My 14 year old son just finished a 10 week stay at Second Nature Cascades. It was the best thing we have ever done for him. Not every kid gets an opportunity like this. It was a tough decision and after reviewing several places, I chose 2N as the best, and the one I was most comfortable with in regards to trusting them with what is most precious to me- my son. There are cheaper places you can send your kid but this place gives them the best help.
The food supplied is all healthy and from the major food groups. The kids eat until they are full; they are never hungry. If you are looking for a resort-style menu, this place is not for your kid. The kids eat fruits (dried and fresh), vegetables, grains, oats, bread, cheese, GORP, beef jerky, meats, and a variety of other food. It is a very healthy and lean diet. The skinny kids will put on weight and the heavier kids will drop pounds. They are required to drink a certain amount of water per day. By truck, numerous big water jugs are continuously dropped off from the home base at each camp site for the kids. They have an abundance of water.
The kids can earn school credit for work/assignments they are given at 2N. If the kids don't do their assignments, they will not get the credits. Earning credits is important because if they are at 2N during a typical school year, they won't be missing out as much. They also learn a lot of new survival skills while here. Some of them include making fires by bow drill method, camping/ setting up their shelters, specialty knots used for survival and many other uses, cooking, making their eating utensils from carving out wood, etc. all while respecting the enviroment. They hike to a new camp site a few times per week, then set up their shelter again. They clean up every single piece of evidence that they had been at a site, including all garbage, food or human waste.
As for most parents, the therapeutic portion of this program is why we sent our kid here. The therapist assigned to our family, J, is a godsend. He has a Ph D, is a licensed psychologist, worked in private practice, and was a high school psychologist for several years. Coming into 2N, our son had issues such as being socially challenged and anxiety. J worked so well with our son thru the whole program. Even on our second weekly therapist conference call, he had our son pretty much figured out. This occurred after only 2 sessions with our son in the field. Nobody has been able to tell us as much about our son over the course of his life than J has. He initiated a plan to help him that was tailored suited to our son's needs, and personality. He helped him address certain phobias and OCD type behaviors that pretty much have been non-existent since leaving 2N. He taught him coping skills, and worked with him on his learning disabilities. Our son has also gained so many valuable life skills such as confidence, accountability, respect, sharing, empathy, communication of feelings and emotions, etc. His problem- solving skills have increased dramatically He learned NOT to say, "I can't", but to attempt to do things he never thought he could in the past. J got him to try and successfully do certain things that boosted my son's confidence sky high which fed on to more success for my son. These past 10 weeks at 2N have surpassed what our son had gained over several years of therapy. It was the best decision of my life.
J and the field staff has pretty much saved our son. The field staff are very caring and supportive for the kids. They go thru a training program before being a field staff at 2N. I was able to talk extensively with two of the field staff while on route from the home base to the field, about a two hour drive each way. I totally trust my son with these guys. They do not allow bullying or teasing by anybody, they make sure your kid is eating, drinking water and exercising like he should. They show kids most all of the skills required for the enviroment they are living in and also come up with fun ideas during the day such as games, singing, story-telling among other activities. The staff are constantly teaching the kids thru group therapy, they work on communication skills, they have letter writing back and forth with the parents, and are always teaching the kids how to do just about anything related to their enviroment. My kid always had an issue of feeling "safe" and they made him feel very safe and sound. Mischa, the parent coordinator, was very helpful to our needs and concerns.
All in all, I give this program a 5 star because it dramatically helped my son's life, my life, and his future. We had decided to send our son to a therapuetic boarding school to help him with his needs. We sent him to 2N to jump-start his stay at his new school. It lessened the shock of boarding school and also enabled him to employ all his newly aquired life skills.
Thank you very much Second Nature Cascades! read more
