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At Outback Therapeutic Expeditions, we love what we do. Changing the future of troubled teens while building close relationships with amazing people gives us great satisfaction. See how our wilderness therapy program could change your child’s life. If you would like to leave a testimonial, please click here
Without the help of (our daughter’s therapist) the change and understanding in (our daughter) could never have been accomplished. (Our daughter) has been to five different therapists, in the past three years and none of them could have accomplished what (her Outback Therapist) has. (Her Therapist’s) experience and ways which he is able to reach and understand these trouble adolescents; especially (our daughter) is remarkable She told us that she felt very comfortable with (her therapist) and was able to open up to him. (Her therapist), we feel, is a great asset to (Outback)…my wife and I want to extend our warmest thanks for all you have done in saving (our daughter’s) life.
I have been blessed in life many times over. Frequently angels appear. You seem to be one of them. Thank you for all the love and care that you have given (my daughter). I will thank you every day in my heart for the rest of my life.
It is actually difficult to express in words my heartfelt gratitude. We were in such a dark place, (my son) and I, and the dynamics of this “family.” Trying to hold it all together for as long as I did by myself came to an incredible decision we all made for sending (my son) to Outback. This summer brought me back to the confirmation of my deep relationship with my son. That alone has brought me a sense of peace. I know that I am forever changed. I feel as though I know something or feel something about parenting and relationships that I did not know prior to this wilderness experience. You helped us all understand the importance of being unified and solid in stance and direction so as to benefit my son. I felt that your directness and openness with each of us was fair and honest. But mostly I felt your sincereness in being invested in the health and wellbeing of (my son), who truly benefits the most. It is now time for a new beginning so that we can gently lean to the right direction and be cautiously optimistic that we are all in a better, healthier place!
(Our son’s Outback therapist) is the first therapist with whom (our son) ever connected. (Our son) grew tremendously as a result of his relationship with (his therapist). (Our son’s therapist) has had an incredibly positive impact on (our son), and we are very grateful. We found (our son’s Outback therapist) to be warm, wise and solid. In a very caring way, he imparted his wisdom to (our son) in a way that really reached (him). He reached us with his wisdom as well. We are all using the ideas, and even the terminologies, that we learned. Our regular telephone calls with (our son’s therapist) were informative, useful, and reassuring to us. He was always available and never seemed to mind when we called him (probably too often!) outside of our prescribed time. He was extremely helpful to us in making the difficult choice on schools. We are extremely grateful to (our Outback Therapist).
During the last 11 months our son completed the Outback program and has now successfully graduated high school and is preparing for the spring college semester. The Outback program was a God send for our son and for our family. The Outback experience as challenging it was for our child, brought him full circle to realize his true potential and then how to use it. Outback gave him the necessary tools that helped him to successfully, confidently and responsibly finish high school and instead of looking back over his shoulder, allowed him to start planning for his future. We are so very thankful to have found Outback; it was such a good experience that our son has returned as a mentor in the field and hopes to return yet again this winter.
We are deeply grateful to Tracy (and the Outback staff) for all you did for our family during our time of struggle. We have passed our year mark with flying colors!!! We are happy to share that S is having a great year at school! She has made a great diverse/multi-cultural/international group of friends, many with similar experiences. She has been able to be supportive and encouraging with friends without adopting unhealthy behaviors AND has been able to avoid MAJOR drama at school by making healthy, but nonjudgmental, choices. She was hired back at her old job. She works in the kitchen and was asked to be hostess this year. She even played basketball this winter! Her GPA is 3.5 (calculus, physics, chemistry, English, comparative religions, Spanish 3). She has been accepted to several excellent colleges! On the home front, Mom and Dad are thrilled with how she has grown and has handled challenges this year. Dad is still Dad ( the amazing man that he is)… and Mom is, well, renewed :)…thanks so much, Tracy!!! We all have a great relationship and one with equal exchanges and agreeing to disagree, at times, with the ideology of an emerging young adult. S’s experience at Outback is one that she is very proud of…she still beams when she share her experiences and how it led her to where she is today. We, as parents, have also shared with others what an amazing experience it was for our family. We will be forever indebted to you and your staff. It was a life changing experience for all of us. The “view” from here is incredible!
My Outback experience was a challenging, rewarding, and unforgettable journey. The obstacles I overcame in the wilderness have laid down foundation and anchor I can always look back on and know that if I got through Outback, I can get through anything. Hiking, building our own campfires, cooking for ourselves was all part of an emotional cleanse and change I needed at the time. Understanding how to survive in the wilderness has helped me tremendously because it involves bare minimum essentials, common sense, and emotional stability. I was able to channel my issues through these activities and learn how to be selfish in the right ways. Being miles apart from my family only made me appreciate and miss them more. During my stay at Outback, I was able to forget the materialistic aspects of my life and work on how I wanted to represent myself in the future. I was able to hash through my problems and resentments without anyone interrupting, able to start the healing process. During most of my time I interacted with the other girls in the program who I still talk to today. I will never forget the laughs, cries, stories, and recovery we all shared together in such a beautiful place. I had time to participate in arts and crafts and writing, as well as reading books which helped me tremendously. My favorite part of my experience at Outback was my gifted therapist Tracy Schrunk, who helped me come to terms with how I was treating not only myself, but my family. Her and I worked very closely in planning my new journey, and throughout that process helped build up important life changing characteristics I still hold today. I was 16 when I was at Outback and now I am 20. I am sober, a full time student and employee, rock-climbing, and keeping in touch with some of the most incredible people I have ever met. I am thankful for my experience at Outback, as it truly saved my life. Though the experience can be seen as dramatic, it was exactly what I needed during the phase in my life. It is always an experience I can look back on and remember how strong I was, therefore I am.
