Residential Life

The day a new student arrives as our residential treatment boarding school for troubled adolescents, he or she is assigned to a residential team that consists of other same-gender students and goes to the dorms to be with his or her team. In many ways this team represents a family structure. Most activities, including outings, group therapy, meals, recreational activities and Equine Co-facilitated Therapy (ECT) sessions, are attended as a team. Educational classes are attended on a same gender, cross-team basis in order to optimize ability, subject matter, and class composition.

Each team has a maximum number of 12 same sex students and is supervised by adult Residential Staff, 24 hours a day. This is done in three shifts. Support Staff are with students as they go between areas from 7:30 a.m. to 4:50p.m. . Residential Staff is with students from 4pm to midnight and night watch staff provides supervision during sleeping hours (midnight till 8:00 am). Staff members accompany students to all group activities, assist in homework and/or therapy assignments, participate in outings, and provide life skill education.

The goal of the Residential Department at Aspen Ranch is to increase the self esteem and life skills competency of each student as well as to ensure their emotional, mental, and physical safety. The residential staff becomes familiar with each student on a personal basis through appropriately sharing their own life experiences from schools attended, prior work experience, and basic skills learned and wisdom gained through daily living.

The residential treatment center staff is comprised of professionals having diverse backgrounds that include years of experience working with people, particularly youth. They are responsible for the students participating in the activities and required assignments of daily life at Aspen Ranch. A significant objective of the residential department is for the staff to teach the students daily living skills for life. Some of those skills include, but are not limited to, the following: Healthy eating habits, Personal hygiene, Clean living space, Value based decision making, Peer interaction and assertive communication skills.

Residential staff assists in therapy groups by maintaining orderly group settings, identifying students, having difficulties, and supporting the therapists. The staff is also in constant communication with other members of the multidisciplinary treatment team about the activities and behaviors of each client as well as the entire team. Staff reinforces good behavior and also enforces the consequences for students when infractions occur.

Level System

Aspen’s residential program revolves around a five tiered level system. All students, except those who have successfully graduated from a Wilderness Program, begin at the lowest level. Through honest achievement students can work their way up, earning respect and privileges along the way. Modeling after the ranch component of the program, the levels consist of the following, in ascending order and with their phase objective listed:

Mustang – Respect
Maverick – Responsibility
Greenhorn – Relationship
Rider – Integrity
Wrangler – Contribution

As each student moves through the level system, she/he is encouraged to move from external controls to internal ones; from simple compliance to genuine desire to change.

Level advancement opportunities occur at least once a week. However, once a student has achieved a level, he/she is required to remain on that level for a certain amount of time in order to demonstrate that the student is really ready for the challenges at that level. Additionally, the student must take appropriate time to prepare for application to the next level. Each resident desiring to advance completes the Level Advancement Packet and gives it to the treatment team. Team staff, therapists, and academic advisors approve or deny the packet based on careful consideration of the particular student’s genuine preparation and merit. Team members also provide feedback to the student. The student then must attend a treatment team or Committee Meeting, which resembles a job interview, in which he/she will state the reasons why she/he thinks level advancement is warranted. The student must then answer questions from the members of that committee. The staff then makes a decision as to whether or not the student merits a level advancement or not. If the student is denied, staff will offer feedback about their decision.