Welcome to our Website,

When I hatched Valley View School almost forty years ago, there was no such thing as e-mails, cell phones the World Wide Web, or for that matter, what we know as the modern day computer! Even the term “therapeutic boarding school” did not exist.

Much has changed over the years, and I think that in a number of ways the world has become less safe and more challenging for young people to grow up feeling secure and confident. As a result, there is an increased awareness of the need to assist struggling adolescents in discovering the tools necessary to survive successfully in a complex and often frustrating world.

The motivation of individuals to help today’s youth to become the “best version of themselves” has spawned many approaches and programs representing a varied and growing “industry” (not my term). These approaches often include the provision of positive experiences for young people, while including components such as nurturance, self-awareness, structure, and success. While this diversity has its healthy aspects, it is also critical for families carefully seeking help for their child to understand, evaluate, and eventually “buy into” what a facility has to offer, how it operates and what it promises in return for a significant parental, emotional, and financial commitment.

I sincerely hope that you find a clear overview of what Valley View School is all about from this website. We have been working with bright, distinctly gentle boys of good promise for a long time. While the diagnostic and clinical picture of what brings a boy to Valley View is of major significance, we believe that one of the most important “unwritten” criteria of a boy’s appropriateness is that we, the parents and the youngster himself can come to the mutual recognition that he is of “similar species” of the boys with whom we are working. This usually becomes quite clear on a personal visit.

If you believe we may be of some assistance, Rick Bulger, my staff and I look forward the possibility of further communication.

Philip G. Spiva, Ph.D.
Director of Valley View
Diplomate, American Board of Professional Psychology