Footsteps is a small wilderness intervention program with a strong focus on personal, individualized clinical treatment for adolescents ages 11-14 and their families. Our goal is to provide the most clinically sophisticated and comprehensive treatment available while maintaining the level or quality and customer service you have come to expect from a Second Nature program.

Second Nature Blue Ridge

Footsteps Program

Cheat Sheet

We Serve: Boys and girls, ages 11 –
14 years old struggling with issues of:

   Average length of stay:   4 – 7 weeks

Footsteps Program Theme:

What’s Different? / Curriculum Highlights

The Footsteps program recognizes the more concrete
needs of the young adolescent.  Developmental issues at this stage include: 
Being motivated to learn, having good social skills, and developing a sense
of self-worth and personal values.  Unlike older adolescents—who are developmentally
at a point of creating autonomy from their parents—younger adolescents rely
more heavily on the direct involvement of their parents and other adult role-models.
 In order to support this, we provide an environment that is safe and supportive,
holds clear boundaries, and engages in regularly structured activities that
empower the student, while at the same time keeping parents actively involved
with their child’s personal work through communication and shared assignments. 
Therapists and field staff put a strong emphasis on concrete, tangible, experiential
activities designed to challenge the student and increase their curiosity.
  Group Activities include:

Program Goals:

Theoretical Foundations: