Military School Info

There are various types of substance abuse boarding schools. Substance abuse includes misuse of and addiction to legal and illegal substances. Substance abuse boarding schools help students receive both treatment for their substance abuse and an education.

Use of illegal drugs, use of drugs that are legal, but that one has not gained access to in an acceptable way, use of substances that have an age limit that one has not met, and misuse of substances that one is entitle to use are all types of substance abuse. While in the strict sense, a boarding school is distinguished from other boarding situations in which an academic program is offered, in a general sense - which we will use in this article - a boarding school is an environment in which students attend academic courses away from home. Thus, a substance abuse boarding school is a boarding facility in which substance abuse is treated and addressed, while students keep up an academic program, and this whole range of institutions will be the topic of this article.

Substance abuse boarding schools vary in their program philosophies and the type of academic program they offer. They work with different size groups, limited to different ages, and have treatment programs that vary in duration. Certain substance abuse boarding schools have become members of NATSAP, the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs, and since the criteria for membership include an accredited academic program and a licensed treatment program, and since this seemed like important basic criteria that should be met before any substance abuse boarding school was discussed in a column on this website, I have used NATSAP membership as a criterion of inclusion. B

Because I have addressed the NATSAP substance abuse boarding schools towards the beginning of the alphabet in another article, in this article, I review boarding programs for substance abusers that also have an academic program and begin with a letter towards the end of the alphabet. I used a search on the term “substance abuse” on the NATSAP search page in order to provide a sampling for you to see what types of substance abuse boarding programs are available (www.natsap.org)

• Turnabout/Stillwater Academy

Turnabout/Stillwater Academy is a small residential program and school in South Jordan, Utah. It was founded in 1988 and treats boys and girls aged 12 to 17, with an enrollment capacity of 50. The academic program is accredited by the State of Utah and the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. The duration of stay is 9 to 14 months.

• Wendigo Lake Expeditions

Wendigo Lake Expeditions is a wilderness program n South River, Ontario. It was founded in 1998 and treats boys aged 14 to 17, with an enrollment capacity of 10. The academic program is accredited by the Association of Experiential Education Accreditation. The duration of stay is a minimum of 90 days.  The program emphasizes adventure therapy and interdependent responsibility and accountability.

• Wingate Wilderness Therapy

Wingate Wilderness Therapy is a wilderness program in Kanab, Utah. It was founded in 2008 and treats boys and girls aged 13 to 17 in single-gender groups, with an enrollment capacity of 24. The academic program is accredited by the State of Utah. The duration of stay is 6 to 8 weeks.

• Woodland Spring Lodge

Woodland Spring Lodge is a residential treatment center in St. James, Missouri, and is an outgrowth of the Boys and Girls Town of Missouri. It was founded in 1948 and treats boys and girls aged 6 to 16, with an enrollment capacity of 26. The academic program is accredited by the Missouri Department of Education, and teachers are licensed by the State of Missouri. The duration of stay is 12 to 36 months. The program philosophy emphasizes the importance of trust.

• Youth Care/Pine Ridge Academy

Youth Care is a residential treatment center in Draper, Utah, that is associated with an educational institution - Pine Ridge Academy. It was founded in 1989 and treats boys and girls aged 12 to 18 with an enrollment capacity of 14-16 in each home. The academic program is accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools, with teachers certified by the State of Utah. The duration of stay is variable. The program offers a variety of therapeutic approaches, including DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy).

Sources

natsap.org