Our son attended Ashcreek (ARA) from May 2017-January 2018. Unlike most of the boys he did not attend a wilderness program, we sent him directly to ARA Prior to sending him to ARA we lived in a constant state of stress and chaos, not knowing what the next minute was going to look like. We truly did not know how "normal" felt. We lived in fear that due to poor choices our son was on a path to lose his life. Not to mention the brutal impact it had on our daughter. Thanks to ARA we now know normal and it feels GREAT! We sent a troubled teen and got back an incredible young man. Not only is our house not continuously in an uproar but, due to getting ahead academically at ARA, he was able to graduate high school as a Junior. Seeing him walk across that stage was AMAZING! In fact, whether you are a tattoo person or not. On our son's 18th Birthday he got a tattoo and on it is says "Ashcreek May 5th 2017" which is the day we sent him to ARA. It also has a cross worked in to it. He chose this because he said ARA saved his life and it is when he started believing in God again. Can't beat that! Needless to say, we 100% recommend ARA to any family with a struggling teenaged boy. Tracy B read more

DO NOT SEND YOUR SON TO THIS SCHOOL. My son was exposed to drugs and had tattoos all over his hands and arms when he returned home. The boys have very little supervision and the staff turnover is hideous. There is no consistency in their therapy. It is a holding cell for boys. That is it. Our son was no angel but after paying over $75,000 we saw no improvement. We met the owners once and never heard from them again. The therapists are a joke. Honestly stay clear of this place. read more

Our son has made huge strides in life skills and awareness of how his behavior impacts his life and those around him. We were absolutely helpless against the way his behavior at home was going. We will see how the transition back home goes in several months, but we are hopeful, and grateful that we found Ash Creek. read more

Our son has made so many positive changes while at Ashcreek Academy. It is a relationship-based program where your son receives individual and group therapy, goes to his academic classes where individualized help is given and has recreation too. Students learn how to work through their emotions, get along with others, gain confidence and repair poor choices they may have made. It's a small student ratio in a peaceful setting where staff becomes family to the students. Ashcreek has a caring staff who develops positive relationships with the students. Positive values are instilled daily. Our son has really made significant changes in his way of thinking, avoiding conflict, communicating more maturely and understanding himself in a newly positive light. I highly recommend Ashcreek Academy. read more

Ashcreek is one of the best jobs I've ever had. Few places do what the senior management was willing to do here to make sure each student is setup for success. They are very team-oriented and take care of their own. Work hard here and you will be rewarded. read more

STAY CLEAR!!! While at one time this may have been an OK program it certainly has NOT been the past 15 months. We pulled our son after 2 months, regrettably six weeks too long. Horrible supervision, abusive, tons of bullying, atrocious food standards, no weekend activities and therapists who don't know how to connect and help students or parents. The ONLY good from our exposure to ARA was the weekend at Zions when we rescued/pulled our son. read more

So I am not going to release my name in this review to protect my identity but I am happy to hear this treatment facility has closed. I went to ash creek back in 2019. I came to the program from a wilderness therapy center and my parents toured the place right before Fotu Solia took over the program. When I first got to the program at the beginning of 2019 right before they announced Fotu started I got there right in December a couple of days after Christmas. The first day I got there everyone was playing video games in the living room upstairs by the kitchen kids were playing pool it was an all-around enjoyable place and I thought I could grow there. A couple of weeks after once everyone moved back in after there winter breaks that the older members in the program got they announced Fotu Solia was taking over the program and that's where it started going downhill. I saw the treatment center go from a semi-healthy center to a very corrupt and horrible place to be at. I am still close friends with a few people I went to the center with and some of them are people that came before me. One of my friends told me there used to be a level system and the only person that kept the program together was garth. We stopped going on outings, They advertised we went mountain biking, horseback riding, and hiking. Throughout my entire stay, we only went horseback riding one time and hiking a hand full of times. Staff that everyone loved and we could talk to and relate with and helped us with our problems if we got mad or angry got fired some quit cause they saw how the facilities got. They hired quite a few new staff but they did not to us they just watched us and made us be around them 24/7 when it was originally a punishment being around staff 24/7. Before this all happened we were allowed to roam the house freely if we wanted to go outside we just had to stay in line of sight of staff we made fires outside we had marsh mellows we even had a staff bring his guitar and he sang to us and made his own music but that all changed. Once those staff got fired or quit. Right before I got pulled from the program they implemented a system that showed how fit you are, if you were not fit you could not go to the recreation center and it was the only place we had that made us feel normal. They hired all new staff and the program started to fall apart. I could not tell my parents about it during our weekly phone calls and i couldn't tell them with my therapist cause then they would label it as I just want to leave. My mom came to visit me and I got to stay with her for a couple of days it was supposed to be a 3 day trip for her but it expanded a week while I showed her how the staff treated us differently once the parents left she sat out at the car with me and watched the staff following the students instead of her seeing all of us being able to walk around freely when she arrived earlier that day. Later that day she called my therapist and told him she is pulling me from the program he tried to convince her I needed more time and that I talked to him about how excited I was to go to graduation and my mother asked me about it and I told her I truly could care less. It is truly a blessing that it closed and I hope that the program never reopens read more

