Changing Bodies. Changing Lives.

Wellspring understands that we live in a society where poor food options and a sedentary lifestyle are the norm.  Many studies also confirm we live in a society that discriminates against those that are overweight.

Overweight adolescents often face social hardships that others don’t face. Most overweight teens have been picked on in athletic or social settings or don’t like the way clothes fit them.  These experiences can have a significant impact on an individual’s emotional and social health.

The Solution: Changing Behavior to Change Lives

Because being overweight negatively impacts so many aspects of a teen’s life, Wellspring has developed a clinical program that addresses these issues, while helping teens develop a new set of healthy behaviors for long-term weight loss. “Weight loss” regimens or diets simply don’t work because they don’t address the underlying behaviors and emotional issues that are a reality for overweight teens and young adults.

Wellspring Pennsylvania is based on years of scientific research that incorporates education, skills, and training to ensure campers acquire a new set of behaviors necessary for successful weight control.  Wellspring Pennsylvania’s clinical program utilizes cognitive-behavioral therapy, dietary therapy, and physical activity to create a new focus on and commitment to these core behaviors necessary to become successful long-term weight controllers.

Clinical Program

If weight control were easy, 1/3 of American children and adolescents would not be overweight or obese.  Wellspring’s clinical program addresses this reality by training campers on a set of behaviors that have been proven to produce and maintain significant weight loss. Self-monitoring, journaling, goal-setting, and contracting become habitual to campers and when integrated with the nutrition and culinary training, success is attainable.

This training is led by each camper’s Behavioral Coach (Masters- or Doctoral- level psychologists or social workers).  Behavioral Coaches (BCs) lead the camper along the journey to success while working together to overcome any barriers preventing successful long-term weight control.
In their group and individual Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) sessions campers learn to react differently to life’s challenges, improving goal-setting, frustration tolerance and stress management skills.

CBT helps overweight teens effectively manage their weight and overcome barriers to successful weight control. Campers become self-regulators who can set realistic, achievable goals and stay committed to health and long-term weight control while managing the stress that we all face in daily life.

A group CBT session at Wellspring generally operates as follows:

• Summary of each student’s self-monitoring progress since the last meeting
• Discussion of a CBT/weight control topic such as coping mechanisms
• Reading Assignment
• Goal setting and behavioral contracts

Individual sessions are similar in that they review achievement but focus on the details of each student’s self-monitoring, barriers to success and how to achieve short- and long-term goals.

CBT is the key to successful long-term weight control, which leads to heightened self-esteem, improved mood and outlook, and an increase in energy level.

Wellspring Pennsylvania BCs are Masters- or Doctoral-level clinicians under the supervision of licensed professionals, and trained by Daniel Kirschenbaum, Ph.D. A professor at Northwestern University Medical School, Dr. Kirschenbaum is a leading expert on weight control and has written numerous books and articles for research journals about successful adolescent weight control.

In addition to improvements in overall health and well-being, lasting results are achieved at Wellspring.  Instead of spending a summer on a teen diet, in a teen fitness program, or at a large, impersonal fat camp, let Wellspring Pennsylvania change your life.