Oxbow Academy Reviews

I have watched this program for over 14 years. I have seen the program develop into a more specialized organization that cares for young men with various levels of clinical care needed. Oxbow is a research designated program who is dedicated to collecting, analyzing, and using data to make decisions during the course of treatment. They truly care about the young men they serve. From their educational component to their experiential activities and to their specific therapies, the young men learn not only skills that move them to a more healthy self but also move to more healthy relationships.

Oxbow Academy is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my entire 18 years of living. Granted the first thirteen years of my life were spent in a living hell and the last four were spent trying to recover from that living hell and finding ways to cope with my PTSD.
It hasn’t been easy for me to accept help from or trust people in general. As a child, that was taken from me along with my innocence. Oxbow Academy has helped me realize that it is possible to regain innocence…

It was NOT easy, it was probably the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to do in my entire life, but having my innocence back meant the world to me, and all the people that helped me along the way I am forever grateful… I still suffer from flashbacks and nightmares from my PTSD, but I now know how to cope with them…
I like to think of choice as dignity’s brother. Choice, much like dignity, can be assaulted, vandalized, and cruelly mocked. However, it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered. I can tell you right now that your son’s success at Oxbow Academy is purely based on whether he chooses to succeed or not.
Success is not easy. It never has been, and never will be. You will have to push your limits to the edge every day harder than you’ve ever pushed them before. However hard you push to be the best you that you can possibly be, despite what others may think or despite what you think about yourself, represents what your success means to you.

I am not miraculously better. I am simply better because I choose to be. Without the help of Oxbow Academy, I would not be who I am today… The possibilities of my future are immeasurable. When given a choice between good and bad, I choose great.

I’m a former student of Oxbow and it’s been 10 years since I graduated and I want to say thank you. I recently started reflecting in my life and I’m grateful for the accomplishments I’ve been able to achieve and I owe a lot that to Oxbow. I went there as a porn addict and had boundary issues as well as other things. I went in there very selfish with oppositional defiance disorder and later graduated with all the knowledge and help I needed to change. The biggest thing was learning about empathy. Oxbow turned my life around and gave me back a second chance. I recently completed my MBA as well as my masters in leadership. I have an amazing job as a administrator for a university and I am happily married to my wife. We have a 5-year-old daughter and we recently bought our first house. Together we created an amazing life and I owe the start of all that to Oxbow. For helping me and giving me a second chance. Todd was the perfect therapist for me and was phenomenal in his job. Tony and Brita with their equine therapy are invaluable, as well as the amazing staff I interacted with on a daily basis. My wife is a CMHC and I see how hard and thankless of a job mental health is. So I just want you to know that you guys changed my life around and I’m so thankful. Thank you so much. I’m glad to see how much it has grown since I’ve been there and hope it grows more. Thank you.

Dear future parents,

December of 2017 our son was admitted to Oxbow Academy. It was after our son had already had 13 months of treatment at a wilderness program followed by residential treatment, things were only getting worse for us, treatment was not working where he was. On December 26, 2017 we met with our son and his new therapist, Gregg. It was the day after Christmas and to be honest I didn't think of the fact it was a day that most people are not working and they are spending time with family, I was focusing on what a mess our lives had become. It is only now a couple years later in reflecting back on how telling that day was, the fact that our son's therapist gave up his personal family time to try and save our family showed how much he cared and continued throughout our son's stay. It was a positive treatment process that grew and brought our family back together. The entire staff at Oxbow from tireless residential team, caring teachers, amazing and understanding equine therapists, and supportive administration and the best therapist ever for our son. I never once regretted our decision to place our son at Oxbow, our only wish was that we had done it sooner and not wasted time at another facility. Our son benefited from his time at Oxbow beyond our expectations and gave him a second chance.

California parent
December 2017-July 2019

We are seeing a completely new boy emerge at Oxbow Academy and it is amazing. We can tell that he is transforming from the inside out. So many of us never knew if this day would arrive and to see it begin after only a few months is exciting. We are very grateful for Oxbow Academy's compassionate and outstanding staff. They deserve an award for the way they care for and reach out to these boys. Oxbow is the helping hand that our son so desperately needed and that no one else offered. They teach their students self-respect, self-esteem, and empathy and they model it so well for them. In addition, they are open and transparent and do a great job facilitating regular contact between the students and their families. We highly recommend this school.

Oxbow is head and shoulders above any other sex-specific treatment provider in the industry. Clinically they are extremely sound.

I just wanted to take a minute to thank all the faculty and staff of Oxbow. It was a long journey to get my son into your facility. With much uncertainty, I had to make the decision that my son's problems were bigger than I could help him with. He has been there since December 2017 and all though I can not tell just how much true change he has made I know in my heart he would be much worse off by now if it were not for all the living support from Oxbow. Thank you and God bless you all!

Our journey with our son has been intense, and getting him placed at Oxbow Academy felt like crossing the finish line after running a marathon. Our impressions so far of the staff are very high. Our son has a rugged journey ahead, but we are confident he is in the right hands.