I was recently employed at Ashcreek Academy, let me give you a real insight on this extremely dysfunctional program. I would sit in on meetings with the owners, program director, therapists, & admissions personal. In these meetings where theyt were supposed to be discussing the needs of the students, these so-called "professionals" would basically be gossiping about how screwed up the parents of the students were. It was a whole lot of "no wonder why John Doe is so screwed up his mom or dad...." Nothing constructive, 100% just a gossip session lead by the director of the program. The only thing consistent in this program was inconsistency, I worked here for only a few months. In that short time period, I experienced at least a dozen residential schedule changes (no exageration). Every week or every other week, was a new roll out of program systems, each one solid in theory. However, due to the lack of leadership at the top would never work. So it was, "lets try this one" the very next week or two later. Ownership was 100% about the money, they legitimately had students who would not only be not working a program, but would be toxic to the "community". These one or two students would prevent a social/emotionally healthy & safe environment for other students to work a program. No matter how clear it was that the best thing for majority of the students was to move these one or two toxic students to a more appropriate level of care. The answer was always the same, "we need the numbers (aka money)". Lastly, if you are reading this & thinking "oh his author must be mad due to getting fired or something" you are wrong. I walked away from this employer because I did not feel morally right working here anymore. See, the final straw for me was when I witnessed an administrative assistant (person at the top) physically restrain a student by throwing him to the floor. Not due to a safety issue for himself or another student, but rather because he "did not comply". To put this in perspective, if you have a teen boy who refuses to do something, so you physically thrown him to the ground & twist both arms behind his back while crossing his legs & pinning them to his lower back, it would be called physical abuse! This is what I witness for almost an entire hour on 07/09/2020. I hit my moral breaking point as I heard the young man start to literally cry out for his mother, I decided to intervein. After less than five minutes of calmly talking the student down, this student got up & walked down to his room without any physical force on my part. Once in his room he asked mr for water. I got him some along with a packet of crystal lignt & two pieces of laughy taffy. He didn't give me anymore problems after being treated with patience & humanity. The next day when I got to work, the program director & administrative assistant were gossiping about how "pathetic it was" that all it took was crystal light to get him to do what they wanted, in front of the owners of the program. However, the truth is that it had nothing to do with the crystal light & everything to do with the relationship I had cultivated as well as being treated with respect & dignity! In closing, I want to point out that 90% of these 5-star reviews was written by employees who were asked to do so. Therefore, they are not organic & do not paint the real picture of what current student refer to as "ASSCREEK ACADEMY". I would never choose to send my loved one to this program, even if they paid me to! Let alone to pay thousands of dollars for it... read more

Ashcreek was the best decision I made for my son's life. They were kind, loving, very flexible and firm. They gave him a safe place to grow up. Their use of horses and dogs in their therapy is genius. The role models they provided changed my son's life. I'm so grateful that Ashcreek was there for us when my family needed it. read more

