Boot Camps Not For All Teens
by Jeff Rogers
Are Boot Camps the Best Choice?
Practically no one can blame parents who when they come to their wits’ end, just want to send their out-of-control teen away. However, because deep down they love them, they also want what’s best for their teen. When all is said and done, they know in their heart of hearts, all they really want is peace, and for their teen’s life to turn around.
Boot camps are often where such parents choose to send their troubled teens. But are they the best choice? There are many alternatives to boot camps to consider.
“It’s certainly not the perfect fit program for every youth, but for some, they are a very good option.”
Cynthia Lorenzo, U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Boot camps may be just the thing to stop a teen’s life of crime.2 It may well be the best option for teens involved in the juvenile justice system, where their misbehavior is not the result of emotional or mental health issues.
And there’s the rub. Being intimidated and feeling pain may not be what the doctor ordered. Boot camps reward good behavior, but what they are especially good at is punishing bad behavior. Treatment tends to be quite harsh, with the ultimate goal of breaking down a teen’s negative personality and rebuilding a positive one.1
If teens choose to be disrespectful, defiant, and irresponsible, a dose of shock-based reality may well do the trick. But what if the underlying cause for their misbehavior is mental illness? What if their problem has roots in matters that require therapeutic treatment? Boot camps might just make things worse.
"Boot camps may be damaging to those suffering from emotional disorders and mental health issues."
Kathryn Rudlin, LCSW, Very Well Mind
Alternatives to the Approach of Boot Camps
The hallmarks of alternative programs to boot camps include both individual and group therapy, education, positive discipline, outdoor recreation and adventure, wrap-around support services, nutrition, medical resources, and parental involvement. Essentially, such programs rely on positive experience to elicit behavior and attitude change.3
Typical alternative programs teach troubled and struggling teens to respect authority instead of fearing it, to be self-disciplined rather than being disciplined, to cooperate socially in place of being anti-social, and to make good decisions as opposed to simply doing what they are told.
"The decision to seek help for a struggling teen is one of the most difficult and important choices a parent may face."
Michael Merchant, writing for NATSAP
The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) recommends that parents consider 7-critical questions before sending your troubled teen anywhere. According to Michael Merchant, chair of the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Research Cooperative, writing for NATSAP, sifting your way through the maze of treatment options, can be a more than daunting experience for most parents.
Answering the following seven questions will help parents decide what is the best treatment for their at-risk teens:
- How does the program regard the teens it purports to serve?
- Does the program have the competencies to effectively treat the needs of your child and family?
- Does the program involve parents and align with your family's personal values and belief system?
- Is the program regulated by a licensing and/or accrediting body?
- Are therapy and medical care provided by independently licensed practitioners?
- Does the program allow for confidential communication to family and child protective services?
- Can the program provide you with independent outcome statistics?
Finding Safe and Effective Alternative Interventions
Just like not all boot camps are alike, neither are therapeutic alternative intervention programs. Most may say they offer nurturing and caring environments with a proven track-record of psychotherapy, but do they really, to what degree?1
"...a key success factor in the effectiveness of any treatment intervention is the 'therapeutic alliance..."
Michael Merchant, NATSAP
According to Merchant, also President of the non-profit Anasazi Foundation, the first and foremost thing you have to know about any program you are considering to place your teen, is to find out how he or she will be treated when non-cooperative. If your child is viewed as a problem that needs to be fixed, things are not likely to go well. For any kind of long-lasting growth, there must be a positive relationship between caregivers and a troubled teen. This is called a "Therapeutic Alliance," where caregivers see your teen as a person of worth and potential, and the teen trusts, in turn, the caregivers and is more likely to be responsive to efforts to help.
Second, says Merchant, the best programs are those that can provide skilled behavior therapy and parental education. Better still, such programs must also offer licensed services for psychiatric care and medication as needed. Also, core to the program must include in-depth comprehensive planning for aftercare, as well as regular follow-up.
Third, effective programs will focus on healing and provide tools for repairing family relationships. And key to the success of that effort will be to make sure the program will not work to divide parents and children by promoting conflicting values and beliefs.
"Look deeper than and well beyond all the screaming and yelling, and punishing until it hurts. Your teen is a person, not a problem."
Jeff Rogers
Fourth, programs that "lone ranger" are those that are not being overseen or that are not under the guidelines of a legitimate accrediting agency. Safety and accountability cannot ever be overlooked.
Fifth, certified and licensed professionals are not likely to put their "paperwork" in jeopardy by being a part of a program that condones questionable practices. Check the education, training, supervision, and verification of all staff who will be working with your teen.
Sixth, put simply, teens must have legal recourse to confidentially communicate concerns regarding drug abuse or neglect with parents and regulatory agencies. They must know that they are safe to be open and honest about all of their experiences.
Lastly, any legitimate program for your teen must be able to furnish independently-gathered statistics that show their effectiveness. There has to be a data trail of success to point to.
More can be learned about what programs and practices that are best for your teen at the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP). Check it out before placing your child in anyone else's hands.
1"Alternatives to Boot Camps for Troubled Teens," Fire Mountain Residential Treatment Center.
2"Alternatives to Boot Camps," Kathryn Rudlin, Very Well Mind.
3"Troubled Teens Need Proven Intervention, Not Boot Camp," Michael Merchant, National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs, 2006