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From Our Founder

The New Summer Camp with Mental Health Support for Teen Girls

Rooted Life Adventures summer camp paint fight - solutions focused fun!

Why Our Teen Girl Costa Rica Summer Camp is the Ultimate Reset

Most of the girls who come to Rooted Life Adventures have been on a long, hard journey. And let’s be honest—so have their parents.

When your child struggles with anxiety, social challenges, or just feeling like they don’t fit, it can feel isolating for both of you. The late-night worries, the endless research on what might help, the feeling that other families just don’t understand. In fact, it’s exhausting.

That’s why this program isn’t just an escape; it’s a celebration. A chance for your daughter to experience joy, connection, and adventure in a way she never has before. We like to call it: Fun for kids who’ve been through hard. This is the Rooted Life Adventure’s Summer Camp.

Slumber Party Meets Summer Camp Meets Study Abroad

It’s not just another summer program. A Rooted Life Experience is a one-of-a-kind experience. Where girls get to be free, silly, and adventurous while also growing in confidence, independence, and resilience. In fact, Rooted Life Adventures offer a supported Summer Camp.

  • Slumber Party Vibes – Late-night giggles, bonding over face masks, deep conversations under the stars, and feeling like you finally belong.
  • Summer Camp Energy – Messy pool parties, paint fights, glow-in-the-dark blacklight dance-offs, s’mores around the fire, and nonstop laughter.
  • Study Abroad Adventure – Exploring a new country, zip-lining through the jungle, surfing in the ocean, and realizing the world is bigger (and more exciting) than they ever imagined.
Summer Camp students on a boat in Costa Rica
Summer Camp students selfie
Rooted Life Adventures pool party

They’ve Been Through Tough—They Need This

Too often, these kids have had life beat them down. They have been in and out of therapy and faced overwhelming challenges. In fact, they’ve spent years feeling like they were just trying to survive.

This program reminds them that they are worthy of more than just getting through the day. They are ready for:

✨ Pure, unfiltered FUN – The kind that makes them forget about their worries and just live in the moment.

✨ A wild adventure – Something that shakes them out of their routine and reminds them that life is big, beautiful, and exciting.

✨ A sisterhood – Friends who truly understand them, who will dance until they drop, scream on rollercoasters, and be their biggest cheerleaders.

✨ Moments of magic – Watching the sun rise over the ocean, hiking to hidden waterfalls, and feeling unstoppable on a surfboard.

A Program That’s As Much for You as It Is for Them

As a parent, you’ve carried the weight of their struggles. You’ve done everything you can to help them heal, to help them find their way. Now, it’s time to let them step into joy, adventure, and freedom.

They don’t just need this—they’ve earned this. And so have you. Because when they come home, they won’t just be the same kid with a little more confidence. They’ll be the kid who danced till they dropped, who laughed until their stomach hurt, who rediscovered what it feels like to truly live.

This is the program you wish you could have done. For this reason, now, it’s here for them.

? Spots are limited—learn more at rootedlifeadventures.com

Costa Rica Supported Summer Camp

6-weeks from June 21- August 1, 2025

Teen Girls Ages 14-17

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#RLALife #RLACostaRica #RLANewZealand

Top 10 Benefits of a Live-In Therapeutic Coach

10 Benefits of a Live-in Therapeutic Coach on our Wellness Adventure Program

In our wellness adventure program, a live-in therapeutic coach is not just an integral part of the support system; they are a catalyst for transformation. With their constant presence, expertise, and collaborative approach, they play a pivotal role in helping our students embark on a journey of self-discovery and growth. At Rooted Life Adventures, we are dedicated to providing the highest level of care and support. We ensure that every student’s wellness adventure is a meaningful and transformative experience.

Top 10 Benefits of a Live-In Therapeutic Coach in Our Wellness Adventure Program

1. 360-Degree Wellness Adventure Insight

When it comes to our wellness adventure program, having a live-in therapeutic coach offers a unique advantage. With their presence throughout the day, our therapeutic coach has an all-encompassing view of our students, observing their actions and behaviors in various contexts. This real-time insight enables them to provide timely guidance and support, making every moment a teachable one.

2. Leveraging Successes for Personal Growth

Our therapeutic coach is adept at recognizing and celebrating our students’ successes during volunteer experiences, cultural immersions, and active adventures. These accomplishments serve as powerful teaching tools, allowing our therapeutic coach to draw on them to support coaching efforts. It’s about turning achievements into stepping stones for personal growth.

3. Real-Life Learning in the Heart of Your Wellness Adventure

Understanding each student’s unique challenges is fundamental to our wellness adventure program’s success. Our live-in therapeutic coach is well-versed in each student’s challenges. They are also knowledgeable about past care initiatives, allowing them to tailor their approach to what works best for each individual.

