Parenting Newsletter Aspen Education Group

In this issue:
Merging Two Families without Breaking Holiday Traditions

Safety First: How Wilderness Camps Keep Teens Safe

Helping Your Teens Manage School-Related Stress

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Call (866) 845-1391 to learn more about Aspen's programs for children, teens, and young adults.

SunHawk Recovery Center

SunHawk's substance abuse program offers intense treatment for teens experiencing emotional and alcohol or drug related problems in their lives. The 12-step based program is designed to provide a holistic approach to treatment. The ultimate goal of the long term, structured program is to teach adolescents and their families the tools to live an addiction-free, happy, healthy life. Call (866) 845-1391 to learn more about SunHawk Adolescent Recovery Center.

Copper Canyon Academy offers a warm, nurturing environment for girls ages 13-17 that are in need of a structured therapeutic environment. The Copper Canyon program promotes emotional and academic growth for every student and gives families the reassurance that there is a wonderful future ahead for their daughter.

Aspen Ranch is a licensed residential treatment center located in Loa, Utah. The Ranch's nationally renowned equine therapy program is just one part of an intensive therapeutic milieu that facilitates positive change in troubled teens. The strong work ethic inherent on the Ranch is fundamental to cultivating the characteristics of responsibility, discipline, respect and teamwork.

Turn-About Ranch is a place where old-time values such as hard work, honesty, respect, teamwork and accountability are the standard. Teens thrive in the unique environment of this spirited working cow-and-horse ranch. The objective of Turn-About Ranch is to provide a hard-hitting, high-impact therapeutic program that will remold and turn around the lives of rebellious teens.

Fall is a great time to enroll your teen in a wilderness program!

Phoenix Outdoor is a licensed wilderness-based substance abuse and chemical dependency treatment program for teenagers ages 13-17.

SUWS of the Carolinas is a therapeutic wilderness program that uses the outdoors as an alternative to conventional treatment environments, while engaging students using traditional therapeutic methods.

Four Circles Recovery Center for older teens and young adults ages 18-28 is an innovative addictions, substance abuse and co-occuring mental health disorders treatment program that combines a traditional counseling setting with extensive wilderness experiences.

Aspen Achievement Academy is a flexible length of stay program for adolescents 13-17, with over two decades of history in providing high impact treatment to teens and their families. As a clinically based program, Aspen Achievement Academy is contracted with a number of insurance companies and EAP's to provide treatment for mental health and substance abuse.

Wilderness Programs for Teens

Merging Two Families Without Breaking Holiday Traditions

Over the years, you and your children have developed certain holiday traditions. You may decorate the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving or light the menorah before the kids go to school every day. When you remarry, your partner will want to bring in his or her own traditions, which won’t always mesh with how you and your kids have celebrated the holidays.

Blending Families

Merging two families is not always easy, and holiday traditions are a time when the differences between two families can become more prominent. One family’s idea of celebrating a holiday is very unlikely to be the same as another family’s. But merging two families doesn’t have to mean the end of your own holiday traditions. Susan Davis-Swanson, LCSW, MSW, executive director of The StepFamily Center in Beverly Hills, Calif., offers stepfamilies these tips for celebrating the holidays:

Integrate Slowly

A stepfamily means a lot of new changes to kids - new parents, new house rules, new siblings. Try to leave things you can control, like holiday traditions, as normal as possible, Davis-Swanson suggests. If you are the stepparent, that doesn’t mean throwing all of your holiday traditions out the window. What it does mean is keeping the children’s traditions intact while slowly integrating your own.

Let the kids decorate their Christmas tree the way they’ve always done, and ask them if it’s okay to add some of your own ornaments. Instead of serving a completely new holiday meal to your stepkids, serve them what they are used to eating, and incorporate a new dish or two. Over the years, these small changes will establish new traditions for your new family.

Be Creative

Maintaining all holiday traditions may not always be possible for children of divorced parents or kids in a stepfamily. Too many parents means too many households at which to celebrate each holiday, often leaving kids feeling torn by their loyalty to each of their parents, Davis-Swanson said. “Try not to pull kids in too many directions,” she said. “Try to be flexible and understanding.”

Continue reading about ways to keep stepfamilies merry during the holidays >>

Safety First: How Wilderness Camps Keep Teens Safe

There is a hint of risk in everything we do, and wilderness therapy programs are no exception. But it is important to keep the risks inherent in outdoor activities like hiking, building a campfire, and setting up and taking down tents in perspective.

Wilderness programs are quite safe - safer, in fact, than many home environments, and significantly safer than many high school activities. A study conducted by the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Industry Council showed that children are more at risk playing high school football or driving a car than participating in a wilderness program.

And when a troubled teen is running away, experimenting with drugs or alcohol, or getting into trouble with the law, parents have to ask themselves, what’s the risk of doing nothing?

Choosing a Reputable Wilderness Program

Not all wilderness camps are created equal, so it is essential for parents to do their research and choose a program that takes every possible safety precaution to keep their teen safe.

Here are just a few of the safety precautions that some of the best wilderness programs have in place:

Medical Care
When a teenager arrives at a wilderness program, the first step is generally a medical examination, which often includes a complete physical, drug screen and blood test. Students typically must be in good health before they are issued a pack and gear. During the program, students’ blood pressure, ears, throat and feet are checked each week by a field medic or nurse. If an ache or pain occurs, the field staff responds promptly and has a team of medical personnel they can contact around the clock.

Radio Contact
At many wilderness programs, field teams are in regular contact with “base camp” or the “home office” via radios, cell phones and/or satellite phones. Groups check in frequently, provide regular updates about each student and call in when even the slightest question arises. Emergency response teams are always prepared to take action when necessary.

Qualified, Knowledgeable Staff
Many wilderness programs require wilderness first responder certification of most, if not all, of their field staff. Wilderness first responders are the wilderness equivalent of an emergency responder, or EMT. With advanced medical training in wilderness medicine, first aid, wound management and detecting symptoms of larger issues, field staff members are well-qualified to respond to most medical situations. Staff members also frequently receive training and certifications in first aid and CPR. Many wilderness programs also employ a full-time nurse, field medic and medical director who are on call as needed.

Read about the important steps wilderness programs take to keep teenagers safe >>

Helping Your Teens Manage School-Related Stress

No matter what age your teens are, school is probably stressing them out. Even the most organized teenager is not immune to the daily pressures faced at school. Trying to keep on top of school work, handling peer pressure, maintaining some type of social life, participating in after-school activities and even figuring out what to wear in the morning can be a lot for any teen to handle.

That may be the reason why one in five teenagers has abused prescription drugs, according to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Managing school-related stress is one of the top reasons why teens turn to prescription drugs. Contrary to the belief that teens use prescription drugs to get high or feel good, teens often turn to their parent’s medicine cabinet or their friends for the following reasons:

To lower stress and anxiety
To boost their mood
To stay up all night studying for an exam
To enhance athletic or academic performance

Parents often see no problem giving their teens some of their pain medication or anti-anxiety medication, figuring they are helping their teens alleviate symptoms. Because it is so common for adults to receive prescriptions for their own symptoms, it is easy to think you are helping your teens by giving them even half of a prescribed dosage.

However, making prescription drugs accessible to your teenagers is not the best way to help them manage their school-related stress.

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