Working with Ashcreek Ranch Academy has been a great experience. They are a positive spot in many boy's lives and help families. I would recommend Ashcreek Ranch Academy to any family looking for help. read more

DO NOT SEND YOUR SON TO ASHCREEK RANCH ACADEMY!!!! Their program is absolutely nothing what their website claims to be. I recently had to remove my son from there after discovering that virtually everything they claim to be from their "accredited" school and teachers, equine therapy, drug therapy, etc, etc was a complete farce! The admissions director is a fantastic salesman and he will have you believing that this place is the answer to your prayers, but do not be sucked in! We wasted $20,000 for literally nothing except for very expensive babysitting. It would have been $40,000 had I not responded to all the "red flags" and removed our son 4 months early. Save your family the time, trouble, and money and find another program. There are many other legitimate programs out there. This place is NOT one of them!!! If you would like more detailed info on this program don't hesitate to send me a message and I will respond promptly. read more

Our son attended Ashcreek and we were blessed to have professional staff taking care and supporting our son during his stay. The therapists were excellent and I would be glad to recommend Ashcreek as a placement option for young teenage boys. read more

This company is nothing that it claims to be, i attended this treatment facility for a year and recently left. The workers are very unprofessional and abusive and minipulative. I have first hand expirnced darren and tammy price tell lies to parents. I could go on and on really but the thing i am going to come out amd say is that a few weeks before i left ashcreek a staff member smoked methemphetamine with me and other students. Unprofessional? Very. If you are reading this and curios if this is true or not call my mother allison appelhans @ 7202447063 read more

Best thing we have ever done for our son. Ashcreek Ranch Academy turned our son into a young man. We have seen incredible changes in his behavior and vocabulary in a relatively short time. We felt helpless against his behavior and Ashcreek turned his life around. The professional staff are caring and good role models for the boys. They worked tirelessly to help our son find his way forward. ARA helped him keep up with the school work while gaining life skills. ARA introduced him to so many new activities that we hope he will cherish for the rest of his life. We met lots of wonderful parents of the young men and they are like family to us. ARA is a wonderful place to live and learn. read more

My son is now near the end of his eleven month-long journey at Ashcreek Ranch Academy. He is about to move back home and, having experienced the program in its entirety, I now feel comfortable writing a review about it. Let me get this out of the way: this program is nothing short of remarkable. Having my son attend Ashcreek has been the single, most important step I could have taken to save him from a disastrous path with undoubtedly serious life changing consequences. I am proud and, most importantly, he is proud to be back on track. This is a boarding school for kids who got on the wrong path: drug-use, behavioral problems, etc. They are located in a somewhat remote area in the southern part of Utah. There is a very limited number of students (about 20 boys). Their premise is clear and an overriding theme is present in everything they do: break down old habits and develop the tools they need go back to live healthy, loving and productive lives. This is not a cheap program when compared to others but I can now say Ashcreek is better than most. Their approach to helping my son was comprehensive. He had weekly sessions with his assigned psychologist, attended in-house school classes daily (with a California-compatible curriculum), and he worked with horses for a few hours every weekday at their nearby ranch. Every few months they held a workshop for parents and students. My son learned valuable life skills and so did the rest of our family. A unique and very positive aspect of this program is the integration with horses. They assigned an untrained horse to my son. It was his job to train her. To do that, he had to develop a trusting relationship with his horse. This is not an easy thing to do but it was fundamental to his development. The tables turned - my son was now the "parent" in the relationship. He became responsible for training or "raising" the seemingly uncontrollable, insubordinate horse. Through his own experience, he started to see himself through the actions of the horse. He knew what was better for the horse but he could not get through to her. He grew frustrated and tried giving up a several times. It took months but this process helped him develop several skills including patience, respect, trust and consistency. Conversely, I was able to see myself and acknowledged my mistakes by watching my son's actions and mistakes as he learned how to "raise' his horse. Overall, Ashcreek is well designed and tightly run. I suspect a lot of thought, experience, due diligence and hard work must have gone into building and refining this program into what it is today. The entire staff is caring but very consistent. My son graduated from the program with a strong sense of responsibility, accountability and renewed admiration for their families and things that really matter in life. read more

