Sarah's Story: Long-Term Treatment at Burning Tree Ranch
The true story of what Burning Tree families experience for themselves.
Sarah struggled with chronic relapse, but we still loved her.
She’d been through a lot. Multiple treatment programs in five years, and each time returning home with hope that quickly faded into another relapse.
We were ready to give up. We were all exhausted from the cycle.
But we loved her immensely, and so we tried one last time.
She’s been through treatment programs and they always ended in relapse.
We expected it to be the same with Burning Tree, but we tried anyway because we knew that doing nothing would only lead to more chaos, maybe even her death.
Here’s what Burning Tree helped us to see:
- Repeated treatment failures don’t mean she’s beyond help.
- Short-term programs can't fix deep, long-standing problems.
- Real recovery requires time, structure, and total accountability.
They’re different because they didn’t just help her stop using. They helped her rebuild her entire life from scratch.
Other treatment programs promised to change everything. This time, it actually happened.
There were other women like her at Burning Tree.
We were surprised to learn that there were many other women like Sarah in the Ranch program, both in treatment and throughout the alumni network.
The Burning Tree treatment and leadership team also included many prominent women with stories like Sarah’s.
The success stories gave us hope, but honestly, we’d heard them all before.
Burning Tree is a co-ed facility, and so we were worried about that at first.
We thought that for this to work, Sarah would need as few distractions as possible. We considered some women-only treatment programs, even though she’s tried that before.
Burning Tree showed us why co-ed was important:
- A co-ed setting would help her learn healthy boundaries while someone was watching
- She would get real social practice that would help her build normal relationships
- She would have more people to lean on for support in recovery
- She would still get one-on-one help for her specific experiences and trauma
They changed our minds.
If she was really going to build a life after treatment, it would require her to have healthy relationships with both men and women.
They understood her trauma, and helped her heal.
She’s had traumatic experiences going all the way back to childhood, and they were never properly addressed. If she was going to conquer her addictions, she would have to face these head on and start real healing.
They helped her heal from what she’d been through:
- Treatment focused on her specific experiences
- Female therapists who understood what she'd been through
- Safe spaces where she could talk about difficult experiences
- Enough time to actually work through everything she needed to
Her trauma will always be a part of her, but she learned how to process it without falling back on her addictions.
They helped her with her eating disorder.
We knew she always struggled with her body image, and over time she developed an eating disorder that flourished with her addiction. She had chronic depression, anxiety, and a host of other issues.
The Ranch team worked on all of her problems at once:
- Multiple counselors who specialized in different issues
- Learning basic life skills like healthy shopping, cooking, and taking care of herself
- Working on her eating and body issues while she got sober
She’s more resilient now and leads a balanced life.
When she was ready to rebuild her life, they were there for her.
We knew that long-term treatment was just the first step. Her addiction destroyed career opportunities and most of her relationships. Once she was sober, she’d have to figure out how to live on her own again.
Burning Tree guided her while she worked to return to the real world:
- Step-by-step help transitioning back to normal life
- Their professional and alumni network gave her new opportunities for work
- She had to prove she could work and support herself before they considered her treatment complete
There was a lot of careful planning and structure included in her aftercare. It took time, but she grew into her emotional and financial independence.
The bottom line is that Sarah is still here today. She’s still sober and we have a real relationship now. Burning Tree gave us back something we thought we’d lost forever—they gave us Sarah back.
At Burning Tree Ranch, All We Treat is Chronic Relapse
- For families exhausted by repeated failure and chaos
- We recognize the manipulation, denial, and crisis cycles
- We guide the whole family, not just the loved one, toward real change
- We stay with you until lasting sobriety is a permanent reality
Our Families Have Learned What Really Worked For Their Loved Ones
“We tried everything. Multiple rehabs, therapists, outpatient, you name it. Burning Tree Ranch was the one place that truly changed her life.”
– Spouse of a Burning Tree Alumni
“Burning Tree not only saved my daughter’s life, they gave her a life we could have only imagined. It was her last chance since all other programs had failed. Our lives had been a living hell… you will never find a more understanding or compassionate group of people dedicated to your loved ones’ recovery.”
– Family of Burning Tree Alumni
Recovery Can Be Different This Time
We’re here to help you.
If you’re ready for something different – something that works – call us today. Our team is ready to listen, guide, and help you achieve lasting sobriety for your loved one.
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