Over the years we've come across a number of helpful articles and resources that have been enlightening for families with a struggling child, adolescent, or young adult:

The Hardest Choice

An article written by Dr. Erkis outlining the challenges many parents encounter as they are considering a residential program as well as a broad overview of the various levels of care and models of programs available.

Therapy Gone Wild

This article from the American Psychological Association paints a vivid picture of Wilderness Therapy, in terms of both its history, and relevance as a current treatment model.

Wilderness Therapy: Top 10 Articles

Over the years we have gotten many requests for information regarding wilderness therapy—how does the outdoor treatment model operate, what are the outcomes, areas of concern, etc.? In addition to being available to speak with you regarding our in-depth experience with this treatment approach, we have also compiled a list of articles here from leading academic journals for families looking for research on the topic.

Attachment Bond

A summary article outlining attachment theory—an important concept in child psychology and development—that illuminates the various styles of attachment, both positive and maladaptive.

Pediatric Mental Health Care Dysfunction Disorder?

A helpful piece regarding the emergence of bipolar disorder as a an increasingly common diagnosis and the pushback for better diagnosing practices within the pediatric mental health community.

Outdoors and Out of Reach: Studying the Brain

This write up offers an interesting view of the effects of time spent in the natural world on brain functioning, including some interesting thoughts about about attention, and emotional regulation.

Borderline Personality Disorder Grows as Healthcare Concern

Over the past years Borderline Personality Disorder has received more attention as it’s increased in frequency as a common diagnosis. This article is a helpful primer sharing the features of BPD we well as outlining potential treatments that may be effective in working with those diagnosed with BPD.

Adopted Children More Prone to Health Conditions, U.S. Annual Study Shows

Many of the families we work with are adoptive families dealing with issues related to that process. This piece shares findings regarding adopted children and study data regarding their overall health and wellbeing.

Evidence that Environment is a Powerful Change Agent

A interesting article that uses some surprising examples to illustrate how and why people change.

The Decline And Fall Of Parental Authority

This well written commentary offers some thoughts on the challenges of raising a child in the current culture.

My Life as a Parent of a Traumatized, Attachment‐Disordered Child 

A compelling first person narrative from a parent walking through the difficulties of raising a son dealing with significant attachment struggles.

The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been Discovered, and It Is Not What You Think

Over half of the families we work with every year are dealing with some form of substance use (if not outright addiction). This piece offers an interesting view outlining common historical perspectives of addiction and providing some new commentary based on emerging research.

Can Connection Cure Addiction?

Another article from the same author as above sharing further ideas about an evolving understanding of addiction and substance use.

The Curious Websites of American Addiction Centers

As independent consultants that work for families to help navigate the maze of treatment options available to them, part of our work is helping parents better understand the true reputation of programs vs. what they read online. This article brings to light some of the very real issues involved with how programs market themselves to families in crisis and sheds light on the ethical issues related to technology, corporate ownership, and treatment quality.