Ashcreek Ranch Academy (2012-present) Toquerville, UT

Residential Treatment Center

History and Background Information

Ashcreek Ranch Academy (also called “Ashcreek Academy”) is a behavior-modification program founded in 2012. It is marketed as a residential treatment center for teenage boys aged 13-17. They state that they enroll boys with a history of the following: “ADD/ADHD, Depression, Anxiety, Academic Problems, Parent/Child Conflicts, Poor Choice of Friends, Drug and Alcohol Use, Anger, Low Self-Esteem, Peer Conflict, Poor Impulse Control, Lying, Cheating, Isolation from Family and/or, Friends, Family Conflict / Disrespect, Poor Decision-Making, Sneaking Out / Running Away, Lack of Boundaries, Poor Social Skills, Manipulative, Self-Centered, Obsessive / Compulsive, Feeling Abandoned, High-Risk Behavior, Lack of Empathy, Lack of Organization, Underachieving, Unmotivated, Lack of Focus, Excessive Gaming and Pornography.” They also state that their typical student has a dueal diagnosis, one of which is typiclly an “addictive” disorder (such as “drug, alcohol, pornography, virtual social networking, gaming, etc”).

As of 2020, the program has a maximum enrollment of 35, which has increased from just 24 in 2016. The average length of stay is reported to be between 10-12 months, but may be much longer if the teenager is deemed resistant. Ashcreek Ranch Academy’s tuition is reported to be around $10,000 per month, meaning this program could be making over $4,000,000 each year. Ashcreek Ranch Academy has been a member of NATSAP since 2012.

The program is located at 652 Shady Ln, Toquerville, UT 84774, on the appropriately-named Shady Lane. It is located just outside of a remote town in Southern Utah, close to the border of Arizona and Nevada. It is also directly across the street from another behavior-modification program, Lava Heights Academy.

While Ashcreek Ranch Academy is not technically owned by WWASP, it is considered a WWASP-affiliated program. This is due to the fact that Ashcreek Ranch Academy employs many former Cross Creek staff and therapists, and its program model, rules, structure, and methodology is extremely similar to the program model used by WWASP programs.

Founders and Notable Staff

Tammy Prince Berhmann is the Co-Founder and current Executive Director of Ashcreek Ranch Academy. She previously founded another notoriously abusive Aspen Education Group program, Copper Canyon Academy, which is now operating under the name Sedona Sky Academy under Family Help & Wellness. She got her start in the troubled teen industry working at Spring Ridge Academy, a WWASP-affiliated and confirmedly abusive behavior-modification program. She is also the sister of Darren Prince.

Darren L. Prince is the Co-Founder of Ashcreek Ranch Academy and has worked as the Admissions Director and, more recently, as Executive Director of the program. He is the brother of Tammy Berhmann. Like his sister, Darren is also involed with founding Copper Canyon Academy, which is now operating under the name Sedona Sky Academy under Family Help & Wellness. He does not appear to work at Ashcreek Ranch Academy anymore. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of NATSAP.

Boyd Prince is also reported to have been a founding member of Ashcreek Ranch Academy and is related to Tammy Berhmann and Darren Prince. He also worked as the Athletic Director and Principal of ARA.

Dave Archer is the current Clinical Director of Ashcreek Ranch Academy. He previously worked as a Family Teacher at Alpine Academy and Utah Youth Village, a Therapist/Assistant Clinical Director at New Haven RTC, and a Therapist/Clinical Director at Equinox RTC. He has worked at Ashcreek Ranch Academy since November of 2019.

Garth Lasater worked at Ashcreek Ranch Academy as the Clinical Director and Executive Director from 2012 until around 2015. He previously worked as a Therapist at the notoriously abusive (and now-closed) WWASP program, Cross Creek, for 14 years. He currently works as the Assisstant Program Director at Three Points Center, a WWASP spin-off behavior-modification program that originally opened in the former campus of Cross Creek and employs many former CC staff.

