Our son’s previous program gave us a number of names, including Red Mountain. We found out that Red Mountain focused a lot of attention on mediation and Eastern philosophy, which was an interest that our son already had, so that was quite a pull. Talking with Josh also helped us make our decision.
His therapist was tremendously helpful, especially in the beginning, when our son was in touch with him daily, and later weekly. He also stayed in close touch with us.
He struggled at first, but he formed a close relationship with Josh, which helped him get through a lot of feelings of inadequacy, like “I don’t really belong here.” Eventually, he saw that this was normal and that helped him gain some equilibrium.
We liked the fact that he had a lot of independence at Red Mountain. Josh and his therapist made it clear that he had it in him to do what needed to be done, and they didn’t try to fix it for him. Red Mountain provides a “loose scaffolding of support” to the students, which is one of the aspects of the program that drew us to it. That scaffolding allowed him to develop the skills he needed to grow on his own.
As parents, we never looked back on our choice of Red Mountain. We liked the mixture of structure and independence and we could see it was really up to him to make it succeed. The whole philosophy of a transitional program is to help the person learn how to be an adult, so we trusted that RMS would do that. We liked the fact that it was really up to him, though we were in weekly communication with his therapist and were updated on how he was doing.
It was at Red Mountain, for example, that he began attending AA meetings. This was an important step for him, and he took it on his own. These meetings became a part of his Red Mountain program, which was always individualized to meet his needs as they evolved.
Sedona is an amazing place for a program of this kind; it is so beautiful. It encourages the students to fill their days with healthy habits. Being outdoors is a big part of that. It is conducive to being healthy and there is a larger context of spirituality there.
Families considering RMS should define what they are looking for in terms of structure versus freedom. It is a great place for someone who is experiencing “failure to launch.”
If your child is looking for a place where they can “fall in love with themselves again,” Red Mountain is a great choice.