Last year, Elevations RTC, a residential treatment center for teens ages 13-18, began offering a specialty group called “base camp” to help new students acclimate to the treatment program and build connections with other students.
Primary Therapist Tiffany Orozco has been leading this specialty group, which has evolved into an extremely impactful element of programming at Elevations RTC. “This group provides students a chance to really jump into programming and helps them feel like they have a place to land at Elevations RTC,” comments Orozco. “Programming at base camp is focused on three areas: ‘get to know you’ activities, an orientation into programming, and an introduction of helpful therapeutic topics.”
The first area involves ‘get to know you’ activities where students can start building relationships with one another. “The icebreaker activities students engage in during base camp help students form friendships with individuals from all across campus, not just with those who will be on their team,” says Orozco. “They get a sense of unity and that they are not alone in their new adventure.”
The next area of focus is an orientation to the program. “In the orientation section, we’re explaining things like our level system and off-campus recreation activities,” says Orozco. “This provides them with an opportunity to ask questions and become informed about the program.”
The third area of focus is on therapeutic topics that are applied in the first weeks of treatment. “Some of these concepts are taken from the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens, by Stephen Covey,” says Orozco. “Examples of topics I go over in this section include being proactive vs reactive as well as what’s within our control versus outside of our control. Students have been really receptive to learning about these topics and applying them to the work we do in therapy.”
“Overall, base camp provides a really great landing point for our students,” says Orozco. “They start to build relationships, feel connected, and have a much better sense of what they will be doing here at the program and what we do therapeutically.”
Base camp programming will be the next topic of the Clinical Corner video series hosted by therapists at Elevations RTC. To watch the first video in this series please click here to watch the video.
About Elevations RTC
Elevations RTC is a unique residential treatment center that works with all students ages 13 - 18. Elevations offers guidance, support and relief to students struggling with issues like trauma, depression, anxiety, mood disorders, behavioral problems, and substance use. Elevations RTC is located in Utah and provides specialized, clinically intensive programs to struggling teens. For more information, please call 1-866-952-7930.