4. A Collaborative Care Team

We believe in a collaborative approach to wellness. Our live-in therapeutic coach maintains communication with each student’s at-home therapist, acting as an extension of their care team. This collaborative effort ensures that all parties are aligned in their approach and goals, fostering a holistic experience.

5. Continuity of Care

We understand the importance of uninterrupted care. That’s why students continue their weekly sessions with their long-term at-home therapist during our program so no ground is lost. Our stable collaborative environment allows for ease of transition to, and from, program with their trusted at-home therapist helping them adapt to a new environment, learn skills away from home, and then utilizing their newly developed skills when they return.

6. Real Life Learning Environment

Our wellness and core curriculum are a welcomed break from the traditional therapy setting. We create a safe environment that encourages students to learn from one another through real-life experiences. This approach helps build essential life skills and reinforces personal growth, while also bringing in the healing power of play and silliness in a “camp-like” fun and games environment.

7. Group Sessions & In-the-Moment Coaching

Our live-in therapeutic coach facilitates two group sessions each week, providing students with a platform to explore and discuss their thoughts and feelings. Additionally, daily check-ins and in-the-moment coaching are available as often as needed, ensuring students receive timely support.

8. Thoughtful Transition Planning

We understand that transitions can be challenging. Our wellness adventure program includes comprehensive transition planning involving students, parents, home therapists, and educational consultants. While this collaborative effort ensures a smooth transition from our program to the next phase of a student’s journey.

9. Progress Tracking & Parent Coaching

We provide clear and detailed written summaries of each student’s experiences, challenges, successes, and gains. We empower families, and their care team, to make well-informed decisions for next steps of that student’s journey with a summary of our 360 viewpoint, including recommendations. Parents are kept informed and involved throughout their child’s journey and offered supportive parent coaching. In summary three (3) parent coaching sessions at the beginning of our program, and three (3) parent coaching sessions towards the end of program to plan for the transition back home.

Learn more about our Parent Coach Jane Samuel, MA, CPC here.

10. Ongoing Communication for Your Wellness Adventure Journey

Communication is key. We provide weekly updates to parents, home therapists, and referral resources, ensuring everyone is well-informed about a student’s progress and challenges while participating in their wellness adventure. This open dialogue reinforces our commitment to the well-being of each student.

By Sharon Laney

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From Our Founder

The NEW Gap Year Program with Mental Health Support

Austin Rogers

Our world is an intriguing place. I’ve always been fascinated by what it has to offer. From different cultures and values, to foods and languages, our global community is as expansive as it is beautiful.

Travel changes you from the inside out. It opens your eyes to different ways of doing things, thinking about things, and even how you think about yourself. By broadening our horizons, challenging ourselves, and stepping outside our comfort zones we’re inspired to grow into our authentic selves.

Finding Purpose

In my pursuit of what the world has to offer, I myself left my hometown of Dallas, Texas. I went in search of global experiences. It was in NZ, where my passion for outdoor education found a natural fit in the international gap year community. 

Over the years, I have managed gap year programs with hundreds of U.S. students on 70-day multi-country adventures. Facilitating tours in Nepal, Tibet, Southeast Asia, Central America, South America, Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand. It was through this that I developed the greatest sense of self, of belonging, of capability, and purpose. 

I saw, firsthand, the increasing number of adolescents suffering from mental health challenges. Witnessed the growing need for increased mental health support in programs. Gen Z has demonstrated a craving for learning about emotional intelligence, social justice, identity, and empathy. All this whilst showing acute attention to their mental and emotional wellbeing like never before.

Addressing the “Gap” in Gap Year

It became clear that there were no programs holding the space between Gap Year and full on Adventure therapy. The latter can be overwhelming and with a price tag out of reach for most families. 

My mission became clear. I needed to create a therapeutic gap year program that would blend the best of everything. The gap year community, volunteer service learning, cultural immersion and adventures activities. We’d pair it with mental health support, psychoeducational development, and wrap around care. 

Rooted Life Adventures is that therapeutic gap year program. I have reimagined adventure, travel, and therapeutic coaching in a way that facilitates exponential growth. Not only this, it provides deep and meaningful change through the power of community and belonging.

The RLA Experience

RLA students experience what it means to be part of something bigger than themselves. They learn how responsibility, accountability, and transparency creates authentic connections. They build confidence, self-esteem, and cultivate lifelong friendships by being part of a close knit team. Students travel together, learn together, and overcome challenges as a collective.

By immersing students in other cultures, they will be able to find even more humanity. Through volunteering and working shoulder-to-shoulder with locals, they’ll learn how to benefit their global community. By testing their limits in every direction. From rock climbing, hiking, surfing, canyoning, kayaking, backpacking, and white water rafting. Students will reach inside themselves and realize they are capable of more than they ever imagined. And by supporting their emotional wellbeing throughout the journey, they will be empowered to understand themselves more deeply. They will connect with those around them more fully.

explore our model

Explore the world, and yourself, through a Rooted Life Adventure.

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