Days Filled with Adventure, Friendship and Personal Growth
While at blueFire, the morning starts with a fire or the stove is fired up to boil water for hot drinks. This can be the most beautiful part of the day in the desert and mountains of southern Idaho. The peaceful serenity of the night is replaced by the birds starting to chirp and sing as the rising sun starts to warm the camp.
During this time, our clients take care of themselves and their gear. Everyone contributes to the wilderness camp community by helping prepare breakfast and cleaning up. This helps teach the importance of being a part of the group and how to give back to the group. During this time clients might be talking or laughing with friends or we might be sharing challenging moments and working through them as a group.
Personal responsibility is a main emphasis at blueFire, and each day our clients review their daily goals and tasks.
As the day begins in earnest the group will work together to plan the day. Where will they go? What will they do? What will it take to get there?
(Can you imagine your child doing all of this? It is a powerful experience!)
Each client and the group will struggle at times. These struggles and reactions to them help each person build skills and learn to be a better person and group member. Clients work with peers, wilderness therapists and their guides to process the feelings from these struggles. These struggles will occur back at home and school, so these life lessons in the therapeutic wilderness setting are important for continued success after blueFire. Similarly, accomplishments and successes will be a strong foundation to support positive futures.
Groups at blueFire wilderness treatment center
Groups start each week at their base camp, where they spend several days doing individual and group therapy, equine therapy, take showers and switch laundry and prepare for the weekly treks. A highlight of this time is receiving letters from home. On alternate weeks, groups will participate in multi-day hiking expeditions, camping at different sites each night. Groups will take multi-day outings to other areas in the southern Idaho region, which will offer a combination of adventure activity learning, and volunteer work. Community service projects help our clients understand how they fit into this world by learning to give back back to the group, to the community and to their family.
A typical day might include adventure therapy activities, such as rock climbing led by a climbing guide, mountain biking on local trails or canoeing and kayaking. All of these activities are done as a group. Additionally, clients will work on daily curriculum, journal writing and an evening fireside discussion after dinner.
Groups will learn to work together just as they will need to work together as a family back home or as classmates in a school setting.
Hiking, backpacking, self-care, therapy, individual therapy, group therapy, rock climbing, mountain biking, yoga and cross country skiing are some of the activities your child will experience while at blueFire’s wilderness treatment center. These adventures will build self-esteem, teach team-building and cooperation skills, help with communication and give your child insight into the ways in which they navigate their lives in the future.
Want to Learn More?
We're happy to answer any questions you have about blueFire Wilderness