An Authentic Recount of the Family Experience with Burning Tree Ranch
Video Summary:
This video features Jeanie and Vincent, a mother and son, discussing their experience with Burning Tree Ranch’s long-term addiction treatment program.
Jeanie shares the appeal of the long-term aspect of Burning Tree Ranch’s treatment program in contrast to shorter programs that didn’t work effectively for her son. Beyond that, she tells of the significance of how Burning Tree helped her to set boundaries and avoid enabling behaviors.
In contrast, Vincent speaks to the complete transformation in his relationship with his mother during and after treatment, having realized how addiction as a disease impacts the entire family.
Like many other families, Burning Tree helped Jeanie & Vincent throughout inpatient treatment and aftercare to ensure a smooth transition into a life of sobriety that helped to heal their damaged family relationship.
Read: Video Transcript
[Video opens with mother and son Jeanie & Vincent sitting together. Jeanie speaks first.]
What I liked about Burning Tree was it’s long-term. We had been to five or six other places and it just didn’t work out. It didn’t teach him how to transition back to society, how to get a job, and how to get along with his peers.
It also gives us the tools that we needed to set up our boundaries with Vincent.
They taught us how to say no. You know, you’re a loving mother – you don’t want to see your kid suffer, you want to believe in them. You keep giving them money; keep paying the car payment because you know they’re gonna be okay next time.
But they really taught me – gave me the tools I needed – to help him get better. And no nonsense.
[Vincent begins speaking about his renewed relationship.]
Our relationship is what it was meant to be in the first place. I’m an actual son. She has done everything for me my entire life, and for once I can be there for her. I can show up for her; take some of the burden off of her.
When I learned that the family was also sick, I didn’t really believe it at first.
But as my behavior started to change, I noticed their behavior started to change.
I remember this one time I called my mom and said, ‘Hey, I got bad news.’ And she immediately went to the other end of the spectrum, like ‘Oh my god, did you relapse? What’s going on?’
And all I had to say was, ‘Oh I missed a part of work; or I missed a doctor’s appointment.’ You know, I had conditioned them to be a certain way.
[Jeannie resumes speaking to the video’s conclusion.]
In the beginning, it’s a fear, when you send them away. Because he ran away from the other places and now I had no control because he’s in Texas, and I’m in Denver.
But once I went and I met the staff, and did the family orientation, that’s probably the first good night’s sleep I had since he was nineteen, in maybe ten-twelve-thirteen years. I felt really good. It was nice to know there wouldn’t be messages on my phone when I got home; there wouldn’t be the sheriff knocking on the door. It felt good, that’s the first good night’s sleep my husband and I had.
