Liahona Treatment Center

"Liahona was our last hope and nothing short of a miracle for saving my son’s life. The Liahona approach allows customized care based on timing of each boy’s willingness to embrace the opportunity for real, lasting change. The Owner Clay along with Rich, Bear and Beverly were wonderful to work with! The Liahona Virgin campus team have built an amazing program with a successful track record and long-term results at treating the whole person, not just the symptoms of bad behavior/substance abuse, but dares to dig deeper uncovering root causes of the problems. My son was a complex case as he exhibited erratic and dangerous behavior along with lingering effects of substance abuse which could have ended his life on multiple occasions prior to admittance. The highly-structured environment with set “wake” and “lights-out” times, allows the boys to get into a healthy, balanced and predictable schedule resulting in a solid foundation to become the best versions of themselves and make the most of the program. The well-regulated agenda culminates dependable sleep patterns, individual and group therapy, chores, healthy and consistent meals, with time built-in for exercise, school, homework, faith (of any kind or none at all), personal growth, journaling and reading. Based on progress, working the program and meeting milestones, the boys can earn group outings that may include volunteering a chance to give back to the community, or a fun outing like bowling, hiking or trip to the lake, etc. The staff at the Virgin facility were simply amazing! I can’t thank Rich (Program Director) and Bear (our son’s Therapist) enough for their vision and “lead by example” approach to earn credibility, respect and have such a positive power of influence over the most challenging of behaviors. Bear was very honest that our son was one of the more complex cases he had seen and that he wasn’t sure if Liahona would be the “best fit” for him. Bear was absolutely remarkable in treating my son, from day 1, as a fully 100% capable individual and he saw through the façade of substance psychosis, anger, low self-esteem, manipulative and self-centered behavior. The value of the Liahona program incorporates a loving and supportive environment, patiently allowing each boy to come to their own realization and choose to begin the journey-cycle of initiating progress, resulting in gaining confidence, motivating them to work harder, embracing the courage to face adversity and proving to themselves they are capable of setting goals and exceeding expectations. The Liahona program results in building confidence, fueling motivation for more continued growth and is the recipe for achieving not only success in Liahona but prepares each boy for a successful life outside of Liahona in the real world. My son entered Liahona as a troubled boy and graduated the program as a confident young man, eager to work hard, face adversity, exceed every goal placed in front of him, fully equipped with the knowledge and desire to help others along the way. We couldn’t be more proud and are forever grateful to the incredible staff and program at Liahona for doing God’s work here on earth!"

"Liahona was the second stop for our son in our pursuit of providing the help and support he needed to succeed. We chose the first place a little hastily because our backs were pushed up against the wall with the acceleration of unsafe behaviors our son was engaging in at home. With time to research further, and learning better what our son needed while at his first program, we chose Liahona because of their ability to treat the whole child. He developed healthy disciplines and positive habits. He learned the reality of responsibilities necessary to uphold in life. Most of all we saw him transform into a young man who can think rationally. He was always allowed his emotions, and through the multiple therapeutic approaches applied, he is now able to process those along with reason, so his decision making abilities set him up for success and becoming the best version of himself. This helped open up the lines of communication for us as a family with him, so as his parents we are able to be a support that he embraces, not rebels against. We appreciated their direct, upfront, and honest style of communication throughout the entire time. It wasn't always a pretty process, but one that we never lost trust in. Our son is now home. It's hard to believe the change that has occurred with him when he was the same child who we wondered when, not if, he would end up in the juvenile justice system, fathering a child before getting a driver's license...the list goes on. The change has been a blessing for us as parents, obviously, but what's truly remarkable is what it did for our son's internal peace. Where hope and confidence seemed void, it is now filled to the brim. It's a beautiful thing to see that sparkle back in his eyes."

"Liahona has been a great blessing for our family and our son. Although we had no idea how it was going to work, enrolling our son there turned out to be the best decision. He needed the some extra focus and structure that was not available in public schools in our area. Liahona provided the structure and discipline, along with therapy and guidance for how to lead an ethical and successful life once he got out. Although resistant in the beginning, our son began to understand that the staff truly cared about him and became more accepting of the structure provided to him. Once he bought into it, we were amazed at the progress. The staff (Benjamin, Richard, and Beverly) were outstanding in helping us all along the process. The fact that my son still writes letters to them is evidence of the trust that was established during his stay at Liahona. We have no hesitation in recommending this facility to any child who needs the extra guidance and care that is not available otherwise. Also, it helped that compared to many other similar facilities, Liahona was the most reasonably priced for out-of-pocket payments."

"My review comes from the perspective of a parent of my now 17 year old son who did the program from May 2018 and graduated in September of 2019. Please understand when searching for ‘reviews’ for a treatment center, you should NOT expect participants to give it a glowing review like a four-star resort. Liahona is for boys who are in serious trouble and have run out of ‘softer’ options and are way beyond the help of a once-a-week therapist. Before taking my son to Liahona, his life had become out of control and he was taking and selling drugs, had been kicked out of school a number of times and was in legal trouble. His problems were way worse than I would later come to understand and admitting him ended up literally saving his life. Being honest, I was initially very scared to have reached such a drastic approach to help him, however in time I learned to trust the process and not be led by my emotions as a father. Early days and weeks were rough, but we were able to keep in touch with him through letters. Beverly was excellent at keeping me updated weekly with my son’s progress. He eventually earned the privilege to do weekly HIPPA-approved calls with his mom and me, with his therapist on the phone guiding the discussion. Over the weeks and months, my son’s therapist Benjamin (aka ‘Bear’) gained his trust and he started to really work the program and learn what was driving his toxic thinking that kept leading to a self destructive lifestyle. I’m happy to say my son graduated the program and is doing very well. He still hates school, but is nearing completion of it and loves his life and has hope again. Bottom line, when boys decide to let go and work the program, they learn incredibly valuable life lessons. I’m so proud of my son and couldn’t be more grateful to Bear, Liahona and the entire staff for giving me my son back."