Island View RTC
Syracruse, UT

Island View merged recreation, experiential education, and family therapy together to create a unique family seminar experience for its Green Team students and parents this past August. Normally, family seminars take place on campus with an experiential education component. However, collaborative brainstorming of Green Team Residential Director, Shaun Smith and Recreation Director, Jon Griffith took the team's most recent family seminar in a new direction - one that led directly outdoors.

Inspired by the idea that removing the literal walls of a building or room, families would remove their own figurative walls - ones that prevent or slow down the communication process and therapeutic growth- they decided to take the families camping and facilitate a family seminar surrounded by nature. Many staff members participated in the experience as well, including therapists of the family's involved and recreational, milieu, and teaching staff who work directly with the students of Green Team.

Families had to work together in order to pack and prepare for the overnight camping experience, a task which required effective communication and collaboration among all family members. Once at the campground, Tanner Flats in Little Cottonwood Canyon, they were responsible for setting up their own campsite, preparing lunch, and participating in dinner preparation for the entire group which involved Dutch oven cooking, a new experience for some.

Various groups were held throughout the two day, one night seminar. These groups included parent support, individual family therapy, and multifamily therapy. Recreation was certainly not forgotten as the seminar participants took a hike during the first day which allowed for bonding and trust to be built, not just among the families but among the collective group. This provided the foundation upon which the later therapeutic work was built. The incredible wildlife viewing, including three Bull Moose and two badgers was an added bonus!

"One of the most impactful moments in the seminar was the fireside, multifamily group therapy" stated participant Jason Drake, LCSW, who is the Clinical Program Manager of the boys' teams at Island View. "There is something about spending the day together, working and playing alongside each other, and then wrapping up the evening facilitating a multifamily therapy group with families who are much more familiar, comfortable and intimate with one another" he continues. He believes it to have been "one of the most clinically impactful things" that he has been able to be a part of.

The overall experience was a success primarily as a result of the combined planning and preparation efforts of Shaun Smith, Shari Rasmussen (Green Team Recreation Supervisor), and Matt Seelos, LCSW (Green Team Therapist). Together they took an idea from conception to fruition that inspired comments from the families such as:

"This has been the best parent seminar I have attended. I and my daughters got to spend quality time with my son and shared experiences and conversations throughout the day in an unforced and natural setting."

"Change of environment always brings change of thought…problem solving, importance of family support, self support and confidence."

"The open air and camp setting made it comfortable to be… tough on issues but reinforce life skills and family interaction."

Island View RTC is a program of Aspen Education Group, the nation's leading provider of therapeutic education programs for struggling or underachieving young people. As part of the Aspen continuum, Island View RTC offers a highly structured, clinically integrated, and academically robust safe and secure setting for teens at risk of self-harm, running away, or who are clinically complex. Aspen's services range from short-term intervention programs to residential treatment, and include a variety of therapeutic settings such as boarding schools, outdoor behavioral health programs and special needs summer camps, allowing professionals and families the opportunity to choose the best setting to meet a student's unique academic and emotional needs. Aspen is a division of CRC Health Group, the nation's largest chemical dependency and related behavioral health organization. For over two decades, CRC Health has been achieving successful outcomes for individuals and families. For more information, visit www.crchealth.com.