BY MARY KATHERINE SHAPIRO
Patients can learn to sh in the pond at the ranch, Hermes said.
Alfredo the donkey is one of the sta ’s favorite animals, Hermes said.
PHOTOS BY MARY KATHERINE SHAPIRO COMMUNITY IMPACT
Roots Renewal Ranch o ers space for healing
individual therapy sessions and a family therapy session each week. Patients complete two-and-a- half hours of school a day as well as three hours of group therapy. What makes it unique Although Hermes and her family intended to open a treatment center for young boys, they realized there was a greater need in the community among young girls. “At the time we opened, we were the rst residen- tial female-only facility in Texas,” Hermes said. Roots Renewal Ranch utilizes a mixture of cogni- tive behavioral therapy, music therapy, art therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, somatic psychotherapy, and animal therapy. “The animals are the purpose for the clients,” Hermes said. “It gives them something outside themselves to care for.” Hermes said the goal is to give patients natural dopamine boosts that they’re not getting from technology and substances. Find out more Individuals and families interested in Roots Renewal Ranch’s services can call 888-399-0489 to learn more about programs and services. “Having a mental health disorder of any kind is not a life sentence,” Hermes said. “We can heal and we can get the help we need to be successful.”
After their brother Nathan struggled with sub- stance use for over 20 years, Rebecca Hermes and her sister founded Roots Renewal Ranch in Argyle in 2021 to help families with similar challenges. Hermes said Nathan had been to many di erent kinds of treatment centers and had a conversation with his family shortly before he passed away about what worked and what didn’t work. “That conversation is the backbone to what Roots [Renewal Ranch] is,” Hermes said. “We just wanted to be able to help families so that they didn’t have to experience what we experienced.” Located at 819 Indian Trail, Argyle, Roots Renewal Ranch is a residential treatment center for girls ages 13 to 17 who are experiencing mental health chal- lenges, including substance use, anxiety, depression
Lady Bell is one of three horses at Roots Renewal Ranch.
and self harm. A closer look
Counselors at Roots Renewal Ranch are all trauma- informed and trained in EMDR or ART.
The clinicians use a trauma-informed approach to address not just the behavior, but the root cause underneath. Hermes said her brother often received a “sobriety band-aid” that didn’t lead to long-term change. “He would come back and be triggered by family or life and it would be a matter of time before he would use again,” Hermes said. “Getting down into the trauma and dealing with what’s underneath the behavior–whether that’s self harm, suicidal ide- ation, substance use, etc.–then you can heal.” The 60- to 90-day program includes two
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819 Indian Trail, Argyle www.rootsrenewalranch.com
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FLOWER MOUND HIGHLAND VILLAGE ARGYLE EDITION
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