Therapeutic Approach

Phoenix Outdoor offers a comprehensive therapeutic approach founded on proven treatment strategies to work with and assess each student. Our treatment team includes therapists specializing in adolescent therapy along with field instructors who execute a therapeutic curriculum, facilitate positive peer interactions and lead quality wilderness expeditions into the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina.

Within the first 24 hours of enrollment at Phoenix Outdoor, the clinical team conducts an extensive evaluation designed to better assess the scope of the adolescent's substance use as well as to develop an individualized treatment plan. Motivational interviewing techniques combined with the Personal Experience Inventory, an objective testing instrument, give a clearer picture of the adolescent's history and patterns of substance use.

Individual Treatment Plans identify specific goals for the adolescent to work on during their time at Phoenix Outdoor and create a benchmark for progress in the program. All treatment plans include goals relative to gaining an understanding of the impact of substance use on the adolescent, his or her family, and their ability to lead a productive life. Students did not begin abusing substance in a vacuum and it is important that we identify other issues that students are facing, get agreement from students that those are relevant issues, and help students realize the importance of working through them.

Given that students have not opened up to more traditional approaches, parents often share their concern that their student may not open up to therapy. Research and experience shows us that wilderness therapy is very effective for struggling adolescents who have tried other treatment approaches. In order to attain the best results, Phoenix uses many different approaches designed to maximize opportunities for students and their families to meet their treatment goals.