Since 2004, Pacific Quest has offered a unique approach to wilderness therapy by replacing hiking and survival skills with work on our organic farm and sustainable life skills.

Our approach is based on structure, support and choice as opposed to coercion or punitive consequences; it allows for students to grow individually, at their own pace, with their own motivations.

We utilize a Rites of Passage model that looks at the past, present and future through the processes of severance, threshold and incorporation. We emphasize the cycles of life and personal development instead of working towards a culminating event. The organic gardening and plant life cycles provide clear and relevant metaphors.

A Personal Development Plan is created through a collaborative process between each participant, the family, referring professionals, and program staff directly supervised by one of our LCSW Therapists. Short-term and long-term goals are identified, explored and revised. Information is obtained by staff members through careful observation and testing of the student’s behavior and attitudes in daily activities and interactions.