Parent Program

Wilderness therapy is about supporting healthy families

Helping families chart the course

Parent Therapy

All parents are assigned their own parent therapist in addition to the therapist working with their student. Parent therapists support parents throughout their child’s stay in our program.

Parent therapists provide additional weekly hour-long calls with parents which include a focus on parental needs, concerns, and emotional responses to their child and family.

Parent therapists facilitate the parent’s completion of a comprehensive parent curriculum and customized assignments designed to generate new insight, improve communication and connection and clarify ongoing family goals and needs.

Parent therapists coach parents through a structured letter writing exchange with their child, a key component of our parent program and of the student experience. The three-letter exchange provides a new context for open and honest communication and promotes resolution and relationship repair.

Parent Involvement and Communication

We request that a parent be present for the enrollment of each student, both adolescents and young adults. This communicates that parents are a part of the process with their child and allows the parents to connect to True North from the very first day.

Each family contributes to the student’s journey by participating in regular communication with their student through letters. Letters are an optimal way for parents and their children to reflect on family dynamic and practice healthy communication with each other. Letters are sent through email and delivered twice a week.

In addition to the weekly sessions with their parent therapist, parents have an hour-long weekly call with their student’s therapist to gather insight about the family dynamic and and to provide updates and information about how the student is doing in the program. True North therapists work with parents so they can learn to confidently communicate needs or boundaries through the letter writing process.

Parent Workshop

Parents are invited to participate in a two-day, on-site parent workshop mid-way through their student’s stay at True North. Facilitated by the parent therapist, the workshop is an interactive and experiential opportunity that allows parents and students to deepen their awareness of family patterns and work with their child to integrate new skills and behaviors into the family dynamic.

Workshops are highly individualized and limited to just two families. Small workshops allow us to create a customized experience carefully tailored to each parent and student while also providing the critical support and perspective of participating with another family.

The first day includes both parents and students and the second half-day is just for parents, providing an opportunity to reflect on their observations from spending the previous day with their child while receiving support and coaching from the parent therapist. Parent workshops are a core component of our program, eagerly anticipated by students and their parents, and an excellent opportunity to build connection and explore goals in the family dynamic while also clarifying needs for transition and aftercare planning.

Graduation Ceremonies

Parents are invited to attend a very special graduation ceremony that is planned and executed by their student, along with peers and staff. This is an opportunity to acknowledge the great work they have done, share this powerful experience with their families, and create a space for launching in to their next step with confidence and support. It also provides an opportunity to renew and strengthen family relationships and establish a shared understanding of ongoing goals and objectives.

Parent Therapists

WILL TWOMBLY, LMFT

BILL COX, LMFT

Parent Therapy

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Identity Development, Adventure, and Therapy

Parent Program

Wilderness therapy is about supporting healthy families

Parent Therapy

Parent Involvement and Communication

Parent Workshop

Graduation Ceremonies

Parent Therapists

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