Boys Who Can Best Be Helped at Cherry Gulch
At Cherry Gulch, our greatest pride is the growth and transformation of our students. We are honored to help guide struggling boys into becoming articulate, confident, and emotionally grounded young men. Our program was intentionally designed to serve a specific age group—boys navigating the critical developmental stage between late childhood and early adolescence.
Cherry Gulch is a residential treatment center exclusively for boys, with an average enrollment age of 13. We welcome relatively mature 10-year-olds through less mature 14-year-olds and, in some cases, will consider a highly immature 15-year-old who is developmentally aligned with our latency-age student population. If your 15-year-old son would feel overwhelmed in a typical public high school and needs a supportive, structured environment, Cherry Gulch may be the right fit.
Our team is deeply committed to early intervention and prevention. We strive to help boys get back on track before challenging behaviors become more deeply rooted. Our relational-based approach is well-suited for a wide range of clinical profiles—from boys facing complex emotional and psychological issues to those who are more inwardly withdrawn or anxious.
Academically, we’re equipped to support students with diverse learning needs—whether they are facing learning challenges or excelling well beyond grade level. Each student we serve is a good kid with untapped potential and a bright future. At the time of admission, however, many are struggling with emotional distress and have developed maladaptive coping mechanisms to deal with feelings of anger, depression, or frustration.
At Cherry Gulch, we offer the care, structure, and support needed to help them heal—and to rediscover the best version of themselves.
Difficulties our students typically struggle with include:
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Boys with these issues or characteristics are not a good fit for our program
Students that may be inappropriate for placement at Cherry Gulch include those who are over 15-years-old at the time of admission, or who have been involved with the Juvenile Justice System or the Department of Corrections. We do not accept students with the following difficulties: Adjudicated Youth (Students with Criminal Records)
- Actively Suicidal, Homicidal, or Psychotic
- Anorexia
- Bulimia
- Arson
- Autistic needing level 3 support, and sometimes we cannot support level 2 needs
- Conduct Disorder
- Drug Addiction
- IQ below 80
- Schizophrenia or other Psychotic Disorders
- Sexual Offenders
- Students who are dangerous and pose a risk to other students
- Students who would be diagnosed with a Personality Disorder if they fit the age requirement (Antisocial, Schizoid, Schizotypal, Borderline, etc)
- Street-smart gang members
- Students who have serious behaviors such as using cocaine and other hard drugs, stealing cars, or running away from home for days at a time.
- We do not accept students who would be more appropriately placed with a population older than ours.
- We do not accept students who we do not think are right for our school or who we do not think we can help.
- We do not accept students who we feel will have a consistently negative influence on our younger, “softer,” more impressionable students.
