Tagged: Alpine Academy Utah reviews

The Teaching-Family Model

Alpine Academy Utah Complaints kids in group

When it comes to creating the best future for children, so much is dependent upon the environment in which they are raised. Interaction with their parents informs how they talk to others, understand themselves, and mature as adults. If children lack the necessary interpersonal skills they should have learned in infancy, they will face more severe problems in the future.

The Teaching-Family Model offered at Alpine Academy aims to address various behavioral and emotional problems families face to improve their lives and provide the tools needed for success. At Alpine Academy Utah complaints that students have suffered with for years are often reduced in severity upon entering this new environment. This trauma-informed behavioral intervention focuses on positive feedback and can help kids with a wide range of issues. But does this method work?

We’re sharing a detailed report on the Teaching-Family model below.

Teaching-Family Model’s Research-Based Approach

The Teaching-Family Model, also known as TFM, was one of the first-ever evidence-based programs in human services. It has innovated and grown over the last 50 years to be one of the best programs for providing individualized treatment to families.

The basic principle of the program is based on research collected from hundreds of hours of data. It shows that people learn by imitating others, particularly their role models. With that in mind, researchers proved that by having role models show specific, positive behaviors, children would mirror the positive behavior. This means that rather than teaching children how to act, it’s about teaching parents and role models how to present themselves to children.

Some programs will function as short, home-based interventions. This might be 6-10 weeks with a practitioner in the home teaching the parents. Others will be long-term residential care facilities for the children. It will depend on the needs of the family, the duration, and the level of intervention.

TFM is not limited to parents and family units. It can also be used with teachers, coaches, doctors, and more. Anyone who spends time with children can learn how to set an example for children through this model.

Teaching-Family Model Brings Proven Benefits

Researchers continue to study the program and improve TFM’s practices. However, these are the benefits most often noted by experts and collected through published research.

Improved Mental Health

For those who have dealt with trauma or have developmental disabilities, one problem often cited by mental health professionals is the difficulty to process and share emotions. Additionally, expressing those emotions and communicating effectively can be a sticking point.

The TFM provides a blueprint for honest conversations. This helps families have open discussions about their mental state and instructs people to address their feelings. Young ones get the guidance they need, and parents can take the time to help themselves and model good mental health practices.

Less Restrictive Living

Although most programs for children are applied in restrictive environments, TFM experiments have shown success with children in the least restrictive settings available. The level of restrictiveness depends on each family’s case.

The method relies on modeling, which means more restrictive environments don’t necessarily provide proper modeled behavior. Families also report more stress in restrictive spaces, and this may inhibit progress within a family unit. TFM has the structure that many need, but without excessive restrictions.

Alpine Academy Utah Complaints three students

Reuniting Families

There are alternative methods to TFM that show success with children. However, these may involve separating children from their families for treatment. Experts observe that separation can cause additional trauma whereas reunification is often a source of healing. For many professionals, reunification is a top priority.

By enacting the TFM with parents and children, families can create a safe environment for reunification. Once reunited, the strategies and tools provided by the TFM should continue to keep a living situation safe for everyone in the home.

Personalized Plans Available

Psychological research shows that children do not only imitate their parents. While parents may have the most opportunities to influence behavior, anyone can apply the principles of TFM and model healthy behavior for other people around them.

Because of the flexibility and potential to be used by anyone for any child, the method is seeing a growth in popularity even outside industry professionals. Just as anyone can apply the principles, the strategies can help children from a wide range of backgrounds.

Teaching-Family Model Target Demographic

There isn’t just one population that benefits from this model. Examples of those who have benefited from the program include those who are:

Neglected
Abused
At-Risk
In the Foster Care System
Juvenile Delinquents
Developmentally Disabled
Severely Emotionally Disturbed.

While the strategies and principles of the method are highly adaptable, it is recommended that families in severe cases partner with accredited Teaching-Family Model programs. Industry professionals can best assess the situation and provide support.

Final Thoughts

According to Teaching-Family Model practitioners, healing trauma doesn’t start with children; it begins with their role models. And with the success that the Teaching-Family Model has seen, this principle appears to be true. With so many benefits and a record for success, TFM programs are reuniting families and improving the lives of children, no matter what they face.

Alpine Academy Utah Complaints

What Are Benefits of Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy?

Alpine Academy is known for offering equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) for students in individual and group sessions. Equine-assisted activities are seen as a worthwhile therapeutic approach for teens, children, families, and groups is because of many conditions and disorders respond well to it. According to Alpine Academy in Utah, abuse of substances, behavioral disorders, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and a variety of other conditions can be managed with EAP and assistance when combined with help from certified counselors. Alpine Academy realizes that many are not aware of the many ways that equine-assisted therapy can help children and teens. Here, Alpine Academy in Utah reviews just a few of its benefits.

