PROGRAM:  WILDERNESS SEARCH AND RESCUE  |  THE MOUNTAIN VILLAGE
                  FAMILY WORKSHOPS  |  SAFETY INFORMATION
                  PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING  |   TESTIMONIALS

Wilderness Program

Alldredge Wilderness Journey is a licensed wilderness program that uses innovative, effective, and cutting-edge therapeutic interventions when working with troubled teens and their families.

The Alldredge Wilderness Program Two-Phase Model provides adolescents with different levels of therapeutic experiences that promote emotional growth. Issues that many troubled teens face today, such as substance abuse, anxiety, depression, poor school performance, and low self-esteem are treated as obstacles to living a happy and meaningful life. Students in the wilderness program develop healthy coping skills and are motivated to achieve personal change, not just for themselves but for others.

Alldredge is designed to be a short-term wilderness program that creates life-long changes. Each phase provides students with unique experiences that create a desire to change. The two phases are:

• Wilderness Search and Rescue
• The Mountain Village

Teens experience the two unique phases of the wilderness program in 60 days and may stay longer if necessary. Teens have the opportunity to earn academic credits during their time at Alldredge. Upon completion of the Alldredge program, students may choose to transition into our Extended Stay Phase at the Village. This option allows students to continue working on academics and engage in therapeutic experiences that support emotional growth.

Another valuable component to our wilderness program is the Family Workshops. Designed to empower families in the process of healing, these three-day, intensive experiences are an integral part of our program and take place at the completion of each phase.

All programs include one-on-one counseling, group counseling, and experiential learning. The counselors at Alldredge are committed to providing a safe and therapeutic wilderness environment by forming genuine relationships with teens, allowing them to open up and feel supported when confronting their issues. Students engage quickly, and begin to replace negative and destructive behaviors with healthy and positive choices.

To learn more about wilderness therapy and the impact it has on our teens today, click here to review an article written by our Clinical Director, Mike Beswick, LCSW.

Students have the opportunity to earn academic credits during their stay at Alldredge.

Psychological and educational assessments are available upon request. Click here to learn more about how an assessment can be integrated into a student’s treatment and after-care plan.

Academic Credit

Alldredge Wilderness Journey is licensed and certified through North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. Students will have the opportunity to earn 5 academic credits during their 60-day wilderness therapy experience. Upon graduation, students will receive a summary of educational credits earned during their time at Alldredge. Transcripts will be issued to schools at parents’ request. The following courses are provided during the first two phases at Alldredge:

• CPR and First Aid—1 credit
• World Culture—1 credit
• Creative Writing—1/2 credit
• Wilderness PE—1/2 credit
• Environmental Science Lab—1/2 credit
• Primitive Music—1/2 credit
• Primitive Art—1/2 credit
• Core Academic Course (Math or English)—1/2 credit

Many of our students who complete the Alldredge wilderness program transition into our Extended Stay program to complete additional academic coursework. Students must take a minimum of two core classes or electives. The academic coursework is individualized to meet each student's academic needs. Students have the opportunity to earn their high-school diploma from Alldredge Wilderness Journey. Length of stay is flexible.

Accreditations and Affiliations

The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs is a volunteer membership organization supporting professionals and programs in their efforts to help troubled young people. Alldredge Wilderness Journey is a Full-Member of NATSAP:

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities works to ensure that positive meaningful opportunities are available for persons with mental illness, chemical dependency, developmental disabilities and those at risk. Alldredge Wilderness Journey is fully licensed through the WV DHHR BHHF as a group residential outdoor therapeutic education facility.

The Alldredge Family Foundation (AFF) has been established by families who have attended Alldredge Wilderness Journey. Recognizing the importance of families, their frequent need for support when teens face major challenges, and the need for broader access to therapeutic programs for teens, the Foundation's mission includes: providing a forum to serve as an ongoing support network, developing aftercare support and programs, scholarship assistance for aftercare programs (available to graduates of approved therapeutic programs devoted to serving at-risk teens), and providing personal references to assist families in crisis evaluate alternative programs.

The North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement accredits over 8500 public and private schools in 19 states, the Navajo Nation, and the Department of Defense Schools.

The National Association of Therapeutic Wilderness Camps serve as an unbiased reference for parents and professionals searching for appropriate programs. They publish the Journal of Therapeutic Wilderness Camping, documenting and sharing cutting-edge research and advancements within our field, and promote quality care of youth through providing training opportunities for all levels of therapeutic wilderness professionals, including their annual conference.

Recognized as leading the industry, Solacium provides educational, recovery, and treatment programs as the perfect setting for emotionally or behaviorally challenged youth and those struggling with their education. Solacium offers short-term intervention, residential treatment, and young adult transitional programs.