Phoenix Outdoor Wilderness Therapy

631 Willow Creek Rd. 
Leicester, NC 28748
US

The Phoenix Outdoor program reaches adolescents by combining a challenging outdoor experience with positive peer group interaction, relationships with instructors and traditional therapy to surface underlying issues and affect significant change in a short amount of time.

Lead by a group of trained field instructors, students in small, single-gender groups, hike and camp in the U.S. National Forest returning to base camp each week. During their time in the wilderness and at base camp, students are supervised by a team of professionals who keep them safe, teach them camping skills, facilitate peer interaction, and execute a structured curriculum of activities designed to identify and address the underlying issues that led to their placement at Phoenix.

A trained adolescent therapist meets individually and in groups with students to help them process their experiences and to open up a dialogue about their struggles. Each week, the therapist directs the activities of the instructor team to provide individual assignments for each student. The therapist provides weekly updates to the parents and referral sources to monitor the teenager's progress and to create a long-term plan for success.

Families are supported through the process by a family therapist that helps manage anxiety, deal with emotions, and provide counsel and support. Parents are connected with each other through weekly parent teleconferences and educational seminars so they can gain information and support from each other. The latest technology links parents to their child through a secure web portal designed to hold pictures, letters, weekly reports and treatment plans.

The Phoenix Outdoor program is comprehensive in its support of teenagers and their families. The outdoor model combined with the integrated treatment and assessment program is highly effective in bringing about needed changes. Years of experience from professionals in the industry combined with an understanding of the needs of teenagers and their families creates the positive outcomes that are needed in a time of crisis.

fill out and return a Phoenix Outdoor Student Application Package . A Phoenix Outdoor Admissions Counselor will take the time to understand your child's needs as well as speak to any individual, such as an Educational Consultant, that referred your teenager to the program in order to ensure an appropriate match. The clinical department will work in concert with the admissions team to help determine if Phoenix Outdoor is the right program for your child

The first step to admission into Phoenix Outdoor is to determine if our program fits the needs of your student and family. Phoenix Outdoor accepts adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17 years who are experiencing a range of difficulties. Teenagers struggling with the following issues are often helped by the Phoenix program:

Oppositional and defiant behavior
Negative peer influences
Drug and alcohol abuse
Academic problems
Low motivation/underachieving
Depression
Unresolved trauma
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Bipolar disorder
Low self-esteem
Generalized anxiety
Complicated bereavement
Personality/attachment issues
If your student is struggling with one or more of these issues, the next step is to fill out and return a Phoenix Outdoor Student Application Package . A Phoenix Outdoor Admissions Counselor will take the time to understand your child's needs as well as speak to any individual, such as an Educational Consultant, that referred your teenager to the program in order to ensure an appropriate match. The clinical department will work in concert with the admissions team to help determine if Phoenix Outdoor is the right program for your child

During their time at base camp, students engage in a variety of activities. They re-outfit for the upcoming wilderness expedition, work with their therapists, participate in group sessions, take showers and receive health and hygiene checks.

Art activities use mixed media such as clay, sculpture, paint, and fabrics in creative projects that are extensions of the therapeutic curriculum. Through the creative process and discussions about the art, students increase self-awareness, learn to cope with their issues and stress, enhance their self-awareness, and enjoy the process of creating.

Students engage daily in physical fitness activities. The physical exercise programming includes outdoor physical exercises such as stretching and conditioning, yoga, and recreational games design to promote group cohesion.

Service projects allow students to create elements on the property that the group can use during their time at base such as ropes course activities or outdoor cooking areas. Additionally, guest instructors from the community bring a variety of educational opportunities for students such as environmental education, horticulture, meditation, and art education.

These are only a few of the opportunities presented to students during their time at base camp. Integrating the activities into the overall program goals offers students the ability to enhance their therapeutic goals as well as learn skills that they can take with them and apply to other situations away from Phoenix Outdoor.

The adolescent therapist leads the treatment and assessment team for the student at Phoenix Outdoor. Each therapist meets with each student weekly, leads group therapy sessions, updates parents in a weekly hour-long phone call, maintains contact with their referral sources, and makes recommendations based on their observations.

When a student arrives at Phoenix Outdoor, the therapist does an extensive initial evaluation. After gaining input from parents, this evaluation is then translated into an Individualized Treatment Plan (ITP). With parent input and agreement, 4-5 goals are established for the student and a written plan is created to help students reach those goals. During weekly meetings with therapists, students are measured on achievement of each goal ensuring that the student is an active participant throughout the process. Each week, the ITP is updated and posted for parents to review on the Parent Connection Web Portal. Phoenix Outdoor is unique in that progress in the program is based on the ITP as opposed to the development of specific wilderness skills such as starting a fire.

During the weekly sessions, the therapist strives to build a relationship of trust and respect with the student. The therapist spends time understanding the student's perspective and the student will come to view their therapist as a supportive confidant. The therapist ensures that appropriate boundaries are set for the student so that they continue to follow the plan and process required by the program. Additionally, the therapist will give the field team instructions and assignments for each student to make sure the treatment goals are progressing throughout the week.

Parents will also have an on-going relationship with their student's therapist. Weekly phone calls update parents on a student's progress, discuss issues as they develop, and continue to modify the strategy needed to reach the goals for the student. The therapist will also work with any referral source such as an educational consultant on a weekly basis giving updates and recommendations.

During their time at base camp, students engage in a variety of activities, re-outfit for the upcoming wilderness expedition, work with their therapists, participate in group sessions, take showers and receive health and hygiene checks.


The Student Lodge The Student Lodge houses students overnight while they are at base camp. Rooms have bunk beds and individual bathrooms where students take showers after their return from the field. At night, the rooms are monitored and the Lodge is alarmed to ensure the students remain safe and contained.

Clinical and Operations Office The clinical department for Phoenix Outdoor is just up the hill from the Lodge. Therapists have easy access to students and can engage them in additional individual sessions, eat meals with them, or offer group therapy sessions. Unlike other programs that have an “endless wilderness model”, therapists do not need to be transported to groups in the wilderness to work with students.

The Property Base camp is surrounded by beautiful woods, creeks and waterfalls. An energy wheel located near the lodge provides an excellent venue for nightly gatherings and ceremonies. Springs and creeks abound on the wooded property offering opportunities for reflection and quiet time.




Bio-Dome Greenhouse The base camp offers students the opportunity to engage in a variety of activities that are designed to support the program's therapeutic goals. A sophisticated bio-dome greenhouse and organic gardens allows gardening activities designed to foster group cooperation, promote shared responsibility, and draw metaphors from the growing process to their own personal experience.

Unlike other programs, Phoenix believes that working with the entire family is critical to a successful outcome for the teenager. Our unique family support program offers an additional therapist to help families with their issues and concerns, provides up-to-the-minute information about students through our Web Portal, and offers weekly parent support groups via teleconference. Our base camp provides the opportunity for students to have greater access to therapists, better diets, better health care and hygiene. Our therapeutic approach is individualized for each student and we offer a specific curriculum when students are with field instructors on camping expeditions.

None availabel

Phoenix Outdoor provides the highest quality therapy to its students and their family. Phoenix therapists have master and doctorate level degrees with a specific history of working with adolescents. Many of our therapists are nationally recognized experts in the field of wilderness therapy.

Phoenix Outdoor Wilderness Therapy

Wilderness Programs

877-305-0904