Raven Rock Ranch

Vanessa came to Raven Rock Ranch with plenty of fears, depression and anxiety. She had been in Children’s Hospital 4 times for suicide attempts. No counselor could break through the “wall” she had erected.
 When she met her horse, Rusty, the wall began tumbling down. He didn’t threaten her
 and he helped her to feel alive and worthy. Her school attendance went from
 60% to 97% attendance rate and she had a shot at graduating from high school
 on time. This young lady went from wanting to die, to graduating high school, getting a job
 and finding a career path she was excited about. Currently attending junior college,
 Vanessa is on her way to a successful, happy life thanks to the many donors who support our kids.

Founded in 2011, Raven Rock Ranch (RRR) has a mission to intercept and break the cycles of trauma, suicide, and domestic violence. Our vision is to provide therapies and supports which help to recover and restore families. As part of our mission, many of our horses are rescued from abusive homes or abandonment. Once a horse is in our care, we carefully evaluate the animal for temperament, reliability, and behavior to ensure a good fit for our program and clients.  

Explained in simple terms, the human response to trauma and danger is to fight it or run away from it. It often happens that the fight or flight response gets stuck in a cycle that can feel impossible to break out of. Raven Rock’s therapy can “flip” the outcome. The difference between our Equine Facilitated therapy and other modalities is that we never trigger the fight or flight response. Instead, we rewrite neural pathways giving the client the tools they need to talk about their trials when and if they are ready. They do not have to ever talk about these trials to be restored to a strong mental state.

Our program serves children in Western Washington who have experienced severe emotional, physical, or verbal trauma and/or abuse.  85% of our clients are adopted or in foster care. Many have ongoing issues with violent behavior at school or in the home, with alcohol and drug addiction, and with abuse or neglect.  In many cases these individuals have contemplated and planned suicide. The majority of the clients supported by RRR have also been diagnosed with debilitating mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, attention deficit disorder and all forms of attachment disorders.  

To support these exceptionally high-risk clients, RRR uses scientifically tested mental health therapies that are very individualized – one client, one horse, and one therapist work together to develop skills such as cooperation, trust, building healthy boundaries, and responsibility. All of our professional therapists and facilitators are trained and certified in HEAL, Human Equine Alliances for Learning, which is internationally recognized as a premier model of Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy and Learning (EFPL).

Our mental health program is one of the highest efficacy suicide prevention programs with unparalleled results in Washington State:

After 1 year of treatment, we see the following results:

• Suicidal ideation rate decreases from 98% to 2%

• Grade points go from 1.7 to 3.2

• School attendance go up from 58% to 93%

• Home and school behaviors improve until the negative behaviors are extinguished

Last year, RRR provided 2,000 hours and 1200 sessions of free mental health services. During the pandemic, our work has stepped up – our clients are coming more frequently.  We expect greater demand for EFPL in the coming months, as many more families experience trauma related to the COVID-19 pandemic. RRR is the only no-cost Equine-Facilitated Therapy program in the entire Western Washington region.

Child and parent testimony   https://youtu.be/xDJ23S9RW_4?si=D1OxAOBCAM6fTczC

How the therapy works  https://youtu.be/dZ305fEN9FE?si=MHtRwCNaiF44iklJ

How your Dollar is Spent:  https://youtu.be/D2EEfsiM1rw

Mission

Raven Rock Ranch's (RRR) mission is to intercept and break the cycle of: Trauma, Child Abuse, Suicide, & Domestic Violence by pairing at-risk youth with rescued horses, transforming the youth and horse in a bond of trust that leads to mental and physical recovery. Raven Rock uses a validated Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy and Leaning therapeutic model that "rewrites" neural pathways, restoring the traumatized brain.

Description

How the therapy works here >> https://youtu.be/dZ305fEN9FE

A testimonial  https://youtu.be/T25YNT8K2yU

Recognition

Microsoft, Boeing, BECU, Amazon, Weyerhaeuser, T-Mobile, AT&T, Dunn Lumber