The Phoenix Outdoor Program

The Phoenix Outdoor program reaches adolescents by combining a challenging outdoor experience with positive peer group interaction, relationships with instructors and traditional therapy to surface underlying issues and affect significant change in a short amount of time.

Lead by a group of trained field instructors, students in small, single-gender groups, hike and camp in the U.S. National Forest returning to base camp at regular intervals. During their time in the wilderness and at base camp, students are supervised by a team of professionals who keep them safe, teach them camping skills, facilitate peer interaction, and execute a structured curriculum of activities designed to identify and address the underlying issues that led to their placement at Phoenix.

A trained adolescent therapist meets individually and in groups with students to help them process their experiences and to open up a dialogue about their struggles. Each week, the therapist directs the activities of the instructor team to provide individual assignments for each student. The therapist provides weekly updates to the parents and referral sources to monitor the teenager's progress and to create a long-term plan for success.

Additional drug and alcohol education is offered each week so that the adolescent can better understand the effects of substance use on their brains, bodies, and life. Group sessions, including 12-Step meetings, help focus the adolescent on how to use a supportive group to develop strategies to stay substance-free.

Families are supported through the process by a family therapist that helps manage anxiety, deal with emotions, and provide counsel and support. Parents are connected with each other through weekly parent teleconferences and educational seminars so they can gain information and support from each other. The latest technology links parents to their child through a secure web portal designed to hold pictures, letters, weekly reports and treatment plans.

The Phoenix Outdoor program is comprehensive in its support of teenagers and their families. The outdoor model combined with the integrated treatment and assessment program is highly effective in bringing about needed changes. Years of experience from professionals in the industry, knowledge of how to treat substance abuse and addictions, combined with an understanding of the needs of teenagers and their families creates the positive outcomes that are needed in a time of crisis.