The Discovery Ranch Program

The Discovery Ranch program is a residential treatment center for teens where we model, mentor, and motivate our students by using a positive relationships approach. Our program offers a unique blend of traditional and experiential therapy that surpasses other programs for troubled teen girls.

Day-by-Day Therapy

The Discovery Ranch therapy approach is unlike other troubled teenager programs. Therapists, mentors, teachers, and staff work side-by-side with girls every day to create an on-going therapeutic environment. It’s an environment that extends far beyond office-only sessions. Girls at the Ranch experience more professional therapist and educator time throughout the day than at any other residential program for troubled youth. Girls often don’t realize initially that the activities they engage in have a clinical purpose because we incorporate therapy in so many different ways. This kind of experiential approach makes girls less resistant to therapy. When we can minimize treatment resistance, we can accelerate therapeutic progress.

A Learning Model that Lasts Into the Future

The Discovery Ranch program teaches girls how to recognize and regulate their emotions and behaviors. We teach with the philosophy that girls don’t need protection from life’s difficulties. They need opportunities to see these challenges for what they are – opportunities to discover their own strengths.

A key part of being able to face these difficulties is the knowledge each girl has that she has a therapist and a team of mentors and educators who will help and support her during her struggles. What may have seemed overwhelming prior to treatment, now becomes feasible in the supportive environment at Discovery Ranch.

Our programs for troubled teens use experiential therapy. As our girls work through the challenges that come from caring for feeder calves, working with horses, community service projects, academics, and residential activities, they recognize that they can work through their challenges without turning to destructive coping behaviors. They learn that they have the strength, intelligence, and will to succeed.

Our mission statement:

“We believe in the potential of young women and the ability to restore choice. Through nurturing relationships and challenging experiences young women and their families discover hope, passion, and perseverance in the face of life’s adversity.”

Testimonials

“We knew we were making progress in the first six weeks.”

Parent

“We had tried everything we could try. We owed it to her to try something completely different.”

D. – Connecticut

“I think she’s now learned what truly makes her happy and unhappy, and how her own behavior impacts her own long-term happiness. That is a huge change, and it’s had a very favorable impact on how we interact with each other.”

Parent

“If somebody had told me two years ago we’d be in this situation, I never would have believed it. To have come back so far is truly remarkable.”

Parent