Monuments RTC 815 West 200 South, Parowan, UT 84761

"I was a student attending Monuments. When I went to First Light Wilderness, life was completely different. Then when I found out I was going to another place, I just wanted to go home. When I moved onto Monuments, I never liked horses, mountains, snow, school, and most of all Therapy. After being there for 6 months. My parents and therapist all thought I was ready and I truly was. This place is the place where your kid would want to be. Trust the process. If it wasn’t for my parents or treatment, only god knows where I would be. Thank you Monuments!"

"I graduated monuments 6 months ago. Throughout my battle with mental health I’ve struggled a lot and felt like things couldn’t get better. When I was sent to treatment it felt like I’d hit a new low that couldn’t possibly exist. Treatment can be very scary ,and there is always a chance the problem could get worse without the right type of treatment. From personal experience I can truly say Monuments will do their best to help your kid excel and grow. My memories from monuments will stick with me for years to come ,and I can always think back to some of my favorite moments from my time there. Treatment is a big choice to make and if you are going to make it I’d recommend Monuments RTC. It is important for both the kid and parents to put their effort into creating a better relationship and monuments helps nurture and build that relationship. You get the opportunity to create many of your own goals and pursue them. Monuments helped introduce me to several new activities I never thought I’d be intrigued in such as Arts and Crafts, Photography, 3d Fabrication, Weightlifting, Horsemanship, and more. They provide activities for your child to go on , and a great self paced school system. The principal of the school Mrs. Kristi is unlike any other teacher you’ll ever meet. She is the fairy godmother of all teachers ,and makes it her personal goal to help your child excel. The staff also create relationships with the students ,and create a fun and caring environment. Students are often assigned one therapist ,but as I was working through my therapeutic goals I was able to have meaningful relationships with multiple therapists. I got to get extra insight on my personal goals as well as my communication skills grew. With the help of Mrs. Kristi and all my new skills I’d gained, I was able to even graduate highschool early and start college a semester early. Mrs. Kristi along with the therapists and staff helped throw a highschool graduation for me in which I even wore a cap and gown. The commitment and care really shines through. Not only was I able to graduate highschool but I was able to apply for colleges while I was there and learn a lot about my next steps as a young adult. There are so many staff I could thank because almost every one in there own generic way helped me through a struggle or offered advice in a tough time which really meant the world. Lastly I want to thank my personal therapist Andrew. I haven’t always had good luck with therapists but with Andrew I was able to truly strive for my goals , and communicate my struggles throughly. He was able to help me communicate better with my parents far better than any therapist before. My appreciation for him is endless. If you are having trouble deciding what treatment center your child may need, I personally recommend monuments above other treatment centers. You as the parent will be able to work with your child to create a better future for your family with monuments help."

"Our family's experience with Monuments has been a positive one, and continues even after our son graduated from the program. The staff including Gordon, Mary Lou, Kristi, Mike & Landon have shown that they have the boys best interests at heart. Our son who now lives in Utah has kept in touch with some of the staff. It is gratifying to know that there are people nearby who truly care about him. It was a very rough road that lead us to Monuments more than 2 years ago. No parent wants to make the decision that it would be best for their children to live away from home for an indefinite period of time. But our son needed more help than we felt we were able to provide and we wanted him to be in a safe, caring and protective environment. We chose Monuments because the therapeutic program as outlined seemed to be the best for him. The staff were welcoming, the boys we met looked and acted well cared for and it doesn't hurt that the mountaintop is amazing. At the time of our first visit they were embarking on enlarging the academic & athletic spaces. We met some of the students who showed us what they were learning in class. We were able to tour the grounds and meet Gordon and other staff. The immersive Horsemanship program is impressive and over time our son fell in love with the horses. He learned how to ride & care for the horses, and grew to love them. The Brian Head ski area is nearby and the boys are able to ski & snowboard during the winter. There are weekly trips into town to shop, go to the movies and have dinner at local restaurants. We participated in weekly family therapy sessions which helped to keep us sane & looking forward. Subsequent visits including Family Week only reinforced our belief that our son and other students were receiving the best care. The educational program gave him skills that enabled him to graduate high school early and attend college. He buckled down & was willing to put in the hard work academically to succeed. He and the other boys performed community service, including cutting down firewood and delivering it to their elderly neighbors for warmth during the winter months. We are proud of him and grateful to the Monuments staff."

"I did not work for Monuments, but my husband did and I have worked in the RTC world previously. I only have experiences shared from him and other employees, but Monuments feels poorly managed from what I have seen. At one point, an administrator told my husband that another employee was outshining him. To me, this seems unprofessional. Never in my professional career have I had an administrative leader compare me to fellow co-workers. It seems like the leadership is full of good hearts and intentions but lacks training in leadership and communication skills. It seems like therapists are often stuck in a hard spot with parents complaining about the lack of residential structure, but also having very little ability to change the residential situation or make improvements. At one point, my husband tried to make some changes to keep the residential more organized based on parent feedback; none of this ever came to fruition and it was also thrust upon the therapists even though the administration and leadership team should be taking lead of their own program. Granted, I don't know all the details since my husband abided by confidentiality guidelines, but in general, he would express concerns over residential staff and structure not functioning effectively to monitor the students. And then he would become frustrated by admin not making any improvements despite the issues. Very rarely did my husband feel appreciated at his job; yet, many of the educational consultants loved to place clients with my husband, and his families were all very happy with his work. It was frustrating for me to see how many hours he spent both at work and at home (taking notes, giving advice to parents, helping staff deescalate students late at night, and taking students to dentist/hair/doctor appointments), but also knowing that other employees who had less experience got higher raises for seemingly no documented reasons. Their system feels like it plays favorites and it was very discouraging to watch from the sidelines. Ultimately, we were so dissatisfied with Monuments as an employer and organization that my husband was willing to take a 30k pay cut just to get out. All the money and bonuses in the world wouldn't be enough for him to go back. I will say that there are many great people who work there. So many good intentions and hearts, but unfortunately lacking in organization and leadership, which does a disservice to the students who need it most."

"Our son recently graduated Monuments in southern Utah. We visited various programs before choosing Monuments. Gordon (the founder and CEO) was our tour guide during our initial visit. His experience, calm and confident demeanor, and love for his students was the driving force behind our choosing the program. Our family is thankful to Monuments for helping us find a better way forward. The staff at Monuments provided guidance for all members of our family with compassion and perspective. Our family learned that a better path forward includes work for all members of our family, not just for our son. The horsemanship program provided our son with a connection that was both grounding and impactful for his progress and self-awareness. We thank the Monuments staff for their care and guidance. Our son’s therapist, Aaron Cluff, guided with empathy, consistency, clear communication, and love for our entire family. The academic director, Kristi Gilbert, saw his talents and created an academic program that allowed him to thrive. Mary Lou connected with us during our first phone call and her support for our son and our family never stopped. At graduation it was apparent how our son had impacted the staff and how the staff impacted our son. Our family will be forever grateful to Monuments for helping us recalibrate our family system in the most transformative way and providing our son with the tools to rise to challenges moving forward."