Wilderness Therapy and True Grit

After four days of constant rain the temperature dropped and the rain turned to snow at our wilderness therapy camping spot.  We had been hunkered under a rain tarp erected over our fire for days, with a cold wind blowing rain into our backs.  Staff chose the windward side of the fire, taking the brunt of the wind and rain blowing under the shelter. Our knees and shins burned from close proximity to the fire while our backs were cold and wet after our rain gear finally relented to the constant deluge.  The fire required constant attention with our wet wood stacked carefully around the fire to dry while the drier wood burned. Forget to dry the wet wood and the fire would dwindled and create unbearable smoke to gather under the shelter.

Our students were a particularly obstinate group called the Bull Frogs. They couldn’t seem to think even thirty minutes into the future. They would not leave the immediate warmth of the fire to gather wood to assure they remained warm throughout the evening. If left to their own inclinations they would sit under the tarp as the last few twigs burned and the coals dwindled. So staff rotated, one at a time, out of the relative warmth to search for firewood for the evening.

One might expect a gloomy atmosphere under that tarp in those conditions. Not so here. My co-staff chatted easily with the students and talked of happy things. One moment he would dash out of the shelter to shovel snow off the tarp sleeping shelter to keep it from collapsing. The next moment he would be drying his coat next to the fire while he resumed his pleasant conversation. My co-staff was celebrating his birthday so I used an apple I had been saving to make him an apple crisp with honey and an oat and butter topping. A burning stick served as a candle while the group sang “happy birthday” to him. If he ever felt frustrated or discouraged at our situation, he did not let it show. Our attention was first drawn to the safety of the group. Second on our mind was looking for opportunities to teach life lessons from our situation or process the many emotions our students were going through.

Welcome to life as a wilderness guide at RedCliff Ascent. But don’t tell our guides how rough they have it because they are oblivious to what others may consider hardship. They are so comfortable in their wilderness setting that in such times they think not of their own discomfort but can turn their total attention to the safety of those they are in charge of. They recognize that hardship creates an atmosphere of reflection and opportunities for therapeutic break-through. One must be able to be comfortable without thought or self interest in order to recognize that moment when a student may be susceptible to inner reflection. For the best teaching moments are often those that involve the least amount of comfort.

Your child is safe tonight not only because they are free from the dangerous influences of their old surroundings but also because of the competence of our wilderness guides. Men and women who can call a blazing hot desert or a blinding blizzard of snow home.

The old folks might say these people have sand or maybe salt. They carry in their hearts a desire to improve the world around them. Their spirits are indomitable. They are people of resolution, fortitude and courage. The wilderness guides at RedCliff Ascent have grit. - by Darren Jensen, Backup Driver

Families and Troubled Teens: Learning to Fly

Chris Murdock holds Swainson's Hawk

As Intake Coordinator for RedCliff Ascent, I ensure safe transportation of our new troubled teens students to see the pediatrician for their initial physicals as part of the intake process.

Last week, while returning to the field after one of these standard visits, we drove past a couple of hawks in the road. Sitting on the road is an unusual place for any bird of prey to be seen, but what really caught my attention was when we drove past them, they didn’t fly away. I had to move out of the lane to avoid hitting them. I quickly ended a brief debrate in my head about whether to keep going, or to turn around, by turning around to see if the birds were OK. I noticed 2 more hawks flying around in close proximity (4 total) making their high pitch shrill hawk calls.

My attention was soon diverted to one of the two hawks that were in the road. It looked to be either injured or learning to fly, as it attempted flight, which only lasted a couple feet, on a couple attempts. Three hawks now were flying nearby, making their high pitch calls.

I called base to report the bird, since it may have been injured & I didn’t know any better. Our back-up driver called the regional falconer, and he told base to tell me to put a blanket or box over the bird until he could get to it, which was about 45 minutes.

All we had in the vehicle was a large spare tire cover, so I used that and approached the hawk cautiously and slowly. I was quite surprised that the bird didn’t try to fly away when I approached, and basically, more or less, allowed me to put the cover over it gently. I thought about what to do and realized I had to stop  up ahead on our journey anyway so one of our clinicians could meet with one of the students in the truck.

