Brat Camp - An Answer to Juvenile Delinquency?
Reality TV Series Brat Camp Follows Troubled Teens through Wilderness Therapy Program
Before You Send Your Child to Brat Camp - Make Sure They Aren't Under Investigation!

Brat Camp is was a reality TV series airing on ABC Wednesday nights. The first show premiered July 13, 2005.

Parents struggling with their teens will certainly find they are not alone after viewing Brat Camp, the new reality series on ABC. The show follows nine teens in a wilderness therapy program, a unique therapeutic option that puts defiant, hostile teens far from their familiar urban stomping grounds.

For parents who are not familiar with wilderness therapy, these types of programs have been around for decades. They are sometimes referred to as outdoor education programs. In the past few years there has been an explosion of start-up programs, some less worthy of parents' trust than others. The term "Brat Camp" is simply for TV shock value; the quality wilderness therapy programs do not treat these children as brats, but as teens who have gotten on the wrong path and who need a good dose of reality and discipline so they can realize they have much to be grateful for (and that the world does not owe them anything).

Watching the opening episode, the most striking charactistic of these teens is an almost preternatural sense of entitlement. These are kids who really think they should be able to do whatever they want, whenever they want. Causes for such behavior aside, certainly these teens will have great difficulty with friends, family, and authority figures for the rest of their lives if they do not have a profoundly transformative experience.

Wilderness therapy does have a powerful effect on such kids. This type of therapeutic wilderness program serves as a real wake-up call, and if done right, could be an effective preventive measure against juvenile delinquincy. The Outdoor Behavioral Health Care Cooperative did a follow-up study out of the University of Idaho a few years ago, and found that both parents and teens reported that were still doing well a year after they had graduated from a wilderness therapy program. Many of the teens who graduate from these short-term programs end up continuing on at therapeutic boarding schools - you might call these long-term brat-camps with academics.

Choose Your Brat Camp Carefully - Make Sure They Are Accredited and IN THE UNITED STATES!

Parents should be cautious in choosing the option of wilderness therapy. They are not appropriate for teens who have any serious psychiatric diagnoses such as psychosis, and teens who have been using methamphetamines should be appropriately detoxed due to the higher tendency toward dehydration that such drug users experience. Most of these programs will not accept students who are actively suicidal or self-harming, for obvious reasons. Such teens are better off in residential treatment programs or drug rehab programs with a more clinical setting.

How Can You Tell If a Brat Camp Is Safe and Effective?

If you are a parent considering a brat camp, focus on the most reputable programs.

Beware of the sites with strange generic domain names such as helpmyteen, parentshelpingteens, teensintrouble, parentteenhelp etc. These are all most likely going to results in referrals to the same schools. You may want to check with your state's attorney general where the program is located or the Attorney General of the United States before sending your child to a program where the identity is disguised in any way. Ask them if any of the schools have: lost accreditation, been under any federal investigations, or have had any of their schools or programs shut down over claims of abuse or fraudulent business practices. While wilderness programs are far safer than traditional wilderness treks - and certainly safer than a teen at home will be if he or she is actively using drugs - remember that there is risk in any wilderness setting. Even the Boy Scouts had an incident few years ago when kids were hit by lightening. However, the reality is that the most reputable programs have exemplary safety records.

Beware of an unethical practice called "Cash for Kids" - These are people who pretend to be independent counselors but accept cash incentives from the programs they refer to - they are not legitimate admissions people working for a quality company. If you call and they say their service is free and they will recommend you to a program, ask them how they make their money. If they are employees of the same company they are real admissions counselors. If they are not, they may be getting cash for recommending your kid to a program - which is inherently a conflict of interest. You are better off calling the admissions department of a program directly. NO LEGITIMATE PROGRAM WOULD PAY SOMEONE TO SEND THEM CHILDREN. The trap is often set by these programs by their tuition fee - they charge less than the quality programs, so desperate parents choose them to save money. Chances are it isn't worth it!

There are major organizations who have wilderness therapy programs in several states. Aspen Education Group is the largest, with a reputation that goes with it. They have been featured on Dr. Phil and have been written about in the major media in a very positive light. Their therapeutic boarding school Swift River was just the subject of a fascinating book on troubled teens. Some of their wilderness therapy programs have been operating successfully for over 2 decades, such as SUWS Wilderness Programs in Idaho.

If something doesn't feel right, contact other programs. Trust your instincts. It will never be easy to send your child away for a couple of months, but if something smells bad, keep doing your research.

If you don't feel comfortable making the decision on your own, hire an educational consultant to help you. You will pay them a fee, but that means their advice is in YOUR interest, not in the interest of the program they are sending your child to (see warning above about "cash for kids" organizations).