Salesi Misinale Fakahua (aka Nale Fakahua) was the Program Director at Ashcreek Ranch Academy from February until July of 2015. He previously worked for Falcon Ridge Ranch as the Residential Director. He also previously worked at Cinnamon Hills Youth Crisis Center, which is a reportedly abusive and now-closed behavior-modification program located in Utah. After he left ARA, he went back to work at Falcon Ridge Ranch, where he appears to currently still be employed.

Program Structure

Like other behavior-modification programs, Ashcreek Ranch Academy uses a level-system consisting of four levels. These levels (as of 2012) are:

Level 1 – Green Horn: no additional information
Level 2 – Ranch Hand: no additional information
Level 3 – Silver Spur: no additional information
Level 4 – Gold Buckle: no additional information
Caution Level: This level is used as punishment for boys who break the rules. One this level, all of the boy’s “privileges” are revoked. It is reported that boys on this level are even sometimes locked in a basement until they have shown remorse for their actions, which can be weeks at a time.

ARA reports that their program revolves heavily around the Seven Challenges® program, which is a model based around Alcoholics Anonymous’ 12-step program. The “7 Challenges” are reported to be:

1 – We decided to open up and talk honestly about ourselves and about alcohol and other drugs.
2 – We looked at what we liked about alcohol and other drugs, and why we were using them.
3 – We looked at our use of alcohol and other drugs to see if it has caused harm or could cause harm.
4 – We looked at our responsibility and the responsibility of others for our problems.
5 – We thought about where we seemed to be headed, where we wanted to go, and what we wanted to accomplish.
6 – We made thoughtful decisions about our lives and about our use of alcohol and other drugs.
7 – We followed through on our decisions about our lives and drug use. If we saw problems, we went back to earlier challenges and mastered them.

An example of the program’s daily schedule can be found here.

Abuse Allegations

Ashcreek Ranch Academy is reported by survivors to be an abusive program. Allegations of abuse and neglect include extreme physical abuse, abuse towards animals, verbal abuse towards students, forced manual labor, violent restraints, and the use of solitary confinement.

It has been reported by both former residents and former staff that many of the positive reviews left on the program’s Yelp and Google Reviews pages have been written by staff members who were instructed to do so. In fact, Tammy Behrmann herself even left a comment on the program’s Google Review page (which has since been deleted), but it reads (in part), “Ashcreek Ranch is a wonderful Clinical Boarding School. They have skilled therapists who offer weekly individual, group and family therapy. Quarterly family weekends. Beautiful campus. Students learn to build healthy relationships.”

One survivor reported in 2015 that ARA was under investigation by the Utah Licensing Board due to complaints of abuse, mistreatment, discrimination and negligence. No additional information is known at this time.

In January 2020, a complaint was filed against Ashcreek Ranch Academy by the parent of a former resident of the program. According to the complaint, her son was physically abused at the program, being “punched in the head and thrown to the ground” by a staff member. The parent also reported that her son was not adequately supervised, as he was able to obtain marijuana and vaping tools while at the local gym. He also got access to tattoo his arms and legs.

