Desiree Jackson

Review of WIngate Wilderness Therapy

How do I assign stars to the people that saved my ...

How do I assign stars to the people that saved my daughter's life? I can't even begin to think about where my daughter would be without Wingate. They are the most caring and advanced program and therapuetic model I have ever experienced. My daughter struggled with depression, PTSD and severe drug addiction. She ran away from home and was living on the streets at 16 years old. After a few short term stays in a locked mental health facility we knew she needed something else. We also knew she was a runner and feared her running away from anywhere we sent her. That's what turned us towards
wilderness therapy. We also knew she needed to be stripped of all distractions so that she could finally work on herself. That is exactly what we found at Wingate. When she arrived at the Wingate office in the cold January snow she was angry, bitter, convinced she was going to try to run and refusing to go out into the field. Walt was there with her and talked to her and cried with her until she decided to go out, she still talks about those first hours in the office with him. That interaction was just the beginning of staff showing my daughter just how valuable she was. Her therapist Erin was incredible and was able to work through trauma with my daughter the way no one else had been able to. She used somatic trauma therapy and also gave my daughter many books to read to understand herself and how her brain functioned. She had an addiction therapist and she studied NA and eventually helped lead NA groups. The most unique part of Wingate is the way these kids are treated, they eat, hike and live with their staff. The staff live just as they do. Nature creates the rules, there is no level system, everything has a natural consequence. They are also skilled in handling run risk kids.

If you are reading this you are likely where I was just 11 months ago, desperate to find help for my child. There are so many places on the Internet and I just didn't know where to turn and who to believe. Shayne reached out to me and I could tell above all else he wanted to help me and my daughter. I pushed all fear aside and decided to do what I had to do and I have never been more grateful of a decision I have made. My daughter was at Wingate for several months and is now in a therapuetic boarding school and will likely be home soon. I just got back from visiting her and she wanted to go back to visit everyone at Wingate- so we did! My daughter is counting down the months til she turns 18 so that she can work as a field staff.

If you are desperate for help and ready to experience genuine care and therapy like no other treatment program, choose Wingate!

Thank you Wingate- Shayne, Sheri, Walt, Erin and so many others for saving my daughter's life and showing us that there is hope!