TREATMENT PHILOSOPHY

Rancho Valmora provides a fully integrated therapeutic and experiential milieu conducted within the framework of Positive Peer Culture (PPC), a values-based and process-oriented model utilizing a system of cognitive strategies and interventions. PPC strives for long-term change by teaching and internalizing core values of pro-social and positive behavior such as altruism, responsibility, acceptance, self-worth and autonomy.

Treatment teams actively develop individual and group strategies and interventions that challenge a student’s distorted thinking patterns based on negative behaviors and values. These strategies and interventions are designed to teach students the benefits of accepting mature, proactive, and pro-social responsibilities. The development of a positive value system based upon social interest is the most important tool for problem resolution and will achieve long-term change more effectively than promoting compliance based upon external rewards and consequences.

By "integrated" we mean that all aspects of the therapeutic and social milieu revolve around the core concepts of PPC and that the individual, group and family therapy sessions are integrated into the milieu of PPC. In other words, all types of social interactions, including therapy sessions, formal education and even recreation share a commonality of purpose: to teach a positive value system based upon the concepts of altruism, responsibility, self-worth, acceptance and autonomy. Formalized group therapy sessions act as a teaching catalyst for the therapeutic work that permeates a student’s social day and serve the milieu versus the more common practice of the converse being true.

In Positive Peer Culture, the students are an integral part of the helping process and are fully incorporated into the social and experiential milieu. The development of altruism, responsibility, self-worth, acceptance and autonomy, and the internalization of these qualities, requires the student to be an active part of the helping process. These qualities are developed as the treatment process exposes and provides insight into the student’s previously unsuccessful efforts to discover identity, status and a self-concept based upon negative behaviors.

The exposure of problems in a highly supervised environment is the most effective way to address the problem, and thus allows students to show their problems as an opportunity for help versus something to be avoided. The process takes place in a social and experiential manner, at the time and place of occurrence and is focused on the "here and now" interactions of the student with his or her group and with staff. Through this process students learn that the acceptance of responsibility, rather than compliance based on rules and punishment, is the better road map to their desired ends.

Furthermore, integrating the students into the experiential and social milieu recognizes and capitalizes on the fact that students are modeling their behavior most strongly after other peers. The influence of peers exists and is paramount to each student. To ignore this reality is to jeopardize achieving long-term positive change in any student. Rancho Valmora brings this tremendous power into the mainstream of the therapeutic process so it may be adult-guided and influenced towards positive ends. Young people entering the program quickly learn their new role rises above simple obedience; and their role models are staff as well as other students. Students are asked and taught to become of service to their peers and to take a meaningful role and responsibility in helping others. As they learn how to be of value to others, students develop the self-worth necessary to establish and maintain better relationships, behaviors and goals.