We decided to hang out right there off the side of the road with the hawk, especially since it had been raining, which we were later told by the falconer, had added to the challenges that bird was facing that morning. When the falconer arrived, he quickly identified the bird as a juvenile female Swainsons Hawk that was learning to fly that week. We were relieved to know it wasn’t injured, and very surprised to learn that the bird that looked to be struggling to catch flight that day, would be migrating to Argentina in a month from then. The other Swainsons Hawks flying around were the parents  and one extra hawk that we speculate was a sibling or somehow part of that breeds’ community. We also learned that the parents would help feed the young hawk & watch over it, while continuing to teach it to fly until it could join them in the sky, safe from harm on the ground.  I was impressed with the dedicated parenting from this species, despite the environment & elements they faced from extenuating circumstances.

There were several beautiful metaphors that came to mind about how much nature truly has to teach us about our own nature & nurture. It was a rare experience to be able to hold such a magnificent creature & to set it free again knowing it’s struggles were natural and necessary and that she would be taken care of.  by Chris Murdock, Intake Coordinator

“Getting Knifed” at RedCliff Ascent

"Getting knifed" at RedCliff Ascent

This phrase, often written in letters from students to parents, can be alarming: “ Hey mom, I don’t know if my therapist told you, but I got knifed!”   Initially reading a statement of this nature in a letter, many parents first inclination is to call the program to find out if their child is injured.  However upon continuing to read the letter, parents begin to realize that somehow “getting knifed” is a good thing. 

Upon entering the program, RedCliff students are not issued a knife with their camping gear.  Instead, they are taught to search for pieces of rock that can be utilized to make cuts.  All of the tasks that require cutting have to be completed with stones. These “tools” are used to cut notches into fire equipment, cut cordage, food, etc. 

Many students eventually arrive at a point in their relationship with the RCA staff that they can be entrusted to be awarded a knife.  The process of being awarded a knife has come to be known as “getting knifed”.  RCA students all hope to “get knifed” at some point in their stay. They arrive at this point through consistent adherence to program rules, expectations and staff directives.  They also arrive to this point as they demonstrate their ability to see the importance of respect and trust in relationships.   Students “get knifed” at a ceremony in which the staff circle up the treatment group and talk about the importance of trust in relationships.  They then present the student with a knife and place the necklace with the knife around the student’s neck.

Having possession of a knife in a wilderness setting makes life much easier.  Tasks that can take hours with stone tools can take merely minutes with a knife.  Students who are awarded knives will often carve well-crafted spoons and other useful tools.   Building bow drill fires and completing the traps assignments can be accomplised much easier with the use of a knife. 

Most importantly however, is the status, respect and pride that accompanies a student being awarded a  knife.  Students wear the knife around their neck in a special sheath that hangs on a necklace.  Students wear the knife with pride as it is an outward symbol of their efforts to be obedient, respectful and committed to trustworthy relationships.  These actions are a part of the formation of an experience in which students begin to feel the satisfaction that comes with embracing structure in their lives rather than defeating structure.

The next time you hear about a student “getting knifed” at RedCliff, you will know  that this is really a good thing and reason to celebrate rather than be alarmed.  Matt Bulkley, Therapist

Wilderness Therapy at RedCliff: Do You Speak Our Language?

There’s a certain lingo used here at RedCliff that can be hard for people outside of our world to understand.  Even when folks understand the language, it can be hard to speak – it’s constantly evolving, changing, being added to.  I visit the student groups in the field at least once a week, and sometimes need a refresher course from the students.  We’ll call this CliffsNotes for RC Lingo 101.

wiggie  noun  sleeping bag, originally derived from the brand name Wigwam
wig  noun  abbreviation of the word ‘Wiggie’
ho ho noun  the blue sleeping pad that students sleep on top of
bogey noun  a good sized, strong stick that’s used to poke at coals and move logs around inside the fire; can be used to clear a spot for your pot and get some good coals glowing for a scoobie
scoobie  noun  a bread made of flour and water (or sometimes farina and water) that is cooked directly on the coals;  to the outside world, these are known as ash cakes;  doesn’t sound appetizing? Think again.  This is the students’ favorite.  Think of a pita pocket… you can stuff it with tuna and cheese, or beans and cheese, or`… the possibilities are endless
brimmer  noun   a dinner pot that’s as full as you can get it; students love to talk about what kind of brimmer pot they’re going to make for dinner
drop noun  refills from base for food and gear the students need replenished; drop happens every Wednesday and Saturday and is HIGHLY anticipated
drop truck noun  the vehicle that brings drop to the group
sketchy  adjective  inappropriate or questionable behavior; Related form sketchball
polliwog noun  a new student, typically under 20 days; someone who has not quite become used to wilderness living; derived from our new student group, the Polliwogs
wog noun abbreviation of the word ‘Polliwog’
holey soles noun sandals  to be worn around camp; similar to Crocs
Peanut Butter/Cheese  usually refers to which shift a staff is on, represented by whether the students receive peanut butter or cheese on Saturday drop during that shift
full body noun  the wilderness equivalent of a shower, using water that’s been heated on the fire and soap

