As the student assistance counselor at Marcus High School in Flower Mound until last June, Michelle Schwolert referred plenty of students each month to facilities and programs to help them deal with issues that they couldn’t resolve themselves. Though some symptoms and behaviors were brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, too many occurred even before that.
“They were going to residential programs, inpatient hospitals, and day programs (otherwise known as PHP, or partial hospitalization programs). I was referring so many students, but upon their return to school, we observed gaps in treatment,” she said. “No criticism intended, the need was just so high and program space was limited. The kids seemed over-medicated, over-diagnosed, under-supported and ill-prepared for reintegration. They quickly needed more treatment. It was a vicious cycle.”
Then, early in 2021, there were four Marcus alumni who either died from an accidental overdose or from suicide.
“After receiving the news of the fourth death, I remember sitting at my desk, I hung up the phone and with a pain in my chest and tears in my eyes, I said out loud, ‘I can’t watch this happen anymore. I don’t know what that means or what that looks like, maybe I can only help one child at a time, but I know I cannot sit back and continue to watch this happen,” Schwolert described.
After evaluating the biggest needs and securing funding from extended family in California, the Highland Village resident and her family decided to develop a family immersive, therapeutically intense program to cleanse, equip and empower adolescents who are struggling with substance abuse and mental health challenges. Schwolert’s description of cleansing does not just include detox from drugs, but also from technology, social media, toxic relationships and unhealthy personal and physical habits, among others.
The result was Roots Adolescent Renewal Ranch which opened Nov. 1 in Argyle in memory of her brother Nathan, who one year earlier died of an accidental drug overdose at age 33.
“We have learned that we are one of only two programs in Texas, and one of a handful in the whole country, that provides residential treatment specifically for adolescent girls,” Schwolert said. “I still don’t know the reason for that, but I strongly believe in a gender-specific place where they can feel safe with minimal distraction.
“In every element of our program, we are very intentional about making sure the girls hear, feel, believe and know that they are ENOUGH. Even our staff wear shirts everyday with the affirmations “You are Enough,” “Your Story Matters,” “You are Powerful,” “You can do Hard Things,” and “You are Loved.” We also use our own version of the Serenity Prayer, the “You are Enough Serenity Prayer.”
Roots addresses essential program components thanks in large part to 30 staff members, including an education director, chefs, care coordinators, experiential counselors, mental health counselors, nurses and other medical experts. Some are family members, including her sister Rebecca, who serves as compliance officer, and husband Matt, a former Marcus teacher and assistant golf coach, who teaches clients life skills and outdoor experiences and manages the property. Matt’s brother Tom, his wife Melanie and their daughter Zoey also contribute.
In less than one year, they have helped 34 girls from all over the nation with an average stay of 89 days. Each girl receives three daily meals, daily education services, individual, group and family therapy, life skills, medication management, psychiatric and medical services, art/yoga/music/spiritual/equine therapies and plenty of outdoor experiences, thanks in part to 49 animals housed on the 6.5-acre property. Staff also works closely with the girls’ school counselors to keep them focused on their academic path.
“About three weeks before Nathan died, we talked about starting some sort of program in our community for teenagers and young adults to try and stop the drug use and self-harm before it becomes a physiological addiction, because once it reaches that point, the disease is very hard to manage,” Schwolert said.
“Nathan attended close to 10 programs throughout the course of his 20-year addiction, ranging from 30-day rehabs to a 13-month stay to federal prison and many in between. As family members, we felt that the family component and support was generally lacking.
“When Nathan and I discussed what would make our program the most effective, there were a few key things he felt were important. One was not to be punitive, rather provide accountability with relationship. He said if he could follow rules he wouldn’t be in a treatment facility. He said we also need to treat staff well to avoid burnout, as turnover breaks the continuity of care and basically the clients have to start all over again. The other significant element was the need to get to the ROOT of the problem, the root of why they are using drugs, why they are cutting, why they are restricting food, why they are selling pictures of themselves on social media, why they are avoiding school and family and healthy relationships.”
The ‘whys’ are generally created by adverse childhood experiences (or traumas) like sexual assault, physical abuse, neglect, addicted family members, sudden loss and grief, incarcerated, deceased or divorced parents, or many other family issues.
“We use a trauma approach with every client we treat,” Schwolert said. “During our family intensive weekends, we do activities like family sculpting and genograms, basically a spider chart to show a visual of genetic issues (at least three generations), specifically addiction and mental illness. The clients are able to visibly see that the problems did not begin with them.”
Roots focuses on how to repair future generations by breaking the generational cycle. This includes being lovingly tough on the parents when necessary.
“I am really proud of our clinical team in that they hold the whole family accountable in identifying the cause and being a part of the solution. I think that’s one reason we are effective; the kids see that,” she said. “They realize we believe they are not the cause of the problem. It’s a family systems issue. I think they feel advocated for and that’s why they are willing to do the work.
“And the client has to realize that it’s not the intention of the parents to hurt them. They have a capacity too. Hurt people hurt people, and not intentionally, but they, too, are the result of their childhood environment and genetic history.”
Another of Schwolert’s goals is to wean the girls off of medications instead of relying on them, as they should be considered a tool in the toolbox, not the only solution.
To help girls transition from Roots to reintegration into ‘normal life,’ it recently added a PHP option, allowing patients to spend the night at home, creating the ability to serve nine clients in the residential program and 16 in PHP.
“I’m very optimistic and hopeful because the adolescent brain is so elastic,” said Schwolert, who served on the Highland Village Planning and Zoning Committee from 2007-2012 (chair in 2011-2012) and on the town council from 2012-2018, serving as mayor pro-tem from 2014-2018. “We just need to calm, stabilize and retrain it by addressing, processing and purging the traumatic memories.”
Learn more at rootsrenewalranch.com
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