Troubled teens can be helped with most any of the summer camps for troubled teens. Summer programs can help keep your teen out of trouble by occupying their time with something more productive. This could be through either a day camp or an overnight camp. Camps like sports camps, theatre camps, art camps, or science camps all help to teach your troubled teen to focus their time and energy on something more productive and beneficial than the self-destructive lifestyle they usually live. However, if you feel this may not be enough to help your teenager, there are also camps geared directly towards troubled teens and at-risk youth.
There are two main types of camps directly for troubled teens: boot camps and wilderness therapy camps. Boot camps are the more traditional version. Boot camps sometimes call themselves “challenge camps” rather than “boot camps” to make it sound a bit more appealing. They aim to help troubled youth and teens develop self-confidence and understand how their choices affect others. The camp is meant to be a wakeup call for teens that are developing a self-destructive lifestyle. Boot camps generally include military type training activities like marching and obstacle courses.
Wilderness therapy camps are meant to be an alternative to boot camps. While both types do aim to help troubled teens, they each go about it a completely different way. In contrast to the demanding boot camp, wilderness therapy camps are meant to nurture teens. They include the normal summer camp for troubled teens activities like hiking, canoeing, horse riding, and rope courses, as well as therapy sessions. Individual and group therapy during camp is meant to help troubled teens develop self-esteem, face issues, and develop healthy relationships. A usual camp day includes individual counseling and journal writing to encourage self-reflection and self-improvement.
While boot camps and wilderness therapy camps can be extremely beneficial to your teen, they can also be extremely expensive. These residential camps can often run several thousand dollars per week. If you’re looking to save money, an alternative may be a day camp. There are some day camp versions of boot camps and therapy camps, but there may or may not be one in your area. Some you may find might be more of a therapy or counseling program rather than an actual summer boot camp for troubled teens. If a camp is what you are looking for, a residential camp may be your best option despite the high cost.
You can also check out Christian summer camps for troubled teens if you are interested. If you are Christian these summer boot camps for troubled teens might just be the way to go. It can’t hurt to at least check it out.
