Sending your child away to a facility and locale you know nothing about, I must admit, was scary as a parent. When you get to that point in your relationship with your child and your child’s relationship with you, you become very desperate to “save” them and the rest of the family. We knew that we had to remove our child from school and social life of those things that reinforced and “justified” behaviors that she was demonstrating.The program is not easy. It is not easy for the parents, the child, or the home. There are a lot of tears, anger, sorrow and eventually rebuilding trust for the child as well as the other family members. I cannot fully explain as a family the sleepless nights filled with pain and worry that would spill over to the daytime where in places you would think were safe for your child, only to find out they were not. This is what we went through before Turnabout and Lee Caldwell. I can not express the feeling of relief after our daughter entered their facility and knowing that she would be safe, cared for, loved, and hopefully come out at the end a better person who could enter society fully able to function and be successful in herself, her relationships, her school, and some day with a family of her own. Most of all, they provide an emotionally safe environment for the family to heal and provide tools to grow further after their program is completed. It is about taking responsibility for your part – not just the child, but for every person who has a relationship with your child. It is not about “brainwashing” your child into better behavior but showing them how to look within themselves and see their great qualities and having confidence to use those qualities to grow.I owe a lot to Lee Caldwell, the school, the teachers, the counselors, and the housing parents for the wonderful woman that she has turned out to be. Turnabout most certainly was a blessing for our family. Also, thank you to our daughter for allowing us to share our experience.

I attended Stillwater academy for 1 year and two months. It was amazing! I learned what I need to do to stay sober, and have not had a relapse in the more than two years since Ive graduated. I made many great friends who u still have today. I love the group therapy, where we are surrounded by people who can relate with us, and help us through our struggles as they also work on their own. Every week we got to go and learn how to work with and ride horses, which was awesome! Also, we had group exercise time almost everyday, playing games, doing yoga, things like that. Another really amazing thing about Stillwater academy is the family therapy. Students are able to connect with their parents just about weekly to update them on their progress, tell them how things are in the school, and to work through family issues. The parents are included every step of the way!Stillwater is a safe place, with well trained, caring, loving staff! The staff and therapists help students to get to the root of the issue, instead of skimming the surface of the problems. It is an amazing school, and truly has changed my life forever! I would highly recommend sending your child to Stillwater academy if they are struggling!

I was a student at Stillwater Academy and I am so grateful for everything that I learned while I was there. As a teenager, I struggled with a lot of different things but through the help of the therapists and counselors at Stillwater, I was able to learn coping strategies and tools on how to turn my life around. The staff truly cared about me and my family, and are still friends with us today! They taught us about boundaries and healthy relationships and how to live a healthy life. Its because of the help from Stillwater that I can say that Im thriving today. So, so grateful for this place!

Just wanted to check up on my family and see their page and it kills me to see negative comments about Stillwater. I was a student at Stillwater for 14 months almost 7 years ago and I’m thankful for it everyday. I still keep in contact with just about everyone there and the staff has become lifelong family. I reach out to them still even 7 years after and they will never not pick up my phone call. You have two choices when you enter this program as a student. You either switch your mindset up, step outside your box and open your mind to new ideas of working and thinking. Or, you can sit back and be a baby and complain about everything saying they are mean and hard on them. Which is my guess how they act at home right? Of course it’s not easy. I know I wasn’t an easy kid by any means and I knew I had to switch my gears and mind set up. Your kids HAVE to learn to do the same or they never will learn. I see the kids I went in with now, the ones who switched their mindset and gears are very successful people. Unfortunately the ones who played victim the whole time still do play victim and live very tough lives. So trust me, remain strong, be on their side and just trust the process. If you give any weakness they will pry it out of you to make you feel like you are doing wrong, you are NOT! I miss my days there, now as an adult I still visit to see them because I know they will always welcome arms wide open. I’m proud to say I graduated as an integrity from Stillwater Academy.

I had a great experience with Stillwater Academy. I was very impressed with the staff and the curriculum. Stillwater is unique in that family members are involved throughout, so the individual can return home to a supportive environment. I’ve seen their program make a difference in many teens.

