Scott Wentz

Review of Sunrise RTC

Sunrise was a life saving & life altering experien...

Sunrise was a life saving & life altering experience for our daughter and family. As a parent you are making a choice you never envisioned making and my hope is, you too will find the same experience for your daughter. I am confident in the Sunrise program; from DBT, peer culture & peer support, family therapy & support, therapist, teachers, & residential staff. The relationships our daughter & family formed over 13 months (2012 - 2013) still exist today.
Today those are easier words to write, but it requires trust in the process and a true commitment from your daughter. The first 7 months our daughter, in her words, faked it to make it . True change only happened after a failed final home visit in December 2012. To sit back & watch her fail during that visit was beyond difficult. It still feels strange to say, but that FAILURE was her biggest Sunrise SUCCESS . Change happened when she finally surrendered to the I can fake it way and committed, trusted, & truly accepted Sunrise. Therapist, teachers, staff, and trusted peers never gave up on her! There have been some ups & downs since she graduated from Sunrise but she has been able to apply her Sunrise experiences & practical skills to navigate those. Following Sunrise, she immediately transitioned to college and graduated on time with a degree in Psychology.
These are the 4 items that stood out when first visiting Sunrise and making our decision to entrust them with our daughters care.
1. Nothing to hide. I spoke one on one with a current student & a student gave me the tour of the facility. I visited the area two years ago & stopped by unannounced to visit. The admission staff & director asked if I would speak with a mother & father visiting. I then spent 45 minutes by myself with the family.
2. Family involvement & support.
3. A mixture of female and male staff. Our daughter needed positive and supportive male role models. This was a key differentiator.
4. Trust your instinct and gut reaction.