Since 1990, the Big Sky Summer Adventure Program has combined outdoor adventure, leadership opportunities, service learning, family involvement, emotional growth and individualized treatment into an action-packed summer.  Our program helps adolescents increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and sets students up for success at home and at school.  Skilled outdoor professionals and trained therapists guide students through the summer adventures in small, gender specific groups of no more than eight students. 

Our program teaches students the high adventure skills of rafting, flat water canoeing, rock climbing, mountain biking and backpacking.  By summer’s end, our students have typically developed a sense of leadership and accomplishment that has exceeded their own expectations, as well as those of their parents. 

Explorations integrates individual counseling, group counseling and a strong emotional growth curriculum to help students understand the issues that have caused them to struggle.  Students learn appropriate communication skills, anger management skills, and problem solving skills.  Our students learn to be responsible and accountable for their own actions.  They are encouraged to practice self-reliance, and to build healthy interdependent relationships within the group by engaging in appropriate communication and meaningful team work.  These skills provide a launching pad for successful future endeavors as students re-enter school , re-integrate into the family, or move toward life’s next challenge. 

We teach a leave no trace environmental ethic and we participate in meaningful service work.  Service learning projects may include river restoration projects, trail rehabilitation, tree planting projects and contributions to organizations in the local community.  Students learn the value of giving back through community service, raising awareness about themselves and their choices through these adventures. 

Between each expedition, students return to HomeBase where they prepare for their next expedition, enjoy home style meals, talk with parents via phone during scheduled times, and participate in projects around the ranch and in the community.

Parents are an integral part of our summer programs, with the opportunity to join their children on our signature Parent Float Trips and the program-end Family Conference.  Parents speak with their children, and the therapist, on a regular basis between expeditions.  Parents will be asked to participate in weekly Parent Coaching and Education sessions, with a parent curriculum designed to parallel and support what the students are learning.  At the end of the program, parents and students will have worked on many of the same emotional growth assignments, and will have learned many of the same communication tools.  These tools increase family communication, reduce family conflict and help families move toward a place of healing.

Expedition Staff and Therapists

Each group of students is accompanied throughout the summer by a team of three skilled professionals, working in tandem with a therapist.  Big Sky Summer instructors are experienced mentors whose versatility allows them to form meaningful relationships with our students, teaching them exciting high adventure activities and essential back-country skills.  Our instructor teams have experience working with at-risk youth, are first aid certified and mentor our students side-by-side as they embark upon the expeditions together.  Instructors establish excellent rapport and trust with students by providing consistent and predictable boundaries and consequences, positive and constructive feedback and the willingness to listen and lend a hand whenever possible.  Safety is paramount for our instructors.  Instructors recognize the importance of the physical and emotional safety of all of our students.

Our highly trained therapists live part-time in the field with the students during expeditions, providing our students with a high level of therapeutic support and intervention.  Students form strong relationships with the therapists as they join the students in the adventure activities and are present when the students need feedback and support.  Our therapists provide regular individual and group therapy throughout each expedition.  Treatment is highly individualized for each student, and the therapists work closely with instructors to meet the individual needs of each student.  Therapists are regularly in contact with each family sharing the student’s progress, as well as their struggles, as they move through the journey.

Family Involvement

Communication is a tremendously important part of a successful experience for each Explorations family.  We prioritize regular contact and parent education for families.  Students phone home at scheduled intervals throughout the summer to talk about their achievements and discuss personal insights.  Throughout the summer, our therapists maintain close communication with parents and referring professionals, and provide regular updates about student progress.  Thorough assessment is provided during and upon completion of the program.  Parents and students write letters to one another in order to re-establish healthy communication and strengthen the relationship.  Participation in our Parent Coaching and Education program allows parents to participate in some of the same emotional growth and communication assignments as their children, creating a deeper understanding of what the child has experienced while in the program.  Our unique Parent Float Trips and Family Conference provide an unprecedented level of interaction and involvement in each student’s progress.

Parent Float Trips

Our signature Parent Float Trips have been the hallmark of the transformational experience at Explorations since 1992.  Many programs offer parent involvement, but few- if any-offer a side-by-side adventure opportunity for an entire week.  It is an opportunity for our students to share their skills and experiences directly with their parents in a challenging and supported outdoor environment.  A truly unique and beautiful community is quickly formed as the parents create mutually supportive relationships with one another, while rafting down the river and sleeping under the stars with their child.  The family focus and atmosphere at Explorations expands in a finite way to create one big sun-soaked extended family.  The combination of our outdoor classroom, diverse participants, and expert staff creates unprecedented openness, sharing, and communication between parents and their children.  It is a supportive experience in which families can heal, connect and move forward.  Parents and teens re-discover what it’s like to have FUN with each other and appreciate one another in ways that may have been hidden.

For parents, this trip is participatory in nature and an immersion into what your child has experienced over the course of the summer.  Guidelines and practices are the same as each child experiences.  Parents eat, sleep, work, and experience the trip along with their children.  Parents are often “wowed” by the physical and emotional status of their child and impressed with the ease they live and thrive in the rustic outdoors. The river trip itself offers a balance of exciting white water sections, relaxed floating, and sections of hard paddling.  It is not a technical itinerary and the majority of the campsites are van-supported by a staff-member carrying food and gear.  Care is taken to find a balance of challenge and comfort for optimal growth.