I honestly cannot say enough good things about this program or the wonderful, caring, people who help to staff it. I could write a book about the things we learned and the way that this program quite possibly saved our sons life and at the very least gave him many tools to draw on as he continues his healing journey. It was definitely worth any sacrifice made in order to get our relationship with our son back on a healthy track. I love that it is so comprehensive, helping teach the family back home as well as the child in the program. I will forever feel grateful for this program and the effect it has had on my life and that of my entire family.

We have seen tremendous accomplishments in the time our teen has been at Stillwater. The staff is very talented and cares deeply about the kids there. They have been creative and energetic in brainstorming the sources of our teen’s challenges and coming up with a variety of approaches to help. While there is a standard program, it is also customized to each child. Lee the Director is as kind and thoughtful of a person as you could ever wish to provide guidance and direction to your child’s development. Stillwater also does a really good job of providing parents the opportunity to connect with each other and have anoth err support group.Some commentary on the “home parent” concept: we were a little hesitant about this system but quickly came to love it. The home parents have became like family, and it’s also a valuable part of the program to allow a controlled environment for the students to practice their developing skills.We visited and interviewed 10+ programs and the culture and vision at Stillwater stood out to us. Having now been in the program for some time, we couldn’t be happier with our decision.

My daughter recently graduated from this academy. I have nothing but extremely positive things to say about Stillwater. Every staff member and teacher were very focused on providing excellent care and education to my daughter. This school is very far from our home and we had to learn trust and to believe in the system. We were always treated with respect and encouragement. These people are truly professional and they have perfected their craft. Understand this is a very dynamic environment and they handle situations as a team with a common goal. I witnessed nothing but Love and kindness. My daughter hasGone through an incredible transformation.. My family will be forever grateful for their work at Stillwater.

Children from this school don’t often speak of their experience. I was there 15 months and i was abused and watched other children be abused. They have a history of using inhumane methods to “break” the children and use the metaphor of breaking a horse when explaining it to parents. During my time there I was refused the right to speak for 3 months and was forced to write any of my “needs’ on a piece of paper. I lost “pillow rights” and blanket rights, the right to look up outside ( was forced to look down at my shoes including in the car) for 4 months until I “earned the privilege” and these were punishments every child in the program experienced at one point in their program. They use intimidation tactics, belittling, ranking children and pitting children against one another. They lie about horse therapy. It doesn’t happen more than 1x in a 6-9 month period. They have every child that enters the program or misbehaves be forced to be 24 hrs restrained by two children physically handcuffing each wrist of a misbehaving child the entire day except for sleep, for weeks and months, even holding each wrist even while eating and followed them into the bathroom as well.They turned children into human handcuffs. Every child entering the program was forced to endure this for weeks and if they did not submit to the authority of the counselors they would have all day human handcuff’s for months. I had this done to me, on and off, for at least 4 months total if not longer.They will say whatever you need to hear to make you put your child there because at the end of the day they are private for profit institution. Look at their qualifications. What high rated universities did the counselors go to outside of Utah. None.They have changed their name to their academic school’s name Stillwater from Turnabout to try to shed their past and the past of similar centers, but they are run by the same owner who has no real qualifications in psychology child focused therapy and many of the same “counselors” that interact with the child daily have nothing more than a bachelors. The therapists like tanya they would see 1x a wk. You can send your child to a real therapist 5x a week for less than money then sending them here full of time wasting “group” therapy with no focus on daily or regular 1 on 1s.Sending your child to any UTAH residential treatment that will force you to not speak directly with your child for weeks (under the guise of transition) will likely end up causing life long trauma to your child because they are disconnecting direct communication for a reason.Look up “breaking code silence”. Lookup “Straight Incorporated and turnabout/Stillwater” These “schools” are an epidemic in Utah.This school is just one of hundreds in UTAH, more than any other state, that has systematically abused children under dehumanizing for years under the guise of treatment”. They have even forced to change many practices but their history and initial principles go unchanged.They may have CHANGED their name from Turnabout to Stillwater to hide their legacy of abuse, but the truth is they need to be SHUT DOWN, all of them, and a class act lawsuit will one day be brought against Lee and his “school” and it’s legacy of child abuse will no longer be a secret. Its only a matter of time.

