Teen Help Articles

Wilderness Therapy Guides Teens Through Step 1 of the 12 Steps

This is a realization that teens at Aspen Achievement Academy, one of the longest running, most reputable therapeutic wilderness programs in the country, come to during their time in the wilderness. The staff at the academy guides teens through the first stage of recovery by helping them admit their powerlessness over drugs and alcohol and understand the need for change.

Treating Teen Prescription Drug Abuse with Wilderness Therapy

It seems that every week there is another news story about a celebrity accidentally overdosing on prescription drugs. But prescription drug abuse isn’t limited to actors, performers or others in the public eye. Teenagers are one of the fastest growing groups becoming addicted to these medications.

Boys and Cutting

For years cutting has been considered a female problem. Girls were said to internalize their feelings more than boys and struggle with such intense emotions that cutting seemed like the only solution.

The Benefits of Wilderness Therapy for Teen Girls

Boys are tough, and girls need to be protected – at least that’s what gender stereotypes lead us to believe. And though we all know that these stereotypes are untrue, they are still lurking in the back of our minds as we make decisions for our children.

Managing Medications in the Field

Many of the students at Aspen Achievement Academy come to us taking prescription medications for any number of conditions, ranging from ADHD and depression to acne. Our medical and field staff are thoroughly trained and experienced in managing, dispensing, and monitoring the use of these medications.

Information for Parents on Medication Management in the Field

Many wilderness therapy students, in addition to struggling with low self-esteem, defiance, poor grades, and other issues, have been diagnosed with depression, ADHD, and other behavioral and mood disorders. At any given time, roughly one- to two-thirds of the students at Aspen Achievement Academy are taking prescription medication to treat these types of disorders. As such, the academy receives a number of questions from parents about how these medications are managed in the field. Below are the answers to some of parents' most common medication questions.

Aspen Academy’s expert on video gaming addiction

In this country, some families are turning to wilderness therapy. The Aspen Education Group, a California-based organization that treats underachievers from around the country, provides young people ages 11 to 18 with a back-to-nature approach to ending their gaming obsessions. "At home when they have frustrations, they go to their video games," says therapist Aaron Shaw. "Here they have cold weather, hiking." By being away from their screens for seven to nine weeks, he says, "they learn some healthier coping mechanisms." Shaw first tries to discover kids' reasons for playing; often, he finds, it's to find freedom and fun and out of a need for greater acceptance from their parents. (If Mom is always nagging that games are a waste of time, notes Shaw, "they say: 'Screw you, my friends online love me, and I'll hang out with them.'")

Addicted to the Xbox: The Reason behind the Obsession with Video Games

So your teen is obsessed with video games. The good news is that your son or daughter is not simply fascinated by setting things on fire, racing at unsafe speeds, or shooting people. In fact, most kids that are addicted to games are not budding sociopaths. By working with adolescents who are struggling with excessive videogame use, experts have determined that, in most cases, these are normal kids who are merely attempting to cope with their anxieties in the best way they know how.

Help Your Teen Now, Not Later

There are two big mistakes parents make as they lead up to a treatment decision. First, parents find the idea of "treatment" distressing, and will not pursue it until something dire or even life-threatening occurs. This delay will most likely prolong eventual treatment, and may mean the teen will need a more intensive treatment setting than if they had acted sooner. Second, parents will expend whatever energy and resource it takes to keep a child on track academically, even when their teen shows no interest in school. When your teen seems to prefer living off you in a sort of "teenage retirement," hanging out with friends or isolating himself, possibly drinking or doing drugs, a primary focus on academic performance will almost always miss the mark.

The Most Addictive Types of Video Games

With the advent of new and better technologies, videogame companies have become endowed with greater abilities to create deeper, more epic, more socially interactive, and thus more addicting games. Whereas the first-generation games previously consisted of little more than one block bouncing back and forth between two other blocks, modern videogames have become massive productions on the visual scale of most action movies. Many video games that are released today have better box office openings than even the biggest Hollywood blockbusters. Videogames are surely a new media force, and may pose a threat to the healthy development of at-risk teenagers.

Why World of Warcraft is the Most Addictive Videogame

When it comes to addictive videogames, there is only one high score. The massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) is far and away the most addictive type of videogame on the planet. MMORPG's are social games that can be played with thousands of other players online at the same time. The social component alone often entices the teen gamer to play this type of game.

Aaron Shaw started as an adoptions counselor for the Department of Children and Families in Tampa, Florida. While working as an adoptions counselor, he completed his Master's degree in Mental Health and Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of South Florida. After completing his M.A., he and his family I moved to Utah where he worked for 3 years as a therapist with teens. Also during this time he completed the coursework for his Ph.D. in marriage and family therapy from Brigham Young University.

When Summer School Is Not Enough: Teens Learn in Nature's Classroom

A teen may be distracted by his parents' divorce and unable to concentrate on his schoolwork. He may be agonizing over a break-up with his girlfriend and feel lonely, anxious, and isolated. He may be with the wrong crowd and experimenting with drugs and drinking, a secretive lifestyle that causes problems not only at home, but also at school.

Brat Camp Update - A Family Transformed

When Poppy, 15, went off to Aspen Achievement Academy to participate in the UK television reality series Brat Camp, the rest of her family felt as if their lives were on hold. Six months and a few television film crews later, family life is back to a new-and-improved definition of normal.

Aspen Education Group Featured on "Dr. Phil"

The show presented the story of Kim, a 15-year-old girl who had run away from home six times in the previous year. After the “Dr. Phil” show, Kim was enrolled in Aspen Achievement Academy, a wilderness therapy program in southern Utah that helps teens discover a new sense of self-confidence, overcome unhealthy behaviors, and develop the communication and relationship skills that are necessary to have a successful reunion with their families.