What happens when teens leave behind comfort, routine, and screen time to immerse themselves in a new culture focused on service, connection, and perspective?
In this episode of the Turning Winds Podcast, host Kevin Zundl speaks with Kimberly Sparks, LCPC, a licensed clinical professional counselor with more than 24 years of experience working with adolescents. Together, they explore the transformative power of Turning Winds’ international service trips. Their latest journey to Belize offers a firsthand look at how real-world experiences help teens shift from seeing themselves as part of the problem to becoming part of the solution.
They talk through how activities like building water towers, engaging with local communities, and stepping outside comfort zones create space for emotional growth, self-worth, and lasting change.
Topics include:
- Why experiential learning supports deeper therapeutic breakthroughs
- How international travel helps teens build genuine confidence
- The importance of service and connection in a teen’s healing journey
- How relational environments create more sustainable change than clinical ones alone
Whether you are a parent exploring treatment or a provider curious about impactful programming, this episode offers a compelling look into what makes the Turning Winds approach so effective.
Recommended Podcasts
From Power Struggles to Partnership: A Parenting Mindset Shift · How families move from conflict toward connection and shared purpose.
Healing from Trauma as a Teen in Residential Treatment · Discover what emotional safety and trust really look like in teen treatment.
What Really Happens When Teens Get Treatment and Return Home · Insight into the transition from structured care back to family and daily life.
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Leadership Training at Turning Winds · How structured growth, service and mentoring help teens lead themselves and others.
How Turning Winds Builds Up Teen Resilience · Examining how consistency, relationship and real-world purpose foster lasting change.
At Turning Winds Therapy Goes Deeper · A closer look at the integrated clinical and experiential model that supports change.
Keywords: experiential learning, therapeutic service trips, teen mental health, Turning Winds, Belize, emotional growth, adolescent therapy, healing through service, teen treatment program, connection-based care
For more teen parenting tips and treatment information | turningwinds.com | 800-845-1380.
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