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ECHO SPRINGS TRANSITION
STUDY CENTER
Bonners Ferry & Coeur d'Alene Idaho
208-267-1111
echo@asisna.com
www.echo-springs.com
Visit By: Lon Woodbury lon@woodbury.com
& Kathy Nussberger, kathy@woodbury.com
on February 8, 2005
 As
we joined the Phase II students in the meeting room at their
house in Coeur d'Alene, they were discussing the issues of
the day which was more typical of a dorm meeting than any
kind of psychological group. The students appeared to talk
openly and directly about their experiences in the program.
Echo Springs does not operate as a therapeutic program.
Much of the discussion revolved around personal schedules
and plans, but a few of the students mentioned ongoing issues
or problems they were dealing with in their daily lives. The
meetings are intended to be low-key because the program is
designed to help students improve their decision-making skills.
Three of the 12 students in this meeting were visiting from
Phrase I in Bonners Ferry to explore the possibility of whether
they were ready to move to Coeur d'Alene and take on the expanded
privileges and opportunities of Phase II. They were polite,
well spoken, and for the most part, honest about their thoughts
and feelings. However, after spending the day exploring the
Coeur d'Alene environment, one Phase I student was quite vocal
about not being ready to handle the increased temptations
of living in a college town.
Echo Springs is a small, coed transition program for young
adults, ages 18 to 24, who have trouble making a good transition
into adult life. Some are graduates of highly structured Emotional
Growth/Therapeutic programs, but need more structure than
they would get living on their own, and work or attend college.
Most, however, failed to make the transition into adult life,
often flunking out of college in the first semester because
they did not have the discipline to apply themselves to college
work.
Co-Owner and program head Doug Kim-Brown, said Echo Springs
does not take all applicants that appear to fit at first blush.
"We are very specific as to the students that can be
helped by the program." The program seriously screens
applicants by using a three-day interview process to determine
if a student will fit in and can be helped by the program.
The group we met for the most part was in recovery from drug
and alcohol problems, but Kim-Brown was emphatic that this
was not typical. Echo Springs is not a recovery program, but
Kim-Brown asserts the program is excellent for post recovery
students. The program works with young adults who have a variety
of issues that undermine their ability to succeed as an adult.
Drug and alcohol problems are just one of the issues some
of his students have to learn to deal with. Any student recovering
from drugs and/or alcohol is required to have a minimum of
30-days sober before being accepted into the program.
He described the typical student as a master of isolation,
unable to develop positive relationships, and/or their lives
are out of balance because their world revolves around computers,
negative friendships, drugs or the couch potato life style.
The common theme being that they isolate themselves from those
life activities that are important to their emotional age-appropriate
peers.
The typical length of the program is 12-18 months. The first
Phase is in a home in Bonners Ferry, where Admissions Director
Rhea Verbanic and other staff members closely supervise the
students as they identify and work on the issues and obstacles
that block their growth into adulthood. In Phase I, the students
are required to find some kind of life that is different from
what they were living prior to the program. Part of the solution
is learning how to develop an active dialogue with the surrounding
community. When ready, the students apply for Phase II, which
is a less restrictive and structured environment in the college
town of Coeur d'Alene. If their application for Phase II is
accepted, they move to the Coeur d'Alene program house where
they are usually working at a job and attend college.
A major part of the program is for the students to learn how
to deal with the community. A great deal of this happens in
Phase I, in Bonners Ferry, but this concept continues to be
a central part of the program in Coeur d'Alene. As the students
begin working and attending college in Coeur d'Alene, they
typically face the temptations of all young people, so building
a level of trust becomes even more important. Phase II Director
Ellie Goltz and the house supervisor oversee the students,
no one follows them to classes or work but since the students
live in apartments owned and supervised by the program, they
are not totally on their own. If they do something they should
not be doing, word gets around fast, and the staff and other
students help them deal with the consequences and learn from
it. As they earn higher levels of trust and can afford it,
students at the Coeur d'Alene house are eligible to have their
own cars, cell phones, date within reasonable parameters and
live their life pretty much the same way any mature and responsible
young adult does.
Essentially, within basic principles, as each student develops
their own personal structure, the program increases the amount
of trust as the students earn it, which evolves into a very
high level of trust in Phase II.
All this was reflected in the meeting we attended. Although
the staff provided feedback on whether a planned activity
was appropriate or if the student should think about it some
more, the students were the main participants in the meeting.
For example, one student explained his thoughts in a way that
was obviously designed to look good, but he was not being
honest with himself or the rest of us. The feedback from staff
and peers seemed to help him reconsider, without anyone telling
him what he had to do.
Echo Springs also offers an elective component called Phase
Out, for students who are ready to graduate and live on their
own, but feel they still need or want guidance because they
are uncomfortable being completely on their own. Kim-Brown
said Phase Out does not include any level of discipline or
supervision from the Echo Springs staff. He and Ellie act
more as mentors to help them complete the final part of transitioning
into adulthood.
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Copyright ©
2005, Woodbury Reports, Inc.
(This article may be reproduced without prior approval if
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