Stuart Squires, LCSW, founder of The Family Solution in St. George, Utah, explained to Lon Woodbury and Elizabeth McGhee from Parent Choices for Struggling Teens on L.A. Talk Radio the unique process of healing families through adventure therapy.
Lon Woodbury, who is the host of the show, has published Woodbury Reports and founded Struggling Teens. As an author of books on parenting and struggling adolescents, he has helped many families resolve their personal crisis. Lon started out as an Independent Educational Consultant in 1984 and has worked with many families since that time. Meanwhile, Elizabeth McGhee, who serves as his co-host, has more than 19 years experience in the field of child psychology. She currently works at Sandhill Child Development Center as the Director of Admissions and Referral Relations.
Who is Stuart Squires?
Stuart Squires has founded the Family Solution in St. George, Utah. He now serves as its Executive Director. There he provides a short-term therapeutic process that he refers to as an "adventure therapy program for families." He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a supervisor for social workers doing an internship. Prior to establishing his business, The Family Solution, he spent over a decade in the field working with families.
A Unique Model: Healing Families through Adventure Therapy
How do you heal families through adventure therapy? Stuart Squires explained that his therapy took a family systems approach. If a child was acting out, it was because of a dysfunctional family system. By taking the entire family out on a day-long adventure--say, hiking, biking, or rappelling--it forced the family to interact, build a bond, and confront their repressed feelings.
When asked by Lon what made The Family Solution approach different from other therapeutic model, Stuart outlined four distinctions:
1. This approach is unlike most traditional approaches. The entire family is involved. Everyone participates in the outdoor recreational adventure.
2. The treatment is short. It may only last a week. Then the follow up may take place in one or two months. The family received counseling during the intense week of treatment, then they went on an outdoor adventure together.
3. The main difference with this therapy was the focus on the value of aftercare. What really mattered was how a family had changed once they got home.
And fourth, the program is much more affordable for a family in crisis because it is about a fifth less than the cost of a therapeutic boarding school or wilderness program.
The most effective way to heal a dysfunctional family system was to encourage the entire family to go on a recreational adventure together. This prevented the child from doing really well at a therapeutic boarding school or learning new behaviors and attitudes through a wilderness therapy program and then going back to their dysfunctional home life. The reason healing families through adventure therapy worked was because it worked on healing the whole family, not just the identified patient.
Lon Woodbury, who is the host of the show, has published Woodbury Reports and founded Struggling Teens. As an author of books on parenting and struggling adolescents, he has helped many families resolve their personal crisis. Lon started out as an Independent Educational Consultant in 1984 and has worked with many families since that time. Meanwhile, Elizabeth McGhee, who serves as his co-host, has more than 19 years experience in the field of child psychology. She currently works at Sandhill Child Development Center as the Director of Admissions and Referral Relations.
Who is Stuart Squires?
Stuart Squires has founded the Family Solution in St. George, Utah. He now serves as its Executive Director. There he provides a short-term therapeutic process that he refers to as an "adventure therapy program for families." He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a supervisor for social workers doing an internship. Prior to establishing his business, The Family Solution, he spent over a decade in the field working with families.
A Unique Model: Healing Families through Adventure Therapy
How do you heal families through adventure therapy? Stuart Squires explained that his therapy took a family systems approach. If a child was acting out, it was because of a dysfunctional family system. By taking the entire family out on a day-long adventure--say, hiking, biking, or rappelling--it forced the family to interact, build a bond, and confront their repressed feelings.
When asked by Lon what made The Family Solution approach different from other therapeutic model, Stuart outlined four distinctions:
1. This approach is unlike most traditional approaches. The entire family is involved. Everyone participates in the outdoor recreational adventure.
2. The treatment is short. It may only last a week. Then the follow up may take place in one or two months. The family received counseling during the intense week of treatment, then they went on an outdoor adventure together.
3. The main difference with this therapy was the focus on the value of aftercare. What really mattered was how a family had changed once they got home.
And fourth, the program is much more affordable for a family in crisis because it is about a fifth less than the cost of a therapeutic boarding school or wilderness program.
The most effective way to heal a dysfunctional family system was to encourage the entire family to go on a recreational adventure together. This prevented the child from doing really well at a therapeutic boarding school or learning new behaviors and attitudes through a wilderness therapy program and then going back to their dysfunctional home life. The reason healing families through adventure therapy worked was because it worked on healing the whole family, not just the identified patient.
About the Author:
Find out more about Struggling Teens. Lon Woodbury has the recorded the entire interview on his L.A. Talk Radio show for people to listen to at any time.
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