Our son was out of control and we had tried everything -- counseling, medication, grounding, taking away priveledges. The last straw was when he blatently defied our rules and basically dared us to challenge him. We knew we had to do something.

We had heard about Cross Creek programs through a family member, but we were very hesitant to send our son off. We also knew that the direction we were heading was not acceptable. Our son was getting heavily into drinking and we knew it was a matter of time before he started smoking pot. We also knew that with younger kids in the house, it would be impossible to handle that along with an out-of-control teenager. So, we accompanied our son to Spring Creek Lodge in Thompson Falls, Montana. The ride there was miserable, and we heard hateful words spew from our son's mouth, but we were determined to at least see the place.

The very first thing that happened when we stepped out of the car was that we were greeted with a warm hug by a family representative, who at one time had been a mother of a troubled teen in the program. After touring the facility, we had a peaceful feeling that everything would be alright. With tears in our eyes and pain in our hearts, we left our son to the care of those who we felt could best help him.

It has been eight months since that fateful spring day. We just visited our son for the first time since taking him there. He is brightly smiling and is looking healthier than ever! There are times when we have to pinch ourselves when we see the trememdous change in him AND in our family. Cross Creek programs has set our family on a path of healing and reconciliation. Our son acknowledes the self-destructive path he was on and even though he wants to come home, he realizes that there is work to be done to make it happen.

When we dropped our son off, we thought that we were just leaving it in the hands of professionals to "fix" him. What we didn't realize was that we, too were starting a powerful journey of healing and self-realization. There is so much support for the parents and so many tools to address the things that were not working in our family. Although we are still in the preparing stage, we feel confident that when our son does return back to us, we will have a set of tools that will help with our communication with him and the rest of our family. Another great affect of the program is that we have been able to throw guilt, enabling behaviors and disappointment out the window.

We are forever thankful for Cross Creek programs, and how it has changed our lives. It is not a quick fix for our rebellious teen, but rather a set of tools that has brought us closer together as a family unit.

Help is out there. If you feel like you have no where to go to change the course of your troubled teen, or know of someone in that situation, I urge you to look into Cross Creek programs. It has saved our family.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Doug Larson
doug@inspiregraphics.com