What happens after wilderness therapy?
Each family has their own unique set of needs, so there is one-size-fits-all answer to what happens after wilderness therapy. The average length of stay for many youth wilderness therapy programs is about 6-10 weeks. After working with the treatment team, some parents will choose to enroll in continued treatment, attend a step down program, or bring their child back home after graduation from wilderness therapy.
In some situations, a stay in wilderness therapy can serve as an initial step to assess, stabilize and establish the teen or young adult's treatment areas. This is not the case for all families, however; some students get exactly what they need by completing their wilderness therapy pathway, gathering new skills and tools, and returning to their life at home.
Your family's primary and family therapists will work together with you to ensure that you are presented with the most therapeutically appropriate options for your child's situation before you decide what to do next.
Our goal at Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness is for every student and family to exit the program with the tools necessary to thrive and act in alignment with their core values. To ensure that parents grow along with their child during and beyond their stay at Blue Ridge, we facilitate a robust family program, which has helped to generate a thriving network of loyal and enthusiastic Blue Ridge alumni in recent years.
Each family's journey is different, but Blue Ridge families are often relieved to be able to stay in touch with each other and seek support from the Blue Ridge team as active members of our Alumni Network.