Ridge Creek Therapeutic Boarding School

A focus on the development of the student physically, academically, socially, and therapeutically rather than merely coping skills.
A college preparatory academic curriculum. Ridge Creek Therapeutic Boarding School students have a 100% college acceptance rate.
Parent and family workshops.
A large number of available breaks/home visits for students.
Small class size - 10:1 ratio.
A team approach to student care.
A significant number of activities that rival traditional boarding schools. We give students more opportunities to succeed than most schools.
A Therapeutic Curriculum complemented by a Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills group.
Weekly individual and group therapy 3 times per week.

What is Ridge Creek Therapeutic Boarding School's philosophy?

Ridge Creek School's mission statement is to provide care by helping a child develop physically, academically, socially, spiritually, and emotionally. Our dedication to this philosophy continues to help Ridge Creek School and its students achieve the success and direction needed for a better future.
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What kind of students attend RCS?

Our students come from all over the United States and several countries. They are bright, capable teenagers who often demonstrate oppositional and defiant behaviors. They are often described as at risk and troubled teens because their emotional and impulsive actions have caused them difficulty with authority figures. These behaviors cause significant clinical impairment in their academic and social functioning. The most common characteristics are :

Often loses temper
Often argues with adults
Often actively defies or refuses to comply with adults' requests or rules
Often deliberately annoys people
Often touchy or easily annoyed by others
Often angry and resentful
Often spiteful/vindictive

In a supportive structured environment that focuses on group counseling and individual therapy these children regain their youthful optimism with responsible goals for the future.
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What about the negative comments on blog sites?

Working with teenagers and families in crisis presents many difficult hurdles. Schools and programs who try to provide the best clinical and academic support for families are often the ones assaulted by the people they try to help. For a variety of reasons some students and families do not complete programs. At times this is due to different or unrealistic expectations of therapeutic programs. Many families are looking for the fastest fix possible, and as we all know, fast does not mean best. If a program promises to “fix your child” in three months, I would look long and hard at their long term outcome studies. It is important that parents have a good understanding of what is involved in treatment, and that there will be many ups and downs, and that although their child is in a therapeutic environment; that does not always mean that they will be happy. If you are basing the effectiveness of the program on how happy your child is, you are using the wrong criterion. That does not mean that your child will not be happy, and enjoy themselves from time to time, but if they are always happy, then they would see little reason to change their ways.

True counseling requires an individual to take a good hard look at their true self, and address the difficult issues, whether they are traumas, past actions, thinking errors, or character flaws. This is not always an easy journey, yet one that has often become increasingly necessary due to the individuals actions and behaviors. This can take an emotional toll on the family, which unfortunately some parents are not ready for. This is why it is important for parents to have their own support system and to be actively involved in the schools parent programming, so that you do not feel like you are alone throughout this journey. Parents who do not have adequate support often rely on their child to reduce the emotional toll, which in turn stunts the emotional growth.

Unfortunately some families have not adequately prepared for this journey, whether it is due to financial or other reasons, in which they had hoped their child would be different and able to complete the program in a shorter period of time and withdraw their child prior to program graduation. Although the students will have progressed, and behaviors often improved, this does not mean that the change has been internalized. Therapeutic programs have recommended lengths of stay based on empirical evidence, which shows that the greatest amount of change is provided when students are in treatment for 12-15 months. Withdrawing students prior to program completion drastically reduces the chances of long term benefits.

When any of these above scenarios happen it leaves the students and families feeling as though they have been failed, which is a hard feeling to cope with. Often times they lash out in anger and want to absolve themselves or any responsibility for what has occurred. This anger is often projected back toward the schools, who they feel should have done a “better job”. Many times slanderous lies and half truths generated by students and/or parents are then viciously and anonymously posted all over the internet. There is not one therapeutic program or school in the country that has escaped. As you may or may not know there is no legal recourse to this. As long as the statement reads “I was told that…” or, “ a former staff member ….. “ you cannot take legal action.

If your child needs help, please do not be tainted by the people who neglected to get help for their child or the children who refused to make the necessary changes. Instead call the school and ask them for the names of people in your city or state who know the school. If items on the negative blog site concern you, make a list and ask Admissions staff to review each of them with you

Please do not trust your child’s future to the rants and ravings of people who have crashed and burned and not yet pulled their own lives together.

