Dear HCN,
I am a former staff
member of Pathfinders, a wilderness, emotional-growth program which
ceased operation in July due to an investigation into alleged
negligence and abuse after two students contracted strep A virus in
Colorado. I thought that your article on a Utah wilderness therapy
program (-Tough love proves too much’, HCN, 6/10/96) made some good
points, though one thing you might have included is the dilemma of
dedicated staff who are constantly making judgments. Though there
are the more obvious issues of negligence, such as not recognizing
a medical emergency, the daily decision of “how far is too far” is
a difficult call to make when you work in a sort of vacuum. The
culture of these programs is very intense and isolated, and even
the most grounded of staff (me!) can find themselves overwhelmed
with the power they are given.
We are required to
take risks, since our job is to be successful where years of
counseling, therapy, psychiatric intervention and medication have
failed. Wilderness therapy programs are the cutting edge, and
others should understand the fine line that we walk before
shredding our reputations to
bits.
Miriam
Langer
Albuquerque, New
Mexico
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Wilderness therapy is cutting edge.
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