Survivor/Parent Testimonials

9/13/2020: (SURVIVOR) “I went to Ash Creek Academy for ten months. My experience there was ineffective and traumatic. Keep in mind, I cam from [redacted] wilderness therapy in Bend Oregon, and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. In my time at ash creek i witnessed a program director (who i believe now works at Falcon Ridge Academy) tell a student that he doesn’t agree with his homosexuality and several times stating that he thinks its a choice to be gay. One of Ash Creek’s policy is that if you refuse to do what is asked of you, you can be physically escorted or restrained, even if you are not in danger to yourself or others. It is referred to as a “refusal” and i would often be told that “you can either do what is being asked, or i will help you do it” One example is getting out of bed in the morning. I was threatened to be pulled out of my top bunk several times. The staff at this facility were very unprofessional. One staff in particular told me that the Sandy Hook (where i live) tragedy was a government conspiracy. The most severe case of misconduct i witnessed was a restraint that resulted in a medical injury causing the student to have a cast on his wrist. They didnt take him to the hospital until a few days later, and the student said that his wrist was broken. I cant confirm or deny what his actual injury was. My most severe case of abuse was when i was pushed into a window by a ranch staff, and the window shattered. The staff was suspended for two weeks and then returned. He doesnt work there anymore. Darren Prince owns the program with his sister Tammy and he coincidentally is the admissions director. He will tell you whatever you want to hear to get your money. Also, one of the temporary forms of consequence while i was there was called “basic”. During basic i spent all day in the basement alone with a staff, not allowed to talk to the staff at all. I was allowed 3 walks around the lake each day, and i went to sleep an hour later than everyone else, and woke up an hour earlier. The longest i was on basic for was a week and a half. In my opinion, most of the kids at ash creek lie and pretend their way through the program, just to come back home. I myself did this out of fear that if i was honest about my feelings i would be kept there longer. This is why i told my parents i was very “passionate” about being sober and attending NA meetings. I believe most of the kids that have graduated from ash creek did that same thing, unfortunately. I left the program as a level 2 out of 4. I am writing this to save a child from going to this school or any other one like this ( there are plenty in Utah).” – Noah (WWASP Survivors)

7/28/2020: (EX-STAFF) “Terrible leadership from the program director & co-executives. They would change the structure of the program & its rules every week or every other week. This caused a very unhealthy culture among the students & staff. No clear vision of the program, they seem to just be making stuff up as they go. But them they don’t have the leadership to actually implement it. The director of the program makes extremely reactivate decisions, that are based on half stories or understandings. This place was a complete joke. The only thing consistent was inconsistency!” – Former Recreation Director (Indeed)

7/15/2020: (EX-STAFF) “I was recently employed at Ashcreek Academy, let me give you a real insight on this extremely dysfunctional program. I would sit in on meetings with the owners, program director, therapists, & admissions personal. In these meetings where theyt were supposed to be discussing the needs of the students, these so-called “professionals” would basically be gossiping about how screwed up the parents of the students were. It was a whole lot of “no wonder why John Doe is so screwed up his mom or dad….” Nothing constructive, 100% just a gossip session lead by the director of the program. The only thing consistent in this program was inconsistency, I worked here for only a few months. In that short time period, I experienced at least a dozen residential schedule changes (no exageration). Every week or every other week, was a new roll out of program systems, each one solid in theory. However, due to the lack of leadership at the top would never work. So it was, “lets try this one” the very next week or two later. Ownership was 100% about the money, they legitimately had students who would not only be not working a program, but would be toxic to the “community”. These one or two students would prevent a social/emotionally healthy & safe environment for other students to work a program. No matter how clear it was that the best thing for majority of the students was to move these one or two toxic students to a more appropriate level of care. The answer was always the same, “we need the numbers (aka money)”. Lastly, if you are reading this & thinking “oh his author must be mad due to getting fired or something” you are wrong. I walked away from this employer because I did not feel morally right working here anymore. See, the final straw for me was when I witnessed an administrative assistant (person at the top) physically restrain a student by throwing him to the floor. Not due to a safety issue for himself or another student, but rather because he “did not comply”. To put this in perspective, if you have a teen boy who refuses to do something, so you physically thrown him to the ground & twist both arms behind his back while crossing his legs & pinning them to his lower back, it would be called physical abuse! This is what I witness for almost an entire hour on 07/09/2020. I hit my moral breaking point as I heard the young man start to literally cry out for his mother, I decided to intervein. After less than five minutes of calmly talking the student down, this student got up & walked down to his room without any physical force on my part. Once in his room he asked mr for water. I got him some along with a packet of crystal lignt & two pieces of laughy taffy. He didn’t give me anymore problems after being treated with patience & humanity. The next day when I got to work, the program director & administrative assistant were gossiping about how “pathetic it was” that all it took was crystal light to get him to do what they wanted, in front of the owners of the program. However, the truth is that it had nothing to do with the crystal light & everything to do with the relationship I had cultivated as well as being treated with respect & dignity! In closing, I want to point out that 90% of these 5-star reviews was written by employees who were asked to do so. Therefore, they are not organic & do not paint the real picture of what current student refer to as “ASSCREEK ACADEMY”. I would never choose to send my loved one to this program, even if they paid me to! Let alone to pay thousands of dollars for it…” – Jared (Yelp)

