Frequently asked questions about Roots Renewal Ranch

About Roots Renewal Ranch
Admissions and clinical fit
Safety, psychiatry and medication

Let's check if your insurance provider will cover your treatment costs.

Verify Insurance

Choosing residential treatment for your daughter is a big decision, and it is normal to have questions. This FAQ page is designed to help parents and guardians better understand Roots Renewal Ranch, our treatment approach, family involvement, daily life on campus, admissions, insurance, and aftercare support.

About Roots Renewal Ranch

What is Roots Renewal Ranch?

Roots Renewal Ranch is a residential treatment program for adolescent girls ages 13–17. We support teens struggling with mental health concerns, trauma, substance use, emotional dysregulation, self-harm behaviors, and family system challenges.

Our program combines clinical care, family involvement, structured daily routines, experiential therapies, education, and life skills development in a warm ranch setting. The goal is to help each client build safety, stability, confidence, and healthier ways of relating to herself and others.

Roots serves adolescent girls ages 13–17 who need more support than traditional outpatient therapy can provide. Many of the teens we work with are navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, emotional dysregulation, substance use, self-harm behaviors, attachment challenges, identity development, or significant family conflict.

Each potential admission is reviewed individually to make sure Roots is clinically appropriate and able to provide the right level of care.

Roots Renewal Ranch is located on a ranch-style campus in Argyle, Texas. The setting is intentionally designed to feel warm, relational, and home-like rather than institutional.

Clients live in a residential home environment with access to outdoor space, animals, equine experiences, occupational therapy spaces, academic support, chef-prepared meals, and therapeutic programming throughout the day.

Yes. Roots Renewal Ranch is licensed as a Residential Treatment Center with a Substance Use Disorder license and is accredited through The Joint Commission.

The average length of stay is typically 80–90 days, depending on each client’s clinical needs, family work, discharge readiness, and insurance authorization. Roots guarantees the first 60 days of programming.

No. Roots is not an inpatient hospital, boot camp, or traditional wilderness program. Roots is a structured residential treatment center that uses a trauma-informed, relationship-centered approach.

Our philosophy is not based on punishment or control. We meet each client and family where they are, use natural consequences rather than punitive methods, and focus on healing the whole child and family system.

Roots provides extensive aftercare support. We will provide care for 60-90 days following our full residential program, and that may include client/family/group check-ins, parent groups and sibling support, weekly school check-ins, alumni events, and more.

Roots is different because treatment is not limited to therapy sessions alone. The full daily experience is therapeutic. Through an Occupational Therapy-informed model, clients practice emotional regulation, life skills, executive functioning, healthy routines, communication, and self-confidence in real time.

Roots also places strong emphasis on family involvement, trauma-informed care, experiential learning, and helping clients translate insight into everyday change.

Admissions & Clinical Fit

How do I know if my daughter needs residential treatment?

Residential treatment may be appropriate when outpatient therapy, school support, or lower levels of care are no longer enough to keep your daughter safe, stable, or moving forward.

Many families come to Roots after ongoing struggles with anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use, self-harm behaviors, emotional dysregulation, family conflict, or repeated crises at home. During the admissions process, our team helps determine whether Roots is the right level of care based on your daughter’s needs, history, safety, and ability to participate in treatment.

Each potential admission is reviewed individually to make sure Roots is clinically appropriate and able to provide the right level of care.

Roots Renewal Ranch supports adolescent girls struggling with complex trauma, mental health concerns, substance use, emotional dysregulation, self-harm behaviors, attachment challenges, family system dysfunction, and identity development challenges.

Our program is designed for teens who need structured, relational, trauma-informed support in a residential setting. Each potential admission is reviewed individually to make sure Roots is clinically appropriate for the client and family.

Roots may be appropriate for teens with a history of self-harm, substance use, disordered eating, or recent stabilization at a higher level of care, as long as they can participate safely in the program.

Because every client’s needs are different, each case is reviewed individually by the leadership and clinical team before admission. The goal is to make sure Roots can provide the right level of safety, structure, and clinical support.