Perspective is everything.After seeing the previous comments I felt, as a parent with a child in the program that some balance be provided.First, compared to another program my son was in, the price of Stillwater is 1/2. Its still a lot of money, but many insurers cover at least a portion of the cost.As for the curriculum and communication- if youve ever had first hand experience with other programs you will see that this is much more compassionate and thought through.The staff that I have met are excellent with only a couple of exceptions.Its been over a year and Ive seen a huge transformation, one that we never would have imagined when this journey of residential treatment facilities began exactly 2 years ago.PROS: our therapists have been top notch- they meditate, pray and do everything possible to help your child. Weve seen major progress. Enough said.CONS: facility needs updating, housing parents need to be held accountable for better nutrition and the kids needs more physical exertion- and more time actually working with the horses at the ranch. Some housing parents come off cranky. Cost can be high, but all of these residential programs are.I hope this helps parents AND students.

My daughter had been through 9 months of therapy and had gotten progressively worst in other programs. I saw signs of healing for her in just 2 weeks of being in Stillwater. Amazing staff, wonderful program and relief for me and my husband. I highly recommend them

This place was a life saver! I just recently graduated from the program and high school there a little over a month ago. The program is designed so that it is up to the kids to make a choice to change. The therapists will only work as hard as the student is willing to work themselves. I was in the program for almost two years. I learned to have integrity, accountability, responsibility, gain and find healthy coping skills and morals and values, eternal peace, meaningful human connection, and the best to life to come in the future. i made many friendships with in the program and still keep in contact with some of those individuals today. I made true friends and relationships and mended the relationship with my parents. Today I am still thriving and picking myself up when I fall. Your child may not like the program at first, but thats okay, humans dont like to be held accountable sometimes! This place will truly help if your family is committed. There is not an experience that will ever beat the one I had at Stillwater Academy.

One of my positions as a state social worker provided the opportunity to attend and visit many programs throughout the state of Utah since 2004 to current. In comparison, Stillwater Academy / Turnabout provides more therapy service hours than multiple residential programs for a 1/3 of the cost. The services cannot be matched elsewhere. What sets this program apart is that although kids are in programming, therapy, and school from 7am-8pm, they live in family state licensed foster homes. This models healthy relationships and creates many opportunities to put their new skills to test in the family model. These family and home relationships are what other residential programs cannot match.

For us, the people in this program saved our family and showed my son who he was and who he could be. The foundation was there we just had to many outside influences we couldnt compete with. The program is not a miracle and works if you work! You expect your child to be what you have built up in your mind. It wont happen. I learned that. They are individuals. You can guide them and you too will be guided it all has to work together and changes have to be for the long haul not just in the moment. I have seen so many bright beings graduate from the full program. As for us we are doing great. We communicate but most off all respect and allow our son to succeed or fail on his own and he knows if he needs us and asked for our help, we are be there for him. God bless

Our daughter has only been at Stillwater for a few weeks but it has been a positive experience so far. The director and his entire staff have all taken a personal interest in our daughter and her talents and strengths and she feels happy and at home there at the school and also with all the housing families!She is already starting to demonstrate changes in some of her negative behaviors and finding much needed hope for her future. We have been able to write her daily, hear back from her or her amazing ounselors and therapists almost daily and just enjoyed a parent weekend with her making priceless memories and strengthening our relationship with her. We have been able to enjoy some peace knowing she is well taken care of, and in a safe, structured and positive climate, free of distractions, and look forward to even more positive changes to come!

My son is currently in this program and has been for 5 months. He has made huge growth while in the program and is addressing very important issues. I love that they have specific groups for each teen there to help specialize their therapy. Such as adoption group, chemical dependency group, criminal thinking group, dpt group, and others. They use Arbinger Institutes therapeutic model which focuses on relationship building and healing. They expect families to work and change as their child works and changes and help you with that process. Students are assigned a primary case worker as well as a family therapist. Weekly family sessions are helpful to keep you and your child connected. Parent weekends help as you meet other parents and do group work to understand how to actually implement their program when students finish the program. I have high hopes for when my son finishes the program. The cost is high, but less than many of the programs out there. I have felt understood and so has my son. They are helping us come up with the best after care plan possible. Sending your child to a program like this is heart wrenching and so difficult. I know I was a wreck as I tried to make the decision. I am so grateful that I chose Stillwater.