12/21/2019: (PARENT) “DO NOT SEND YOUR SON TO THIS SCHOOL. My son was exposed to drugs and had tattoos all over his hands and arms when he returned home. The boys have very little supervision and the staff turnover is hideous. There is no consistency in their therapy. It is a holding cell for boys. That is it. Our son was no angel but after paying over $75,000 we saw no improvement. We met the owners once and never heard from them again. The therapists are a joke. Honestly stay clear of this place.” – Keith (Yelp)

2019: (PARENT) “Stay clear. This place is nothing close to what the website presents. Communication is horrible, staff ratios are low, therapeutic approach shifted with the wind during the two months my son attended and was never clearly defined. Emotional & physical safety are not a priority. Boundaries are loosely enforced (at best). Weekend activities include an hour or two of rec time and a bunch of sitting around. Promises are made to the boys and never followed through, with no explanations. Academically the teachers don’t communicate and when pushed provide only bear bones feedback. After endless complaining the food did improve over the Fall but the amount of sugar and processed foods provided showed the level of disregard to overall health and wellness. My son made amazing progress at Wilderness and Ashcreek not only failed to build and leverage that growth but set him back. Fortunately we pulled him from the program and he is now thriving in a new environment. STAY CLEAR!!! While at one time this may have been an OK program it certainly has NOT been the past 15 months. We pulled our son after 2 months, regrettably six weeks too long. Horrible supervision, abusive, tons of bullying, atrocious food standards, no weekend activities and therapists who don’t know how to connect and help students or parents. The ONLY good from our exposure to ARA was the weekend at Zions when we rescued/pulled our son.” – Amy (Google Reviews)

12/22/2017: (SURVIVOR) “I am a former student of ashcreek. I first came there in the beginning of 2013 and was there for 15 months. I hated it, and I loved it. But as far as treatment, I learned most of my knowledge of drugs just living there. I was sent for a minor drug issue and walked away from there with the mind of a pharmacist. Upon graduation, I did not go directly home and instead attended school at the local high school and lived with associates of Ashcreek. After another year of living a semi free life in the local town, I returned back to my hometown. After being gone for 3-4 years, I basically had to jump back into normal life, without warning, resulting in a methamphetamine addiction along side with other “hard” drugs that I had never used prior to Ashcreek. I will say that I graduated the program, and learned a lot about horses. But where has it left me? A high school drop out and Junkie? You know it! Just some advise to parents who want to send their kids to a residential home, UNLESS you’re kid is so messed up that his life is in danger, don’t. Because you might end up turning your kid into the 100lb tweaker on “COPS.” ID SUGGEST A PARENT SHOULD SEE A THERAPIST OFFICE before casting their kid out to some program for a year against their will. That causes more damage than good. I have used a different name to conceal my identity due in part because of my drug addiction. I never would have expected to be doing crystal meth and cocaine in high school, therefore, the 7steps had failed and I can’t think of any other student besides one who is sober. Kudos to the one, but the rest of us never benefitted from it.” – Justin (Fornits)

