Our Philosophy

The pillars of our work are grounded in the Challenge by Choice (CBC) philosophy, community life, and immersive, experiential therapies. Together we create a significant, positive, and lasting effect on people’s lives, be it teens and young adult participants, families, visitors, and also ourselves.

The basis for our philosophy is the Challenge-by-Choice principal. We work hard to deserve the trust of our participants and help them take charge of their own lives. This is how we facilitate real lasting change that is not dependent on our structure but, instead, represents changes within, in terms of motivation, competence, passion, self-discipline, relationships, emotional self-regulation, and executive skills.

Community life is another important aspect in our work. Creating a positive and supporting community among staff, teens, young adults, and the greater Kibbutz goes much further for our participants than any single therapeutic relationship. Discovering your value to the community, contributing and benefiting from the greater good, and giving each other genuine yet compassionate feedback are just a few of the powerful elements of the community aspect of Free Spirit. As a part of this concept, we invite parents to spend a few days with us and their child, enabling important processing but also cooking, touring, and enjoying time together as a family. Find out more about our family visit trips here.

Last, but not least, is the therapeutic work at Free Spirit. We believe in immersive and experiential therapy that surrounds us in everything we do. Our therapists are “on the ground” like any other staff. We work and cook, hike, sail, and of course play together. We found it more effective for teens and young adults, rather than wait for an in-the-room session and look for things to talk about. Even more critical, with Anxiety and Treatment-Resistant-Depression, for example, being there during crises enables a more effective, in the-moment intervention compared to talking about it theoretically in a room.

“Self Determination Theory“ states that in order to grow and realize our potential, we all need to feel Relatedness (to belong and connect), Competence (we are able to achieve our goals), Autonomous (our choices determine our reality), and Meaningful (being valuable to others, for example). To read more about this amazing philosophy and other important beacons for our work, visit our blog.