Just returned from Parents Weekend and the changes I saw in my child were nothing short of remarkable. The way that EVERY person at Stillwater wraps around your child and you as a family is incredible. They truly have a passion for helping teens and their families. I wish they would open one here in NY!! Every child NEEDS what Stillwater offers. Every school across the nation should be modeled after Stillwater Academy!

I’m sober now

My son was lost. He was failing school, he was angry with the world and with everyone around him, he was getting into drugs and alcohol, he was hanging out with the wrong crowd, and nothing we did seemed to help him. Our family was at war and I was losing my son a little more every day. He had no chance of a future and thats when we found Stillwater. They saved his life and our family. The staff are amazing people. They are truly there for the kids and the families. You can tell they do this because they love it not just because its a job. My son left home with a 1.2 GPA and was on the verge of dropping out when we sent him here. He just graduated high school 5 months early, with a 3.7 GPA for this semester. He has come home, is thinking of what college classes hes going to be take and what he wants to do with his life. He is sober, happy, confident, and the young adult I always knew he was deep down. I can not say enough about Stillwater/Turnabout. The hardest decision weve ever made was sending him but it was also the best decision weve ever made. The thing you need to remember though is this is not a program just about your child. This is a family process. If you as parents do not embrace the process and do your part with learning, changing behaviors, being totally honest, being straightforward and growing as people it will not work. We, as a family, have learned so much about each other and with each other. It has opened our eyes to the unhealthy ways we had that needed change. It made us feel that, even as adults stuck in our ways, we too could change, improve ourselves and become better versions of the parents and people we had been. We are forever a part of the Stillwater family, they have our eternal love support, and gratitude. Even as I write this I know that there arent enough words to ever truly say how thankful we are but I hope if this review can help one family get back on track then it was worth it.

Worst experience hands down

This place made me a better person.

Before you send your kids here, ask how many former clients have died of the issues they came here for after cradling. Ask how many have died of behaviors they never engaged in before this program. How many have died, with parents still in debt?10 years later I am receiving counseling not for the issues I had prior to this program, but due to the mental and emotional abuse I suffered in the program. The ones I had prior to being in here were more easily fixed than the ones that resulted from this program. Trauma like that does not so easily heal. I cannot trust anyone, and constantly am looking over my shoulder.If you love your kids, let them go to jail for their actions but do not send them here. At least in a Juvenile Detention Center they may receive some real therapy where they arent told their feelings are manipulation.

Very worthwhile parents weekend. I wish I had all of this information Year’s ago. It was sad to say goodbye.

I wish I could give Stillwater more stars. I was a client in 2011, and I can honestly say that Stillwater changed my life.First, I love that the students stayed in actual homes with housing parents rather than in rooms at the facility. It felt more comforting being in a home, while away from home.Second, the staff is amazing. There is a wonderful mix of personalities among the staff members. At different points in my program, they all individually helped me in ways that I needed at specific times. Even the school teachers are so helpful and wonderful.Third, Stillwater visits a ranch once (or more) a week and works with horses. While I may not have been very confident in that department, it was a great experience and I actually enjoyed working at the ranch.There is therapy 5 days a week, but it is not overwhelming because you might not be sharing every single day.I love that the program was for both, parents and students. My parents had assignments of things to work on, so we all were growing together.Its not easy. Its hard and emotional. Sure, some days felt overwhelming, but thats what happens when youve gotten yourself into a mess and need some help getting out of it.My relationship with my parents was so greatly strengthened from our experiences and tools weve learned at Stillwater. I can even say that I use many of the tools I learned at Stillwater, I use in my adult life, relationships with people, and marriage.I try to go back to visit Stillwater once a year, or every other year. It helps me recheck myself. I always feel so welcome there and have great relationships with the staff.

Ive never been to Stillwater Academy but ive met my fiancee who graduated there 3 years ago and from her stories shes told me about Stillwater its a really cool place. Especially if youre into horses.

Generally a scam. Does not communicate with parents, but happy to take your money. Constant break down of communication and emails go unanswered. They are really only interested in sheltering your kid and taking your money. It costs $6,000 a month PLUS they nickel and dime you (i.e. charge you $45 to drive your kid to the doctor). Not sure what I am paying for.