12/22/2017: (SURVIVOR) “I attended Ashcreek Ranch Academy for 9 long miserable months. If you are looking for your child to tell you they’ll be sober and tell you what you want to hear, this is the place for you! The first week of my stay I expressed my desire to smoke weed again once I was out of the school. My initial thoughts of the place was that they were there to help you. At first sight the staff and administration seem trained, kind, and helpful. I was talking personally to a staff there about how I wanted to improve my life and stay sober off other drugs, but weed and alcohol was something that I didn’t really view as a problem for myself. Also an important piece of information is I had spend 3 months prior in a wilderness program where I feel like I had worked on myself a lot and “fixed” my problems as well as I could. Not even a day after this conversation, word has already spread around to multiple staff and my therapist of my opinions on using these substances. I tried explaining my viewpoint to my therapist and was shut down and basically told that if I didn’t 100% want to get sober and do everything they said then I would never get to go home. So what did I do? I bullshitted my way through the entire program and came home and started back well. This was not because I wanted it, but more for fear that I would be sent back. After I was finally graduated and knew I wouldn’t have to go back, I started right back up. My life is and has been for the past few months a lot better, but not because of ashcreek, because I wanted it for myself. Sending your child away won’t fix them. Obviously there have been success stories, but of my whole time there I saw about 10% of the kids that I came in to contact with go out and do what their parents wanted for them, and most of those kids already wanted it for themselves. If you do feel like there are no other options, I would NOT recommend ashcreek. I was there during a previous reviewers (Noah’s) stay, and I can confirm many of what he said such as watching him get discriminated multiple times for his sexuality, a boys wrist got broken during an unnecessary restraint and the problem was never addressed, staff would constantly lost their tempers, cuss, and yell at the students for things they did “wrong.” I cannot stress enough my lack of faith in this program. I belive that the people who run it are good people and it seems like a promising option, but in the end it’s still a business and their main focus is expanding and making money. The kids are just their pawns they’ll use to make the money they desire. So please don’t send your kid here. I can confirm that the therapists there are more concerned about shaping you into their kind of ideal child rather than actually try to teach you how to be happy and deal with life’s difficulties. I understand sending your child away to a program like this is a really hard decision and something nobody wants to do, but I don’t think it should ever be something to resort to. In order for people to truly learn and grow, it has to be through experience, not through middle aged sober drug addicts who have completely different lives than you.” – Anonymous (Fornits)

12/22/2017: (SURVIVOR) “Ashcreek Ranch Academy is truly the worst experience of my 17 years on this planet. Worse than when I was bullied and suicidal, worse than when I wasn’t allowed in my own home because my family was afraid of me. It is run by greedy power-hungry pigs absorbed in their own wealth. Darren Prince is NOTHING but a good salesman. He manipulates any parent that takes a tour of ARA. The amount of lies that are told by the administration is repulsive and shameful. I was bullied while at Ashcreek by students AND staff. I admit that I did feed the fire at some points. But when a group of students urinated on my bed and clothes the staff did nothing to find out who it was or punish them. I have been verbally abused at times and berated by staff. There have been times where staff have restrained me and used excessive force when none was necessary. Those times remind me of the videos where a police officer shoots someone because he was “resisting” when the suspect was not, the officer was looking for an excuse to use that force. The staff are highly unprofessional, I have personally heard a 21 year old staff make sexual remarks about a students 15 year old sister. This same man also sexually harassed female staff and glorified drugs and sex. He has said that he wanted to hit his wife and talked about his sexual encounters with her. I strongly encourage parents to find another program. Your son will be emotionally traumatized and will NOT make therapeutic progress. I have seen many kids leave or graduate this place and only know of two that are sober. Parents, when you talk to a student of Ashcreek and they say positives about the program that is because they a scared of the consequences of saying negative things. There have been staff that would intentionally humiliate students. I was forced against a wall and made to stand nose to the corner because I didn’t want to vacuum. The program is built upon a mountain of lies. Darren Prince constantly tells us and parents about projects that will be finished with in a month, and they never get finished. For example, the transitional living home, we were supposed to have kids living there in mid February, but that never happened. There are numerous examples of discrimination of students, or rude comments made about a student’s sexual orientation or race. The residential director, Dave Saldana, has made derogatory comments about gay students, calling them sexual predators. I asked Dave if a student with a turban would be allowed to wear it inside, and Dave responded by saying “Hell no! I wouldn’t even let and of them in here! Freaking terrorists!” I was being questioned by Dave Saldana at one point about personal stuff. He asked a question I was not comfortable answering, so I told him “I don’t have to tell you that, you’re not my therapist.” He promptly escorted me to the basement and forced me to sit in a chair and stare at a wall for about 2 hours while he used his iPad. This program emotionally traumatized me and did not help. When I was pulled I told my parents about the injustice and they were enraged. Ashcreek will milk every penny they can out of you, the parent. They will lie to you about your son’s progress and tell you he needs to stay longer. Parents, I STRONGLY encourage you to find another program, I do believe treatment can help, but I don’t believe Ashcreek is the right place for anybody. Please email me if you have any more questions about the multitudes of injustices Ashcreek does.” – Anonymous (Fornits)