That should help you stumble through the first few letters.  Better yet, throw a few of these words in a letter you send to your student and let them know you REALLY understand what’s going on out there!     By Alison Cox, (aka Autumn Lynx), Family Support Services 

Troubled Teen Therapy Outcomes: Why Numbers Matter

Mike Petree, Director of Research

According to Mark Twain there are…”Lies, damned lies, and statistics“.  I tend to assume that the general population may feel as vulnerable relying on statistical information and research reports as I do relying on a mechanic to tell me what is wrong with my vehicle. Despite the fact that there are untrustworthy mechanics and researchers I’ve come to trust a mechanic or two and I sincerely strive to provide trustworthy information to those whom I report outcomes to. 

Numbers matter because without them our perspective on what effective treatment looks like can decay and become distorted. We need numbers to help provide clinicians and practitioners with a reality check, and our clients with reasonable expectations about what results they should expect. Without numbers we are left with highly subjective interpretations of success rates and salesmanship tactics. Numbers serve as an anchor to reality. 

At RCA we not only cooperate with other competing troubled teen programs to gather data and investigate outcomes, we also design research questions, execute studies, and analyze data in-house to ensure that we are doing as much as possible to provide the highest caliber of treatment.   By Mike Petree, Director of Research, RedCliff Ascent Family of Therapeutic Programs.

Wilderness Camp Celebration Coming this Month!

Celebrating in the amphitheater at Outpost

Every 3 months we have “Shin Dig” at Redcliff Ascent, a wilderness camp for troubled teens.  This is the only time during a student’s stay at RCA that their group will get together with other groups in the field and it is an event that is very anticipated by all.

Shin Dig happens on the last Wednesday of the month, which is staff change day for that week. This allows for all of the staff to participate along with the students and administration team.

The week leading up to Shin Dig is spent preparing song & dance routines and carving spoons, writing poems for reading at Shin Dig and practicing bow drill fire skills.  The students then compete in these areas and the 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd places in each event receive prizes of candy bars, licorice, Pop Tarts etc.  This is a huge deal to the students who have been junk food free since their arrival at RCA!

The administration team then prepares a yummy lunch for everyone followed by dessert and the students enjoy every single bite.

Some students or staff may also receive their earth names at Shin Dig. Earning an earth name is a special part of RCA and shows that the person has made significant progress in stepping out of their old behaviors and into new paths.

Plans are under way now for our June Shin Dig and a great time will be had by everyone!! - Phyllis Cooper, RedCliff Ascent Office Manager

A Struggling Teen’s Story of Alcohol Abuse

This is a story by a student who struggled with alcohol abuse. He left our program a few months ago.  I keep in contact with him and he is doing really well still. He gave me permission to reprint this – Roger Nelson, LCSW, RedCliff Ascent Therapist

 I went to RCA a week after I turned 15. To be honest, I don’t remember much before RCA and I try not to think about it. I tell myself I was born at RCA. I don’t care what others say about my birth.

I was more interested in other things, like ‘getting laid’, alcohol, smoking, drugs, clubs that I somehow got into and making out with girls while drunk. I couldn’t be bothered with school. I was distracted by the things I considered ‘fun.” I became really depressed because my mum had hidden all the alcohol in the house. Without me even knowing at the time I was hooked on alcohol. I was addicted. I thought that when I was drunk I was in control of myself. I thought I could easily control how much I had and that I could handle it. Obviously, I thought wrong and I realized this only at RCA.

I looked at alcohol as an escape route. When I was drunk I could be whoever I wanted to be. I could have as much fun as I wanted. It was only later I realized that I was trapped. I depended on alcohol so much to make me happy that I ended up hurting others as they watched me go down a bad road.

