In Balance Academy -

Deb C

Our son attended In Balance after a wilderness program. We were very pleased with the support our son received as well as the parent support provided. Our son made lifelong friends and continued onto the In Balance Transitional program. And we as parents were part of an ever growing community of other parents for ongoing support and understanding.

Carrie McLaughlin

Making the choice to seek outside help for a struggling teen is not easy. IBRA and its continuum turn out to be what my son and our family needed at the time that we needed it. I have learned that on this path of healing everything turns up in the moments you need it most. It is NOT a linear road, it has allot of bumps, curves and major dips.

The Barrasso's and their staff are committed to making a difference in the world. They are helping young men find their way out of the darkness of addiction, internal struggles, self-loathing and shame. The therapist there are top notch and go above and beyond. The staff is amazing and care deeply about the young men there. IBRA is totally committed to the young men that come though their programs. AND once you become part of the IBRA family you stay part of the family.

This is "A journey" and as a family we learned we need help to see this, commit to it and do the work. They have a parent liaison who is totally invested in all the families that come through the program. The families are there for each other, be it a newcomer, in-between or an OG (Old guard). I feel that one of the biggest keys to our growth and healing (for all of us) was finding community - having peer support not only for the young men, but also the families. IBRA principle of having the young men take responsibility for themselves, be there for each other; with their peer support and leadership, it really does have a huge impact on their progress. We also saw big shift once we starting to do our own work- and our son saw we were committed to healing our family' and IBRA was right there with us to support us!

Another great thing is that IBRA is connected a wonderful organization that has created a great online community for the parents.

My son went through the whole continuum - IBRA, Transitional living and Sober living. He has stepped into his choices- he chose to finish school; he chose to enroll in college (getting straight As) and he is choosing to be committed to his sobriety and well-being. He chose to do the work and IBA gave him the scaffolding to help him while he made these choices.

It isn't an easy road for anyone on this journey - but nothing worth having is!! (Remember that when you see negative reviews from someone who went through the program? And take it with a grain of salt!)

Joseph McQuillen

It was an amazing event hosted by two of the most wonderful caring people. I trusted our son's recovery to the Barrasso's and he came away with some much more. As an added bonus so did Sally and I! much love Joe McQuillen

Beth

My family’s experience with the In Balance Continuum has been extraordinary. Our son entered the Ranch program immediately after being in Wilderness therapy and has recently transitioned to their Transitional Living community. The Barrasso family has created sober therapeutic boarding communities that have allowed our son, and our family, to recover, heal and grow. Their approach to addiction and behavior issues really worked for us. The In Balance staff truly understand, and very compassionately, care for the boys. Their understanding of how addiction impacts the entire family and the support they provide to the family really makes their program a game changer. The transformation that has occurred in our son, ourselves, and within our family, has been truly amazing. I can not thank them enough.

david tanzi

This has been a long journey for our family, 19 months to be exact. There were many ups, downs and many transitions between them. I can only speak for myself, and this was a challenging journey. The one thing that helped me through this was Patrick's statement during family weekends "trust the process."
When I /we did just that and got out of the way growth took place for each of us as individuals and as a family. After visiting IBA I was convinced this was the right and best place for our son and ourselves, in large part due to the AA program influence. There were so many influential people at the Ranch holding our hands as we walked through this process. Tony is off to TL. We are all excited about this next part of our journey. We will be forever grateful to the In Balance Continuum and those incredible professionals for what they have done for our son and our family.

Deborah S

Our son spent 16 months at IBRA. The staff, therapists and owners all have a true deep love for each of the students that come to the ranch. The communication from the ranch, as a whole, about our son exceeded our expectations. The ranch al-anon group was the best experience that I will carry with me and continue to be a part of. In Balance Ranch and all the parents involved, are my extended family. We've shared our joys and our absolute lows with each other. Our family is not 100%, but all the tools we've learned from our son being at IBRA, we are a family reconnected and present with each other. Our son will continue his journey at In Balance Transitional Living. Would give it more than 5 stars if possible!

Antonia Lavender

In Balance was highly recommended to us through our EC and we questioned the need for our son to continue in a program of aftercare following An amazing success at wilderness. We actually struggled with the concept, thought it unnecessary and expensive. We wanted to get our son back in the game of school and not lose time or credits. Had we done that, we may have lost him. In Balance integrated our family through therapeutic sessions, family weekends and if wilderness was 10% of the progress to recovery, In Balance was 80%, we another 10% and we realize that our son is still on the road to recovery and will be for a lifetime. He is currently in TL and we are grateful for the young man he has become through the caring values and standards In Balance provides from a loving, family approach to family recovery from addiction.

Charlie B.

I was a student at In Balance Academy for 12 months and 2 weeks. Overall the program was extremely helpful and allowed me to get into a better headspace. The staff there was suited to help me through my issues and many of them had relevant life experience. The art teacher is one of the coolest people I have ever met and the equine program opened me to a world I was not fully aware of. The only issues were not leaving campus enough and the level system, but I was there during a pandemic which affected the amount we could do off-campus activities. The experience is what you make of it and is not perfectly suited for everyone. I would recommend it for any parents who have kids struggling with substance abuse issues as an aftercare program. I would not recommend sending your child there directly from home.