Yes. Building Bridges is fully licensed under the Montana Department of Health and Human Services. Our therapists are required to have at least a License in Addiction Counseling. Our Director holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology, is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and Licensed Addiction Counselor. We are also certified with the Joint Commission and are a member in good standing with the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs.

Absolutely. Each member of our therapy team is required to be a Licensed Addiction Counselor (LAC), and hold a degree in Psychology or related field. Under the supervision of our Director, Kurt Fairbank, who holds a Masters in Psychology as well his LAC and LCPC licensures, our therapeutic team takes great care in designing each student’s Master Plan. Building Bridges is proud of our therapeutic team and the incredible work they do.

We want every one of our students to attend public school. We have carefully designed our program to provide each student the opportunity to benefit and grow from the experience of full enrollment in a public school. Our more senior students, those who are farther along in their program, act as mentors and guides, helping new students manage the challenges of reintegrating into a public school. We also closely monitor each student’s academic performance and interactions with his teachers and class mates to ensure that he is learning how to overcome past negative behaviors. Some of our newer students may not be able to attend the public school for a variety of reasons. In those cases, they will attend classes at our facility until it is appropriate for them to be enrolled in the public school.

Building Bridges works with each individual based upon their individual needs. Some of our students progress through their program rather quickly, while others may take a while longer to make that progress. Our therapists and staff will work closely with each family to determine the appropriate expectations for each student’s length of stay.

Yes. Each student is encouraged to write home as often as possible and phone calls happen every weekend. Communication between family members is an important part of the work we do with each student. Initially, your son will have the ability write home whenever he wishes and to make calls home every week. Additionally, he can earn internet privilege to send emails, post to social media accounts, and even video conference with family members.

Family visits are an important part of our therapeutic process. Your son’s therapist will help you coordinate visits that have the greatest positive impact and offer the best opportunities for your son to demonstrate the growth he has experienced and practice important new skills in communicating with family members.

Home visits are also an important part of your son’s therapy and recovery. These are opportunities for your son to truly put into practice what he has learned, in a familiar and sometimes challenging environment. The goal is to have him find new, positive activities at home, to replace the negative activities and interactions he sought out prior to treatment. Your therapist will coordinate these home visits with you and provide you with the tools to best support and help your son during these visits.

Our facility is located on 45 acres in some of the most scenic forested area in the pacific northwest. Our brand new residential facility has room for up to 24 students, with a professional kitchen, large living and dining areas and many more amenities. Our property includes private river access where we enjoy water skiing and tubing, or just jumping in after a hot day. We are ideally designed to blend the positive peer culture of a larger facility with the personal interaction only available in a less crowded environment. Students in our program can easily find the privacy they desire for self-reflection, one-on-ones with their therapist or another peer, or simply to write a letter home. At the same time, they can also interact and get feedback from a larger group, providing the grounding that comes with such interactions.

We would love to give you a tour of our facility. Give out office a call to schedule a time. 888-853-0156

Over the regular school year, each day will have several different activities. Every weekday morning, the students have a morning group session before heading off to school. After school, the students come back to the residence and have some free time to complete homework or work on their Master Plan before dinner. After dinner there is a different activity each night, from group sessions, to meetings in town, to community activities, such as basketball at the school gym. The weekends are broken up into a work therapy day on Saturday, followed by a movie that night, and a recreational therapy day on Sunday, which could include paint ball, softball, going to the gym, or going skiing at one of the local resorts.