We Help at blueFire Wilderness
At blueFire Wilderness Therapy program, we are well aware that our “identified client” is the entire family system, not just the child who is acting out. We’ll never tell you that we can “fix” your child’s negative behaviors and return them to you to the very same home and school environment. Our multi-disciplinary treatment team will work with you and your child to develop improved behavior and communication skills, as well as provide your family with a comprehensive and highly individualized treatment plan.
We refer to the children placed with us as “clients” as we view our role is to provide them with a specific and comprehensive service.
The client’s participation in setting treatment goals is critical to their true understanding of and taking responsibility for achieving goals. We are here for them, and for their family systems.
At blueFire, we serve two distinct age ranges of clients: teens ages 11-17 plus a separate young adult program for ages 18-28. For more specifics about the client profile and unique programming for our young adult population, visit blueFire PulsaR.
Want to Learn More?
We're happy to answer any questions you have about blueFire Wilderness
Who We Help at blueFire Wilderness Therapy Program
Does your struggling young adult or troubled teen:
- Struggle in school?
- Refuse to go to or skip school?
- Make poor choices?
- Struggle with emotional outbursts?
- Seem sad or depressed?
- Constantly play video games?
- Isolate from friends?
- Experiment with alcohol or drugs?
- Create chaos in your home?
- Lie to you?
- Not come home on time? Or not come home at all?
- Experiment sexually?
- Manipulate?
These are different ways that your child is telling you that there is a problem. Every child is different and will communicate their troubles to you in different ways.
blueFire helps adolescents, ages 11-17 and young adults ages 18-28 who struggle with a myriad of problems including:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Substance use or abuse
- Social issues
- Conflict within the home or with friends
- Personality disorders
- Suicidal thoughts
- Eating issues
- Academic struggles
- Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD, Aspergers , Non Verbal Learning Disorder, Pervasive Development Delay)
- Trauma
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Anger issues
- Grief or Loss
- Adoption or attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder or other mood disorders
- Low self-esteem
- Identity issues
- Video game and computer addictions or over use
- PTSD
- Lower processing speed or low working memory.
- School refusal
- Self-harm
Behaviors
Who We Help at blueFire Wilderness Therapy Program
Does your struggling young adult or troubled teen:
- Struggle in school?
- Refuse to go to or skip school?
- Make poor choices?
- Struggle with emotional outbursts?
- Seem sad or depressed?
- Constantly play video games?
- Isolate from friends?
- Experiment with alcohol or drugs?
- Create chaos in your home?
- Lie to you?
- Not come home on time? Or not come home at all?
- Experiment sexually?
- Manipulate?
These are different ways that your child is telling you that there is a problem. Every child is different and will communicate their troubles to you in different ways.
Diagnosis
blueFire helps adolescents, ages 11-17 and young adults ages 18-28 who struggle with a myriad of problems including:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Substance use or abuse
- Social issues
- Conflict within the home or with friends
- Personality disorders
- Suicidal thoughts
- Eating issues
- Academic struggles
- Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD, Aspergers , Non Verbal Learning Disorder, Pervasive Development Delay)
- Trauma
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Anger issues
- Grief or Loss
- Adoption or attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder or other mood disorders
- Low self-esteem
- Identity issues
- Video game and computer addictions or over use
- PTSD
- Lower processing speed or low working memory.
- School refusal
- Self-harm
How does Wilderness Therapy work?
blueFire wilderness treatment center serves teens, ages 11-17 and young adults ages 18-28. Clients are separated into small groups depending on gender and maturity levels. Groups are intentionally small with a client to staff ratio of 4:1. Many are coming with previous diagnoses which may include: depression, ADD/HD, oppositional defiant disorder, anxiety, bipolar disorder, spectrum disorders, attachment difficulties and learning difficulties.
Common behaviors/symptoms of students who attend blueFire Wilderness Therapy include: defiance, low self-esteem, sadness/grieving, abandonment, manipulation, anger, anxiety, social discomfort, family discord and drug & alcohol use. Clients might also be running away, out of control, impulsive and failing in school. These teens have developed poor coping skills.
Working collaboratively with parents and treatment professionals, the Multi-Disciplinary team at blueFire incorporates many proven and effective treatment approaches. These systemic approaches include: solution focus-brief therapy model (Intrinsic Motivation), family systems approach, CBT, motivational interviewing, relapse prevention, transition planning, individual therapy, group therapy and family therapy.
The benefits of a short-term wilderness therapy programs are many. Struggling teens are transitioned into this stabilization, assessment and treatment model which emphasizes safety, insight oriented therapies and family involvement. blueFire aims to unravel the specific core causation of negative behaviors to help change the course to that of positive outcomes and emotions. Long-term sustainability of this change is the ultimate goal.
Who is Not a Good Fit for blueFire Wilderness Therapy Program
We are not a suitable solution for adolescents who are or have:
- Actively suicidal or homicidal
- Psychotic
- Violent and/or aggressive outside of the home
- Insulin dependent diabetics
- Medically unable to participate in the program
- Significant history of running away from treatment centers
I hope the client profile helps you understand the type of struggling teens that are a good match for blueFire. I am happy to communicate with each family individually to better understand the challenges and whether blueFire is a good fit. Additionally, when parents complete the blueFire application, this helps us get a better understanding of each child. This application is not a commitment to the program.
Please contact me, Reid Treadaway, directly toll free at 844-413-1999 with questions or concerns.
Our team and program helps struggling teens and young adults grow
blueFire Wilderness Therapy is a comprehensive and licensed wilderness therapy intervention for struggling teens ages 11 – 17 and young adults ages 18-28.
blueFire wilderness program offers an unprecedented treatment approach, which combines traditional intervention with the proven benefits of wilderness therapy. We utilize high adventure training and activities, adventure therapy, equine therapy, multi-day expeditions and family systems to help teens make lasting changes..
Testimonials
I admire all the staff. It’s obvious that they are not here for the money. Rather they are here because of their desire to help us. I also look up to the way they are able to handle stressful situations without deviating from a regulated mood. I have come light years in self-regulation. I can stay calm and remain assertive even when others are visibly anxious. I have also learned how to be a better leader, as my assertiveness has improved. This place has set me up to find my own success.
Our child was really struggling and involved in very dangerous activities. BlueFire saved his life. The whole community helped him look at himself and face the choices he’d been making, allowing him to change course. I can’t say enough about how helpful they were.
blueFire is an amazing program and I highly recommend it. The staff are experts in their field. They are professional yet caring. blueFire was a transformative experience for my son and our family.
Trusting others with the care of your child in need of help is one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make. Bluefire and all of the administrative staff, field guides, and therapists were instrumental in giving our child the help, respect and space needed to start their journey toward the right path in a way that we were not able to at home. All the while, we were kept informed with family sessions, letters and photos of that growth. Bluefire is heavily invested in the family relationship and we could not have asked for a better experience or outcome for our child.
Everyone at Bluefire was helpful and understood that our family is in a difficult and confusing situation. Our therapist was Charles. In 8 years of therapy, he was the only that reached my son in a way that will change his life for the better. My son came out with a greater understanding of what he needs to work on, and of others. He now knows that he can be a leader, and he doesn’t have to feel bad about himself.
We think he’s on the right path, and Bluefire was the right place for him.