When we came to the conclusion that our son’s needs had overwhelmed our ability to parent him, we were devastated. Through conversations with friends we found out about Venture and within days a placement was secured in the thirty day assessment program. For such a long time we had been running on adrenaline, dealing with crises and high emotion without time to react and plan our approach to support our son. The decision to enroll our son was taken suddenly, in the midst of crisis, while there was a window of motivation on his part. Knowing that he had gone to a safe, family-based program rather than an institution was comforting to us. During the first thirty days we really put our trust in the treating team at Venture. I believe that it was what allowed us to have the time and distance to think about what we needed and wanted for our family. It enabled our son to be free from the unhealthy environment, peers and choices that had contributed to his illness. It allowed our intense emotions to settle so that we could begin to rebuild a healthier relationship with our boy. I don’t think that we had the skills to communicate in a different way in those early days. Now that our son is home with us again I am amazed at his growth and maturity. We are forever grateful that the staff and families of Venture were there for us when we needed them.

– Psychiatrist