I had 5 different therapists before RCA, 2 family therapists and none of them seemed right for me. That was until I went to RCA.

Me, my mum and my dad had a meeting .My mum brought up the idea of this place and showed me the website. I thought I knew everything about this place. A few months at somewhere in a hot desert was amazing to me because in England it’s cold. All I thought was ‘I’m going to get one heck of a tan and look awesome’. And it’s therapeutic so I’m like, “OK, let’s see if this therapist has the power or is strong enough to beat the crap out of me and get me the heck out of depression.”

My first day at RCA it all hit me. I was so concerned about being trapped there and all this work. I have never worked for anything in my life. I didn’t need to. It was all done for me, or I was sort of manipulating them to do the task for me.

 Deepwater had always been helping me see the good path, a better view in the light. I had always been struggling to escape the darkness. The alcohol was tough to get out of my mind, but I was open about it, that I was finding it hard to get alcohol out of my mind, so he helped me. It took a while but I finally understood. I don’t need to involve alcohol. It just got in the way of my goals.

 The values, everything I had learned at RCA are now applied to my life. I exercise every day, I eat 5 fruit or veg a day, haven’t failed yet.  I’m writing good poems. Now before I engage in situations I think of the values, such as, if I do this it shows I’m a compassionate person. If I do this it shows I’m honest and reliable etc.

I’ve been told that I’m doing crazy good by my teachers (not in these words though!). They’ve been saying that I’m doing way beyond expectation. I’m predicted A’s for my exams with nearly all my subjects. For a few I’m predicted B’s. I’m learning the piano. Man, I’ve got a list. My goal is to become an author just after I leave University, to do good at school, so I’m aiming for it. I’m going to accomplish this.

For I was blind, but now I can see, for it was my guide that set me free.

I have finally found my inner peace. I don’t care what people say, I was born at RCA.

Observations on Place, Perception, and Troubled Teens

 By Dr. Daniel Sanderson, Clinical Director, RedCliff Ascent

One of the most common laments that is voiced by students participating in the program is that “I can’t prove to my parents that I have changed while I am here!” or “I can’t be the person that I need to be as long as I am here.”  I am frequently confronted by troubled teens who have their entire understanding of themselves completely determined by their external circumstances.  When they encounter a situation such as RedCliff, in which absolutely none of the familiar circumstances are present, they become lost. They immediately begin to make any futile attempt that they can to retain the external entities and dependencies upon which they previously relied to give them a sense of self and a sense of well-being.

With these students clamoring their discontent, I am frequently reminded of a quote by the stoic Greek philosopher, Epictetus, that

 “Circumstance does not make a man; it only reveals him to himself.” This seems to be a tough concept for troubled teens that are clinging to their respective developmental vacations.  They have every expectation that their influence in the world lies in their capacity to alter the circumstance in which they find themselves.  Indeed, most of these struggling teens have become highly skilled in managing those individuals and situations around them such that they continue to believe that their ability to be “OK” or even “happy” is completely determined by their individual ability to control external events and entities.  At that point in which they find their previous competencies stymied by their residence in the high desert of southern Utah, a crisis of identity ensues and their attempts to recapture a familiar modicum of stasis in their lives truly reveals to them the actual person which they have become.  As can be expected, this revelation tends to bear a painful message. But at the same time, these students also struggle with the concept that RedCliff after all is only a place—one of many thousands of places that they will encounter in the course of their lives.  Each one of those places reveals each one of us many times each day.  And, as the poet David Wagoner reminds us, “Wherever you are is called Here”.

The place that is RedCliff quickly sorts through the insulating properties of the places of our daily lives.  Our dependencies and immature coping strategies can easily be camouflaged by the intricacies of our society or community.  Our family system obscures many destructive interactional patterns.  The continual drone of the Sturm und Drang, or “storm and stress,” of our daily existence allows us to easily delude ourselves that we are in control of many more aspects of our lives than is actually the case.  We become proficient with rationalization and intellectualization, attributing far greater influence to ourselves than we have earned.  The place of RedCliff shows us that we are not really all that powerful.  The place of RedCliff humbles us with the reality of the humans that we are.  The place of RedCliff allows us to practice becoming the humans that we actually are destined to become.  The place of RedCliff reminds us that any place we encounter can continue to reveal that same human that we discovered here.  The place of RedCliff illustrates to those who listen that the place does not define us as humans; we must do that for ourselves.

