Therapy is a tool Oak Ranch uses to focus attention on the emotional and relational needs of young men and their families. Oak Ranch's therapy process seeks to provide opportunities for boys and family members to learn and practice new skills, to build on previous successes, and to identify specific goals for growth. Young men who come to Oak Ranch receive several proactive levels of counseling concurrently by qualified counselors:

• Weekly individual therapy
• Weekly group therapy in the homes
• Family therapy with the boy's natural custodial family and extended family members

Educational groups dealing with peer pressure, substance abuse, self esteem, sexuality, anger management and other issues are offered throughout a young man's stay.

Intellectual and academic growth is an important aspect of each young man's development at Oak Ranch. Many incoming boys struggle with basic reading and writing skills and are frustrated with failing grades or other aspects of school. Oak Ranch works closely with local schools to enable children to succeed academically.

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Boys participate in devotional times throughout the day in their homes and at school. They also attend area churches with their House families and enjoy the fellowship of local youth groups.

All the staff at Oak Ranch has a role in developing each boy spiritually. This may be accomplished through a word of wisdom given in a vulnerable moment, or a genuine delight expressed in a simple cheerful wave as we pass each other on the Ranch.

Oak Ranch strives to provide a safe and healthy environment in which our young men can experience building wholesome and genuine relationships. We challenge and encourage our boys to become confident young men with a high degree of self-sufficiency, an exemplary work ethic, a strong ethical base with a clear understanding of right and wrong; and a sacrificial, generous heart.

• Our young men receive instruction on social skills, proper etiquette, and appropriate physical hygiene. Teaching on opposite gender relationships and adolescent development is also given.
• Our young men become proficient in empathetic listening and giving feedback through routine group counseling sessions and daily life in their Oak Ranch home with six other boys and a House Parent family.
• Opportunities for peer interactions are given through field trips, friend visit privileges, visiting the local gym and restaurants, playing on local sports teams, attending church and youth group activities, and attendance at week-long summer camps and day camps.
• Community service projects are required of each House on the Ranch through out the year.
• Community representatives visit the Ranch to give talks on various community issues such as wildlife preservation, water safety, and drug addiction.

Oak Ranch encourages and instructs each young man to develop habits that lead to healthy lives. We assist each boy in developing a talent or skill in an area of their choosing including such interests as outdoor sports, martial arts, scouting, hiking, horseback riding, music, etc.

Oak Ranch works to instill a valuable work ethic in each boy through opportunities to care for their room, their house, and the Ranch. An especially invigorating opportunity comes through our Sound Stallions program, an Oak Ranch program centered on the care, nurture, and enjoyment of the beautiful horses on the Ranch!

Oak Ranch is located on 755 acres and offers wonderful opportunities for trail hiking, ATV riding, horseback riding, mountain biking, fishing, cross-country running, orienteering and compass courses, soccer, frisbee, skate boarding, wilderness baseball, capture the flag, basketball, light saber wars ...anything the imagination can dream, we have room for!

A structured Physical Fitness program is also in place through Oak Ranch Academy as part of the Physical Education requirement of the school. The heart of the P.E. program is the high-profile Presidential Challenge Fitness Program that permits a boy to compete against other boys of similar build and age from across the nation!

In August 2004, Oak Ranch began implementing an "outcome based" measurement program designed to track the progress of the boys and their families in the five areas that Oak Ranch impacts: emotional/behavioral, academic, spiritual, social, and physical. Residents and family members participate by giving written responses to several survey instruments at the time of admission, periodically during their Oak Ranch stay, and for up to two years after discharge. Specific areas that are tracked-in addition to the educational testing and Presidents' Physical fitness mentioned above-- include measurements of boy's self-esteem, individual and social functioning, relationship with God, and family communication. Feedback is then given to the boys and their families helping them to identify successes and future growth areas.