The Outward Bound program for troubled teens is broken down into three components: A wilderness expedition, debrief and parent/student seminar. Together these components focus on: teamwork, communication, leadership skills and helping teens practice making positive decisions, finding new strength/self-esteem and working to find new directions and to create a path to a brighter future.
Wilderness Expedition: The expedition is designed to be a challenging 20 to 50-day expedition focused on:
Achievable goals - with a 1:4 average student/instructor ratio, instructors work individually with students to make solid self-assessments and set achievable goals,
Purposeful challenges - tackling personal and mental challenges, such as rock climbing or ropes courses that allow students to discover they are stronger than they know,
Reflection – students take a 48-hour solo, where they camp alone near instructors, allowing for them to rest and reflect on transitions back to their home and everyday lives,
Service – as students develop skills to help themselves, they are also involved in learning to care for others and the environment around them.
Debrief: After the wilderness expedition ends, instructors meet with parents and provide a detailed account of what the course was like—including the struggles and successes—and how students handled challenges.
Parent/Student Seminar:
For teens 14-17: Together, parents and students will participate in a required, 3-day intensive seminar that focuses on transitioning newly acquired skills from the Struggling Teens & Young Adults program back into everyday life. With an instructor, families will each create a new agreement to guide life once they are back at home.
For young adults 17-21: Students will participate in a required, 3-day life skill/coaching seminar. With the assistance of instructors, they will create a positive plan for transitioning back to their everyday life and the direction they want their life to take.
Award-Winning
Outward Bound for Struggling Teens & Young Adults is the recipient of the Society for Adolescent Medicine's 2009 Hillary E.C. Millar Award for Innovative Approaches to Adolescent Health Care, cited for working with challenging teens in such a positive manner that ultimately affects their health as it is directed at positive developmental milestones and well-being.
We fully understand that your teen may not be highly motivated to come here. We do, however, require that they agree to participate and follow our rules.
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