Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs

Admissions » Participant and Family Rights

Participant and Family Rights

Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs respects the individual human dignity and protects the rights of all residents and their family members. Every effort is made to guarantee individual human dignity, safeguard the legal and civil rights of residents, and make certain that they are kept informed of their rights. Staff members of the program recognize and respect the individuality of each resident and family.

Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs does not discriminate in accepting residents for treatment or in its staff hiring practices on the basis of race, color, creed, ethnicity, national origin, duration of residence, gender, or sexual orientation. The program and its staff make every effort possible to be respectful and are sensitive to the cultural differences among the families and participants. Treatment services will be provided regardless of the source of financial support. In so far as possible, we accept residents with disabilities; however, each resident must be physically able to manage daily hikes of five to 10 miles with a backpack, and intellectually able to manage their self-care, camping and cooking, safely and hygienically in the wilderness setting. Click here for our list of exclusionary criteria.

Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs recognizes that each individual and family is unique, and will benefit the most from an individual treatment approach. Parents are encouraged to participate to the maximum extent possible in the treatment and aftercare planning of their child to ensure that treatment is uniquely designed for their child and family situation.

Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs maintains written policies and procedures that describe the rights of residents and families and the means by which these rights are protected and exercised. Resident rights are explained to the resident and the resident's family or legal guardian at the family and parent meeting at the time of admission and are listed below. It is the responsibility of the therapist or his/her designee to ensure that each resident has received, as soon as feasible during the expedition, and understands these rights; and to document in the progress notes that this has taken place by placement of signed copies of the rights in the resident's chart. Copies of the resident rights, rules of the program, and responsibilities of the residents are carried by staff and are available to residents at their request.

1. Confidentiality
Information disclosed to Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs is protected under federal and state regulations and cannot be disclosed without written consent unless otherwise indicated in the regulations. Generally, without such consent, staff members in the program may not say to a person outside of the program that a participant attends the program or disclose any information identifying a participant.

Federal and state law and Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs recognize the following exceptions:

You may disclose personal information about yourself to whomever you wish, but it is not appropriate to do so about others without their consent. We ask that you not share names or personal information about expedition participants or their families without their permission.

What a participant tells the expedition staff in the field is confidential with respect to outside persons, but not with respect to their own families. One of the goals of the program is to rebuild trust in families by removing the barriers created by lies and secrets. This is best done by encouraging and assisting adolescents to be open and candid with their families, and Catherine Freer staff will so encourage and assist participants. Staff may make exceptions for especially sensitive information that should be discussed in the context of ongoing family therapy.

2. Informed Consent
Participant Treatment
Participants and their families will be informed about the nature of the care, procedures and treatment, and the benefits of treatment procedures. Informed consent will be obtained from residents' parents or guardians during screening and intake procedures. A reasonable attempt will be made to obtain informed consent from residents at the earliest opportunity following admission. Information will be provided to parents and residents in terms easily understandable to them and which contain the following:

Inherent Risk of Wilderness Activities
The risk of injury, even serious injury or death, is unavoidable in the outdoor environment in which we operate. Participation in outdoor adventure-based activities such as hiking, camping, solo experience, whitewater river trips, swimming, boating, horseback riding, sea kayaking, mountain biking, etc. entails known and unanticipated risks that could result in physical or emotional injury, paralysis, death, or damage to property, or injury to third parties. (This includes driving automobiles, which statistically is the most risky activity we engage in). Such risks simply cannot be eliminated without jeopardizing the essential qualities of the activity. Furthermore, field staff has a difficult job to perform. They seek to avoid risk, but they are not infallible. They may be unaware of a participant's fitness or abilities. They might misjudge the weather, the elements, or the terrain. They may give inadequate warnings or instructions. The remoteness of the areas in which we travel can create complex emergency situations that have no simple solutions. Catherine Freer Programs has a comprehensive wilderness emergency response and evacuation plan and use appropriate field communication technology in remote wilderness locations. However, communications technology, if used, may be unreliable, and the equipment being used might malfunction.

It is important you understand that there are risks, and that some risks simply cannot be eliminated. Some adventure programs say that they can guarantee your safety. Catherine Freer Programs do not. The risk of injury, even serious injury or death, is unavoidable in the outdoor environment in which we operate.

3. Dignity and Respect
Each resident's personal dignity shall be recognized and respected in the provision of all care and treatment.

4. Voluntary Treatment
Residents are placed in treatment on the authority of their parents or guardians. Those parents or guardians are highly involved in the child's treatment from the initial contacts with Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs. Some residents enter treatment willingly and others are brought into treatment against their will. Those who enter treatment willingly may find the program to be less exciting, more strenuous, and harder work then they initially imagined. Those who indicate a desire to leave the program will not be given the opportunity. That is based on judgments about the safety and welfare of both the individual and group.