Group Parent Coaching, Support and Education

Group Parent Education and Support sessions are provided via phone for all families participating in the Big Sky Adventure program.  We believe in the healing and restorative power of a family and provide parents with help to effectively support and guide their child through this process.  Our parent curriculum teaches effective communication and parenting skills and parallels the emotional growth work students complete while on expedition.  Our parent education and support groups address appropriate boundary setting, active listening, communication techniques, identification of defense mechanisms, relapse prevention, understanding parenting styles, adolescent development, transition assistance, the creation of appropriate home contracts and more.  Parents have the opportunity to engage in facilitated dialogue with other parents, learning and sharing with one another as they move through this process together.

Because transition at the end of Big Sky Summer is inevitable, we work closely with parents to prepare for developing a strong transition plan.  Parents are invited to roll up their sleeves and participate in our parent curriculum. 

Parent Coaching

Additional Parent Coaching is available to those families wanting more assistance to address the issues that are specific to their particular family.  Our Certified Parent Coaches work with families (primarily via phone) to establish reasonable goals, work on communication issues, develop reasonable expectations, privileges and consequences for adolescents, develop home contracts, and improve the overall functioning of the home. Each family’s situation is unique, and individual coaching allows families to set their own agenda.  Families benefit from the opportunity to work closely with a coach who has many years of experience and expertise helping families navigate the challenges of having a child away from home enrolled in a therapeutic program, and eventually transitioning that child back into the home.  Individual coaching is an additional service and is not included in the price of tuition. 

Family Conference

Our Family Conference brings meaningful closure to the summer adventure for the student and the family.  When Big Sky Summer Adventures concludes, parents are recommended to attend the two-day Family Conference.  During the dynamic seminar, families can share in their child’s adventures and gain insight into their success.  Families participate in experiential group activities, individual family therapy, and group therapy.  There will be discussion about parenting techniques, and assistance with designing aftercare plans to establish reasonable rules, appropriate consequences,  and healthy parenting practices that will continue into the future.  This is a powerful, exciting way to end the summer program.  Additional parent coaching sessions may be scheduled during the family conference.

Assessment

An inventory of student strengths, challenges and needs is developed over the course of the program. Therapists develop a formal assessment of student and family needs, combined with recommendations for continued growth and success.  Near program end, our therapists communicate the specifics of this assessment and recommendation with parents and referring professionals so that appropriate educational, therapeutic and family support can be put into place before the student finishes the program.  At the end of the program, our therapists provide a written report including detailed observations made throughout the summer, student needs for continued success, and a synopsis of the Family Conference. 

Academic Credit

Big Sky Summer participants have the option to earn up to 2 high school credits for successful completion of activities and required emotional growth workbook curriculum. 

Psychoeducational Testing, Assessment and Evaluation

Upon recommendation of the referring professional or program therapist, a student may be referred for additional testing.  Many of our students have experienced diminished success in school, difficulty in relationships and/or strained ability to communicate with parents and peers.  It is often difficult to sort out the reasons these things may be occurring.  Occasionally referring professionals request educational, neurological or psychological testing as a part of the assessment process.  With parent approval, clinical psychologists conduct educational and/or psychological testing to more clearly define student strengths, challenges, and needs.  Combined with clinical observations and recommendations from the Explorations clinical team, testing is often a critical diagnostic element in providing the most detailed recommendation for continued care.

Upon therapeutic recommendation, a student may be referred by a substance or addiction assessment with parent approval.  An addictions counselor will conduct testing to assist in determining an addictive cycle or propensity. 

All testing is an additional service that is not included in the price of tuition, and is billed in advance of services rendered. 

Admissions Process

Upon completion of our application, all parents are asked to participate in an admissions interview via phone.  This allows us to learn more about your child and the specific issues causing your family to struggle.  Program specifics are discussed, as well as the guidelines and parent expectations of our program.  Students may be asked to interview by phone of Skype prior to being selected for admission. 

By the end of the summer our students typically:

• Display a deeper understanding of the issues that cause them to struggle and keep them from achieving their goals
• Understand their role in the family issues occurring in the home, and have tools and desire to improve family relationships
• Are responsible and accountable for their own actions
• Display increased communication and problem solving skills
• Exhibit increased anger management skills
• Understand the need for a change in behavior and direction
• Have participated in a wide variety of healthy replacement activities to engage in
• Experience a vast increase in self esteem and self awareness
• Know and appreciate the value of “giving back” to the community and to others
• Understand that they are capable young people who have a lot to contribute to their families and to other relationships
• Recognize their role in inappropriate peer relationships, and understand the value of making better relationship choices
• Are physically in shape

Typical Student Profile

• Bright but underachieving
• Manipulative or entitled
• Lacking motivation or direction
• Demonstrating poor judgment and poor choice of peers
• Possibly experimenting with drugs and alcohol and/or sexual behavior
• Experiencing family conflict
• Struggling with depression and/or anxiety
• Low self-esteem and self-worth
• Acting “in” and internalizing the issues causing them to struggle
• Demonstrating poor social skills
• Isolating through excessive use of online gaming, social networking or internet use
• Struggling with adoption issues
• May have experienced loss or adjustment difficulties, such as divorce, death of a loved one or relocation

 This article was updated on: Sep 29, 2011