Tropical Oasis is an internationally know, licensed and accredited rehab center for boys, ages 13-17. We are dedicated to helping you get your child back from the grips of addiction. We treat adolescent boys who are talented, creative, and intelligent, just like your child. Our center takes into account the unique qualities in each child, and out treatment is tailored to address each child’s specific needs. We are committed to helping your child grow and take responsibility for their choices, empowering them to make healthy decisions when they return home. Our program is not easy, nor do we want it to be. Growing is difficult, bottom line. We know that that choosing a treatment center for your child is one of the most important choices you will face as a parent. We want to encourage you to read on about our program, and don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.
With an in house clinical treatment team, accredited private school, substance abuse recovery program, and outdoor adventure experiential therapy, we are equipped to treat the most complex of cases. One of the driving factors in many parents decision to send their child to Tropical Oasis is the fact that we are located in Costa Rica. Many adolescents needing treatment also need to be removed from their immediate surroundings, making it possible for the recovery process to work. Costa Rica is a great option for many reasons, but first and foremost because it is safe. Our teen drug rehab center offers many wonderful activities and therapies, all designed and tailored to teach your child life skills and recovery from substance abuse. Getting your child back from the grips of addiction is our top priority.
Substance Abuse/behavioral Program
The substance abuse/behavioral program at Tropical Oasis uses Hazelden's living in balance program as a method of helping our adolescents achieve a better understanding of addiction and acting out behaviors. Living in Balance Combines experiential, cognitive-behavioral, and Twelve Step thinking. Living in Balance is recognized by the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices. The conceptual framework for the living in balance program is that addiction is a chronic, progressive, relapsing condition that involves compulsion, loss of control, continued use despite negative consequences, and relapse. Addiction is a Bio psychosocial problem affecting all areas of the adolescent’s lives. Therefore effective treatment must also have a strong impact on all these areas.
Our program touches on many different aspects that are so important for adolescent growth and development. Here are some of them:
Rules
Communication Skills
Honesty
Exercise
Fun in sobriety
Spirituality
Group therapy
Peer Pressure
Continuing education
Continuing Care
Family support and involvement
At Tropical Oasis, the most important thing that occurs with our youth is the change in perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors. Our adolescent must come to realize, with love, that they have a problem, come to understand the problem, and develop tools to cope and recover. Adolescents must be “habilitated” rather than “rehabilitated”. This is because they have never developed the skills necessary to live a normal, sober lifestyle. They need to learn these skills for the first time. They must stop using chemicals and behaviors so they can grow and mature normally. Healthy role models are essential in this process, and our staff show clients how to deal with problems as they come up. Love and respect is our guiding principals during this process.
Experiential/Adventure Therapy Program
All learning is experience-based. Whether we hear a lecture, read a book or watch a video, our learning is based on those experiences. Most people remember 20 percent of what they hear, 50 percent of what they see, and 80 percent of what they do.
Tropical Oasis uses experiential/adventure therapy as a way to reach our young clients. This is for many reasons, first of which, because it works! When treating adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and substance abuse disorders, experiential or adventure-based therapy, with its hands-on approach, is a very effective treatment choice. Our method focuses on creating personal change through learning by doing. It presents opportunities for trust and personal growth to help teens experience feelings of self-worth, to assume responsibility for their own actions, and to internalize new coping skills. We include the importance of the natural environment as a place for participants and staff to relate to one another in a physically active way, so the focus is not solely on talk.
Our Experiential/adventure therapy is founded on learning through active doing. While your teen is involved in Experience-based/ adventure learning, they are challenged through several different activities to face fears, resolve uncertainties they may have, and turn perceived limitations into abilities. Teens learn about their relationships with others and themselves. Each adventure is a focus inward. Adventure therapy focuses on activities such as initiative games, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, canoeing, rafting, and journal writing. After each adventure there is an examination of the experience, also known as “reflection”. This gives teens and therapists a chance to process and maximize the experience, adding another element to the learning process.
