Real Life Community Involvement

Many RTCs are located in remote areas that emphasize security at the expense of community; however, Sunrise cultivates a nurturing environment by building a healthy therapeutic milieu on campus while utilizing the surrounding off-campus community. This balance allows us to provide opportunities for students to safely apply the skills they are learning therapeutically in a real-world environment. While students need the structure and safety of an RTC, as they move through the program it is just as important that they have exposure to real life and are able to apply their skills in many contexts to prepare for home.

Campus Community

A nurturing community is critical to helping teens feel immediately safe and cared for so that they can adjust quickly to treatment and get on with the work of healing. Sunrise cultivates a nurturing school community by providing appropriate structure and lots of activity, encouraging connection with staff and other students, and balancing therapy, school, and fun. Students who are further along in the healing process mentor and support new students; this mentoring program helps all Sunrise students learn to work together for the good of the community. Licensed therapists at Sunrise intentionally make themselves available and seek out those students who tend to isolate or pull away. Honest and open communication is taught in groups and encouraged in day-to-day interactions, so students feel the freedom that comes with transparency. Our campus is homelike and comfortable, with a pool, living area, homelike kitchen and dining room, and other amenities that create opportunities for staff and students to feel at home as they interact.

Finally, we’ve created a campus where visiting parents feel welcome and are invited to participate in the community and in their child’s process. Meet some parents and students who have benefited from the warm embrace of the Sunrise community.

View Campuses

Off-Campus Community Involvement

Our small size and close mentor supervision allows us to provide the highest level of safety, while our in-town location gives our students access to internships, jobs, volunteering opportunities, and even opportunities for fun as they become ready for those privileges.

Recreation and Adventure

An important part of Sunrise programming is to offer students a variety of recreation and adventure opportunities. Experiential learning builds confidence, connection, and can be less threatening than talk therapy. It’s important that students have the opportunity to be teenagers, try new things, and have fun!

Our in-town location gives our students an opportunity that is unusual for residential treatment facilities. It is through this off-campus community involvement that our students are prepared to transition home or to independent living successfully. While all of our students are involved in activities off-campus, 86% are engaged in other pursuits in our local community, above and beyond our regular programming.

Located in Southern Utah, Sunrise comes with the opportunity for a variety of adventures. Students have weekly off campus activities, such as hiking or bowling, and various volunteer opportunities. In the summer, students have the opportunity to camp in Bryce Canyon and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. In addition to these camping trips, each quarter students have the opportunity to participate in Student Leadership trips where they may go rafting through Moab or hiking Havasupai.

Here are some other things we love about having access to our surrounding community:

Sunrise students volunteer on a regular basis at the local rehabilitation centers, animal shelters, daycares, cannery, food drives, triathlons, and other local races, and fairs.
Students have been employed at various restaurants and supermarkets.
Southern Utah is known as the gateway to the national parks as it is only 30 min from Zion National Park and 2 hours or less from Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Grand Staircase, and Capitol Reef National Parks.
Sunrise is located near two lakes, Sand Hollow State Park and Quail Lake State Park, often used for recreational activities during the summer months.
Students have weekly access to local libraries and recreation facilities.
Local colleges allow our older students opportunities to begin their college studies while living at Sunrise.

Residential Milieu

A nurturing residential community is critical to helping teens feel safe and cared for so that they can adjust quickly to treatment and begin the work of healing. Students live in a highly structured home-like environment, sharing bedrooms and living spaces with other students with a variety of personalities. Through this environment, students learn how to build healthy relationships with peers and their mentors. Students learn the application of DBT skills through a variety of roles in their community and through student leadership council. Roles such as chore chief, dorm inspector, cook, or rally role, provide students with experiences where they learn to hold boundaries in an effective way, advocate for their needs, and learn how to operate within a community and serve others. Through the student leadership council, they learn how to be a positive influence and role model for their peers and build confidence.

Residential mentors are trained in DBT and support students with the practical applications of therapy in everyday life; 24 hours a day. They offer DBT skills coaching, create safety by holding boundaries in a loving way, and provide emotional and physical safety for the students. The therapeutic milieu and interactions with mentors are isomorphic for systemic change.

Each child is placed into a community of 12-16 peers on various levels of treatment. This group of students offers support to one another, provides necessary feedback as appropriate, and learns to work together for the good of the community. Students who are further along in the healing process mentor and support new students and each new student is assigned a mentor Relational Coach to assist in finding success during treatment. Honest and open communication is taught in groups and encouraged in day-to-day interactions, so students feel the freedom that comes with transparency. By providing appropriate structure with lots of activity, encouraging connection with staff and other students, and balancing therapy, school, and fun Sunrise is able to help our students make real, lasting change.