Contributes to Stress Relief

People that are suffering from mental health problems or any of life’s obstacles may find it difficult to relax and clear their minds. Day-to-day stressors exist for us all, and it can be great for stress management to have the ability to take a step back and relax. Equine-assisted psychotherapy is cited as a process that is great for stress relief. One of the reasons for this is because riding and caring for a horse requires concentration. This means that your concentration on your horse may prevent you from dwelling on what is causing your stress or anxiety. Addressing our worries can be made easier when we can enjoy our time and find clarity.

Improves Communication Skills

Alpine Academy in Utah realizes that communication skills (verbal and non-verbal) are important to learn as they paint so many of our interactions with others. When we find it difficult to communicate, things can get lost in translation, situations can escalate, and it may limit our ability to have fruitful conversations. Equine-assisted psychotherapy is a great activity for individuals that need to hone communication skills for several reasons. Horses cannot be controlled by purely physical means, which means that riders must work on building trust through communication. Horses respond well to non-verbal cues as well, which can be helpful for people that are not up to talking or want to build skills in non-verbal communication.

Horses may not be able to speak in the traditional sense, but they are great communicators

Increases Self-Esteem

Teens that are experiencing low self-esteem may benefit from working with animals. This is because animals cannot criticize, mock, or accidentally make an offensive off-hand comment that may hurt feelings. Riding and caring for horses well reflect the work that you have put into it. For some individuals participating in EAP, riding boosts self-esteem because it produces a sense of pride and accomplishment. Riding a horse requires building a relationship founded on trust and respect. This can require work, and people who are willing to see it through are able to see the value of their hard work. According to Alpine Academy in Utah, complaints that we have about ourselves are often made more manageable as we take positive energy from EAP and apply it to obstacles that we face in our lives.

Builds Empathy

Empathy is an important trait to develop in our teen years because it helps us realize that there is a lasting impact to what we do or say to others. Equine therapy is seen as an excellent tool for honing empathy because of the relationship that is built with horses when we ride and care for them. As touched on before, horses cannot talk or share their feelings in a traditional verbal sense, but they are still adept at giving us clues as to what they are thinking. This may be emotions such as happiness or excitement or less than pleasant emotions such as fear, hesitancy, or anger. The rapport that we build with horses during equine assisted therapy keeps us in tune with the emotions that they are feeling throughout the process. When teens see that they can work as a team to overcome obstacles, they realize that their skills with empathy can be used to build upon other relationships in their lives as well.

Alpine Academy Utah Complaints

Alpine Academy Examines the Mental Health Benefits of Exercise

Alpine Academy takes advantage of its proximity to easily accessible recreation to offer its students a wide variety of opportunities for both exercise and fun. The campus is near hiking and horse trails, bowling, swimming, and golf. At the Fitness and Arts Center, the school provides an athletic field and a range of indoor sports as well. Alpine includes exercise within its routine because physical activity can have an extremely positive impact on the mental health of its students. Here, Alpine Academy in Utah reviews some of the mental health benefits of exercise and how these positive changes empower students on their path.

Decreased Stress

There is a scientific bases to how exercise helps decrease stress. Exercise decreases stress hormones such as cortisol while increasing endorphins — which are known as your body’s “feel good” chemicals. This gives your mood a natural boost while you work out. Exercise can also decrease stress by giving young people an outlet for relieving tensions. Some teens have an issue with bottling up their stress or negative emotions until they are too difficult to keep them inside. With exercise, you can have a healthy coping technique built into your routine, helping you relieve stress and center yourself when you experience strong emotions.

Improves Overall Health

Alpine believes that our physical and mental health are linked, which can explain why we may not feel well emotionally when our physical health is not at its best. There are multiple ways that exercise can contribute to better overall health for teens. For example, exercise can improve sleep habits by helping them regulate their circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is our built-in alarm clock that controls how tired or alert we feel. Exercise also can increase energy and stamina, build endurance, contribute to weight loss, and reduce cholesterol while improving cardiovascular health.

Increases Self-Esteem and Confidence

Sometimes a negative self-image can be a contributing factor to unhealthy behaviors and routines, starting a cycle that can be difficult to break alone. Exercise can improve self-image and self-esteem in a variety of ways. For example, reaching goals because of regular exercise can give teens a large boost in self-esteem and confidence. Exercise can also help teens with their self-esteem and confidence by improving their overall health. The goal of exercising does not need to be to lose weight. After all, that in and of itself can reinforce negative self-image issues that do not necessarily make us feel more positive. Still, we often feel a definite difference in our health when we make a commitment to being more fit, and this can be an excellent way to drive confidence and improve our personal opinions of ourselves.

Reinforces a Healthy Routine

By nature, we are driven by routines. This can work in our favor or negatively depending on whether the habits that we develop are healthy. Alpine Academy promotes adding exercise into teens’ daily routines in part because it helps them create and develop healthy routines that can keep them on track physically, emotionally, and academically. When teens know how to develop positive routines, it helps them keep sight of goals and empowers them to remain positive as they work towards them. These skills help prevent them from backsliding on their progress and encourages them to find even more positive activities to add to their routine.