Experiential learning is based on the belief that lasting change occurs when people are placed outside familiar situations of comfort and immersed in new and unique circumstances. In this way, students are participants rather than spectators. Therefore, learning activities are real and meaningful in terms of natural consequences; reflection and problem-solving are vehicles for intellectual and emotional stimulation; and students are accountable for their own behaviors and insights.
Initially, staff utilize directive teaching methods to identify learning opportunities for clients. However, after students acquire basic skills for recognizing learning opportunities, staff minimize their formal leadership roles and empower student groups to engage insights and process their own experiences. Because many students are accustomed to frustrated relationships with adults who wield authoritarian power, the resulting paradigm shift frequently surprises and confuses students. Indeed, many students find experiential learning environments to be the first time trust and responsibility for decision-making is placed in their hands. Consequently, experiential learning is a powerful tool that sparks personal initiative and accountability.
Students don’t need us to point out that they have faults and failings; they’ve been told that plenty. They don’t need to be blamed for problems and mistakes; they’ve heard this too. What they do need is instruction in how to change their beliefs and behaviors, assistance in attaining the necessary tools to make these changes, and unconditional support in their efforts to do so. They need teachers who set them up for success.
Celebrating mistakes is also the way of Tropical Oasis. A celebrated mistake chalked up as a lesson learned is an uprooting of a guilt weed that in the past has led to shame and personal disappointment. It is a teaching tool that instills personal accountability, competency, and courage. As students make mistakes, we need to remind them to use these events as learning experiences. We can do this by being positive about the lesson learned, assisting them in brainstorming, encouraging them to try new behaviors, and assign Reality Therapy. Reality Therapy and the “Motivational Interviewing” ideology go hand in hand.
The principles of Reality Therapy can be constructive and helpful when used skillfully in an experiential setting. Like all counseling techniques, however, the effectiveness of Reality Therapy depends upon the sensitivity and common sense of the instructor. Techniques are aids, or guides for action, but not substitutes for the wisdom and caring of the instructors. Flexibility, empathy, and being able to respond to the situation are indispensable qualities.
The following is an overview of Reality Therapy principles:
Build a relationship. Spend fifteen (15) minutes throughout the day reinforcing positive behaviors and being involved with each of your assigned students. It is important to be positive and honest.
Stay in the “here and now.” Awareness is the first step. Ask, “What are you doing right now?” Avoid references to the past. Emphasize behavior rather than feelings. If students do better, they will probably feel better. Allow students to express their feelings, and do not negate them by trying to correct their feelings.
Ask, “Is it helping you get what you want?” This asks students to evaluate their own behavior and its consequences. It avoids the likelihood of excuses and power struggles.
Create a plan. Work with the student to formulate alternatives. Keep the plan simple, realistic, specific, and positive. It needs to be immediate and programmed for success.
Get a commitment. It seals the plan and holds students personally responsible for their actions. Build in a way to check back and give positive reinforcement. A written contract may be helpful.
Don’t accept excuses. Eliminate discussion of excuses to show you really know the student can succeed. Never give up. Re-plan with the student if necessary and then ask, “When do you think you can do this?”
Don’t punish. Punishment removes responsibility from the student and places it on you. Consequences teach responsibility through real experiences. Don’t interfere with them unless safety is an issue.
Philosophical Overview of Reality Therapy
People are basically good. No one sets out to be bad.
All behavior is purposeful and chosen. This means that everyone is doing the best they can to meet their needs at the time.
People can learn better ways to meet their needs.
People need to be able to make choices even in a setting that limits choices.
People will not change if they do not perceive something is in it for them. The change must have intrinsic value.
When behavior is changed, thinking and attitudes are also changed.
An environment that focuses on positive behavior facilitates change more than one that focuses on negative behavior.
It is important to note that we are NOT the boot-camp approach that follows a military model. Boot camps break down individuals through aggressive physical and emotional confrontation, then build them back up to be more compliant. We have found that, while the military structure of boot camp can sometimes build acceptance of rules and routine, boot camps are not effective in treating adolescents with behavioral and substance abuse disorders long term.
