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Therapy

Therapy is an important component of the Program’s overall design and success. Upon enrollment into the program each student will be assigned a therapist and a group. This therapist will see the student for individual and group therapy sessions each week. In addition the therapist will have scheduled times to provide the parents updates once every two weeks as well as receive information from the parents on the communication they are receiving from their teen. After a few calls with the therapists that are done without the student, the student will join in the phone calls which will take place during the student’s individual sessions. The parents will participate in the sessions once very two weeks. The parents are encouraged to take an active role and work with the therapist as the teen progresses through the program.

One of the advantages of therapy taking place in the residential setting is that each therapist is located on site. Unlike an outpatient setting, each therapist at Cross Creek is able to have contact with the students daily. The therapists are not limited to what the student tells them once a week for an hour but they are also able to talk to the student more often on an individual basis during group therapy as well as receiving information from the parents during phone calls, written comments from the staff and feedback from the students’ peers in the group.

The therapy sessions will not only address the acting out behaviors but will work to understand what the payoffs for the student may be for acting out. This information can be used by the therapist to work to stop these behaviors and to help the students get what they want in a healthy and positive way. Both parents and the student will be able to find common ground and work through issues that have led the student to Cross Creek Programs.

Each therapist is licensed with the state of Utah and is in compliance with the requirements for their professional organizations. They have many years of experience working with teens and families and will be able to provide the tools, guidance and support for the child through the program.

AA/NA Meetings

Students can attend AA/NA meetings on a weekly basis. The meetings are run by the student body monitored by a therapist. AA/NA meetings often invite guest speakers to the program and at times hold school wide educational symposiums for students and staff. These meetings address students’ addictions as well as create solutions to a healthier life style. Parents of students struggling with addictions are encouraged to attend Al-Anon meetings in their local areas.

Grief Group

The Grief Group primarily deals with youth who have lost a loved one. There are many topics that are covered during Grief Group. They include regrets from the past, growing up, divorce, abortion, loss of old life style/best friends/drugs, admitting the need to change, suicide, loosing pets and many others. Feelings that are dealt with include shock, denial, anger and projection, guilt, anxiety, adaptation and acceptance.

Adoption Group

A good number of students at Cross Creek deal with adoption issues. These teen have many similar issues which include need for control, anger and rage, rejection, fears of abandonment, feeling “different”, self esteem, trust/secrecy, fantasy, identity (which is a huge teen issue to begin with), wanting to find birth parents and grieving.

One of the most enjoyable parts of this group is that the youth will find out that they are not the only one who feels or sees life like they do. A lot of relating goes on in this group. During the adoption group some classic movies are also shown which help the youth understand how to deal with their adoption.

18-year old meetings

The 18-year old meetings are more of a class than a group. The topics we cover are costs associated with moving out of parents home, buying a car and all expenses associated with a car, hands on changing a tire and basic car maintenance. Students will be given information on how to read pay checks, understand taxes (federal, state, other) and what the actual take home pay may be. Students will learn to write resumes and prepare for job interviews. They will be given information on career tests, colleges (applications, ACT’s, SAT’s, costs), universities, state and community colleges, trade school and military options. We even touch on starting your own business, credit ratings, rule of 72 and investing. The class also covers dating, STD’s, marriage and having children and what to expect when buying a house (amortization, closing costs, monthly payments and insurance). At times the class offers guest speakers, workshops and an occasional movie such as “Homeless to Harvard”.

The overall purpose of the 18-year old meetings is to prepare soon to be 18 year olds to be independent and knowledgeable about what to expect if they choose to live outside of parents’ home after the program, or if they choose to leave the program at 18 years of age.

Equine Therapy

Cross Creek Programs has a full Equine Therapy program. Mr. Jay Lane from Whispering Trails Riding Center conducts the equine therapy sessions at Cross Creek Programs.

The low level students attend equine therapy on campus, level threes move to our Ball Fields and levels four, five and six participate in equine therapy at the Ranch off campus.

Issues such as ADD, ODD, General Behavior Modification and Anger Management are just a few of the areas that are addressed during equine sessions. The objectives of equine therapy vary from understanding boundaries and rules to relationship building and personal responsibility. Each student will have an opportunity to learn to relate the horse’s emotions to their own and start recognizing the importance of communication; both verbal and nonverbal and use the tools in everyday living.