Who will be working with my child?

Our students and families benefit from a comprehensive team approach. During your child's stay, they will be working with a team consisting of:

A Primary Therapist who is the main contact throughout the program, conducts individual therapy.
An Element Therapist who leads groups based on our unique therapeutic curriculum based on Erik Erickson's stages of development.

What should I expect from my child in the first few weeks?

Students typically have difficulty accepting their placement at Ridge Creek Boarding School. This reaction is not only due to missing family, but is also a result of losing the ability to use unhealthy coping skills that gave your child a sense of control. It is beneficial to remind yourself of the reasons that led to the enrollment of your child at RCS and keep in close contact with your child's Primary Therapist.
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When will I hear about my child?

Your child's Primary Therapist will call you shortly after enrollment and at least once per week with a progress report. This updates will include how your child is doing socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. These scheduled calls last approximately 30 minutes. Certainly, feel free to contact your child's Primary Therapist or Headmaster via email or phone with any other questions during the week.
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Are you a licensed facility?

Ridge Creek School is licensed as a Child Caring Institution with Georgia's Department of Human Services.
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When will I be able to speak with my child?

For the first three weeks of the program, students will be allowed to call you once a week for a conference call. A member of the RCS staff will set a convenient time for this call during the first phone call after admission. These calls will last 15 minutes and will be supervised by one of the student's counselors to ensure the student is respectful and appropriate. After your child has been at RCS for three weeks, has written you two letters, and has received one back from you, they are eligible for regular calls.
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What are the other ways that I am able to communicate with my child?

Our program encourages family involvement and communication. You may email your child or send letters/cards through conventional mail. Your child's Primary and Element therapists will distribute this mail to ensure this mail is truly from parents. However, the therapist does not read the mail so privacy is ensured. If you have concerns about your child receiving mail from someone other than individuals of whom you approve, please notify the Primary Therapist that you would like him/her to read the mail received.
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My child is disabled and/or has a medical condition requiring frequent monitoring. Is RCS equipped for such students?

Ridge Creek School complies with the Americans With Disabilities Act by ensuring our buildings have accessibility. In addition, those students with diabetes or asthma have immediate access to monitoring devices, insulin pumps, and medications. Modifications in a student's diet are also possible. We ask you provide us with a doctor's order to make sure our Dispensary is equipped to provide the care your child requires.
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How does Ridge Creek School manage prescription medications and medical care?

Ridge Creek School has a Dispensary, where we store and dispense all medications. The Dispensary does not diagnose or treat illnesses other than the common cold or nausea. The Dispensary staff coordinate visits to local medical and dental professionals as needed. We have a psychiatrist who comes to campus for students requiring psychotropic medication monitoring.
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Are you accredited?

Ridge Creek School holds the prestigious dual accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and Southern Association of Independent Schools. In addition, we are also accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission. These accreditations allow us to award high school diplomas, and ensure quality in our college-preparatory curriculum. If your child does not graduate high school from Ridge Creek School, earned credits will transfer without difficulty to the next facility/ school.
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What happens when my child turns 18?

Upon your child's 18th birthday, they are required to sign themselves in and make a decision to finish the program. Most parents successfully influence their child to stay by refusing financial support if the child decides to leave the program early.
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How are parents involved?

Even though your child stays on our campus, we believe families are enrolled at Ridge Creek School. We are here to help you become an active parent. In addition to weekly contact with the Primary Therapist, we have parent workshops during your child's stay. These workshops are very important since they allow parents to receive more in-depth updates on your child's progress, and educate parents on ways to improve communication, establish parental guidance, and bond more closely with your child. It's our goal for you to have a renewed relationship with your child by the time he/she leaves.
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Does Ridge Creek Therapeutic Boarding School accept insurance?

We do not accept insurance, third party payers, or government agency coverage; however, we can provide an itemized statement for parents to file with their insurance companies and/or sources of reimbursement. Many insurance companies cover the counseling portion of our program; however, we can not guarantee reimbursement.
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Help for teen with Anorexia/eating disorder?

