The Interpreted Rock

By Stephen C. Schultz The white lines zipped past at a strobe-light pace. The song "Don't Stop Believin’" by Journey played on my car stereo. Traffic was heavy but still moving fast, at a pace between 75 and 80 mph. I was on my way to Discovery Ranch South . Discovery Ranch is a clinically sophisticated residential treatment center on a beautiful sixty-acre horse property. These teens have been making steady progress throughout their very personal therapeutic journey. They have all dealt with some pretty difficult challenges. Many of the teens are working through clinically complex family situations that include depression, anxiety, self-harm, trauma, attachment issues, substance use, or any combination of these and more. These teens have demonstrated courage, determination, sacrifice, insight, and resilience as they move through the process of growth and healing. On this particular day, I was heading to a meeting in the conference room at Discovery Ranch. As I walk...

By Stephen C. Schultz Leaves fluttered to the ground as a crisp wind bit my cheeks. The tears welling up in my eyes were not based in emotion, but the chill in the air. The small creek to my left meandered down the canyon. The soft gurgling sound of running water as it crosses over ageless boulders is like music to my ears. A flock of Mallards bob their heads and glide effortlessly in the current as the water swirls into a back eddy just around the next curve. This is truly a "Place of Peace". For many families and individuals alike, finding a place of peace seems to be a fleeting proposition. Whether it's a teenager, husband or wife, addiction is no respecter of person or societal status. Addiction doesn't discriminate. Addiction will bring emotional pain, family discord and misery to everyone it touches. Addiction is a lier. It tells us there is no problem. It tells us we can handle it. It seduces us into thinking that any problems or personal issue...

By Stephen C. Schultz We’ve all been there! Whether you have experience in a private therapeutic practice, a hospital setting, educational consulting or other residential treatment environments, we have all expended energy and additional resources in dealing with a student, patient or client who is headed toward a bad outcome. Every therapeutic environment has a certain percentage of their clientele that struggles. One of the main culprits is the student's inability to connect...connect with peers; connect with parents; connect with adults and authority figures. Most importantly, they struggle to authentically connect with themselves through a healthy therapeutic process. These students are often considered “Treatment Resistant”. The students enrolled at Connections find themselves being transitioned from their current treatment program or environment and needing a higher level of clinical care. For this reason, the “Connections” program administered throu...

Blog Post By Stephen C. Schultz (Editor's Note: This is an email I received from Scott Schill at RedCliff Ascent yesterday morning. It reminded me that a very wise man and co-founder of our organization once said; "...yeah, no one comes back to visit the company that helped them...they come back to visit the people!") Hey Schultz, In the fall of 2001, I went to the field with my little boy Colton. He was 5 at the time. I came to a group hiking near Mt. Springs and we stopped to go visit with them. Colton held my finger as we walked through the sagebrush to the group. A new girl in the group wanted to talk to me so we stepped aside and she said; "Mr. Medicine Bull sir, I've been here 4 days and no one has come by to get my laundry." It was hard not to laugh. I told her she would be ok and to stay positive. In those days, the only way a student got clean clothes was by taking them off and washing them or by wearing them...

By Stephen C. Schultz I stepped out through the door and noticed a crispness in the air. The leaves are changing, the evening light is slowly fading and we are left contemplating this last year. I was on my way to visit Oxbow Academy with some therapeutic program admission professionals on a tour. We were engaged in the normal "Road Trip" banter and general conversation that makes its way into an hour long trip in the car. The conversation turned to work, job responsibilities and company culture. One of my colleagues made a statement that stuck with me. It was a normal comment that is common at virtually every place of business.  She said; "...yes, but they need to be held accountable." I thought about this for a second and then responded; "So...what is the difference between holding someone accountable and having a culture of accountability? Is there a difference?" We went on and had a great conversation. In fact,...

By Stephen C. Schultz The ’72-’73 school year was looking to be a good one! With the wind whistling through my hair, I coasted down City View Street on my green Schwynn Stingray headed to school at Westmoreland Elementary. Even though it had been a couple of weeks, I was feeling comfortable and getting settled in Mrs. Mansells third grade class. I came to a stop at the corner of 18th and City View and waited for the light to change. The school was directly across the street.   I stepped off the curb and into the cross walk. Once I was safely across, I rode on to the space behind the gym where the bike racks were.   I took the combination lock off my bike and rotated the tumblers to 9399 and pulled the green vinyl coated chain apart and ran it through the front tire and around the bike rack. I put the chain back together and rolled the tumblers to random numbers. This was the routine just about every day, rain or shine, for many of the students living in ...

By Stephen C. Schultz Every once in a while, I like to go through and read some of my older posts. I've been posting some of my thoughts, experiences and parenting insights since 2008! Wow...where does the time go? Throughout the years, I have seen my kids grow up, attend college, get married and become independently responsible adults. There have been trials, frustrations, joys and accomplishments. I have tried to write these experiences in a way that makes them timeless. The term among writers is "Evergreen Content". The term evergreen certainly fits my articles. However, the term writer couldn't be further from the truth for me. I'm just a guy that writes stuff from time from to time hoping that someone else can be inspired by or learn something from one of my experiences. With that said, here are a few of my favorite posts! I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I had writing them. The Positive Influence of Books  The Roller Coaster of ...