I would like to thank all those involved in working with our son during his stay in your program. I would like to send a special thanks to (our son’s therapist). (He) is an outstanding (therapist) with great insight into young men (our son’s) age. (He) was able to work with (our son) and accomplish far more than we thought possible in a short period of time. The young man we saw during our parent visit is dramatically different than the person we brought out 6 weeks ago. Focused, confident, yet humble, he is well on his way to becoming the person we had hoped he could someday be. We know this is just the beginning, but what a great beginning it is! I am filled with optimism and hope for the first time in years. The methods used in you program truly bring results, in a very positive fashion. As a parent with a child who was “struggling” in school, I am pleased to see grades of A’s and B’s from Woodland Hill School. We had concerns about sending our son to your program, as any parent would. Sending a child “away” is never easy under the best of circumstances. When a teen begins down the path to a troubled lifestyle, decisions come a bit easier but never “easy.” The staff really helped to make things as comfortable as possible given the stress of a decision of this nature. The Outback staff are in one word “awesome”. Every person with whom we have had contact has been kind, compassionate and professional. As we tried to assess cost-to-value, we were unsure about “investing’ in your program for our son. I can say now without hesitation, this was money well spent. I would recommend Outback to anyone considering a program of this nature. I cannot say enough about the positive impact Outback has had on our son. It is as if our family has been given a “second chance” at a healthy life together. We intend to make the most of it!
When I first got to Outback in the winter of 2013, I wasn’t very happy. I tried to make clear that I didn’t have any problems. But in doing so, I reinforced their beliefs in that I did have a problem. My first week was terrible, I was cold, I missed what I had left in New Jersey and I didn’t want to be in The middle of nowhere.
About 3 weeks in, after my second or third letter of accountability I felt better. My parents knew just about everything, and it was good to begin to move forward From admitting my mistakes to what I will learn from them. I began to open myself up with the girls and the staff there and started to connect with my surroundings. I really enjoy the wilderness and I would not have known that if I didn’t go to Outback.
I learned a lot about the fundamentals of how my thought process works. I was happy to be away from home. I liked that the only thing I had to worry about was going to the bathroom in the cold.
I think the most important things I learned in my 3 months there was how to connect with my mom and how to deal with my anger. I have not had a good relationship with my parents for a long time, Tracy helped me realize that I viewed my mom as a bad guy and put my dad on a pedestal. I got a letter from my mom on February 23rd 2013, and I hated reading it. I wanted to throw it in the fire pit, Tracy wouldn’t even let me keep the letter.
I was sent off to think about what was said and I could start to hear what my mom was saying. I struggled with coming up with enough humility to say that I was in the wrong for the way I viewed her. A few weeks later I looked back on the letter and it made even more sense. I could see that she wasn’t out to put me down or prove her point. She wanted to help me and from that point on I truly let her.
For a while I had felt alone, so I turned to external resources to fill that emptiness. When I went on my solo, I was actually alone. And I enjoyed some of it and the rest was a learning experience.
I felt like I had to never be bored. When I’m bored I start thinking too much and get into trouble. But this was different and it was good to be bored. I read a whole book in one day, that will never happen again. I learned to be ok with myself and to not judge my experience as harshly as I was. I learned to forgive myself as well which helped my anger tremendously.
When I left outback I was scared. I got comfortable there but did accept the fact that I needed to take a shower. I left and continued my journey to understand myself. I moved on from the aftercare I went to and had a very difficult time at the place after that. I was removed from the home shortly after my 18th birthday. I did a lot of stuff I shouldn’t have and have owned that.
When I moved into the house I’m living at currently, I cried to my mom on the phone and told her that I didn’t want to deal with anything anymore and that I wanted to give up. She was blunt and told me that wasn’t an option and that I’ve worked too hard to give up now.
The first thing I did after that phone call was read my impact letters. I had definitely backtracked and I needed to pull myself out of what I had gotten myself into. I found my necklace with all my tokens on it, and hung it above my bed. The first week out of a treatment environment I made a lot of adjustments.
Recently, I talk to my mom every day and talk to my dad when he has time. I have a 3.7 GPA in school, I have a starting spot on varsity for softball, and have made good friends with girls on that team. I adopted a cat to keep me company when I’m lonely. Lol. I work 6 days a week at Arctic Circle which is nice because the paycheck helps me be nice to people and smile more than I ever have. I help babysit 2 little boys when I have free time. I finally got my driver’s license. I got accepted into 3 out of 4 colleges I applied to and have a 13k a year scholarship to Westminster. My coach is working on getting me a scholarship for softball as well. I don’t know if I want to go to college though, I may take a year off and do service work in another country. Outback has taught me to enjoy helping other people.
On the weekends I spend a lot of time hiking in the canyons. I love it out there and will lose it if I don’t have a spot to get away from everybody and everything for a bit. Outback has helped me in so many ways. The people there and the wilderness Have so much to offer when you make efforts to find it.
My experience showed me that giving up truly is not an option and that there is light at the end of every tunnel. I am doing really well at the moment and I keep outback in the back of my head, literally and physically with the flat spot from smacking my head against the field house wall during my intake?
I loved it out there and will visit one day. If I hadn’t gone there when I did, I have no idea where I would be now. I keep in touch with almost every girl that was with me there. A lot of my current state of mind is due to what I’ve learned and experienced in that desert, more than any other place I’ve ever been.”
