Diamond Ranch Academy

Incredible and positive things happen at Diamond Ranch Academy and I am grateful to have the opportunity to work for such a great company. The people that work here genuinely want the very best for the youth and go above and beyond to support them through their journey here. DRA is unique from many other companies as there is a very positive environment here. I am proud to be a part of this great organization and feel that as staff, we are making a positive difference in each of the students' lives.

I am an Educational Consultant and have been working with Diamond Ranch Academy for several years! I have placed many students at this facility with amazing results! I have personally been on the campus and have met many of the staff members. This is by far one of the most effective therapeutic boarding schools out there and I will continue to recommend families to their facility. Thank you Diamond Ranch for all that you do for these kids and families... You truly are saving lives!

We did a tour recently and we were very impressed with their facilities, we have searched the entire west coast and nothing even came close to this campus. It feels as if you are at a University, it does not have a feeling of a teen treatment center at all, however when you meet the staff you do get the reassurance that this is a valuable treatment center, the staff is highly educated, knowledgeable and know each child that is attending Diamond Ranch Academy. This is the place for any child that is going through some difficult times.

I attended this facility for eight months. They did not treat my addiction whatsoever, did not allow me to do my schoolwork, forced us to pick tumbleweeds in the rain and snow until our hands bled, made me sleep on concrete floors, and constantly reassured all of us how we were pieces of $#*! along with the reminder that our parents truly resented us; not to mention the strip-searches in front of male employees (I am a female and was fifteen at the time). There is not a single fellow peer who attended this program with me that does not have some form of PTSD from this experience and a huge distrust with their parents and authority figures afterward. I am the only one that has attended college- which would not have been able to happen without years of expensive therapy to deal with the atrocious memories of this place. If your child is here and you have not received a negative letter or phone call from them, that is because they are not allowed to with fear of being thrown in RFI, kind of like the SHU is prisons. The Diaz family is a disgrace to the therapeutic boarding school reputation. Also, do your research! At least four children have died here from suicide.

Our son has been at DRA for almost 7 months, he just turned 14. Although we miss each other, we are so happy we made the decision to send him. The staff and kids are great. We feel that our son is in the best most capable hands. They are doing for him what we were not able to do for him. He is becoming a confident, caring, responsible young adult. We just came back from a visit and are thrilled with how much he has progressed. We see changes in him every time we visit. He is excited about the school now and is proud of how much he has accomplished. We are looking forward to his first visit home. It scares me to think what would have happened to him if we hadn't sent him to the academy. Thank goodness we had this option. I am so eternally grateful for this school and to the staff! It is a very hard to not be with him during this time but he will be returning home soon a healthy, non medicated, responsible, caring, young adult.

We love what DRA has done for our family and struggling teen son! They gave us the tools needed to shift from living a life in chaos and pain to thriving. Our teen son was struggling with low self esteem, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and beginning drug use, and we were at a loss for how to help him. DRA provided an safe place for him to grow in confidence and maturity while we were working on our healing at home. Nine months after graduation he is doing really well, actually missing the structure and many of the opportunities that DRA provided. We love and trust the staff very much who showed him respect and love. We, including our son, highly recommend DRA to any family who feels like things are spiraling out of control. Get help, the sooner the better! My rating: 4.5 stars

I keep thinking about how blessed our family has been to have been able to have our child at DRA. I still can't believe the transformation I have seen in my child. In May of last year I dropped a defiant, angry, hurt, disrespectful and lost child with no self esteem off to DRA. The young woman that I picked up from the airport is positive, respectful, mature and a completely changed young woman.
Thank you for all you do! Thank you for carrying my hope for my daughter and handing it back to me!

Our son had a very hard start to DRA. His transport was very traumatic. Once arriving at DRA, Brigham and the rest of the staff made him feel safe and helped him transition into the program. The first few weeks were rough. Once the meds were figured out and he started to trust staff, things got a lot better. Now he sounds happy and positive when we talk to him! He likes and trusts the staff. He loves the animals and all the sports that DRA offers. We are so happy that we chose DRA for our son to get the help that he needs. We are grateful for a wonderful, caring staff! Our son has been there for 2 months.