Looking Back at the RedCliff Reunion

“I had a lot of apprehension beforehand,” Andrea Burgess admits. “But it turned out even better than I thought.” Burgess is the Executive Director at RedCliff Ascent, a wilderness therapy program for troubled teens.  On April 7, the program hosted its first ever “class reunion” for wilderness graduates.

Graduates had been pleading with the RedCliff team for years to host an event where they could reunite with peers, therapists and staff. This year administrators decided to give it a try – not certain whether they could meet the day to day demands of running a therapeutic wilderness program and plan and execute a two-day event.

And just how serious were these grads? Would they really show up if the RedCliff team did hold a reunion? They put the question out on social media sites and the response was immediate. From all across the globe RedCliff grads were excited and willing to make the trip.

Burgess asked RedCliff Family Services Coordinator, Alison Cox, to organize the event. Cox created an online registration system and within weeks 50 graduates and parents had put a deposit down.  One graduate even suggested a theme: “This time you knew you were coming.”

Burgess admits weather was one of her biggest worries. The fickle Utah spring didn’t disappoint. 50 mph winds gusted outside as attendees picked up their gear and got a brief orientation at the Enterprise office.

The temperature was dropping by the time the buses unloaded at Outpost, the center of RedCliff’s operation’s field. A canvas covered pavilion and a yurt provide permanent shelter at Outpost. RedCliff staffers brought in three additional large camp tents as a precaution. Their preparations paid off. By sunrise the next morning there was five inches of new snow on the ground.

Cox says the weather turned out to be a mixed blessing.  Students and parents were still able to participate in skills camps, hiking, a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, and sessions with therapists. While the snow fell outside, students and staff re-connected inside. “I think the snow and the cold really brought everyone together,” she says. “They’ve got a bond now and I don’t think we would have had that if the weather had been nicer and we’d been more spread out.”

Weeks after the event, RedCliff’s Facebook site is filled with students who are still talking about their return to the wilderness.

“I had SO MUCH FUN!”

“Can’t wait for my next rip to Enterprise!”

“Thank you to the staff who gave me the best weekend ever!!!”

Burgess says while she’s grateful for comments like those, this response from a former student made everyone pause:

“The years after my graduation until recently were very bumpy for me. I struggled with remembering what I was capable of and what I had accomplished. I began to lose track of myself and who I wanted to be. When my mom called me and told me she received an email from RedCliff inviting me to an alumni reunion, I was ecstatic, to say the very least. I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but knew I was ready for whatever RCA had to throw my way, once again. I came to the reunion alone, didn’t expect to see any students from my stay in the program and was unsure if there would be any familiar staff left from my time there. Once sitting down in base with the group after arriving back for the first time in five years, I had no feelings of unrest. I knew few people, but was not weary. I quickly made instant connections with almost everyone I spoke to. I felt at home. It was so comforting to be back in the field even with lots of fresh faces. The reunion was exactly what I needed to remember everything I learned when I was a student at RedCliff. I regained my feeling of empowerment and felt happy for the first time since I left years ago.
I want to thank you all so much for more than just setting up a great and perfectly coordinated reunion for all the lucky alumni who got to attend, but for helping miraculously broaden my vision once again and helping me see that light at the end of my tunnel for a second time. I have no doubt the program saved my life, my happiness, and any hope I had for a bright future. No words can ever explain the deep, eternal gratitude I have for each and every one of the staff members who help change and save lives, like mine, every day. Thank you today, tomorrow, and for forever.” 

 “It was such a positive experience for everyone that was out there,” Alison Cox notes. “I’m still getting phone calls and emails from people saying it meant so much for their child to be out there.”

She adds, “Sometimes you lose sight of what the end goal is. We don’t see the students a lot afterward. Whether they’re doing well or stumbling, we still like to see them again.”

Looking back at all the worry and work, Burgess says she’d do it all over again. “I feel rejuvenated. I really do,” she says. “To have students return as adults, in school or as young professionals, and have this be so meaningful and life-changing, it was affirming for the work that we do.” She adds, “I would do it again, no questions asked, and so would everyone on the team. It was so much more meaningful than we thought.”

Alec, a former student, shared his thoughts in a recent Facebook post:  “It’s nice to know we left a permanent mark on the place that left one on us.”

To see video highlights of the reunion visit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwC5i9Vt7PI

From Jennifer