Turning Winds Academic Institute

Turning Winds Academic Institute

Turning Winds Academic Institute is a therapeutic boarding school situated in Troy, Montana. Founded in 2002, Turning Winds Academic Institute accepts residents ages 13 to 18, during any part of the year. The school places special emphasis on therapeutic approaches, encouraging struggling teens to embrace emotional stability and psychological change, while also pushing students to excel academically in their classes.




Turning Winds Academic Institute offers several tracks of study that are customizable depending on the age, capabilities, and achievement of each resident. Turning Winds Academic Institute offers high school classes for those students seeking a high school diploma or GED; it also offers college courses for students who want to take in-depth classes in a particular field. Typical class size ranges from six to twelve students. In addition to more traditional classroom academics, TWAI offers all residents the opportunity to enjoy experiential learning courses in the form of rock climbing, hiking, backpacking, canoeing, whitewater rafting, mountain biking, orienteering, and more.


Central to Turning Winds’ mission is a set of twelve “Character Virtues,” which they believe are essential to creating a culture of learning, healing and success.

• Industriousness
• Humility
• Direction
• Environmental awareness
• Integrity
• Responsibility
• Respect
• Family connection
• Altruism
• Verbal assertiveness
• Gratitude
• Forgiveness
Character education is a large part of Turning Winds Academic Institute’s program, and is used to teach the youth important qualities that will enhance their lives.

 Because Turning Winds is a therapeutic boarding school, all of its activities—even academic classes—are designed to be therapeutic in some way. Sessions with licensed therapists—solo sessions, group sessions, sessions with multiple therapists—are all part of the weekly schedule at Turning Winds. Each resident is assessed in a variety of ways upon enrollment at the Institute, then given a custom treatment plan tailored to their specific needs. Family therapy sessions—both long distance and through on-campus visits—are critical to healing and strengthening each teen as they progress in their tailored-treatment plan that they have made at Turning Winds Academic Institute. 

Most residents spend on average, twelve months at Turning Winds Academic Institute. That seems to be the optimum amount of time: long enough to “reset” themselves, restart their emotional maturation, and to make real gains, but not too long as to hinder their ability to transition back to life.  Each resident participates in the STARS Program which has been developed to assist students through the, Stages of Change Model.  Throughout the process of change, parents are provided with direct feedback which specific details as to their child’s progress.

 Upon “graduating” from Turning Winds Academic Institute, students have access to an advanced aftercare program, in which the whole family has access to a personal therapist, by phone or email for a weekly therapy session for an agreed-upon period of time. After that time has elapsed, teens and their families can still call the school for guidance at any time, in order to preserve the success which they made during their treatment at Turning Winds Academic Institute.

Fun Facts About Therapeutic Boarding Schools

Fun Facts About Therapeutic Boarding Schools

The history of therapeutic boarding schools in the United States is full of interesting trivia and “did you know…” facts. From the earliest therapeutic boarding schools of the 1900s, to the sleek, modern facilities and curricula of today, the diversity of these programs has always led to the development of some unique facets. Read on to learn some surprising facts about therapeutic boarding schools.

