The Founder’s Corner | Vol. 6 Align Turns 22!

Few people in adolescent behavioral health have been at it as long, or with as much personal investment, as Patrick Barrasso. The founder of In Balance Behavioral Health and Align Adolescent Recovery, Patrick has spent decades working alongside adolescents and their families at some of the most difficult moments of their lives.

The Founder's Corner is where that experience finds a voice. Each installment, Patrick shares his reflections, observations, and the occasional story from over forty years in a field he has never stopped learning from.

If you had asked my 45-year-old self if Align Adolescent Recovery would still be going strong 22 years later, I probably would have answered, “I can’t think about that. I have to get past this week.”

And here we are.

This August marks the 22nd year of operation for Align Adolescent Recovery. In Balance Behavioral Health opened its doors in 1996, but Align Adolescent Recovery officially began in August 2004.

Twenty-two years.

When I think about that, I realize more than ever that this has always been bigger than us.

As I have written in previous editions of Founders’ Corner, this project has always been more than a vision for the Barrasso family. It has been a mission.

Then, as it is now, our mission has been to provide young people struggling with mental health and substance use disorders with a quality program that focuses on their strengths rather than their deficits. We wanted to create a place where young people could be challenged, supported, understood, and given the opportunity to discover who they could become.

Of course, Align looked a little different in 2004.

For starters, our main source of heat at the Lodge was a wood-burning stove.

And that brings me to a true story from our first year—and our first winter, which, as many of you know, can get pretty cold out there.

We had gotten several new pieces of furniture and had all of the large cardboard boxes thrown into the dumpster. One of our staff members cleaned out the wood-burning stove and, thinking nothing of it, dumped the ashes into the same dumpster.

A short time later, my Clinical Director saw the dumpster.

It was literally on fire.

She called me and yelled, “Patrick, I have a fire to put out!” and hung up.

Of course, therapist in me initially thought this was a metaphor.

It wasn’t.

One of our staff members, Jared, who was in his own recovery, grabbed a hose and went to put out the fire. Meanwhile, I was freaking out, imagining the entire campus going up in flames because embers were flying everywhere.

Jared finally got the hose strung out, found a water source, turned it on, climbed onto a ladder, and prepared to put out the fire.

There was just one problem.

The stream of water was so weak that it was barely enough to put out a match, much less the six-foot flames coming out of the dumpster.

And that’s when Jared looked at me and said:

“Patrick, just like recovery, sometimes it can feel like a slow process.”

The last thing I needed at that moment was a wise monk.

But, of course, he was right.

Eventually, we got the dumpster fire put out, the campus survived, and we had another story to add to the long list of stories that have made the last 22 years such an incredible journey.

Looking back, I think that story says more about Align than I realized at the time.

There have been plenty of moments over these 22 years when the water seemed like it wasn’t coming fast enough. There have been times when the challenges seemed bigger than our resources. There have been moments when we wondered what the future would look like.

But we kept going.

We have made it through the recession of 2008. We made it through the pandemic of 2021. We have watched several programs close their doors over the past two years. We have experienced changes in the treatment industry, changes in insurance, changes in the needs of young people and families, and countless challenges that we never could have anticipated when we opened our doors in 2004.

But we didn’t just survive.

We evolved. We adapted. And we continued to invest in Align.

Because surviving has never been enough.

We have always believed that young people and families need a sacred space where they can heal. A place where they can feel safe enough to be honest, challenged enough to grow, and supported enough to believe that their future can be different from their past.

I have always believed that if we stayed true to the mission and the vision, we would find a way through the difficult times.

Twenty-two years later, I believe that more strongly than ever.

The ride continues to be wild.

But the Barrasso family and the incredible staff—those who have been with us from the beginning and those who have joined us along the way—remain deeply committed to the mission and the vision.

Because ultimately, it’s bigger than us.

So, as I write this 22nd anniversary edition of Founders’ Corner, I do so with an immense amount of gratitude.

To the parents who have trusted us with their children during some of the most difficult moments of their lives: thank you.

To the more than 1,500 students and their families who have allowed us to be part of their journey: thank you.

To the professionals who have trusted us and referred young people to our care over these 22 years: thank you.

And to the amazing staff who have poured their hearts, talents, and lives into this program—past and present: thank you.

Twenty-two years ago, we opened the doors of Align with a vision.

Today, those doors are still open.

And the mission is still alive.

Happy 22nd Anniversary, Align.

Against all odds, here we are.

With immense gratitude,

Patrick Barrasso & the entire Barrasso Family