Alpine Academy

"The staff, program and setting at Alpine Academy are all exceptional, and my daughter benefited significantly from her time there. I won’t go into detail here for privacy reasons, but I’m the parent of a recent graduate, and I’ll be glad to discuss my recommendation with other parents who are considering Alpine. You can get my contact information from the school."

"I graduated Alpine Academy in 2015, since my graduation I got married and have started growing my own family. It wasn’t until I became a parent and a wife that I realized how desperately I needed help and how useful a lot of the skills I learned at Alpine was for not only myself but my family. I used the skills and tools I learned to help me navigate parenting… but with not a whole lot of success. I truly didn’t understand the key components that played in the teaching family model. After three years of power struggling with my toddler, I HAD to know what the secret ingredient to parenting was. I didn’t want pass the same trauma, baggage and pain to my children… and I wanted the give them the biggest advantage in their life. Today I got trained in the Teaching family model, it opened and helped me understand what the core values of healthy relationships should be ; not only am I ecstatic to have learned and seen the work. But I appreciate the thoughtfulness that goes in training the staff, to ensure the success of each youth. The staff IS what makes Alpine academy successful; each and everyone of the professionals working at alpine have their own uniqueness, their own strengths to contribute, ways for showing up, and making alpine superior to any other treatment center. I feel extremely BLESSED to know people with such selfless hearts. After years from graduating Alpine Academy and coming back for the occasional visits, the staff continues to make me feel whole, welcomed, cared for, loved, and most importantly EMPOWERED . Alpine Academy is more than a treatment center it’s a LIFESTYLE, a journey that will forever be imprinted in my heart and within my home."

"I attended Alpine Academy two times. I had some of the best times and some of the absolute worst times of my life there. I made friends and family who are still a part of my life years later. And yet I still have the nightmares (that every Alpine girl knows) that I’ll be sent back. Being sent away from home to a place completely foreign to you with no power to change your circumstances can be a terrifying experience. But I found that embracing Alpine takes the power to surrender control, not that you really had any. Every student that enters Alpine Academy is there for a reason, a perfect child wouldn’t need the help. It’s hard to admit when there’s a problem, especially when the issue might not even be the child’s fault. Students can go to Alpine because there are problems in the household and unfortunately Alpine doesn’t always do the best job of making that distinction because the parents are usually the ones funding the therapy. That being said, Alpine has changed since I graduated. They no longer practice the point system. I don’t know if this is good or bad. I found that the point system was both constructive and destructive, it just depended on how the person learns. Some girls measure their worth by the points they earn, while others see them as a way to grow and measure their progress. But even recently I have thought about some of my favorite parts of Alpine Academy. I loved the opportunities that the classes provided. I learned to sew and cook. I learned the importance of social justice and very important pieces of history that your average school doesn’t teach. I loved the mountains and the snow. I loved the drive-in movie theater and the best beef jerky I’ve ever had all right down the street. My family teachers were the best people I could have been introduced to and I still talk with them today. They are my family and without Alpine I would have never cultivated that bond of unconditional love. I was also in the adult-living program there, ASPIRE. Some of my fondest memories come from there. The dorm-style living, the meal planning, the budget making, the group decision making and dynamics (that we created as a team). Not everything was perfect, obviously, because no treatment facility ever will be. But I wholeheartedly believe that if you go into it with the most honest open-mind that you can—you will gain so much more than you could imagine. Alpine Academy isn’t perfect and this style of treatment is not for everyone because all of our needs are different. But I know that in the end, because I made the decision to put in the work, I came out better."

"Bottom line: Alpine Academy saved my daughter's life -- the therapists, the teachers, the parent-teachers, and the other students all contributed mightily to my daughter's care, recovery and growth. She entered Alpine with little chance of graduating from high school; she left with her high school diploma, a 3.5 GPA (while at Alpine), and admissions to one of the world's best art schools. Best of all, she has friends - many wonderful, caring friends. No child wants to go to an RTC, but our daughter realizes now it was where she needed to go. The staff isn't perfect -- but as a group, they are wonderful and achieve miraculous results. The girl's campus is convenient (a 25-minute drive from SLC airport), quiet (located in lovely, horse-ranch country with mountain, Great Lake and long-distance views), and beautiful (as a non-profit, Alpine clearly invests to keep the property, facilities, and residences in top quality condition). I have recommended this skill to many families -- and will do so for a long time to come. Thanks, Alpine!"

"We wanted to express how incredibly indebted we are to Alpine Academy's staff and program. After visiting 6 different programs in 4 different states, we were thrilled to find Alpine Academy. The therapists, family teachers, associates, educational teachers and the whole staff have been true angels who have touched our daughter and our family in the most positive, influential way. Alpine's professionalism, love, individualized program, flexibility, honesty, and top notch staff has blown us all way. Our daughter LOVES Alpine and how she feels there. They have made a very difficult situation a blessing. We are so thankful to them for taking such good care of our daughter (and us). As our daughter is getting ready to graduation, we all are feeling sad this Alpine chapter is closing. It is so comforting to keep hearing the staff say that they will be there for us forever in the future via text, phone calls, visits…….incredible! We feel so lucky to have found Alpine."