12/21/2017: (SURVIVOR) “Throughout my “treatment experience” which consists of one wilderness program (TRAILS) and two RTCs (Waypoint and Ashcreek) Ashcreek was by far the worst thing I had to go through. Every single aspect of the program is centered around money (it costs 10k a month), they will take as many shortcuts as they can and keep you there as long as possible just to ensure they’re getting what they want. The owners and therapists have no interest in the lives of the students at all, and they act completely different around parents and tours that come to make sure nobody gets pulled, and to try to get as many new kids as possible, even though it was horribly overcrowded when I was there. There were barely enough beds to fit everyone, and people were forced to stand since there weren’t enough seats. This also had a large effect on the food, as we got served small portions of pre-cooked or frozen food. We rarely ever went on activities, and when we did they were usually free hikes that lasted for around half an hour. We had little free time, but the majority of it consisted of sitting on worn down couches and talking (not to mention our conversations were monitored closely by the staff). You weren’t allowed to talk poorly about the program, otherwise the staff and therapists would get mad at you, and if you complained about it to your parents in a letter or a phone call, the therapists would convince your parents that you were trying to manipulate them. Most of our time was spent working on a ranch, which was supposed to build responsibility and improve your relationship skills with “equine therapy”. In reality we rarely ever interacted with horses, and when we did it just involved cleaning up their shit. We spent 4-6 hours during the weekdays at the ranch, and 8 on the weekends, and nearly all of this time consisted of doing chores around the ranch for the owner. But of course, when the parents came around, or it was time to send photos of us, we would all of a sudden get to ride the horses or do fun things. This is completely unacceptable on their part, straight up lying to the parents and making them think we’re actually changing is horrible. The education was also very poor. School was 4-6 hours a day, and all we would do was read out of outdated textbooks and complete quizzes after finishing a chapter. Some of the teachers are incompetent, there’s no way they would actually be able to teach at a real boarding school, or even a public school. On the other hand, some of the teachers tried to do the best with what they had, and tried to make things good for us. The same can be said with a lot of the staff, many of them genuinely cared and were actually good people. Unfortunately, the therapists and administration were not, which is why the program is so ineffective and wrong. One of the worst things I saw happen to a kid (who happened to be my best friend there) was after he tried to give himself a tattoo. After hearing this from another student (students would often snitch on each other to get the therapists and staff to like them, since it meant they could level up and leave faster) his therapist and one of the lead staff kept him locked up in a room in the basement for a week straight. During this time, he was not allowed to talk to anybody, he couldn’t do anything besides sit there (not even sleep), and he could only leave the room to go to the bathroom. Keep in mind, he had no intentions of hurting himself, anybody else, or doing anything really wrong. I consider that level or isolation abuse, and it shouldn’t be allowed anywhere (but of course it is in Utah). The students operate in a level system that consists of four levels. The therapists decide when you’re “ready” to level up, but in reality you’re “ready” when you’ve been there a certain amount of time. After all, they can’t let kids leave too soon or they won’t get enough money! The level privileges and stuff are pretty basic: off-campus visits at level two, overnight visits at level three, and home visits at level four. Most people are there for 10-16 months, I luckily got out in four months, but only because I did not return from a home visit. The worst part about this place is how they advertise and portray themselves; it’s despicable. They feel the need to constantly remind you about how great Ashcreek is, and how it’s so different from all the other programs (WHEN IN REALITY IT’S LITERALLY THE EXACT SAME THING AS EVERY OTHER RTC). They pretend like they do nothing wrong. They act as if they’re a gift from god. Under this mask, however, is just another horrible place run by unqualified businessmen that see a chance for a lot of money. Hopefully this helps, if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask me.” – u/blejbert69 (Reddit)

