Our son attended PQ from late 2017 through Spring of 2018. When we were first choosing a place for him we consulted with a specialist who was able to recommend several programs. As we did online research of the programs we noticed multiple conflicting reviews on the sites which hosted these reviews. It was a challenge to get a “proper” sense of the programs and which were good and which were just average. In the end we chose to ignore the mixed messages online and go with the strength of the recommendation for PQ which our advisor provided after having placed many young adults there. It is because of that experience that I write this review.
It is a hard decision to put your child in any program; certainly so with a wilderness program so far away from our home and with a unique agenda like PQ’s. Our son started the program in a poor state of mind – depressed, unmotivated and not looking to spend his time doing much other than sleeping. But through the unique benefits of wilderness therapy and the support systems in place at PQ he began to break his old habits and start to show progress towards retraining his outlook, ambitions and his day to day activities. It was a slow and steady progress with steps backwards along the way but we always felt reassured by the help he received from his PQ team. We were so impressed by his therapist Andrea and thus were keen to follow her lead and her advice and try to get our son back to a “regulated” state. She was a constant force in a dark time and we are forever grateful to her and the rest of the staff around her.
In the end our son embraced the PQ experience and used his new focus to begin a transition program which was geared to getting back into his college career. Our therapist at PQ was involved in the selection process and helped us to find a program which built upon the foundation established by his PQ experience. I know it is a very difficult and very individual situation when choosing a program for one’s child but we do feel our son gained much from his stay at PQ. I know all will not have the same experience but in the end we feel blessed with the way things turned out and are happy we entrusted our loved one to PQ.