By Stephen C. Schultz (Editors Note: This is the written version of remarks and training I did as part of a workshop that included our residential, clinical and academic leadership. I work with a group of therapeutic residential programs . I thought it would be nice to share some of these thoughts with those who happen to view my blog. I hope this is helpful in some way.) There is a trend in business where the latest language around customer satisfaction and word of mouth referrals is the term “Advocacy”. This is where a customer actually advocates for the organization they are doing business with. I have chosen a career that specializes in teen residential treatment. Our clients include the student, their family, their therapists, their school educators and counselors and often many others just to name a few. The majority of our clients demonstrate this principle of “Advocacy” in one way or another. We see this principle in different forms at all of our tre...

By Stephen C. Schultz  Her steps were slow and steady. The red rocks beneath her feet and the azure blue sky overhead created a remarkably beautiful scene. She felt a sense of peacefulness and a calm demeanor she had never experienced before. This was an adventure she wouldn’t have appreciated were it not for her family recommending she seek help one more time. It's hard to believe it has only been three weeks.  Usually, she didn't like wide-open spaces. She craved the flurry of crowded parties, the nightlife of hanging out with friends, and the excitement that social media afforded her. She was like a cat chasing its tail, always searching for the next thrilling experience but never finding it. She found herself in increasingly compromising situations, taking unnecessary risks. The feelings of embarrassment had long since subsided, and she numbly accepted each new day.  Her family was concerned. There were regular fights and hurt feelings. They painfully witnessed the tw...

By Stephen C. Schultz The sun glanced off the window and reflected at a strange angle to the floor and up the wall. As I looked outside, it was obvious that spring had arrived. There were bright green leaves having recently unfolded on the shrubs outside. Tulips and Hyacinths stretched upward, bending occasionally in the cool canyon breeze. The boxed lunch from a local deli that included a ham sandwich on rye bread with potato chips, a cookie and a pickle stared back at me. There was the regular lunch time discussion with the laughter that rises up and then fades just as quickly. The room consisted of a large mahogany conference table with twelve plush captain’s chairs. The chairs were full of colleagues, all of us eating lunch after a morning training session. We were the sales and marketing team from two private psychiatric hospitals. We had gathered at this particular location because Melody was in town training us on the latest skills associated with Professio...

By Stephen C. Schultz Research Link – A Comparison Group Study (Time limited link) Highlights This comparison group study looked at the impact of Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare longitudinally on youth participants as reported by their parents. Findings showed that youth participant’s one-year post participation in OBH treatments were functioning significantly better than youth who remained in their communities. Regression analysis showed the only significant predictor of change was participation in the treatment group. Dr. Steven DeMille ~Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Model program offers long term positive results to teens and families~ In 2007, Dr. Steven DeMille found himself working as a field guide in the back country of extreme Southwestern Utah. He was in charge of the activities of daily living for a group of nine students who were enrolled at RedCliff Ascent . Steve, as well as two or three other staff members who were r...

By Stephen C. Schultz The tears were running down her cheeks and dropping to the floor like small raindrops. There wasn’t the sudden heavy sobbing that accompanies truly despondent news, but there was some silent shallow breathing and the recognizable blurry vision that comes from the eyes slowly welling up with tears. I stepped around the counter in the kitchen and asked my 16 year old daughter what was wrong. She was obviously in some distress. Like most teens, she simply stated; “Nothing” So, I pursued it a little more; “Come on hon…what’s the matter? Obviously, something is bothering you.” She responded; “Nothing…really. It’s stupid.” She eventually opened up and confided in me. It was some pretty normal teenage drama that most parents have seen and experienced many times throughout their lives, but to the teens it is new. I asked a few questions that included the old journalist mantra of “Who?, What?, Where?, When? and Why?” During her...

By Stephen C. Schultz The “Nor'easter” was blowing in with reports of up to a foot of snow expected! The whining hum of the compact rental car was screaming at high RPMs just to stay ahead of the storm. The roads were wet and snowflakes hit the windshield in random patterns as the wind gust hit us broadside. Springtime in the Northeast United States can be tricky with flowers and trees in bloom only to be hit with cold winds and a snowstorm. Todd Spaulding, LCSW, CSAT and Clinical Director at  Oxbow Academy  was sitting next to me in the car. We were headed to western Massachusetts to visit with the clinical staff and students at  John Dewey Academy . We had just wrapped up a visit to Chamberlain International School that morning. The purpose of our trip to the Northeast was to visit the previously mentioned schools and provide staff training and workshops to two other schools about dealing with Problematic Sexual Behavior (PSB) from students in a...

By Stephen C. Schultz Transactional Analysis- Ego States Understanding this model will be a valuable piece of information for you as you work with colleagues, parent your children, communicate with your husband or wife and interact with others in your community. These principles will assist you in gaining insight into your own style of behavior and communication. Remember that awareness is the first key to opening the doors of maturation, refinement and growth. In the 1960s a psychological theory became available known as Transactional Analysis. The chief proponent of this new theory was Eric Berne, M.D., an Austrian psychiatrist. Transactional Analysis developed significantly beyond Berne's early theories through the work of others and has continued in its development and practice even to today. Berne recognized that the human personality is made up of three ego states. Each ego state is an entire system of thoughts, feelings and behaviors from which we interact with o...