Troubled Teen Rehabilitation Success Enhanced by Outdoor activity

Troy, MT (PRWEB) June 6, 2007 -- Students at Turning Winds Academic Institute (www.turningwinds.com), a therapeutic program in northwestern Montana, will be leaving at the end of June for a five-day backpacking trip in the Selkirk Mountains. The integration of such outdoor activities with family-inclusive therapeutic techniques has enabled Turning Winds to achieve a 93% success rate with teens who complete their 12-month program.

The Selkirk Mountains are a 326-mile range originating in Idaho and Washington. During the five-day trip, the Turning Winds students will be hiking eight to ten miles per day and working on therapeutic assignments.

In preparation for the trip, students will spend time during June practicing and learning wilderness skills, including:

• Self care: first aid, foot care, etc.
• "Leave no trace": leaving the wilderness in better condition than before your visit
• Environmental hazards: proper responses to predators, storms, flash floods, etc.
• Equipment care: setting up tents, adjusting backpacks, cooking camp food, etc.
• Leadership skills: each day, one student is leader of the day and ensures that everyone is doing well and carrying out tasks on schedule

The backpacking trip will provide students with an important opportunity to apply practical life and leadership skills to real-world scenarios.

Turning Winds Academic Institute is an accredited therapeutic boarding school located on a 150-acre property near Troy, Montana. On average, Turning Winds' graduating students place above 70% of all graduating high school students. In addition, 93% of students who finish the 12-month Turning Winds program do not revert to the damaging lifestyle that prompted their enrollment.

Turning Winds Academic Institute (www.turningwinds.com) is a division of Family Solutions Network, Inc. They can be contacted by phone at 1-800-845-1380 or by email at info @ fsni.org.