In this age, when mass media is promoting unrealistic, body-image goals for young people, causing insecurity and intense anxiety in many, eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, are an ever increasing problem for adolescents. At Ridge Creek School our staff has extensive experience in, and training for, dealing with the needs of children struggling in the grips of these types of disorders. First and foremost, after the child is stabilized, we address the root causes of the disorder in an intense therapeutic setting in an attempt to address the issues, misconceptions, and insecurities which led to the manifestation of these behaviors. In addition, we monitor caloric intake and exercise regimes. Further, and if need be, we can provide bathroom escorts to be certain that the child is not perpetuating destructive habits, while undergoing the therapeutic process.
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Interventions for juvenile delinquency?

The faculty and staff of Ridge Creek School believe that there is no such thing as a "bad" child. But, children can, and often do, lose their way on the path to responsible adulthood. Through an intensive therapeutic program and "grounding" wilderness experiences coupled with a strong, individualized academic program, RCS helps young people discover and eliminate the causes of their destructive behaviors, while accentuating the positive aspects of their character.
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Does Ridge Creek School help teens with ADHD or ADD?

Due to the individualized college prep curriculum, as well as the therapeutic coping techniques taught at Ridge Creek, students with ADHD/ADD often find the success here, academically, socially, and therapeutically, which eluded them in other settings. RCS provides students with these needs the tools they need to succeed here and in their future endeavors.
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What types of behavioral / emotional issues are covered in theme group discussions?

Academic failure
Adoption
Alcohol abuse
Aspergers
ADHD
Cutting
Death of a parent / grief and loss
Depression
Diabetes
Divorce
Drug Abuse
Promiscuity
Self-injury
Substance abuse

Coed vs Single Sex Therapeutic Programs?

For the parents of an adolescent girl struggling with emotional and therapeutic issues, placement in a girls-only environment may seem an obvious choice. After all, many of the problems that an adolescent female faces seem to arise from contact with the opposite sex. At Ridge Creek School, we have found that this type of segregation is counter-productive and can be, in many cases, a serious deterrent to the therapeutic and process and the growth and development of the girl as a confident and contributing member of society.

The restrictive environs of an all-girl program/school are a temporary reprieve from the demands of the social interactions that await in society at large. To be healthy and successful in today's world, young women must have the knowledge and ability to cultivate positive, platonic relationships with males on an equal and individual basis.

At Ridge Creek School we provide the tools needed to achieve this. In the classroom, girls at Ridge Creek School are encouraged to speak out and participate in class discussions and projects with their male classmates. This type of interaction is invaluable in building communication skills and increasing self-worth. It is the type of contact that will be inevitable in a university or work place setting. Co-ed participation in group therapeutic settings fosters true understanding of gender differences and issues, which leads to a healthy appreciation of the similarities and differences that exist between the sexes. This appreciation, in turn, becomes an invaluable tool for social interaction in later life.

In addition to addressing the issues in coed groups, individual sessions, and theme reals that are single sex, a girl at Ridge Creek School had the option one weekend a month to participate in our Adventure Enrichment Curriculum. This is another way for girls to find that they have physical skills and mental leadership abilities that, many times, overshadow the capabilities and experience of their male classmates. For instance, it is a rare and valuable experience for a young lady, struggling with her issues to be able to guide her peers with map and compass through the Appalachian Forest successfully, or to guide a group of her classmates down a river rapid in the lead canoe. These are achievements and memories that change lives and remain in the mind's eye for a lifetime.

Does RCS work with children with Aspergers?

Due to the structured and inclusive nature of the therapeutic and academic programs at Ridge Creek School, we have found that adolescents, who have been struggling elsewhere with the unique symptoms of Autism/Asperger’s disorder, often find success here. At Ridge Creek every child is encouraged and given the opportunity to participate fully in all aspects of campus life. Socialization is a key factor in the program, and this enables a child with this disorder to safely experiment and develop skills, which may have eluded him/her in other settings.

At RCS, every child that displays an interest in any offered activity has the opportunity and is gently urged to take part. Be it an artistic pursuit or a sports team, every student at Ridge Creek is presented with the chance to participate. Here, we emphasize peer interaction in therapeutic settings as well as in the classroom, which is an absolutely necessary component for any program dealing with children with this distinctive condition.

