NCJ Number
120467
Journal
People Weekly (May 9, 1983) Pages: 33-35
Date Published
1983
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Clients at the Santa Fe Mountain Center in Tesuque, N. Mex., are murderers, rapists, child molesters, armed robbers, former drug addicts, prostitutes, schizophrenics, and juvenile delinquents who are treated by a wilderness therapist.
Abstract
The center's goals are simple and dramatic, to shake people up in a way conventional rehabilitation programs do not and to rearrange people's lives by subjecting them to a grueling and confidence-building experience. The State of New Mexico pays about $60 per day for each client for a 3-day therapy session; other sessions last up to 20 days. After strenuous physical activities, clients are encouraged to discuss how their therapy experiences change the way they feel about themselves. The center treats about 320 cases per year and constitutes a valuable diagnostic tool for presentence and probation recommendations by New Mexico courts. The center director claims that the recidivism rate for his program is significantly lower than that for conventional rehabilitation programs.