Six months ago after getting my son out of juvenile detention. I decided to send him out to Stillwater yet after countless hours on the Internet researching the place and others I decided that it was the place for him to go and after leaving the airport in Salt Lake and driving down to the Stillwater thinking to myself what are you doing is this going to work oh my gosh what a lot of money. After meeting with Lee I had a tour an talking about things. I gave him a hug goodbye as he said choice words to me as I drove away I thought did I do the right thing or the wrong thing what else they supposed to do 100 questions went through my mind. About four months later me an my wife went to parents weekend. Not knowing what to expect again we arrived and met probably the most wonderful caring group of people that I have ever met in my life who is primary goal was simply taking care of my son and pushing him to do better going to work on his issues and I seen this once angry teenager that was literally transformed into the boy that I knew a couple years before. Although all the work wasn’t done yet I knew all my thoughts and apprehension from when I originally dropped him off at Stillwater melted away he was in the right place. It was one of the hardest things that I’ve ever had to do but it was the right thing to do for the circumstances that were being played out in our family.

-Sabotage section added.--(This review is based on how I experienced things when I was a student in 2007-2008 I hope they have changed a few things since then)-As far as I saw, Lee is a salesman and is not around the students much at all, he stays in the office doing sales.-students are distanced from their parents and cannot speak to them, especially alone because they may manipulate them into pulling them out of the program. including the screening of letters.-The Website is completely miss-leading and does not reflect the emotional state of the students or staff, and are mostly bought images, the rest are of students and pictures from 6+ years ago.-The sales pitch of handling horses at a ranch is very different than the truth. we went 1-2 times a month for a few hours and consisted of shoveling poo and a quick group session.-I was in the program and was 100% truthful about everything! on the daily the staff would say I was flying under the radar or lying.-There was no guideline for housing parents to follow for nutrition, all they know was that they were paid per student per night to house them and could choose what they gave the students to eat for lunches and dinners and most of them chose to spend the least amount possible( mostly high sugar, canned and GMO, non nutritional, empty food) How are students supposed to think?- I gained 20 lbs around my stomach in the program from sitting cross legged 18+ hours a day (for most of the program) and not being able to exercise or go outside except in school; sometimes 1-2 time a week.-A 24 hour belt loop for missing the morning check list (student must use one arm to hold onto another students belt loop for 24 hours and if they accidentally let go they must follow for another 24 without the use of one of their arms.-Sabatage. (Written later looking back at the truth) Royal and Maurnie sabataged me when I asked the group for assistance. I was wondering If I was following all the norms to the T for the right reasons. He said to start over at the lowest level (From 2A to OC). I took off my belt and had to get out of my chair and sit on the floor. It was humiliating. My primary teacher Maurnie made me continue following my consequences. Because of sabatage I had to look down during Christmas without my family or privilages as a OC.I was sabataged multiple times, though I was giving this place 100%I started coming up with massive self consequences for arbitrary mistakes like forgetting the norms.I became a cold robot, told on everyone, gave up everything, and constantly rumminated on the norms.I regret taking the system so seriously.Love Is greater than that.--Dr. Hinckley who had the most experience and patience, had little say on how things were directed.-My GPA after the program raised to 3.9 for the remainder of High-school.(i left the program early before cradle to graduate with my class)-I became less emotional and more logical towards life during the program. call it self control?-I let people fall instead of care-taking people after the program. call it less co-dependency-I became a lot more docile towards authority than I already was. call it malleable?-I signed myself into the program rather than being woken up by 2 large men at midnight like most if not all of the students, I did my 100% best but it seemed the counselors wanted me to fail so that the program would receive its $4000+ a month per student pay.1-instead of sitting 80% of the day cross legged looking down, they need to have more physical activity and fresh air to stimulate endorphins.2-A guideline for better food NEEDS to be placed so the students have the material needed to grow and think straight.3-certain consequences are belittling and a waste of focus(24 hour belt loop)4-They need to be able to teach kids about loving relationships and caring instead of only cold, hard mental problem solving.5- They need to have more time at the ranch and outdoors like it has been advertised.This place definitely had an influence on me.