The Anasazi Outdoor Treatment Program for troubled teenagers is conducted in northern Arizona’s wilderness areas and has become known across the nation because of its philosophy of embracing love. The program itself is licensed by the State of Arizona and has hundreds of graduates which have gained new awareness in the manner that both parent and teen act toward one another—with a focus on respect and love.
The Anasazi program uses the help of a team of health care professionals as well as an “extended family” in Arizona’s wilderness in order to guide defiant teenagers through issues such as substance abuse and rebellion.
A co-founder of Anasazi, Ezekiel Sanchez, says “It’s only a walking. My forefathers had difficult children but they didn’t have to deal with violent television, violent video games and the pressures of peers to drink or take drugs to escape the madness. Those children were sent out alone on a walking and they returned ready to face their adult life. Today children lose touch with their humanity and their personal moral character and become deeply depressed and frustrated. We give them the time to renew their inner spirit. We’ve all felt that need at times in our lives.”
Anasazi is a non-profit teen health care program which involves a cleansing of the body through exercise and hiking done in a natural environment while sticking to a balanced diet. Pauline Sanchez, a co-founder of Anasazi, says “Families should offer these same opportunities every day to their children and the results will be the same. We seek out those counselors that have a capacity for unending compassion for these children and the gift of patience, that is why some of our 2500 children come back to us sometimes. They go off to college and later come back to Anasazi as teachers.”
“These children change because they find humility again in the wilderness and we don’t judge them during their search. We believe children can reconnect with themselves and their family at some level through time,” commented Sanchez.
Anasazi’s director, Mike Merchant remarked “Children suffering from serious depression, substance abuse or withdrawal need love and need to be re-humanized so they can function in a home again. They need this opportunity long before they become an adult when the evolution of their personality is crystallized forever. Our clinicians have designed a program that teaches children about forgiveness, consequences and restitution, but there is no punishment of any kind.”
“At Anasazi we are offering an opportunity for confused and frustrated parents and children to benefit from Arizona’s wilderness and we try to make every day an opportunity for that family to discover that they can all accept each others love again,” ends Sanchez. |
