Ryan and Mary's Story

We are a family from California with two teen-aged boys. Despite our best efforts and a loving community and extended family, our 16 year old was really struggling a year ago. He had deep-set anxiety, troublesome behaviors, and impulsivity that were damaging his life and getting worse. He needed a deeper dive into what was driving him. After consultation with psychologists and educational therapists, we had him go to a wilderness therapy program in Utah. He actually loved his 12 weeks in the mountains, in the winter, and grew in his understanding of himself. We then enrolled him in a top-notch residential treatment center in Utah where, with some ups and downs, he is growing while getting a good education, lots of peer interaction, and daily therapy. As he has learned, “you can’t heal what you won’t reveal”. He understands his behaviors better, can speak deeply about his feelings and what is driving him, is learning to relate to peers in healthier ways, and is making wiser choices. Sending him away was a very heart-wrenching decision, but we’ve never questioned it as being his best hope to move forward to a meaningful adulthood. Our son, despite missing home and old connections and having some challenges while away, has thanked us numerous times for both wilderness therapy and his residential treatment center. Deep down he saw he needed this change and focused professional input in order to become the man he wants to be. We’re extremely grateful for the tremendous experience, education, kindness, and dedication of the professionals who have helped our son (and us as parents).