Equine Journeys (EJ) announced recently that they have made it to their one year mark and are still going strong. "It has been an extremely difficult, and yet, very rewarding year for us." states Brandon Burr, LCSW and Clinical Director. "Creating a business from the ground up is difficult enough, but when that business is a Residential Treatment Center for struggling teens it adds many more levels of difficulty to the process. However, because of our small, family oriented program, we have been able to fine tune our therapeutic process to an individual and personal level that I have not seen in any other program." says Burr.
Chad Lyman, Ranch Operations Director, says that, "the horse is still at the center of our program. Our kids spend time with the horses on an almost daily basis-building relationships, learning how to work with, doing ranch chores, etc. It's quite an amazing process to watch."
""We have been able to work out the bugs in the program, develop a solid staff of employees, and have been able to see some significant progress in the youth who have been here. We are excited for many more years to come" says Kevin Knutson, Director of Academic and Administrative Services. "In addition, we have seen an increasing demand for young adults who have been unable to 'launch' into life or who can't live at their home due to substance or process addictions. Having this other wing to our program has been a needed and helpful addition to the work we do," says Knutson.
Equine Journeys was founded in 2011 by Burr, Lyman, and Knutson after the three Aspen programs were closed in Loa. EJ's motto is: 'Hard work, Horses, Healing, Hope'. "Clients work with horses on farms and ranches to build some of the old time values of honesty, integrity, work ethic, courage, confidence, and delayed gratification in order to heal-which generates a sense of hope in them," says Burr.
Equine Journeysis a licensed Residential Treatment Center for teens aged 13-18 as well as a licensed Residential Support program for young adults aged 18-30 located in Loa, Utah.