The Conference Coach™

Carolyn Bradfield

Although it seems like it, I haven’t been in the conferencing industry my whole career.  In fact, I’ve done some pretty interesting things – taught English, worked for a newspaper, wrote a book.  One of the most gratifying things that I’ve ever done is to start and run an adolescent wilderness therapy program – Phoenix Outdoor.

So what is wilderness therapy and how does this fit in the picture of a long-standing career in conferencing?  Adolescents that engage in behavior that put them at significant risk sometimes run out of options when parents can’t correct that behavior despite the best efforts of therapists, psychiatrists, or school counselors.  Wilderness therapy removes adolescents from their risky environment and places them in a natural setting so that issues driving negative behavior can be identified and addressed as they hike, camp, work with a peer group and talk to therapists.

One of the common threads in families we worked with was that parents were crushed by having to commit their child to a program like Phoenix.  Instead of planning for prom, watching the Friday night high school game or helping with homework, they have to face the fact that their child snorted cocaine, failed in school, or ran away from home.  They have to explain their child’s absence from home and school to family and friends that may not understand.  They feel alone and isolated.

Getting parents to come out of their isolation and gain support from each other was critical to helping the family heal while their kids were in treatment.   Phoenix kids came from all over the country so they couldn’t come to the program to get to know each other.  Fortunately, I was in the teleconferencing industry and relied on the service to connect these people together.

Each week, they attended a Monday support conference call where the parents could talk about their feelings and how having a child in treatment affected their family.  They came to a webinar where we dealt with common issues such as setting boundaries or Internet addiction.  They visited with a family therapist over conferencing.  With minimal cost and no disruption to family routines, parents and siblings were able to vent, heal, collaborate and work through a plan for success once the child completed the program.  They were no longer alone.

The program succeeded and was later acquired by a much larger player in the industry.  Why wilderness you ask?  I was one of those parents whose child ran out of options, who tried everything and who sent their child to the woods – in January!  I was embarrassed, traumatized, confused, and yes alone.  What I wouldn’t have given to be on a conference call with others so I could talk about it.

This is a call to treatment providers everywhere whose families are spread out while children are in treatment.  Conferencing is easy, inexpensive and can make a powerful impact on the lives of families who are struggling to heal and move forward.  They need to know that others have the same problems and issues, that they aren’t bad parents, and they are not alone.

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