Two-Day Parent Workshop

When a teenager is enrolled in a therapeutic wilderness program for help with an addiction or behavioral issue, lasting success is often a matter of the level and quality of support that parents are able to provide.

To help families make changes that will complement and enhance the lessons their children learn in the wilderness, Phoenix Outdoor hosts two-day parent workshops at least twice a month, which are conducted halfway through the teen’s program at a lodge on our North Carolina campus.
Experience, education and support are the primary goals of our parent workshops. Parents who attend gain a better understanding of what their teenagers are experiencing in the wilderness and develop the skills that will help them support their children’s continued progress when they return home.

With guidance from our family program director, parents will learn more effective communication strategies, which they can start practicing immediately through letter-writing and family therapy sessions. As parents and teens begin to develop a common language and greater understanding of themselves and each other, the lines of communication open even wider and families begin to rebuild their relationships.

In addition to learning and practicing communication skills such as active listening and the use of “I feel” statements, parents begin to evaluate their parenting techniques using a parenting styles assessment and a genogram (a detailed family tree that gives the parents the chance to take an in-depth look at family dynamics and inter-generational patterns).

In a safe, supportive environment, parents make meaningful connections with our expert staff and other parents who are experiencing the same struggles they’ve been having and who have turned to wilderness therapy for answers. Parents discover that they are not alone and they have a community of people they can turn to for support, to share resources or to talk about things that are important to them.