Discovery Ranch for Boys Review

I am so impressed with Discovery Ranch, and the staff, and what they do for these kids. I love the service these boys do in the community. I have witnessed them doing different service projects , and have been so impressed with the hard work and respect they show. I think it says a lot about Discovery Ranch and the program they run. I know Shelly personally and have seen her interact with the boys and I see how much she truly loves them, and cares for them. The staff makes this place a home away from home for these boys. Nothing but the best to say about this beautiful place .

Discovery Ranch is committed to outcomes. Boys come in needing help and leave feeling empowered to take on life's challenges. They work with animals which helps them learn responsibility. They work with their peers which teaches patience and social skills. And they work with their therapist who directs them as they heal familial relationships, work through past demons, and make plans as they look towards the future. The staff are incredibly dedicated and work tirelessly to help these boys.

Discovery Ranch is such a great program! The staff love and care about the boys so much and they have some of the best staff of any residential treatment center! The therapists are fantastic and all of the departments have each boys best interest in mind.

Discovery Ranch has a beautiful campus and staff that genuinely care about the boys. Their calf and equine programs are awesome. Making the decision to send a son to residential treatment would be so difficult but I know that Discovery Ranch gives young men the tools they need to heal.

I have personally witnessed boys from Discovery Ranch out on the trail that I run on. As a group of boys they were polite and considerate of people on the trail. Also it is basketball season and boys from Discovery Ranch are in our community playing against our local boys and they are showing respect, and good sportsmanship. As a resident in the Town where the ranch is located, I m am more than pleased to have them be a part of our community.

Discovery Ranch teaches values and grit. I work as a staff here. This job has gave me so much direction! When I first started I didn t really know what I wanted to do with my life but now I know I what I want to do! Discovery Ranch is a great place for healing and change. I would recommend this job to anyone and everyone! This place changes lives either as staff or a boy in the program.

Discovery Ranch provides unique, live-changing experiences that you cannot find anywhere else. Students as well staff have ample opportunity to learn, grow, and gain new perspectives on life among other things. From personal experience, the time I have spent here has taught me so much about myself and how I am as well as others and how others function. Being able to be a part of the the DR team has truly changed my life for the better.

My teenage son was struggling at 15. It included: anxiety, depression, school failure, overuse of electronics and a bit of defiance. After the extraordinarily difficult decision to send he to Wilderness (was there for 13 weeks or a total of 92 days) our Ed Consultant and the therapist from Blue Fire and us as parents agreed to send our then 16 year old son to Discovery Ranch at the end of Sept 2017. He was there until end of Jan 2019. It was a long stay but filled with so many positive experiences that it was actually very hard to say goodbye for us. My son on the other hand was joyous and ready for a less restrictive environment so he moved on to a step down program in So Utah where many other kids from DR have gone as well. So far so good. He is now just months away from turning 18 and is doing well in a small co-ed boarding school environment and has earned many, if not all privileges.

Here s what we loved about Discovery Ranch: the calf program for responsibility and empathy, the afternoon/evening self paced school for my son and his ADHD brought success in the classroom for the first time, the cross country 5K running team gave him self pride and a focus on fitness and exercise, The Parent Days where we learned along with other wonderful parents and families, because they also spoke the language of the challenges of treatment. The parent days performances (my son would have never participated in song and dance and skits!) to the off campus ropes trips: skiing at Sundance, upper level camping trip, the basketball team, wood carving with Jeanette, Sub for Santa, our frequent visits to Utah, the adoption group, a variety of fun elective classes: cooking, photography, computer science. The kids did their own laundry and had jobs from cleaning to various manager positions. They do have a lot of fun!

The staff and therapists, the mentors and each person we met, was friendly and very caring from Clint Dorny (executive director) on to the equine therapists, Jerry and Lynn, to the school admin, office staff and chefs. We felt like they were our DR family! Shelly Thomas first day as Admissions Director was also my son s first day at the Ranch. After a little bit of time, she even used him in a few of her parent tours. We are so grateful to her for doing this.

We can not thank Jeanette our therapist enough. She took us on and helped our family in so many ways. Our communication got better, our outlook towards the future improved. All of these things take time and that is one of the biggest challenges. There is no quick fix. We are stronger than yesterday, and so acknowledge the struggles of our son being at an RTC. DR's motto is The Strength is in the Struggle . Very true indeed. Our weekly phone calls/skype calls were critical in repairing our family unit into one of love and kindness.

My son did make a lot of positive changes, though he was on his own time frame and went up levels and back down at various stages. He was very compliant but had some trouble opening up. There was joy and some disappointment. We learned about setting new boundaries which is so important in our movement forward. Our 16 months at the Ranch was a long stay on one hand, but it was an extremely safe place for my son to learn about himself and work on our relationship with him, which was his primary goal when he began at DR. For us it was an important time for him to completely decompress from his phone and computer. We loved getting our weekly letters, which were short, but kept us going when we missed him at home.

One of the best things is getting my son's smile back! He has come a long way in the happiness department!

Discovery Ranch helped us get our family back. They will always have a special place in our hearts! It s all about the people and they have a lot of good ones!

ANNE Z

PS I am open to speaking or communicating with any parents/grandparents or family members who might have questions. I am happy to share.

Discovery ranch is a beautiful campus with caring staff. The program it s self is amazing and gives kids help they wouldn t find elsewhere. There is no better place to send your son that is struggling. This is a safe place with people who are there to help and love what they do.

Discovery Ranch is a great business and place for treatment! The staff here really do care about the boys and take huge measures to keep them safe.
I m a staff here at the ranch and get to see what goes on behind the scenes. Every day I see staff racking their brains and coming up with great solutions for how the boys can be helped. The change and healing doesn t happen over night but it definitely does happen. The therapists that work here are some of the best and listen to each boy. You can feel very comfortable and hopeful coming to Discovery Ranch or sending your son to Discovery Ranch.