SUWS Family Camps Get Parents Involved in Students’ Recovery

By Leslie Davis

For change to be long lasting and effective, it has to be embraced by all. That is the theory behind SUWS Family Camp, which helps parents learn to support their children, one another and themselves so that the positive changes they make at wilderness camp continue into their future.

“Students have learned new skills and new ways to talk to mom and dad,” said Dan Kemp, director of admissions at SUWS. “Family camp lets students practice their new knowledge and make more concrete the new skills they have learned. Parents gain awareness, practice skills and create a support network with other parents.”

SUWS began its Family Camp more than two years ago and in that time the wilderness program has strengthened both its family involvement in treatment and the success of the students enrolled. Through Family Camp, students and their parents can rebuild bonds, reestablish communication and demonstrate care and concern for one another, all while solidifying expectations for their future.

“These are magical things that happen during Family Camp,” Kemp said. “It’s incredibly empowering and incredibly powerful for students to talk with their family, which is often something they haven’t been able to do.”

Combining Bonding and Therapy

Adolescents who enroll at SUWS will likely experience considerable emotional and behavioral changes during their time in the program. Family Camp is a chance for parents to become comfortable with those changes and reconnect with their children before welcoming them back home.

The five-day camp includes one-on-one family therapy, multi-family group therapy and experiential therapies that help increase trust and teamwork. During one-on-one family therapy, students and their family meet with a licensed therapist to help solidify the new skills students have learned, while teaching parents ways to support their children once they are back home.

Multi-family therapy allows families to discuss with a therapist issues common to all of the families at the camp. Two to six families participate in each Family Camp, which occurs once a month. The group sessions allow families to get support and advice from other families that are going through similar experiences.

Experiential therapies include activities such as ropes courses, group initiatives, guided day hikes and climbing walls, which can help increase teamwork and reestablish trust. These activities often involve students acting as the leaders, requiring families to trust that their children are making the right decisions and guiding them in the right direction.

“It’s a powerful experience to see parents trusting their kids to make decisions,” Kemp said.

Importance of Family Participation

Family involvement has a direct correlation with a student’s success not only at a wilderness program but also in supporting long-term success and awareness. Getting involved with children’s experience can help reinforce their new positive behaviors, teach parents new ways to communicate with their children and help the entire family work on ways to support each other once the children return home.

Without family involvement, students are likely to return to their old patterns and behaviors, often because they are not getting the support they need to adapt, Kemp said.

Not all parents participate in Family Camp. The parents have to be ready to be part of their child’s treatment, something that is determined by the student’s therapist, Kemp said. The therapist talks with the family every week, and will discuss with the parents whether they are ready to address the changes in their child and help them work through past issues.

An ‘Immersion Experience’

Families can participate in Family Camp once their child has completed three to four weeks of the SUWS program and are making significant progress. SUWS families actually camp in the desert with their child. They share a tent or shelter (depending on the season), cook over a fire, participate in guided nature walks and spend time with the other families.

Once the Family Camp experience concludes, parents return home and their child remains in the program to process the experience and finalize preparations for their transition.

“It’s an immersion experience that supports students through their new learned experiences,” Kemp said. “We don’t just want to send students home and on their way.” 

Students are often nervous to have their parents come to SUWS to participate in a Family Camp, Kemp noted. They are not sure if their parents will listen to what they have to say, or trust their new attitude. But over the course of the five-day camp, the students find they are able to talk to their parents about things they weren’t able to before, and are encouraged about going home at the end of their stay.

“The kids thank their parents for sending them to our program,” Kemp said.

Testimonials

"It was, and will continue to be, a life-altering experience for me and my family which we will never forget."
~SUWS Parent

"We are leaving SUWS having made our family better!"
~SUWS Parent

"Nobody is working with Families in the wilderness like SUWS. We wrap our arms around each family from Day 1 until Graduation."
~Kathy Rex, SUWS Executive Director