Wilderness Therapy & Residential Treatment Center Journey

This podcast episode is an announcement for a new podcast, called Winning Parenting. It is focused on all aspects of parenting and leverages the training and experience I have as a parent coach. It provides insights and approaches for parenting beyond children in programs.

To have a listen, click on this link (for Apple Podcasts) - Winning Parenting Podcast.

For more information about Andy's Parent Coaching Business - Parents Journey Coaching

For more information about Sky's The Limit Fund - SLTF

For more information about UCONN's Center for Neurodiversity - UCONN

For more information about Other Parents Like Me - OPLM

In this episode, we will explore the myriad of changes in the behavioral health industry. It includes:

1. Why I am recording again

2. Changes in the industry

3. Breaking Code Silence

4. New congressional bill proposed

5. What it means to you

In this episode, we speak to Susie McDaniel, Executive Director of LearningRx.  LearningRx offers brain training programs for kids, teens, adults, and students who are having learning difficulties!

With brain training, you or your child can improve core learning and thinking skills, including attention span, memory, and thinking speed. They also offer programs that focus on specific brain training goals, like improved reading skills, or cognitive training for brain injuries.

During our discussion, we covered the following topics:

For more information, go to www.learningrx.com.

In this special episode, Andy Goldstrom shares that our treatment programs are being threatened by celebrities, lobbyists and older recipients of treatment.  As a result, for those who care about our kids and their parents, we need to act.  Write an email imploring these governmental leaders to help our programs, not further restrict them or take them down.  If they do, this will be a real tragedy.

Email addresses are:

Utah State Senator Michael McKell – [email protected]

OR State Senator Sara Gelser Blouin – [email protected]

CA Congressman Ro Khanna – https://khanna.house.gov/contact/email

OR Sen. Jeff Merkley -  [email protected]

Feel free to cc me on your emails - [email protected].

Thank you.

Today, we chat with Jeremy Whitworth. Trails Carolina is a very unique program. Based outside of Asheville, NC, this program caters to 10-17 year-olds and supports their families as well.  It has an academic, wilderness and campus focus.  In addition, they have completed an objective study with an outside party about the effectiveness of their program.  The. results are impressive and also indicative of the success of the programs in general, not just with Trails Carolina.  Tune in and enjoy!

You can find out more at https://trailscarolina.com/.

In today's episode, we talk with Dawn McCord, mother of Carson McCord.  

Carson battled a fierce drug addiction that led him to overdoses, hospital visits, loss of hearing, parental nightmares and finally a trip to wilderness therapy and other forms of treatment.  Dawn relives and shares her harrowing true story to help us understand addiction is prevalent, especially with adolescents and there is a community to support parents.  She has written a moving book about her experience as well.  Order the book here Chasing Carson Book.

In this episode, Andy is interviewed on the topic "How to survive wilderness therapy as a parent?".  

Check our my coaching site www.parentsjourneycoaching.net for more information. 

Also, check out www.skysthelimitfund.org for more information on this great non-profit that helps families afford Wilderness Therapy.  

On this episode, we speak with Casie about the new virtual community she and her partners have created.  It is a virtual membership platform that is building a safe community for parents of children struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues.  They offer multiple daily meetings, held on zoom where parents can share their stories with unlimited access as well as guest speakers and an invaluable resource hub.

See www.oplm.com for more information.

In this episode, we follow up on our discussion about parents and their children who have or are struggling with substance use.

Brittany Garner, Program Manager at The Phoenix, joins us to discuss their community programs and how it helps people who chose to live a sober life and support mental, physical and spiritual well being.

The topics we discuss include:

·  Background

·  Why do you suggest to parents, they aren’t responsible for their children’s addictions?

·  Why do you call The Phoenix an AND program?

·  Give us some details about the program itself.

·  You are all over the country to support people.  In these locales, how and where do you meet?

·  Why is it important for those who choose a sober life to have good mental, physical and spiritual well-being?

·  What is peer to peer mean at The Phoenix?

·  The Phoenix isn’t a treatment center or hospital, but has access to resources.  Can you please describe what this is?

·  How can parents best reach you to find out more about The Phoenix?

You can find out more at www.thephoenix.org.

In this episode, we interview Elizabeth Fikes, Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center's Found and Director of Outreach & Communications.  They are based in Oxford, MS and serve adolescent boys experiencing substance use issues while also supporting their families.

We engage on the following topics:

·  Background

·  What makes a program like yours that focuses on substance abuse first unique?

·  Tell me about your Private School and why you wanted to incorporate it as an offering?

·  Why do children’s substance use and associated mental health issues continue to grow in our society?

·  What can parents do to best stay in front of their children before they get into substance use?

·  When children are battling substances and are at your program, how do parents stay engaged?

·  What is it about the CS Lewis quote I’m about to read that resonated with you?  “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”

·  How can parents best reach you to find out more about Stonewater?

To find out more, click on this link:  www.stonewaterrecovery.com.