Further, in the monthly weekend wilderness component of the Ridge Creek program a child facing the challenges presented by this disorder can find self-confidence, self-esteem and beneficial friendships through team-based activities, which foster cooperation and trust. These fun and challenging outdoor adventures are designed to take teenagers out of their comfort zone and create a peer interdependence which lasts beyond the activity and into group therapeutic sessions, classrooms and social activities on campus. This is extremely valuable to the socialization skills of an adolescent dealing with Autism/Asperger’s.

Academically, at Ridge Creek School the small student-to-teacher ratio (10:1) and the individualized curriculum and instruction that this allows are directly related to the positive achievements and productivity of Asperger’s students. RCS has a long, proven history of Academic success with adolescents with Asperger’s. Indeed, we have found that the Ridge Creek program as a whole is an extremely helpful and affordable option for teens in the grip of this disorder.

Why are there negative web sites about schools and programs?

Of the many difficult hurdles presented to those of us who work with families in crisis, perhaps the most daunting and hurtful are attacks from the very people that, in their time of need, sought our guidance and assistance. Often, the schools and programs that provide the strongest and highest-rated, proven support and solutions for these struggling families become the targets of the misplaced anger and unbridled aggression of those they were attempting to help. In most cases, these attacks come from families that fail to see the program to its fruition or refuse to follow the guidelines provided by the professionals in this field.

Unfortunately, the anger and frustration generated by their failure can lead some students and parents to manufacture half-truths and, in many cases, slanderous lies, for which the internet has become the platform. No school or therapeutic program in this country has escaped these vicious and, for the most part, anonymous attacks. Further, as long as the erroneous statement contains a heading like, “I was told by…” or, “A former staff member said…”, there is no legal recourse available to the school or program under attack.

We at Ridge Creek urge the parents of prospective students to fully investigate any eventual placement by calling the school and/or program under consideration to request a list of families that have completed the curriculum and to contact these families for a clear and unbiased picture of the program and its effectiveness. If there are items of concern encountered on an internet site, address these with the school and its alumni. The future of a struggling child is too valuable to be trusted to a simple internet search that yields the negative attacks of those who refused the heed advice and follow suggested treatment and recovery paths.

Make sure to ask whether the program you are considering is an independent program or part of a conglomerate.

Corporate America’s attention to the “bottom line” is the economic machine that drives the fortunes of the world. This dictates that financial efficiency and procedural guidelines are unwavering aspects of corporate culture. While these undeniable facets of corporate structure aid the ultimate goal of securing profit margins, they are not necessarily the hallmarks of a successful therapeutic treatment program. This is an important consideration for parents in search of a proper educational and treatment placement for a struggling adolescent. Conglomerate educational groups are often impersonal and detached in their structure and treatment options. There are treatment guidelines set for the various issues face by struggling teens. These guidelines are, in most cases, determined offsite by uninvolved professionals and businessmen who are most concerned with the continued fiscal success and profitability of the corporation. In practice, the treatment mandates in this corporate setting are ridged and difficult for the professionals charged with their implementation to alter. This kind of impersonal, predetermined treatment plan, it could well be argued, is not the best way to approach the treatment of adolescents struggling with the many issues that they face in today’s society. Every child is unique and special with distinctive qualities and needs that must be recognized and addressed on an individual basis. Therefore, it is important for families in crisis to consider the flexibility of treatment plans and the accessibility of supervising therapists in any therapeutic school placement that they are considering for a troubled teen. In a private, locally owned and managed, accredited institution there are, by tradition, far more options for treatment and educational approaches than are typically found in an organization that is a branch of a national or international conglomerate. This gives the professionals working directly with each child the ability to gear need-appropriate, innovative interventions specifically for each individual child in a timely fashion in order to make the most of the treatment and program schedule. There is no lengthy approval process beyond an on-site supervising, Chief Psychologist/Counselor. This therapeutic tact enables the child and his/her teachers and therapist to develop a true relationship that addresses and helps correct the struggles and issues that are, many times, exclusive to that child. Thus, while a corporation, if successful, will make a profit and remain in business, a corporate approach to the therapy, education, and care of a child with exceptional gifts and struggles may not be the best path for a family in crisis to follow.