We walked into Oxbow for our initial visit feeling frightened, filled with grief and feelings of isolation. We walked out feeling informed, supported, a sense of relief and most importantly a feeling of hope for our son and family.

I have always been treated fairly and with respect by higher-ups at Oxbow and I respect the leadership shown by the administration. I am grateful for my job and the opportunities it provides. I appreciate the work everyone puts in to help the boys.

The staff and therapist at Oxbow were pivotal in helping our son find himself. Oxbow was the third facility he had attended almost 10 years ago. We believe the Equine Program and the patient teachers reaffirmed his self-worth. Today he is a responsible young man, fully employed and a college graduate. Back at age 15, we never thought this was a possibility. We will be eternally grateful to Oxbow for returning the son we knew but had disappeared right before our eyes. Hopefully, this letter will help another family in need.

I do really enjoy the company and I feel like they do an excellent job of helping the kids. We have great employees here who all care so much about each other and the kids. That really brings a very nice attitude about work.

I am a resident who successfully finished the program and now am living a successful life. I would like to thank all the staff, therapies, and directors for their support.

This program is awesome! I enjoy working here, making friends, feeling welcome, and making a difference. A motto I live by is to not take a job for the money, but the things it will teach you, and this job reflects that perfectly. I think this job is a great opportunity.

I thought it was a great parent seminar and I enjoyed reconnecting with some of the boys and parents from last parent seminar as well as with Oxbow staff. Our son is growing in many directions, expanding his reach, broadening his knowledge base, getting a clearer handle on some of his behaviors and attitudes that do not serve him or the community. Watching him climb to new heights and gain new perspectives is quite gratifying.

Supporting all of these boys and families is not easy or trivial. Y'all have to encounter many ups and downs throughout the long days and nights. I can imagine and appreciate how much time, energy and attention goes into everyday and each kid at Oxbow. Two standout moments was listening to two of the students about to go home stand up and talk to all the parents and students about their time at Oxbow-- priceless moments and boys. It has to feel really good to see boys transition from the program and leave Oxbow with new purpose, goals and abilities. It is hard to see some of them leave and that is what it's all about.

My thanks to you and entire Oxbow team for your effort and support of our son and all of the boys and families in the program.

I am profoundly thankful for the opportunity to attend parent seminar last week. I am humbled to be in the company of such committed and loving parents, and was really moved to see how invested the staff at Oxbow are in the growth and development of our sons. I have come away energized but more importantly having learned so much about how to be an effective parent. Thank you all for being part of my journey!!

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me my grandson back with a more controlled and mature nature. You all showed my grandson that he was valued and loved by many. He has been home now for 1 month and I am overjoyed. You all hold a special place in my heart and I love you dearly. Oxbow was able to do what other programs could not. I'm so happy to have my grandson back. This Academy is the best thing to happen for us. All is not perfect but it is the best it's been in many years. God bless you.

I am so grateful for the entire staff. You all do so much for these kids. They are carrying such burdens and it takes a place of love to welcome them in and work for them each and every day. They have helped him grow so much this past year. I have a different child coming back to me and I am so excited!

"I am so glad I attended the Parent/Teacher conference. Not only did I learn a lot about the school, I had the privilege to meet impressive students and staff members. You're in good hands, the rest is up to you."

Today was my son's last equine session. It was a bittersweet exit, as he has mourned the loss of the peers and staff he had so reluctantly grown attached to, but reveled in the joy that his sister, with whom he had not spoken in almost 2 years, made a surprise appearance. Days before I left she announced that she was ready for closure and finally ready to see her brother. A miracle I never thought was possible. It has been incredibly emotional few days. I am overcome with gratitude for the time and effort they put into my son. Today he starts yet another program and a new chapter in his now adult life with autism. This group has meant a lot to me. My son was also able to say goodbye to the ones he will miss most, Tony (Equine Director) and Tequilla (Horse), and have an amazing reunification equine session with my very own miracle, his sister. You see miracles do actually happen, it's just when you least expect them.

Thanks again so much for taking our son to the top. He is much changed and matured. He just got his first job and we are looking forward to career counseling and even bigger and better things to come!

I wanted to reach out to you to let you know we had a fantastic recent visit with our son. He was so relaxed and fun to be with! I heard some amazing things from him. He told me that he wished he had been at Oxbow first instead of the other facilities he went to. He said he feels like he is with people that have the same issues he does and they understand. He was even using some Oxbow lingo and strategies with his younger siblings!! At the end of the day he said he couldn’t wait to tell the guys how much fun he had. I wondered if leaving would be difficult but it wasn’t – he was calm and collected and seemed more mature to me. Praise the Lord!



I see real transition happening with him and I want to be sure the staff get this feedback as well. Just seeing what it’s like there on the weekend was overwhelming for me so I want to be sure they know that their work is evident and appreciated. I love my son more than I can articulate and to have folks help him develop and grow is a blessing I cherish.



Thank you again to all involved



One happy mom

"It is great to see how far our son has developed since being at Oxbow. Pretty exciting for us.....and a huge testament to Oxbow!"