Student Life At Our Residential Treatment Center

Student Life at Red Rock

Red Rock Canyon School has adopted a non-punitive parenting style called Positive Peer Culture. Positive Peer Culture is the an approach which seamlessly connects our treatment philosophy and behavior management continuum. This parenting style supports our mission statement to provide our students with the structure, unconditional acceptance, security, support, guidance, and opportunity. These are the values adolescents require for growth and development.

Positive Peer Culture facilitates an atmosphere of kindness, firmness, dignity and respect in which adolescents can best learn responsibility. Our treatment program encourages students to learn how to solve their own problems and take responsibility for making limited choices, rather than rushing in with directives and external controls. Learning from their mistakes is a critical skill we strive to develop in our students. Holding our students accountable for the outcome of their choices is a small price to pay for helping them understand the power of their choices.

Positive Peer Culture is non-punitive. It inspires and motivates students to do better. Punishment may stop a misbehavior, but often at the cost of lowered self-esteem and feelings of humiliation and inadequacy. The results of punishment are resentment, revenge, rebellion and retreat sneakiness and low self-esteem. Children do better when they feel better.

Positive Peer Culture favors natural and logical consequences for behavior problems. The program institutes consequences that are reasonable and respectful to the student's self-esteem and developmental level. Appropriate consequences are related to the misbehavior and revealed in a timely manner.

Positive Peer Culture uses encouragement instead of praise. Encouragement teaches self-evaluation and speaks to the deed and not so much to the doer. Praise, however, teaches dependence on the evaluation of others, resulting in adults who are approval seekers and pleasers. Abiding self-esteem is derived from real achievement

Positive Peer Culture is solution-oriented. Looking for blame creates defensiveness. Looking for solutions invites cooperation. When students are involved in negotiation and decision-making they have ownership and motivation to follow their own decisions, and they develop their creativity in problem solving. We see mistakes as stepping stones, not stumbling blocks. This approach corrects the situation and enhances the relationship with the student.

Although it varies with earn individual youth, at some point, students begin to realize that they are happier when they are making positive changes in their thoughts and actions. External reinforcers are effective in the beginning stages of treatment are replaced by less tangible rewards sum as improved feelings about themselves, opportunities to help others, making others happy, leadership opportunities, and seeing themselves achieve meaningful goals whim are life-enriching.

The students are can have the opportunity to participate in the following services to teach essential life skills:

  • Positive Peer Culture
  • Horsemanship and/or Equine Therapy
  • Community Service
  • Adventure Based Counseling
  • Personal Power
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Positive Communication
  • Anger Management
  • Moral Reasoning
  • Accountability
  • Social Equality
  • Planning and Decision Making
  • Housekeeping