The term brat camp is most closely associated with the popular TV series of the same name. Brat Camp introduced many parents to the concept of employing "wilderness therapy" as a rehabilitative course for troubled teens. As a result, interest about brat camps for teens struggling with behavioral problems skyrocketed.

Is a Brat Camp the Right Fit?

As with any therapy program directed at troubled teens, parents will need to conduct careful research. There is no one-size-fits-all behavioral remedy for at risk teens. Parents will need to evaluate the therapies and philosophies governing a brat camp to determine if it is the best program appropriate to their teen's diagnosis or problems.

As an example, an excessively obese teen would be unable to meet many of the physical challenges involved with the wilderness training employed by a brat camp. However, the principles and challenges inherent in a brat camp type program are universal and can be found in various teen therapy programs in military boarding schools or troubled teen boarding schools around the country.

Brat Camp Principles are Universal

The original Brat Camp show featured a wilderness school that cites the following values as core to their curriculum: Courage, Self-discipline, Respect, Honesty, Work Ethic, Trust, and Compassion.

These values are well represented in many teen treatment programs. They embody qualities that all parents want their teenagers to embrace. There are a multitude of therapies and disciplines that can inculcate these values.

A troubled teen boarding school with an emphasis on self-discipline, responsibility and accountability will employ behavioral therapies that elicit those qualities in their teens by less dramatic means than trekking in the wilderness. These programs often include animal therapies and equine therapies that ask much from a teenager in hard work and accountability.

A brat camp experience is noted for the demonstrative impact it can have due to the difficulty in some of it's challenges. Some teens will eat this up and some will remain undaunted or indifferent. Again, it depends on the nature of a teen's problems.

One parent is quoted as saying that their teen daughter "needed something that would jar her to the bone." Brat Camp does represent that type of alternative. A parent will want to consult with various teen boarding and military schools and ask which programs they employ that will achieve the same successes that the brat camp approach obtains.