Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness

Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness is a licensed treatment program that uses wilderness immersion in a clinically focused intervention to teach students accountability, communication skills, and healthy emotional and behavioral habits. The direct experience of pure wilderness and the distraction free environment helps to facilitate extraordinary change and healing in our students.Treatment plans are individualized for each student and include flexible lengths of stay, single gender treatment groups for adolescents, daily group therapy, and individualized therapy sessions with masters or doctorate level therapists. Blue Ridge students rediscover the pathways to their strengths and resilience through primitive living while supported by an incredible staff team and healthy peer culture. The simplicity of wilderness life applies a gentle pressure and a metaphorical mirror for the challenges our clients face at home.Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness is a flexible 8 to 12 week outdoor program. Students range in age from 13 to 18 and experience a range of emotional and behavioral issues including Depression, Anxiety, Learning Differences, Oppositional Defiance, ADHD, Attachment, Grief and Loss, and Substance Abuse Disorders. Many of our students have failed to respond to limits and rules, struggled with entitlement, chosen the wrong friends, have experienced low self-esteem and a decline in academic performance, and may be experiencing family conflicts.Blue Ridge utilizes a strong early clinical assessment conducted by a clinical psychologist. The family program guides parents through an individual and family change process that parallels student’s growth in the program and is integrated with the students experience. Families have weekly calls with their child’s therapist, additional weekly support through a Parent Therapist, weekly telephonic support group, and a parent workshop and field visit.