Outpatient therapy can and is very helpful for teens and parents to work through issues and patterns that often change the entire family’s functioning. At times, it can be so complicated at home that parents consider an out of home placement. Placing your child out of the home can be a good option for many but with any option you have draw backs as well. I’ve often been asked, is there a solution for families with teens that are not working well in outpatient therapy that are not acute enough with their behaviors to be placed in a residential treatment facility. There are limited options for families that want the entire family treated outside of an outpatient therapy session because most treatment centers focus on the teen in treatment not the entire family. I have recently become acquainted with Stuart Squires, owner of the Family Solution, an innovative and systemic model for treatment of teens and their families.
Family involvement is a critical piece in creating lasting change with many individuals. The Family Solution is designed to have the entire work together from start of finish. I really like this concept that a family works together through difficult issues in a safe, natural, and impactful way. Each family works exclusively with trained professionals to create new ways of interrelating, communicating, and finding solutions. The model is not a multifamily retreat for therapy and intervention but a personalized approach for each family to give them the specialized care they need and deserve. I see the immense therapeutic value in a family working together through challenges and how this produces measurable and meaningful results.
I take family vacations to relax, bond, and create lasting memories. Stuarts’, Family Solution model takes this natural vacation concept and integrates it with treatment. For five days families are involved in a variety of therapeutically driven activities designed to help them build a framework for a happier home. Activities include such things as: horseback riding, canyoneering near Snow Canyon, hiking at the Grand Canyon, ATVing near Zion National Park, and other exciting experiences. These positive emotionally packed activities coupled with personalized therapeutic trainings create lasting impact on families. What a way to connect parents with children and to support positive change!
The final piece of the process is the family’s return to their home to integrate what they are learning from the family experience. The follow-up care is included for the at-home service including weekly family therapy, family growth tracking, and support reaching measurable and timely family goals. The Family Solution works to help families solidify the needed changes and is committed to see families develop the needed framework to have a happier home and healthy relationships. I can’t see a better option for a family that is struggling to find a safe, natural, and effective way to come together while changing together.
I have included a link to an overview of the Family Solution Treatment Model. www.thefamilysolution.com
