True North Evolution

From a former student’s experience, this place felt like a 24/7 surveillance prison, where we were constantly coerced sometimes even threatened with solitary confinement and neglected whenever we expressed basic wants and needs. Sending an emotionally vulnerable child here could cause serious trauma and they may never forgive you. I’m sharing my experience so others can make informed decisions before blindly trusting what comes out of some people’s mouths especially if a hired counselor or professional with ulterior motives recommended this place.

2016 student. Nearly a decade later I still about the negative influence wilderness therapy has had on my life and my relationship with my parents who sent me there. There are better ways to support your child than isolating them in the woods.

cold

Most of these reviews being parents already says a lot. I was a teen that went here in 2021 in the summer- October. I was in the summer program and the beginning of the winter program. If you send your child to the winter program you are an awful parent. You will be hiking in -0 degree weather, you will be having trouble finding the resources you need to complete the program such as wood and wood to make fires (that aren’t wet), etc. You will be cold all day and at night. I remember when no one helped me build my tarp you sleep in and I got rained on the whole night, my staff told me to pee on myself for warmth because I was crying the whole night and the next day I had to hike, that was very traumatizing for me. you make traps for animals, like why do you need to learn that, how does it help someone’s mental health, no one had an answer for why when I was there. I was only 14 and they kept asking me easy life now hard life later? Well the answer is life is always hard even when I will be out of here so what’s the point? I had a rash there when it was my first week, I was traumatized. We had to hike 10 days in a row while I was in pain every step, my group made me carry the heaviest things, I was getting teased for being to slow and not knowing how to build my tarp. They didn’t take me to the hospital until we completed the 10 day hiking. My rash was infected by that point and another one of my peers kept fainting. The first few weeks of true north was hell for me, my therapist was amber and she barely helped me through my first weeks. I was there from June till October and I do not recommend wilderness therapy. I was not the greatest kid but people there were not even badly behaved, they were there because there parents got brainwashed from these business owners. If your kid is in crisis like I was, I will recommend group therapy and something that isn’t just negative enforcement and living in the woods. I did make great friends I do have to say but now we are all going our own ways so what was even the point?

how is this place still opened.

True North does not have an effective mechanism for “weeding people out” without causing severe present and residual trauma. I want any parents interested in sending their children to this program to know that it is a last resort option and that it is not uncommon (enough) for children to have compounding physical or mental health conditions that are incompatible with success at the program. For me I was an undiagnosed autistic, and while I do not have a particular physical health diagnosis, conditions like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and fibromyalgia have been thrown around regarding my state, and I used to have chronic pain. I went to True North in the summer of 2018, and I have never been more terrified. I was pushed beyond my limits, yet any time I would advocate for myself it would be seen as too much, even if I was crying in pain. And despite my letters of desperation to my parents, I was meant to believe that the only way out of the program was to complete it which I was fundamentally incapable of. It was extremely alienating for me as it felt like I tried so much harder than the other patients at the program, yet it never amounted to anything. Instead, I was made to feel like it was my fault that I never even got close to acclimating for the month and a week that I was at the program. And I felt like nothing short of a failure when I didn't graduate and was instead transferred to a different program. I genuinely believe that if everyone in the program felt the level of physical pain that I was forced to endure, then no one would be able to graduate from the program. I didn’t receive praise for fighting through it, nor did I receive even so much as an apology for putting me through what they did. If you are a parent, and you want to send your child here, I want you to ask yourself- are you at your wits end? Is there no other alternative? But most importantly- does your child have or may potentially have any conditions that would jeopardize their success and make their efforts amount to nothing, while they are expected to perform tasks they cannot humanely complete? I believe that the staff at True North, at least from when I was there, are well-qualified and experienced. But what happened to me cannot happen to anyone else without it being considered as abuse, and my mental health went from being complicated to being stripped away from me entirely. There is too high of a risk that someone will not take to this therapy well, and in my case, this risk was not even close to being adequately addressed or mitigated for. The damage had already been done. I have suffered for years after my introduction to the program as a result. The program may have changed since I was an attending teenager. But I would like to ask any parents or wilderness staff to read and consider this and then, afterwards, determine how they would like to proceed.

Our family had an amazing experience with True North, top to bottom. Not only did my child thrive and grow, her group leader (therapist) and the family therapist (and family therapy component) were fantastic. True North's communication structure, with weekly check-in sessions with the group leader (therapist) as well as a weekly session with a family therapist, was such that I always felt deeply informed and supported throughout the entire 3 months. I always knew what was happening and what was coming next for my child. Through the letter-writing program, I got an even deeper sense of my child's therapeutic work, and was confident that she was getting strong support and guidance. When I went for the 1.5-day family therapy workshop visit, I could immediately sense her growth, confidence, and pride in her work and progress. When she was nearing graduation, I felt supported in my decision-making and my choices for post-True North. The transition back home was challenging for my child as can be expected, but with the tools from True North and a lot of thought and discussion, I ultimately decided that she would live at home and go to school in our city (rather than transfer to a transitional program or therapeutic boarding school). My child loved being at True North. She still misses it, 4 months later, and talks of returning as a guide when she's old enough. It was a life-changing experience for her, and for me as her parent. I can't say enough good things about True North, the program, the therapists, the guides, and the staff!

We signed up one of our kids after a very challenging set of circumstances through the pandemic. True North was able to help them re-engage with other kids their age, strengthen and find their voice, learn to be self-reliant in the wilderness, and deepen their understanding of themselves. I was incredibly impressed with the knowledge, professionalism and deep commitment of our daughter’s guides and therapists. I felt completely comfortable and confident knowing my daughter was having a safe and developmental experience that was helping them on their life’s journey in a deeply meaningful way.