2015: (SURVIVOR) “DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILDREN TO ASHCREEK RANCH ACADEMY. I had a 2 month stay at ARA (May-June 2015) and it was the absolute worst period of my life. I was pulled from the program by my parents because I was being discriminated upon for my sexuality, not by students, but surprisingly by STAFF. Please note that the majority of the staff at ARA are Mormon (nothing is wrong with that) but they push their beliefs on the students. In my 2 month stay, I observed horrific things.

staff broke a kid’s wrist while restraining him (when the kid was NOT fighting against the restraint) The issue was put down-low and no staff were fired or suspended for any time.
Horse mistreatment/cruelty: Ranch staff aggressively hitting, kicking, elbowing horses when the horses were of no harm. Horses are never cleaned, brushed, washed, etc.
Staff cussing at students. I was personally called a dumb-ass several times by staff at the ranch. I also heard terrible vulgar words being thrown at students in the house by house staff.
When ARA was being visited, the staff forced all of us students to pretend to be happy and go out and do activities around the house to make the program look good.
I was told by many staff of ARA that my sexuality was wrong and I should not be who I am. I was laughed at, joked about, and yelled at by staff.
Staff teaching about natural psychedelic plants around the house which resulted in an epidemic of several students taking the plants and getting high off of them to a very dangerous extent. The natural psychedelic plant was poisonous to the liver.
Staff taking belongings from students and hiding them away and never giving them back such as shoes, clothing, books, etc.
All food is from the freezer (completely unhealthy)
Staff yelling at students harshly which creates a negative vibe around the house

All students at ARA are miserable. When I was there, the only thing that got us all through the program was each other. The staff were terrible to us so we ONLY had each other. ARA was a horrible and awful experience for me. After being transported out of ARA, I was put in a treatment program in Puerto Rico called Surfhouse, where I am doing great and have created a better relationships my family and friends and my life is headed in the right direction. Don’t make a mistake and send your child to ARA. Your family and your son deserve much better. Best wishes to all of you on your journey.” – Noah (Google Reviews)

2015: (PARENT) “Ashcreek Ranch Academy is currently under investigation by the State of Utah licensing board for residential treatment centers pursuant to complaints of abuse, mistreatment, discrimination and negligence. Please note that the 5 star review below this one was written by the owner of Ashcreek Ranch Academy, Tammy Behrmann, making all 5 star reviews suspect. ‘Tammy Behrmann – 3 months ago: Ashcreek Ranch is a wonderful Clinical Boarding School. They have skilled therapists who offer weekly individual, group and family therapy. Quarterly family weekends. An outstanding one of a kind Horsemanship program where students breed, train, ride and compete on Professional Performance Quarter horses. Beautiful campus. Students learn to build healthy relationships. Students also have lots of fun riding mountain bikes all over the gorgeous Southern Utah trails.'” – Alyce (Google Reviews)

5/15/2013: (PARENT) “DO NOT SEND YOUR SON TO ASHCREEK RANCH ACADEMY!!!! Their program is absolutely nothing what their website claims to be. I recently had to remove my son from there after discovering that virtually everything they claim to be from their “accredited” school and teachers, equine therapy, drug therapy, etc, etc was a complete farce! The admissions director is a fantastic salesman and he will have you believing that this place is the answer to your prayers, but do not be sucked in! We wasted $20,000 for literally nothing except for very expensive babysitting. It would have been $40,000 had I not responded to all the “red flags” and removed our son 4 months early. Save your family the time, trouble, and money and find another program. There are many other legitimate programs out there. This place is NOT one of them!!! If you would like more detailed info on this program don’t hesitate to send me a message and I will respond promptly.” – Stephanie (Yelp)