During intake, Roots completes a full clinical intake, psychiatric evaluation, and medical screening within the first 72 hours. The team may also review past records and consult with previous providers when needed.

This helps the clinical, medical, and admissions teams understand your daughter’s history, current needs, safety concerns, family dynamics, and treatment goals so care can begin with as much clarity as possible.

It is common for teens to feel scared, angry, resistant, or unsure about residential treatment. Many parents worry, “What if she won’t go?” or “How do we even tell her?” These concerns are normal, especially when the family is already exhausted and in crisis.

Roots is not a punishment-based program. Our approach is rooted in transparency, relationship, and meeting each client and family where they are. During admissions, the team can help parents think through the situation with honesty, care, and attention to safety.

Therapy & Treatment

What is Roots Renewal Ranch’s treatment approach?

Roots uses a trauma-informed, relationship-centered approach that supports the whole child and family system. Treatment is designed to help clients build emotional regulation, develop insight, strengthen resilience, and practice healthier ways of relating to themselves and others.

At Roots, therapy is not limited to scheduled sessions. The full residential experience is viewed as part of the therapeutic process, including groups, daily routines, relationships, occupational therapy, experiential activities, and family work.

Each client receives individual therapy, family therapy, and group therapy as part of the weekly schedule.

Clients typically receive:

Individual therapy twice per week
Family therapy once per week
Daily group therapy
Additional therapeutic support throughout the week from therapists, case managers, nursing, occupational therapy, and care staff

Group therapy may include DBT, process groups, Smart Recovery, Higher Power, music therapy, substance use groups, trauma groups, peer connection, expressive arts, and other clinically guided programming.

Roots uses an integrative, evidence-informed clinical model tailored to adolescents. Depending on the client’s needs, the clinical approach may include DBT, CBT, EMDR, ART, Motivational Interviewing, attachment-based and family systems therapy, process-oriented group psychotherapy, occupational therapy integration, and experiential therapies.

These modalities are used to support trauma healing, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, healthier relationships, motivation for change, and real-life skill development.

Roots is intentionally designed through an Occupational Therapy-informed model, which means clients practice what they are learning in real time. The daily schedule helps clients build life skills, emotional regulation, executive functioning, distress tolerance, routines, confidence, and identity development through structured activities and supported daily experiences.

This helps bridge the gap between insight and action. Instead of only talking about change, clients practice healthier habits, coping skills, communication, responsibility, and self-regulation throughout the day.

Safety, Psychiatry & Medication

How does Roots Renewal Ranch keep clients safe?

Safety at Roots begins with structure, relationships, clinical oversight, and trauma-informed support. Staff are trained to respond to client needs with de-escalation, relational support, safety planning, and collaborative intervention rather than punishment or control.

When a safety concern occurs, Roots activates support from clinical, care, and leadership staff and notifies families when needed. Staff also receive annual crisis prevention and trauma training, and clinical and direct care teams meet regularly to review client needs.

Yes. Clients see the psychiatrist weekly during stabilization and then as clinically indicated. Families are updated regularly and involved in the decision-making process.

Medication management at Roots focuses on finding the most effective long-term support for each client, especially when antidepressants or mood stabilizers are clinically appropriate. Roots is mostly a non-controlled medication facility and intentionally avoids controlled substances unless absolutely necessary.

Yes. Medication changes are communicated to families within 24 hours. Roots prioritizes transparency and collaboration with families and authorized professionals throughout the medication management process.

If a client refuses medication, Roots approaches that refusal as a therapeutic opportunity. The clinical and medical teams work with the client to understand her concerns, support autonomy, and determine what is needed to move forward safely.

How to get started

Starting with Roots Renewal Ranch’s Program is a 3-step process that often takes a few days to several weeks depending on your child’s unique case, insurance and payment readiness, and available space.

1- The initial phone call

Tell us your story, explore treatment approaches, and together we’ll figure out insurance and financing.

2- Fit Assessment

An admissions specialist will do a phone assessment (about an hour) to discuss the needs of your child.

3- Admission Approval

We’ll schedule a call between the intake coordinator and your child and set an admissions date.