A side-by-side experience of learning, growth, and change.

Often the most “therapeutic” relationships in our lives are the ones that have nothing to do with therapy. A coach. A teacher. A scoutmaster. The relationships we look back on as being the most formative often were not focused on our inner lives at all. They only taught us how to throw a ball, shoot a basket, paint a picture, or read a compass. But somehow, relationships are built in that side-by-side learning experience that reshape our inner lives and perspectives.

At Monuments, we believe in that process. We trust that when students and caring professionals are placed side-by-side in pursuit of learning—from cooking dinner, to fly fishing, to helping design and build a halfpipe for skateboarding—real change will follow. Carol Dweck defines the ideal learning environment as having three components: 1) high standards; 2) a nurturing environment, and 3) work and more work. At Monuments, students and staff engage side-by-side in daily activities, tasks, and learning opportunities, with a commitment to excellence in the tasks themselves, and an emphasis on relationships as they work together.

The “little world” of Monuments is designed to help your student gain insights and motivation to live a healthier, happier life. They’ll learn new skills, take on new hobbies and challenges, and come home with interests and abilities you’d never have thought possible. In the process, they’ll have opportunities to put therapy into practice—a safe, encouraging place to try, to fail, and to try again amongst peers and highly trained staff, invested in their success. That’s the Monuments Way.