Adventure Learning Trip Report : Emigration Canyon Yurt Trip

We always look forward to our annual yurt trips, generally taking place in February or March to capitalize on the winter weather. This time around was no exception as we were heading into a new yurt that none of our adventure learning staff had been to before. 

The Hero

Logan River Academy offers the opportunity to both students and their families to begin the hero’s journey. This journey will be challenging, sometimes overwhelming, rewarding, as well as worth it if it is able to be completed. Many young people begin or start a variety of activities, clubs, and programs, but very few have acquired the skill set, fortitude, and motivation to finish what they started. In order to better prepare for a stronger commitment to finishing what has been started within Logan River Academy, let’s review the phases of the hero’s journey.

The initial steps are listed below.

Separation:

The Call to Adventure

The hero begins in a mundane situation of normality from which some information is received that acts as a call to head off into the unknown. This is any example of when behaviors escalate to the point where the seeking out of a higher level of care is presented.

Refusal of the Call

Often when the call is given, the future hero first refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances. This includes many empty promises and commitments that this time things were really change, however this has been found to be very unaffected as this would discontinue a continuation of the same actions, attitudes, and beliefs.

Supernatural Aid

Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his guide and magical helper appear or become known. More often than not, this supernatural mentor will present the hero with one or more talismans or artifacts that will aid him later in his quest. This is the initial stages of the therapeutic relationship established during weekly individual, family, and group therapeutic sessions.

Crossing the Threshold

This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known. This phase is very critical and the need for clear cut rules, limits and boundaries within the family dynamic, as well as within Logan River Academy are essential as consistency now becomes the norm.

When Life Gives You Lemons, You Still Go Skiing

January is one of my least favorite months; the ski season is well under way, but for our portion of the world, the real winter weather hasn’t shown up. Sure we’ve got snow from a few generous November and December storm cycles, but generally January is hesitant to add to the snow pack. This creates alarm amongst winter-loving folks; I have a hard time not falling into the same trap. However, there is that short month everyone dismisses, February. That is the month storms around our area come alive, when staying in a yurt for three days gives you a true sense of what 36” over a 48-hour time period really feels like. I love February.

To Worry or Not to Worry . . . That Is the Question

Many of us worry. Worrying is a common trait that many have. We worry about our kids, our responsibilities, our bodies, our relationships, our to-do list, our house, our finances, and the list could go on and on.

Is worrying productive and/or helpful or is it the sign of a major problem? We will explore that question in this blog post!

I grew up with four older brothers and one younger sister. A couple of my older brothers enjoyed teasing me and pushing my buttons. They did things such as call me names that rhymed with “Matt” or put me in a sleeping bag and not let me out. I was not one to just suffer in silence. Therefore, my mother had to be involved often during those years to make sure I wasn’t tied up or hanging from the garage rafters. My mother was and is a worrier. She is a wonderful mother and I love her very much. However, she has spent a lot of energy worrying over the years.

This blog post is a chance for me to share my personal thoughts on worrying. This is not a scientific point of view, rather my point of view.

Our Area

We love our little valley tucked up in the mountains of Northern Utah and would like to share with you a little bit more about what it's really like here in Logan via this short video we found.

Patience

With the New Year upon us, it is a time when many of us do a better job of looking within ourselves (something we clinicians refer to as “introspection”) and evaluating how we are doing in our lives.  For many this is a challenging and painful endeavor, however, from my perspective it is one of the most potentially joyous and growth evoking experiences we can have.  As one wise individual once put it:

“Many things we have to learn by that which we suffer, and knowledge secured in that way, though the process may be painful, will be of great value to us”

As I have tried to look within myself and determine the changes that will be of benefit to me in the long run, one adjustment continues to rear its ugly head; my need for increased patience in my life.  I far too often find in my life that when bitter circumstances arise, I simply become bitter.  When I look to determine the benefit of this bitterness, I find little to no value.  So my goal has become to find a way to endure bitterness patiently without becoming bitter. 

America's Affluent Teen Crisis

Emotional health is one of the most precious and challenging aspects of the developmental process.  Logan River Academy has placed a high level of focus on helping the students currently enrolled to more fully understand the core values of honesty, respect, personal accountability, fairness and caring.  The following article demonstrates how with increased awareness and acceptance in our families the process of change is truly possible.   

America’s Affluent Teen Crisis:

Why more money may mean more mental health problems for teens.

Published by Linda Esposito, LCSW in From Anxiety to Zen.

How much would you pay for your teen to be able to thrive emotionally? Ten thousand dollars? Your entire IRA? Turns out all the money in the world may not be enough to protect your most prized possession from anxiety, depression and substance use. According to research, the more money in your bank account may mean the less adept he is at weathering the pressure to succeed at school, in sports, and at home.

This research has its roots in a 1999 study involving two samples of 10th graders - those from low-income, urban families and high-income, suburban families. Findings showed that on several fronts the wealthy children fared more poorly than did their low-income counterparts.  Specifically, they reported much higher levels of cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use as well as significantly greater anxiety; in addition, suburban girls reported startlingly high levels of depression (Luthar & D'Avanzo, 1999). Since then, these findings have been replicated over and over again.