Building Bridges has two family workshops per year. One is at the end of the Summer Adventure Program in August and the other in March. This year’s March workshop will take place the week of March 8th. Families travel to Thompson Falls for several days to take a look at their family systems: see what role they have in it, to learn how the program is working to make the system with their loved one’s relationship and lifestyle a healthier one, and spend time with their student making positive connections.

The first two days are for the adults only. They spend the first morning as a group learning about the issues of substance use. In the afternoon there are breakout sessions that have topics spanning from self-care to boundaries to relapse. The second day starts with an AL-ANON meeting and is followed by discussions throughout the day about Academics, Crisis Management, and in the afternoon there is a summary of the workshop.  The family portion ends with role-playing for the families whose student will be continuing on at Building Bridges, and a meeting with the clinical director regarding transition for the students graduating in May.

The day following the workshop is for individual family work between the students and their relatives. They have family sessions with their therapists throughout the morning. Once the family sessions are over, visits begin! The students and their families head off campus to spend time practicing what they have learned in the workshop in a real-life setting.

 About Building Bridges

Building Bridges is a Therapeutic Boarding School in Thompson Falls, MT for boys 14-18 with substance and behavioral issues. The passion is creating a structure that mirrors real life with the goal to have the boys attend public school.  Building Bridges seeks to bring real life to treatment through redirection and empowerment. They strive to teach the young men to see how substance has created behaviors that have gotten in their way of pursing their passions. By teaching them how to have self-confidence and create a more positive manner they are able to see their growth through using what they learn in a normalized safe environment that will transfer to wherever their next step is.