The Family Emerging Model

David Brinkman, Founder and Director of Brinkman House, was interviewed by Lon Woodbury host of Parent Choices for Struggling Teens on L.A. Talk Radio about exactly how a Family Emerging model works.

David and his wife, Melinda, have worked with a variety of boys between the ages of 13 to 17 years old for almost a decade now. Prior to welcoming students into his home, David has worked in a wide range of jobs related to counseling and education. He has worked in various roles, ranging from working in direct care programs for different schools to serving as a member of a board of directors for various organizations, including serving on the state board of governors for the Head Start Program and as chairman for the for the Boundary County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. He attended North Idaho College and the University of Idaho, with a major in Psychology and a minor in History.

During the interview, David talked about how a home-based treatment model helps build a relationship with struggling teenage boys. He described in some detail how this informal structure, a home environment living with a regular family and exposure to only minimal clinical intervention, was sometimes just the right therapeutic solution to turn boys into men. While this treatment model of a home away from home was developed to supplement rather than replace or compete against therapeutic boarding schools, it does provide unique opportunities for personal growth and maturity not available in more traditional programs for at-risk adolescents.

Today, David and his wife, together with their own two young children, Liliana and Logan, help young men reintegrate into family life and participate in a community. While David plays a mentorship role in the lives of young men, he also arranges therapy for the boys with licensed psychotherapists. As a mentor, the line between work and play can sometimes become blurred because work may also involve snowboarding, cycling, and playing basketball with the young men who have become part of his family unit.

Brinkman House is located in the northern panhandled of Idaho, which is only 25 miles south of Canada. It offers boys the opportunity to experience a small town with caring people, access local schooling and recreational facilities, and the chance to bike, hike, fish, camp, canoe and raft in a picturesque area surrounded by the Purcell, Cabinet and Selkirk Mountains.

The program only hosts four students at a time and the length of stay can vary from a school semester to a year. It is built on the idea that a structured, family-like relationship in a home environment can help young men relate better to their own homes and families and reintegrate back into society in a mature way, which includes doing volunteer work and making a contribution to the world.

To listen to the full interview go to The Family Emerging Model- A look behind the scenes on LATalkRadio.

Also available in Podcast

Lon Woodbury is the owner/founder of Woodbury Reports Inc. and www.strugglingteens.com. He has worked with families and struggling teens since 1984 and is the host of Parent Choices for Struggling Teens on LATalkRadio Mondays at 12:00pm, Pacific Time, Channel One.

David Brinkman is the Founder and Director of Brinkman House in Bonners Ferry north Idaho, a small program for about 4 boys he calls a family emerging model.

This segment was sponsored by Spring Ridge Academy, 928-632-4602, www.springridgeacademy.com, a Therapeutic Boarding School for Girls in Arizona.