• The therapeutic approaches used in therapeutic boarding schools are often described as a “tapestry” or a “patchwork” of strategies.
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs—the theory that humans need to fulfill their need for air, water, food, and shelter before they can access more existential identity questions—often informs the curricula at therapeutic boarding schools.
• The stigma associated with placing teens in a therapeutic boarding school is dropping off dramatically, and more and more parents are seeking treatment for their children.
• The Hyde School, founded in 1966 in Connecticut, has been so successful it has launched three charter campuses in Washington, DC, New York City, and Connecticut.
• Therapeutic boarding schools grew out of the “emotional growth education” movement of the 1980s.
• Original “emotional growth” programs from the 1980s were strongly against medicating students for behavioral disorders.
• These days, most therapeutic boarding schools do offer medication in addition to psychotherapy, physical activity, academics, and clubs.
• The Montcalm School in Albion, Michigan, offers a unique school-to-work program, in which residential students can partner with local business and craftspeople in order to learn occupational skills.
• More and more therapeutic boarding schools are incorporating art therapy into their programming.
• At Turning Winds Academic Institute, in Troy, MT, students have access to a breadth of outdoor education which includes activities such as:  mountain biking, backpacking, rock climbing courses, whitewater rafting, and skiing.
• The first therapeutic boarding school to incorporate animal therapy, in the form of a horseback riding program, was the Grove School of Connecticut, in 1954.
• Pop artist Andy Warhol visited the Malvern Institute in Philadelphia, PA, in 1968 for an extended stay as artist-in-residence, leading classes in art expression for the residents there.
• Though many therapeutic boarding schools were founded in specific spiritual faiths, most modern therapeutic boarding school programs are unaffiliated with any particular religion.
• The Family Foundation School in Hancock, NY, offers Anime Club and classes in drafting comic strips.
• The King George School in Sutton, VT, requires family to attend once-a-month family therapy sessions with their enrolled children.
• Chrysalis, a school for girls in Eureka, Montana, offers students the opportunity to enroll in study abroad programs bound for Peru, Vietnam, France, or England.
• At Shortridge Academy in Milton, NH, residents participate in a three phase program: first “Foundations,” then “Relationships,” and lastly, “Leadership.”
• The Carlbrook School in Halifax, VA, boasts the highest student-to-faculty ratio of any therapeutic boarding school: 3:1. Average class size is only eight students.

Therapeutic Boarding Schools in Montana

Therapeutic Boarding Schools in Montana

Turning Winds Academic Institute (TWAI) is a premier therapeutic school that provides treatment to teenage boys and girls between the ages of 13 -18. One parent noted that,"
Turning Winds Academic Institute is to therapeutic education what Whole Foods is to fresh, healthy nutrition! Or, “What Apple is to innovative technologies.”   Turning Winds Academic Institute utilizes a “world-class” team of professionals that melds multiple disciplines to tailor a personalized treatment approach for your son or daughter; thus, inspiring a path of self-reliance, happiness and success.  Together, we can make a life changing difference in your child!  Turning Winds Academic Institute offers:

A Comprehensive, Individualized Program

We draw on the finest educational, therapeutic, and behavior management practices, to tailor "whole-soul" solutions to individual needs, with proven efficacy in rescuing teens from crisis, renewing their belief in their own potential, and reuniting them with their families.

Academic Excellence

A fully-accredited private boarding school, Turning Winds Academic Institute offers individualized academic programs and small classes, so that students may progress at their own pace, the way they learn best. With a dedicated on-campus teaching staff, expansive online partnerships, and a state-of-the-art computer lab, we offer a wide variety of middle school, high school, and university courses. Such resources, in a highly-structured environment with few distractions, motivate students to routinely progress beyond what they had imagined possible.

Clinical Excellence

We take a positive, holistic, and systemic approach to helping teens develop insight and maturity in a safe, sober, and consistent environment, free from distraction and full of encouragement and recognition.  Underlying our clinical methods is a strong belief in the inherent goodness of each child and a cross-functional approach that "invisibly" infuses therapeutic benefit into regular, daily activities.  Adapting to the cultural and family values of each student, TWAI’s clinical practice is child-focused, family-centered, and goal and outcome oriented.

Behavior Management Expertise

Uniquely skilled in maintaining a safe and consistent environment while establishing caring, respectful, and trusting relationships with students, TWAI's resident advisors are gifted in finding teaching moments to help students to "wake up," make life-altering decisions, and begin to find joy in fulfilling their amazing potential. 

Incomparable Environment

Located deep in Montana's rugged and beautiful Kootenai Forest, Turning Winds Academic Institute offers a caring and supportive environment, where teens can daily engage in wholesome recreational activities, naturally enabling growth and character development to last a lifetime.

Student's at TWAI are able to have an impact with making decisions and changes within their culture to foster leadership development and to give teens a voice in their process at TWAI.  Turning Winds Academic Institute's vision of providing the optimal environment for change is achieved with the partnership of parents, teens and professionals.  For more information on whether this boarding school would be a good fit for you and your teen, please call:  800-845-1380 or Contact Us.