Brat Camp, Episode 6: Home for the Holidays?

Previously on Brat Camp, nine trouble teenagers were sent to SageWalk Wilderness Camp by their desperate parents. For 36 days they have lived in the wild, had challenges, and confronted their issues. They went on a three-day solo, where they earned their Earth Names. Now with Christmas approaching, who is ready to return home to their families, and which of the youths will need to continue in the program in order to turn their lives around?

It’s day 37, five days before Christmas. Glacier tells us the campers are anxiously awaiting the news of whether they will go home for the holiday. However, each much accomplish their individual goals before they can leave the program. Lexie misses her parents, friends, and her dog. She learned the hard way what she was getting into when she tried to leave on the first day. She’s gone through the camp confronting her issue (molestation) and she feels SageWalk helped her deal with it and build up her self-esteem. The biggest and most useful thing she’s learned is that she’s worth something. She tells the group that she feels at peace as she cries.

Lauren also had issues, relating to the death of her father. It led to a path of drug abuse. Glacier says she may need more time to deal with her grief. Nick’s goal was to do whatever he needed to in order to leave camp. He’s been hostile for years, and some of his issues have come out. However, he’s benefited from the program – he’s believing in himself. Hopefully he can use what he learned to succeed in life.

Back at the home offices, the three therapists – Mother Raven, Fire Bear, and Flying Eagle – have the ultimate decision on which teens will graduate before Christmas. They discuss Heather, who arrived at SageWalk hung over, and had been running with the wrong crowd. While she’s worked hard, it’s difficult for them to decide if she’s being emotionally honest. Derek has been a difficult case with his ADHD. He’s had a hard time focusing, but they’ve slowly been tapping his potential and showing him what he is capable is.

Jada’s parents have been considering pulling her out of the program due to the contents of the letters she’s been writing. The therapists think that they’ve convinced them that it is in Jada’s best interest to stay. Jada gets a letter from home, stating that whether or not she goes home for Christmas is up to her. Jada has been a drama queen since the first day, but her issue is integrity. She’s not happy that people think she is lying (though she has been).

Isaiah is harder to figure out. He came angry and has vented it, but has made progress, such as forgiving his mother for the divorce of his parents. However, the question is whether he’s let go of his anger or if it is still lurking under the surface.

Shawn was in for smoking pot and being disrespectful to his parents. Much stems from his adoption, but while he’s learned to communicate better, it’s hard to say if he’s changed for the better.

Frank never knew his father, and filled the hole with rage. He came in for anger, mostly directed at his mother. He’s still been anti-social at SageWalk, but he claims he’s changed. His angry outbursts will have to stop if he wants to go home.

None of the students know their exact day, but as day 40 approaches, tension builds. Frank has an outburst and Lauren tells us he won’t be going home as long as he does that. She also thinks Isaiah is a fake. For his part, he thinks she is the biggest bitch in the world. They verbally spar a bit, with Isaiah complaining that she’s disrespectful to him and her retorting she will only respect him if he respects him back. Aspen tells her that this kind of attitude is how wars start.

Fire Bear decides to do something different that night. It’s an intense form of therapy called “The Empty Chair.” Each youth will talk to an empty chair as if it is somebody that has done them harm. Isaiah is first and picks his birth mother. He talks about the questions he has for her, such as why she hasn’t ever contacted him in 17 years. While it’s a step, it’s up to Raven to decide if he goes home.

Lauren’s pick is her father, who died six years ago. She tells him how much she misses him and how hard it has been without him. She cries as she speaks, and Glacier tells us she’s made huge strides toward healing her broken heart.

Heather is next, and Glacier says that while she’s done well in obeying rules and directives, she’s been the most emotionally closed of all the campers. She elects to talk to her birth mother, who has been in a coma since she overdosed on heroin 14 years ago. She tells her that she loved drugs more than her, and Heather started using drugs to get closer to her. She says it’s painful to have her as a bad example in her life. Fire Bear tells us it was her most emotional time during her stay.

Lexie, who was molested, chooses her attacker to fill the empty chair. She cries and expresses her pain at she went through. It’s highly emotional.

On day 39, the therapists arrive at camp with the news of who is going home for the holidays – and who is staying behind. Flying Eagle tells them a lot of things have happened since they arrived, and recalls their first night when they said some of them might get home for Christmas. Now, it looks like most of the group will not be going home. Most of the campers look dismayed at the news. Eagle hopes it was not a surprise. Jada starts crying, and in confessional tells us that she doesn’t understand what they expect from her. Shawn says that they are on a mission to help themselves, not go home.