Why Traverse: A short-term, therapeutic boarding school
Summit Achievement was started in 1996 as a one-of-a-kind, therapeutic program offering a hybrid model. Students go to an accredited, highly individualized school for three days, and then head out into our vast field area for weekly, adventure therapy -style “expos.”
After a decade of Summit Achievement, we realized there was something missing from the continuum of care for our students: a short-term, flexible option for after completion of our Achievement program, or any other wilderness therapy program for that matter. Up to that point, the standard of care for students graduating from wilderness therapy or from residential treatment was to finish high school at a therapeutic boarding school. These were often expensive, restrictive, and didn’t serve the higher purpose of reconnecting a family. We knew there had to be a better way to allow students a place to transition from a higher level of care back to home and/or a more traditional environment.
Summit Traverse is an innovative, flexible-length (2-6 month) therapeutic boarding school, which combines family-centered therapeutic services, accredited classroom academics, and a rich residential life curriculum. We accept students who have successfully completed a wilderness therapy or other treatment program and need help in transitioning back home or to a traditional boarding school.
Because of our accredited and individualized academic component at Traverse, it is often a great option for students who had to leave school for treatment before completing the school year. Our academic department has the ability to award both full and partial credits, so that we can help students piece together classes and stay on track in their current grade. We also work closely with both former and future schools to ensure the smoothest transition possible. Most importantly, our academic program allows students to integrate the therapeutic skills learned in primary treatment into the classroom. This is integral to a student’s success, especially for those struggling with school refusal, low self esteem, learning differences, or social anxiety. For those students that have always done well in school, the time in the classroom is an opportunity to build confidence and reconnect with their interests and aspirations.
Students also spend time off our campus, which is an important part of “stepping down” from primary treatment. Together with their group and our staff, students take advantage of the weekends for cultural and recreational activities. They practice life skills and executive functioning skills such as budgeting for the weekends activities, meal planning, doing their own laundry, and healthy communication with their peers and family.
In addition to time off campus with the group, each student also spends a significant amount of time on “home visits,” (about a week each month). Home visits are a crucial part of the process of preparing to step-down from a therapeutic environment because they offer the opportunity for students and parents alike to practice their therapeutic skills. During home visits the Summit Traverse therapist is available for consultation and upon returning to campus students can process and reflect on their visit.
The benefit of Traverse for students enrolling directly from Summit Achievement is that there is consistency in their continuum of care. Many of our families who choose to enroll at Achievement do so because they know their child will be able to seamlessly transition into Traverse. They’ll work with the same clinician and parents will be able to continue with the family therapy and coaching started at Achievement. Our outcome data has shown that students who do Traverse after Achievement alone are doing better at discharge, 6 months later and 1 year later (by both their report and their parent’s report).
Traverse continues to be the shortest-term therapeutic boarding school in the nation and meet the needs of Summit Achievement graduates and graduates from other wilderness therapy or therapeutic programs. Its unique combination of academics, clinical work, and flexible length of stay make it stand out from other therapeutic boarding schools. If you are interested in Traverse, contact our admissions director today!