I find it difficult to put into words the gratitude I feel for the dedicated staff of Ashcreek Ranch. My son came into the program at the very darkest moment of his young life. He had been in and out of three other rehab programs, he had been homeless, he had attempted suicide, he was a broken child. Ashcreek was our saving grace. My husband and I went to see the facility while our son was under a psychiatric hold at our local hospital. We were taken aback by the love and warmth we immediately felt by the entire Ashcreek staff. The entire staff had gathered in a Sunday morning to meet with us. My husband and I knew almost immediately that THIS was the place for our son. They helped us with transportation services and our son began the program the next day. He was there for 10 months. They were hard, rocky, emotional, painful, and beautiful months. Our son began to transform before our very eyes. The family weekends began to transform our entire family dynamic. Through games we learned we could trust and rely on each other. Through role playing we learned how to speak to each other, how to listen and how to be heard. Our son has been home for just over two years now. The first year was bumpy. He relapsed a few times, he went to live with friends. But we used ALL the techniques from Ashcreek, as well as reached out to them for support, which is MUCH needed at times like those. We held our ground and faced our son's issues head on. He willingly came home after 6 months and agreed to all our conditions. He has since graduated from high school, earned his drivers license, and is currently taking classes at our local junior college, as well as taking classes to be able to file tax returns for our local tax company as a tax preparer. We know in our hearts we would never have been able to get our son to this point with the resources available to us in our home state. Ashcreek was a godsend, we would do it all again in less than a heartbeat. The money was a drop in the pan compared with getting our son back and seeing him happy, healthy, and most importantly, THRIVING!!!!!!! Thank you Ashcreek! read more

Our son has been home from Ashcreek Ranch Academy for about a month and a half. He was there for about nine months. We are so happy that he was able to go there. He learned so much and so did we. From our first conversations on the phone with the owners we felt good about Ashcreek. They were patient and kind. Being away from home is going to be hard on any kid but our son was grateful for the experience. While he was there he said to me, "I want to be home more than anything but I'm grateful to be here and know that I need to be here". For the most part the house staff was great. There are people there that truly care about these boys. The ranch staff is phenomenal. The school is really great too. My son was able to stay physically active with morning work outs, mountain biking, hikes in Zion National Park, zip lining, movies, swimming, NA meetings etc... there was always something to do and when my son graduated he said he was actually going to miss it there. Getting 25 boys to get along can't always be easy but my son found some lifelong friends there. He had a great therapist who made him feel cared about and who helped him through his challenges. I like that my son was able to have as much freedom as he deserved there. The backyard with the skate ramp, basketball court and pond was a nice place for the boys to hang out too. My son is doing great! In large part to his Wilderness experience (WinGate Wilderness - can't say enough good about this place) and Ashcreek Ranch. Thank you!! read more

My only comments would be how Ash Creek has affected our family. I can't speak for anyone else. We were at a complete loss with our son who just turned 13 years old. He was totally out of control and had become abusive and destructive in our home. He was starting to get into crime and we had lost all of our control as parents. We are a good family and had always been a close family and this literally came out of nowhere. We are good parents and we love our son so much that we knew we had to do something drastic. We don't even live in the US and have gone to immense expense to make this happen for our son. I don't know what the future holds, but I can say the boy we have now is nothing like the child we sent away. He is a mostly straight A student, he has stopped "hating" us and we have reconnected as a family. We have a younger child and it was terrifying when she would ask if he would ever be okay and I didn't have an answer for her because I didn't think he would be. The transformation I have seen could and would not have happened in a foster home or youth detention centre. Our son has a second chance at being a teenager and we have hope again. There will be bumps along the way of course, but at least now he will take away the tools to help him deal with the pressures of growing up AND he knows we as a family are serious and committed to his health and safety. We have the tools now too to look at things a little differently. When people asked how we could afford this, the answer is always "we couldn't afford not to". The only downside is the US dollar and I wish they had these schools in Canada, but they don't and they should. The need is there! read more