5. Physical Searches
Searches are conducted for the purpose of providing a drug free environment and are carried out in a respectful manner.

6. Signed Consent
A written, dated and signed informed consent form shall be obtained from the resident, the resident's family or the resident's legal guardian, as appropriate, for participation in any research program, for photographs which may be used in the program's brochures, or for photos or quotations which might be used for marketing the program such as web site, newsletter, and the like.

7. Treatment Planning
Individualized treatment includes an individual treatment plan. Participants are actively involved in creating this.

8. Clinical Records
Unless state law provides otherwise, it has been the judgment of the professional staff of the program that due to the sensitivity of the information contained in the clinical record, it is in the best clinical interest of the client and his or her parents that the resident have the right to have his or her clinical record reviewed and/or interpreted by the therapist, or the clinical supervisor, or his designee to provide appropriate information to the resident and his or her parents regarding his or her problem(s), treatment received, alternative forms of treatment available, progress in the program, and recommendations for the future. All residents may request that the clinical record be released to appropriate agencies, their attorney, their physician, referral sources, or follow-up treatment resources.

9. Services with Unrelated Adults
Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs adheres to a family systems treatment philosophy. Admission and discharge occur in the context of a multi-family group therapy session. That is, groups of adolescents are treated within the context of their collective families. Parents, siblings, other family members, and residents are equally likely to receive treatment services under those circumstances. Families also learn from observing other families. Catherine Freer does not provide treatment to adults who are otherwise unrelated.

10. Personal Property
Clients are not allowed to bring personal property with them on the expedition except for eyeglasses, contact lenses, and sealed saline solution. If other items are discovered once the expedition has begun, such items are taken and kept by staff. Catherine Freer will not be responsible for these items if they are subsequently misplaced. Residents may reclaim them at the end of the expedition.

11. Communication
It is not possible for parents to communicate with their child during the expedition. Parents are encouraged to write to their child during the expedition and send their correspondence to the program office. The letters will normally be delivered to the participants the night or morning before the end family meeting.

12. Privacy
Each participant's personal privacy shall be ensured and protected within the constraints of the individual treatment plan, the outdoor environment, and the participant's own behavior. The Catherine Freer treatment philosophy includes personal solitude, and time alone is usually plentiful. Clients are expected to set up their own camp and shelter in an area assigned by the field staff. Camp assignments are designed to decrease the likelihood of interaction among the residents and allow for line-of-sight supervision by the staff. Privacy for dressing, cleansing, elimination, and self-care is largely determined by the resident's own efforts. Residents will be instructed how to communicate their need for privacy, and on the actions they must take to have privacy. If supervision is required during a resident's personal care, it will be provided by a same-gender staff member.

13. Religious Freedom
Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs cannot provide access to religious services, religious leaders, or to the standard community religious resources of each resident's choice. Clients are encouraged to consider the spiritual aspects of the wilderness setting, recovery, and their lives. They are free to discuss any aspect of their own religion and values. They are free to engage in personal religious activities. When treatment services focus on spiritual matters, it is without bias for or against any religion or denomination. It is not intrusive.

14. Self-determination
Clients are not allowed to set their own rules, consequences, or conditions of work and play. Catherine Freer clients have behavior, mental, and substance abuse problems. They may lack internal standards of behavior. They often fail to persevere, exercise self-control, and conform at minimal levels to social standards. For this sub-set of adolescents, it is appropriate to provide external constraints upon their behavior. When a participant engages in inappropriate behaviors, the primary goal of behavioral support is to assist the client in regaining self-control as an integrated part of the overall individualized treatment plan. As such, pre-approved behavioral support interventions will be used to control problem behaviors. Use of non-approved interventions will be reviewed for appropriateness and action by the Clinical Department.

15. Work
Clients will not have the opportunity to work for remuneration. They exert substantial physical energy to hike, row, collect firewood, cook, erect shelters, and exercise. Those activities are required to keep up with the group, take care of themselves, and assist others. Some expeditions involve contributing service work such as trail maintenance or trash cleanup.

16. Complaint procedures
Parents and residents are informed about licensing and accrediting bodies at the time of admission. Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs has an established complaint procedure that is available to participants and families upon request.

16. Staff
Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs will provide an adequate number of competent, qualified, and experienced professional staff to supervise and implement the treatment plan. Participants and their families will be informed about the professional staff members responsible for participant care and of their professional status. Catherine Freer provides continuing training for all staff members and specific orientation for all new staff members in the principles of confidentiality and participant rights.