Adventure-Based Therapy
The Heartland program is built around providing the troubled teenage boys with a program of adventure and physical activities, indoors and outdoors. Outdoors, we go camping, backpacking, rappelling, canoeing, swimming, hiking, hunting, and spelunking (cave exploration). We find that boys are more open to talking while enjoying the adventure, so we use those times to instill positive thinking and develop better communication skills to improve their ability to work cooperatively with others.
Boys also take part in many trips during their stay here. We go to concerts and conferences, visit theme parks, and museums.
Although much of what we do happens outside, due to weather there are times we stay inside as well. However, inside does not mean that the program stops. It is not what we do that matters, it is that our staff and mentors take the time to do things with the boys that let them know they are important to us and that we care about them. We seek every possible way to build relationships with our students. Along the way, we build trust and earn the right to speak truth into their lives, inviting them to change and become the best versions of themselves.