SUWS of the Carolinas

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helpfull but agrivating because we had to hike almost every day but it might have changed in like 5 munths so ya

We were very thankful to find SUWS via our Educational Consultant, without her we never would have known about it. While it was a tough 2+ months for our daughter it certainly helped to stabilize her before she went off to a TBS. And while our daughter did not enjoy it even she will say that it was very helpful for her. The communication is great, having a call every week with the therapist and being able to received and send letters each week via their portal was great. I highly recommend SUWS.

SUWS gave me a lot of tools and self confidence to live in life

In the past 8 years, my daughter (who has bipolar disorder) has endured every kind of therapy you could think of... Outpatient therapies (Play therapy, DBT individual/ group, etc.) Intensive In Home Therapy, Multisystemic Therapy.. you name it. Hands down SUWS of the Carolinas was THE BEST THERAPY EVER!!! The mindfullness, the empowering life skills, the healing Appalchian Mountains, and the therapists who treat the children with dignity are all why my daughter asks to go back all the time. THE ONLY ISSUE IS THE COST IS NOT COVERED BY MEDICAID.. and so we ran out of money, and she had to leave before she was ready.

Sending our daughter to SUWS was one of the most difficult decisions we have ever had to make as parents, but we are so glad we did. We can't say enough about the staff and program at SUWS.

SUWS was a god-send for our family life, and two years later we are exceptionally grateful for what our daughter received at SUWS and how her experience in the wilderness program helped her on her life journey. The professionalism of the SUWS staff, the well-honed facilitation of family-therapist conversations and the mystery of the Appalachian wilderness worked together well to offer deep healing for our daughter and our family as a whole.

I went into this program scared out of my mind. After spending 35 days in Bravo, I graduated right after this past Thanksgiving. At first, everything looked great. Then it didn't . Now here I am, 18 and about to graduate high school, and things are great again. I attribute so much of my success and inspiration to SUWS. The only constant is change~ (Also, my name is Greer Fedell. Savvy Uri is my pen-name :])

SUWS of the Carolinas is an oasis in the desert for our family. My desperate call for help to them was met consistently with proactive, sound direction as to how to handle a serious chemical dependency issue with a teen. Use interventionists. The message that we parents are Alpha and that our child's using is ruining our collective life had to be delivered in a profound and non-negotiable manner. It was my first step at taking my parent power back and made a huge impression not only on my teen but everyone who knows and cares about him that using is not an option. Alcoholism and addiction is a family disease and is usually multi-generational. It doesn’t run in my family. It gallops. I’m familiar with treatment centers across the country, have personal and relational experience with them, and have advanced degrees on the subject. SUWS is by far the best treatment center I’ve ever encountered based upon both the quality of the clinical program AND the quality, both professionally and personally, of its clinicians and management. Mike Vines explained everything that needed to happen on the front-end and remained in close contact with me not only during the process but afterwards. He understands recovery and family dysfunction. He provided the blueprint necessary for us to trust the process and quiet our fears around questioning if we were doing the right thing. He truly cares about the children and their families who become SUWS clients and works overtime to keep a connection available to those who want it. His insight is keen and message entirely positive with no rose colored glasses. Kevin Waller is the most talented clinician I’ve ever encountered. He saw right through my son and walked that perfect and delicate tightrope between tough love, empathy and direction. He did an amazing job advocating for both our son and us simultaneously. His honesty, courage, candor and love for recovery and humanity make him one of the most special people on the planet. The Director’s Family Weekend was awesome. Shaun taught us what to expect, held up the mirror on how we were enabling our son, and lovingly gave us tools to become healthy and boundaried parents. Respectfully, he conveyed that much of our work needed to be done post-SUWS utilizing family, couples, and individual therapy. Literally everyone we dealt with at SUWS was exceptional. The office staff, nurse, biofeedback specialist, ad infinitum, were ultra-professional, top-shelf people who “walk the walk” because they are the right people for their jobs and they love recovery. SUWS is an excellent return on investment – the value we received for the money we spent was so well worth it. How can you put a price tag on your child’s life? In my estimation, it’s a great value for its money and I would not hesitate to pick up the phone and send ours back if he falters. In addition to having a sober son, SUWS cured our son of entitlement issues. Reading some of these reviews made me chuckle and somewhat sad. Those who carry on about how rough the conditions are seem to forget or do not realize that wilderness is about cleansing the soul from attachment to material, technology and other distractions that numb our feelings and keep us disconnected from ourselves. While my own child hated not having access to his country club life and things, he learned how to take care of himself for the first time without a Hover Mother or Fix It Fairy cleaning up his mess. A spoiled, hurting and petulant teen returned home respectful, earnest, and bound and determined to be successful at school and in with his family relationships. If nine weeks of detoxing from “stuff” was the price he paid to learn internal tools and self-esteem, it was clearly worth the “suffering” he endured. The kids are always safe and well supervised. It’s about building character and skills. You can’t buy that…Thank you, SUWS, for saving my son and for teaching me how to effectively parent in the midst of addiction. There will be extra special jewels in your crowns at the Pearly Gates…

SUWS help my daughter make the positive changes she needed. She has become more self aware and responsible. We had some serious behavior problems before that are 90% gone now. The staff at SUWS were so supportive and caring. It was a hard decision to send here there, but absolutely no regrets.

The staff was great and my son definitely benefited from the experience. I take off one star because of a serious problem related to a recommendation for his medications.

Exceptional staff, very knowledgeable and caring. Helped us every step of the way in this difficult journey to help our child.

SUWS of the Carolinas is a solid program for teens with behavioral/substance abuse issues. Our son benefited greatly while there.

I attended this in 2001. I was there for 60 days. Good lord some of you writing reviews are so unbelievably weak. Yes it sucked, didn't get to bathe a what not, eating horrible food, and hiking all the time. To say you have PTSD because of it? Give me a freaking break. It sucked, but some of you are acting like you went to War or something. As for not being able to talk to the other members in your group, and the counselors, that is complete BS.

I went there about 6 months ago since then i have seen the changes made and they aren't all good if your kids go home after this if they do drugs they are going to relapse no matter what they say

I can't believe all the negative things people are saying about SUWS! This place helped my daughter grow confidence and communication skills. I feel like I have my family back, and I have SUWS to thank. -Troy