What Is Explorations?

Explorations is a small, dynamic program for teenagers and their families. It offers challenging and meaningful life experiences through travel, residential, and innovative outdoor adventures. It also provides direction and guidance to families who are undergoing difficulties, and it also educates the teenagers to go through life without relying on destructive and unhealthy behaviors. The Explorations program is offered during the summer so that these teenagers can strengthen their self-confidence and self-esteem through the opportunities and challenges presented in the program.

Students accepted into the Explorations program are those who have problems with negative self-image, relationship difficulties, life transitions, abuse, sexual, alcohol, or drug experimentation, adjustment problems, and depression. These students are, in general, highly manipulative, intelligent and successful in creating problems at home.

The Explorations Program

• HomeBase program equips its students with the necessary tools in order for them to make healthy choices in their lives. It provides activities where students can actively participate in the community and family environment in order for them to have hands on experiences in dealing with life’s everyday challenges. The program also cultivates a supportive family-like environment through individualized and creative opportunities for positive change, authentic living, and personal growth. Respect, trust, and honest are taught, practiced, and modeled at Explorations. The program is relationship-based and highly individualized. Aside from the established individual therapy, group therapy is also scheduled twice a week which is facilitated by therapists. Student who have substance or alcohol dependency issues also attend a 12-step addiction meeting which is scheduled regularly with an addiction professional. Regular family therapy sessions are also scheduled over the phone. Students also attend a small local high school in order to participate in extracurricular, clubs, and sports activities.
• Big Sky Summer Adventure Program combines individualized treatment, emotional growth, family involvement, service learning, leadership opportunities, and outdoor adventure for summer. It aims to help adolescents increase self-awareness and self-esteem so that they can be successful in school and home. Trained therapists and skilled outdoor professional support the students through the whole length of the summer adventures in small groups. Activities include backpacking, mountain biking, rock climbing, flat water canoeing, and rafting. By the end of the summer, the students usually developed a sense of accomplishment and leadership.

At the end of the summer, the students usually:

• show a deeper understanding of the issues which make them struggle and not achieve their goals
• are accountable and responsible for their actions
• show increased anger management skills
• understand their role in the family issues and are equipped with the desire and tools needed to improve family relationships
• show increased problem solving and communication skills
• understand the need for behavior and direction change
• have participated in various healthy activities
• appreciate and know the value of sharing to the community and to others
• recognize their role in unsuitable peer relationships and understand the value of choosing better relationships
• experience a marked increase in self awareness and self-esteem
• understand that they are able to constructively contribute to their families and other relationships
• are physically in shape

http://www.explorationsmt.com/

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Originally posted 2011-11-28 00:00:00.