Montana’s Turning Winds Residential Treatment Center for Teens Is on a Mission to Restore Broken Lives
By Space Coast Daily // November 7, 2025
On a crisp Montana morning, the South Fork of the Yaak River glistens beneath a blanket of mist as a group of teenagers gathers on the riverbank with fishing rods in hand. This isn’t a camp or an outdoor retreat. It’s a family-run residential treatment center for teens called Turning Winds. Most of the young adolescents who arrive at the co-educational therapeutic boarding school are looking for a second chance, and the goal is to restore hope.
The 150-acre campus is carved into the wilderness outside a recreational town called Troy, where clinical work looks nothing like a hospital room. It’s here that teens learn how recovery can happen anywhere hope is nurtured.
“From a clinical perspective, we really want our patients to experience treatment in a non-sterile environment,” said CEO Owen Baisden. “Teens get to experience clinical work in the surroundings of nature. The mere location of Turning Winds lends itself to a more serene approach to healing.”
The river runs through everything here, not just the land but the philosophy. Since its founding in 2002, Turning Winds has built a reputation as a therapeutic boarding school and residential treatment center that blends clinical expertise with wilderness simplicity.
The idea, Baisden explained, is that nature can do what walls sometimes cannot.
“You can’t fabricate or fake smiles, laughter, or hope,” he said. “Either you feel it or you don’t. And when you visit Turning Winds, you feel it.”
Students at Turning Winds split their days between therapy sessions, classes, and outdoor experiences that range from skiing and mountain biking to hiking, boating, and fly fishing. The approach is deliberate, a rhythm designed to rebuild confidence, connection and curiosity.
“We keep our kids active,” Baisden said. “It’s critical to provide a holistic treatment experience so that they do not burn out with clinical fatigue.”
A Legacy Built from Loss
Turning Winds was founded by the Baisden family after their daughter, Vanessa, was taken hostage and murdered just two weeks before her eighteenth birthday in 1993. The family’s grief became the foundation for a mission that continues to change lives.
John Baisden and his son, John Baisden Jr., opened the program in 2002, determined to give struggling families the hope their own had once needed. What began as a small operation rooted in compassion has since become one of Montana’s most respected mental health programs for adolescents.
The school serves teens between 13 and 18 years old facing emotional, behavioral, or mental health challenges. Most stay for six to nine months, long enough for deeper change to take root. That extended timeline, rare in today’s fast-turnover models, allows genuine growth to happen.
“Our mission is simple,” Baisden said. “Rescue teens from crisis, renew their belief in their potential, and reunite them with their families.”
That mission plays out in both structure and spirit. Turning Winds’ Integrated Therapeutic Curriculum weaves together academics, therapy, outdoor adventure, and community living. Licensed clinicians guide individual, group, and family therapy using evidence-based methods. Teachers offer one-on-one instruction in an accredited academic program, ensuring that students do not fall behind in their studies.
“Our academics are fully accredited by Cognia,” Baisden said. “And our treatment center holds Joint Commission accreditation, which is the gold standard for quality care. We hold ourselves accountable to those standards because families deserve that.”
The results speak for themselves. Ninety-eight percent of Turning Winds graduates go on to college or trade school. Many leave with a new sense of confidence, self-awareness, and purpose. “We’re not just helping kids graduate,” Baisden said. “We’re helping them believe they can.”
Turning Winds Reviews Reveal Stories of Healing and Family Restoration
The proof of Turning Winds’ impact is not found in data sheets or accreditation plaques. It is written in the voices of families who arrived desperate for change and left with hope restored.
One former resident, who attended Turning Winds nearly two decades ago, went on to graduate from Texas A&M University in 2008 summa cum laude, a testament to how early intervention can alter the course of a young life. His story is one of hundreds that trace back to the quiet mountain campus outside Troy.
Parents across the country have shared their experiences, each one telling a story of heartbreak, healing and the people who stood beside them through the hardest moments.
“I cannot stress enough what an amazing experience we had,” wrote one mother, who said her son arrived at Turning Winds at rock bottom, battling addiction and on the verge of dropping out of high school. “He went from abusing drugs and wanting to quit school to graduating early and staying sober. The staff was caring and kept me in the loop the whole time. It was truly life-saving for both myself and my son.”
Another parent, Sabrina Rahofy, called enrolling her child “the best decision I could have made.” She credits the staff for their communication and their humanity. “The personal connections from counselors to weekend staff were so valuable in helping my kid grow and learn skills that will serve him well for the rest of his life,” she said.
Families are central to that transformation. Parents participate in workshops, therapy sessions and guided assignments that rebuild trust and strengthen communication. “Healing does not happen in isolation,” Baisden said. “We bring families into the process because when a teen goes home, the environment has to support the progress.”
Strengthening Mental Health Access in Montana
Turning Winds has long been known for its clinical innovation and compassionate care, but in recent years the organization has also become a voice for improving access to mental health services across Montana. This year, it played a leading role in helping champion Senate Bill 191, a new law that creates a dedicated licensing category for youth residential treatment centers.
The legislation, which takes effect in October 2025, was co-authored by founders John Baisden Jr. and Owen Baisden along with Sen. Mike Cuffe and state health leaders. For years, Montana families with commercial insurance struggled to find in-state care for their children because the state lacked a license recognized by major insurers. The absence often forced parents to send their children out of state, away from home and their support systems.
“This legislation is a significant improvement for Montana families,” Baisden said. “By creating a dedicated residential treatment license, we are ensuring that more youth can receive high-quality, clinically appropriate care right here at home.”
Senate Bill 191 establishes clear staffing ratios, safety measures, and educational standards for treatment programs that serve youth under 21. It also ensures that families can use their insurance to access residential care within Montana’s borders.
“Our goal was to create a framework that expands access while upholding the highest standards of safety and care,” Baisden said. “It is about making sure no Montana family has to look hundreds of miles away for help.”
Alongside its policy work, Turning Winds continues to expand its reach. The organization recently signed contracts to go in-network with several major insurance providers, including Allegiance, Pacific Source and First Choice Health Network. The goal is to make treatment more accessible for families while strengthening post-care connections through enhanced alumni programming.
The Heart of the Work
What makes Turning Winds unique is not only its setting or its success rates but the people who bring it to life. CEO Owen Baisden credits the staff, especially the residential advisors, for creating the daily moments of change that make transformation possible.
“They are the ones in the trenches every day,” he said. “They face the hardest moments, the outbursts and the breakdowns, and they are the ones who often get the biggest hugs at the end. Their love and consistency save lives.”
Training is constant. Every staff member participates in ongoing education and performance reviews that track outcomes such as depression, anxiety and trauma reduction. “We measure everything,” Baisden said. “It is how we hold ourselves accountable and continue to improve.”
Despite the structure, the campus still feels alive and spontaneous. There is laughter on the basketball court, snowball fights in winter and quiet conversations by the fire under Montana’s wide sky.
“We offer a tech-free environment,” Baisden said. “No phones, no scrolling, no distractions. That space allows kids to reconnect with others and with themselves.”
For all its growth and innovation, Baisden said the core remains simple. “What grounds us is love. We genuinely love the kids and families we work with.”
