling with substance abuse and other co-occurring disorders.

This could be one of our most powerful episodes to date.  

As a young adult, Allie was a drug addict who ended up in jail and was a convicted felon.

Yet, she pulled herself up, finished college and just graduated Summa Cum Laude from Georgia State Law School.  She recently married and is starting a job with a prominent law firm.

From low points to recovery to success, Allie and Belinda share their story as well as lessons learned.

Enjoy this fascinating and inspirational episode.

We are pleased to be able to talk to Jan Rao, who runs Willows in the Wind.  In the communities of San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz, California, Willows in the Wind provides safe, structured support groups where parents can share with one another and glean valuable information.  Whether you are considering an in-home program, therapeutic residential placement, assistance with transitioning home, valuable parent coaching, Willows can help.

This podcast provides insight to help parents understand how there are various ways to get support and opportunities to connect in your community.

We are pleased to be able to speak with Titania Jordan from Bark. Titania is Bark’s Chief Parent Officer.  Bark is a technology application that enables parents to monitor, detect, alert and manage their children’s social activities for signs of harmful interactions and content.  Bark’s work has been impactful. In partnership with parents and schools, Bark has protected more than 5.2 million children, prevented 16 school shootings and detected 81,000 severe self-harm situations.  Titania and her co-author Mark McKee just released an amazing book called Parenting in a Tech World.

In this great and conversational episode, we speak with Karen Fessel, the Executive Director and Founder of the Mental Health and Autism Insurance Project. We talk about the following relating to getting insurance coverage for wilderness therapy and after care programs: 

-  Why it is so challenging to get insurance to cover wilderness therapy and after treatment programs?

 -  If parents don’t get covered initially, they need to file an appeal.  Can you describe to our listeners how this process works and what they can be most successful? 

- What trends do you see today from the insurance companies in this space?   

- What is Mental Health and Autism Insurance project? Origin, all services (education, legislation, work with individual families). 

- How does the Mental Health and Autism Insurance Project help parents and what is unique about the firm in serving clients? 

- What does it cost to work with your firm? 

- How can we best reach you?

We are excited to discuss the financial impact of sending your child away for treatment and one way to offset these costs.  Today, we have an awesome opportunity to speak with Nancy Moore, the Executive Director at Skys The Limit Fund.  Nancy and her team are some really smart and generous people who saw this financial burden and decided to find a way to provide grants to parents in need to help them financially during the Wilderness Therapy process.

We wish we heard this episode before we unsuccessfully filed our claims with our insurance provider.

This amazing episode highlight's Joe's story and what he recommends to give you the best chance to ensure you can get covered by your insurance company.