According to Steven Schultz, spokesman for the RedCliff Ascent Wilderness Therapy Program in Utah, the centre has been getting monthly enquiries from Irish families for over a year, one of which resulted in an Irish teenager being enrolled in the programme last summer. Schultz said that the flow of enquiries from Ireland began shortly after RedCliff Ascent was featured on the first series of the popular Channel 4 TV show, Brat Camp.

"At the moment, we're getting around three enquiries from Ireland every month, " he said. "So far that has only materialised in one teenager coming to the camp, but the experience worked out very well for him, so we're hoping that we will have more Irish teenagers in the future."

The TurnAbout Ranch, which featured in series two of Brat Camp, has also noted a surge of interest from Irish families. According to its admissions director, Chris Fudge, one Irish family was on the verge of sending their teenage boy, when he got to the airport and simply refused to go.

"Logistically, it's actually very difficult to get a child to travel long distances when parents have lost so much control, " said Fudge. "If a child throws a fit in the airport, then he's not going to be allowed on the plane by security officials, so that makes it difficult for parents from Ireland. However, since last year, we've been getting around two phone calls and five emails every month from Irish families."

The most recent series of Brat Camp featured the Aspen Academy in Utah, which has just recently had enquiries from Ireland. "Within the past three weeks, we've received five email enquiries from Ireland and one phone call, " said Gill Hallows, spokesman for the centre. "This is the first time we've had any interest from Ireland, and we're really hoping it will materialise into families actually sending their teenagers here."

Wilderness therapy programmes are hugely popular in the US, with 12,000 American children being packed off to such camps every year. Typical courses last three months, and cost an average of $30,000 ( 25,000). Throughout their stay, teenagers are brought camping and hiking, and taught how to survive in the outdoors. They also attend counselling sessions.

According to Steven Schultz, when it's done properly, wilderness therapy is twice as effective in the short term as outpatient treatment or hospitalisation. But, he said, it's not always done properly.

"It's very important for parents to distinguish between the different types of camps, " he said. "Within the wilderness-therapy industry, totally different approaches are taken. Some of the camps are very militant, and parents should be extremely careful of where they send their children."

An Outdoor Behavioural Healthcare Industry Council has been set up to regulate standards in the industry.