Group Process
Every parent understands the power of peer pressure. Negative peer influence can cause your child to participate in destructive behavior. But positive peer culture can encourage your child to participate in constructive behavior.
Our program utilizes and stresses the importance of the group process in treatment. All children want to belong and to be accepted. Three Springs takes the strong, persuasive power of positive peer culture and uses it for positive change.
Children encourage one another to reach goals they have set for themselves and for their group. Your child will learn that their behaviors and actions affect the entire group. This immediate feedback on behavior teaches your child consequences and the importance of responsibility and cooperation.
We have found that under the supervision and guidance of skilled group leaders, residents are able to impact one another in a manner that produces lasting change.
The Positive Peer Culture encourages responsible thinking, behavior and service to others. Within the positive peer culture, each youth is faced with the challenge of learning responsible thinking and behavior. While this occurs through the involvement of both staff and youths, the young men are seen as the most critical component in the process because of their ability to influence one another.
Positive Peer Culture teaches adolescents that the development of responsible behavior and thought comes only from helping one another or “bringing up the next youth.” With Positive Peer Culture, the focus is not on whether a youth wants to receive help, but whether he is willing to give help. The Community Standard is: “Never Give Up on Anyone.”
Your child will work towards the following goals, to:
Eliminate inappropriate behaviors
Develop pro-social values
Develop skills to become productive, contributing members of society
Develop academic, vocational, social and personal potential
Accept full responsibility for behavior
Achieve a sensitivity to the impact of one’s behavior on others
Acquire a positive self-image
Develop the ability to be empathetic and caring
Gain a sense of mastery and control in life
Develop skills in communication and understanding
Build skills in being assertive as opposed to aggressive
Learn to work with others within norms and standards to achieve goals
Learn to help others so all can excel
Care enough to confront
Embrace challenge and change
Recognize negative influences, beliefs, thoughts and behaviors
Develop self-discipline and control
Develop problem solving and decision making skills
Recognize and accept feelings and express them appropriately
Develop coping skills
Team building
Residents accomplish these goals through daily schedules that are aimed at developing your child’s respect for authority, self-control, self-discipline and establishment of a work ethic.
