Trails Carolina is a wilderness therapy program for young individuals struggling with emotional or behavioral challenges. This popular alternative therapy program is widely recognized for helping overcome individual challenges effectively.
Allegations of abuse and neglect have led to concerns for participant safety, prompting regulatory bodies and independent investigators to conduct further inquiries into these allegations.
What is Trails Carolina?
Trails Carolina is a wilderness therapy program for adolescents and young adults suffering from depression, anxiety, addiction, academic struggles or any other mental health concerns. Trails Carolina employs various therapeutic techniques such as individual therapy, family therapy and equine therapy as well as providing outdoor activities like hiking, mountain biking, kayaking and horseback riding to aid its clients.
Trails Carolina “Investigation” provides more than just treatment services; in addition to offering luxurious lodging, delicious meals and the optional Common Ground experience for its clients. Furthermore, this program specializes in family involvement through midpoint parent workshops and resources designed to strengthen family ties.
How is Trails Carolina Different from Other Wilderness Therapy Programs?
Trails Carolina boasts over 10 decades of combined experience. Graham Shannonhouse, their executive director and founder, worked at another wilderness therapy program before opening her own in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina.
This program offers a holistic approach to family treatment and adolescent recovery, employing certified therapists and teachers as part of its team who collaborate closely with students to help improve academic skills as well as establish healthy coping mechanisms against emotional and behavioral difficulties.
What are the Benefits of Wilderness Therapy?
Wilderness therapy has proven itself an effective method for adolescents. It can assist them in recognizing and addressing underlying causes behind any negative behaviors they exhibit, ultimately leading to positive change.
Learn wilderness skills like fire building, plant identification and navigation to develop deeper relationships between students and their natural environments and themselves, thus strengthening self-reliance and awareness. Students also build teamwork through guided expeditions or challenge courses which foster cooperation and cooperation among participants.
Some programs provide family therapy services, enabling students to use the skills learned in wilderness programs with their loved ones and build healthy relationships that will last even after they leave the program.
What are the Drawbacks of Wilderness Therapy?
While wilderness therapy’s positive results are well-established, its challenges must also be taken into consideration. One such challenge is its cost; another drawback includes its extensive commitment requirement.
As wilderness therapy can be challenging for adolescents with special needs or physical disabilities, other therapies may be more suitable in certain instances. Psychological testing and wilderness therapist assessments can often help determine what approach would work best in these instances.
What are the Risks of Wilderness Therapy?
Some parents are concerned about wilderness therapy being dangerous or unsafe for their child, due to allegations ranging from emotional neglect and physical maltreatment, which have sparked ongoing investigations by regulatory bodies and independent investigators.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that wilderness therapy isn’t a panacea; while it may work for some teens, it might not work for everyone.
What are the Benefits of Outdoor Education?
Studies have proven the benefits of outdoor learning on students’ mental health and wellbeing. Research suggests that students who engage in outdoor learning tend to have lower behavior issues and greater self-esteem compared to those who don’t take advantage of such learning opportunities.
Outdoor education can also accommodate various learning styles by emphasizing multisensory education techniques that help students retain information they learn more effectively. Outdoor learning experiences help ensure students can comprehend and retain what they are being taught more easily.
Trails Carolina puts great emphasis on family involvement in their wilderness program. Through therapy sessions, support sessions, and transition planning they ensure families feel fully supported while their child participates.
What are the Drawbacks of Outdoor Education?
Obstacles exist that prevent schools from taking students outside. Common examples are curriculum and instruction issues, school dynamics issues, time pressures and lack of resources.
Teachers may worry that outdoor education won’t deliver the same academic benefits as classroom learning, as its environments may not be as structured and predictable as classrooms; outdoor settings may also prove challenging for some children with special needs.
What are the Benefits of Outdoor Learning?
Outdoor learning provides children and teenagers with an effective means of expanding their physical, mental and social capabilities as they become more independent and self-reliant. Furthermore, it encourages teamwork while cultivating a positive outlook towards nature.
Studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of outdoor learning on students’ attention span and academic performance, while improving self-esteem and providing tools to deal with difficult situations.
What are the Drawbacks of Outdoor Learning?
Outdoor learning experiences enhance student development in many ways – especially through discovery learning! Outdoor experiences build skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking and teamwork which translate across subjects.
Schools considering outdoor education must be mindful of its risks. School districts should follow social distancing guidelines and avoid mixing groups of students – these safeguards will ensure student safety.