At Diamond Ranch Academy caring and thoughtful professionals are providing excellent service to our family. The therapeutic environment encompasses family counseling, academic progress, and success for students. Engagement in fulfilling sports, arts, and other activities are part of the therapy. A philosophy of guiding students through learning natural consequences for their actions helps raise teens' self-esteem and capacity to live a successful life. Teens themselves may not always be grateful when they are not coddled, but I believe these life lessons in personal responsibility will help them to success in personal happiness and health. The loving and caring environment extends to all the professionals associated with the school, including coaches, teachers, therapists, administrators, and staff. The school offers hope for our family! We needed additional resources beyond those offered by the traditional high school and the intermittent conventional behavioral outpatient therapy that was offered in our hometown. The DRA holistic boarding school environment seems to be teaching our family member, and supporting parenting in ways that I believe will have a lasting impact on our lives. Thank you DRA! We need many more schools like DRA in today's challenging and increasingly complex environment for teens!

Eleven months ago our family was faced with what seemed like an impossible decision to make. Our 15 year old son was struggling with depression and had completely given up on school. His frustration and aggression were growing stronger with each passing month and outpatient counseling wasn’t enough to help him deal with his challenges. After a second stay in the hospital he was formally diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It was then that we realized residential treatment was needed and we made the decision to enroll him in Diamond Ranch Academy to get the help that we, his parents, could not give him. Today we are preparing for his graduation from DRA next week and are looking forward to our son returning home to start his junior year in high school on track. He has made tremendous progress, not only in school, but more importantly in his overall well being. He has a genuine smile on his face now that we haven’t seen in many years and it’s nice to spend time with him again. We love our son dearly and are grateful to the DRA staff and all that they have done for our family. We all have learned a great deal from their amazingly well rounded program that is focused on healing the entire family, not just the child.

My response to Unknown U is while its true that theirs is a group of struggling teens at DRA, it is also true that they are the same kinds of kids they hung out with on the outside. These teens are mostly unhappy kids who don't realize their way isn't working for them. DRA provides an environment with less distractions and negative influences, so teens can be safe and take advantage of opportunities to learn new tools that do work for them and positive life lessons that many won't obtain any other way. There are no guarantees. It may be years before a DRA graduate can really appreciate all the rich and fertile seeds that were planted, but they're there when they're ready to sow them. It's a special privilege to go through the DRA program and if there are scars they aren't as deep as those that come from continuing along a downward path of destruction. It's every parents responsibility to intervene when their child is in trouble, to keep their child safe, and to recruit as much support as possible. With DRA the family works with a professional and sincerely caring team who provides advice, positive redirection and long-term support for the whole family. My hope for you is that you become all that you're meant to be because I know it's in you - you had glimpses of your power and strengths during your stay at DRA

Diamond Ranch Academy was a livesaver for my son and our family. A year ago, my then 16 year old son was failing out of, and cutting classes at, his third high school in three years. He was struggling with personal, academic and mental health issues and my wife and I had reached the end of our rope. Our sons future, our family life and our other kids were all a mess. Not knowing what to do, and having little information concerning DRA other than calls with a few of the family references, we made the difficult decision to send our son to DRA. After 5-6 months, we began to see a change our son started to feel better about himself, he started to return to his normal personality, he began to have hopes for his future and he learned the mental, personal and educational skills needed to make those hopes a reality. Now, a year later, he has left DRA, is a week or so away from getting his high school diploma, and has been accepted into a four year national college. Without DRA, its wonderful staff and our sons hard work, we would not be in this situation today.

My son has been at Diamond Ranch Academy since May, 2014. It is without question the best thing I've ever done for my son. He was spiraling downhill fast and after months of research I decided on DRA.

My son recently turned 18 and he decided to stay at DRA to complete the program. He joined the football team and is doing great with his classes. I have had the opportunity to spend time at DRA and their staff is top notch. They are accessible 24/7 and truly care about the students. They stay in constant contact with the parents and give updates on the progress of the student constantly. My son's therapist has done an amazing job and has been instrumental in helping him turn his life around.

The staff takes the students off campus often for day trips. They do all types of activities and for my son's 18th birthday his program director took him and his friends to dinner and miniature golf.

I would highly recommend DRA to any parent who feels powerless over their struggling teen. The staff at DRA is amazing and your son, or daughter will benefit greatly from the experience.