On May 10, 2006, I attended a series of presentations that Northwest Academy, Ascent and Boulder Creek Academy hosted for a group of Russian visitors. Despite the fact that the group had a translator with them, I wondered how hard it would be for the staff to give a presentation on their programs when they had to continually stop in the middle of a sentence or description and allow the translator to share the information. Amazingly, the staff from all of the programs did an excellent job of conducting their presentations despite the translation process.
The two-week tour was set up and guided by Pricilla Wohl, Executive Director of the Northern Forum in Anchorage, AK, to address the "Best Available Technology," when working with alcohol abuse treatment and troubled teens. The eight Russian visitors, who arrived in north Idaho after spending a week touring various Alaska hospitals, treatment centers and the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, consisted of an impressive group of professional men and women from various treatment facilities throughout Russia. Many in the group were psychiatrists, psychotherapists, physicians, narcologists and clinicians who wanted to explore how we in the US deal with drug/ alcohol abuse and treatment for our youth.
One of the main reasons for the visit to the North Idaho schools was for the Russians to learn how the private parent-choice industry works with these at-risk youth, and the modalities of treatment provided at the various types of programs. Pricilla Wohl explained that in Russia, the traditional approach to alcohol abuse or other behavioral problems with teens is to medicate them, but unfortunately, when the pills wear off, their problems return because the emotional issues were not addressed.
As the north Idaho programs explained their treatment methods for working with a variety of troubled youth, the Russians appeared very receptive and agreeable to the program models used. They took notes and video taped all of the presentations, they showed a lot of interest in the student to staff ratios and descriptions of Ascent's wilderness program. They asked several questions about where to begin if they wanted to start a program with limited funding in Russia. Other questions included the types of therapy used, if students were on medication for detoxing, and whether or not the north Idaho programs accept kids who are still detoxing from drugs or alcohol. Other questions revolved around the description of family workshops, which reminded those present of a common problem in Russia: "What if there are no parents?" or "Can another family member or guardian participate the same way?"
After the presentations at Northwest Academy, the group toured Boulder Creek Academy where they learned what types of students the program accepts and a brief explanation of the treatment models used. The following day the tour concluded at Ascent where they willingly participated in a variety of physical challenges normally set up for the students.