Short answer: coaching costs a fraction of residential care because there’s no facility to fund. I offer a free initial consultation so we can talk through your family’s situation and what a plan would look like before you spend anything.
What you’re actually paying for
Every option in this space is really selling you the same underlying thing — structure, accountability, and a path toward independence. What changes is the delivery model, and the delivery model is what drives the price.
A residential program or wilderness therapy is paying for round-the-clock staff, a physical campus, food, housing, and transportation, in addition to whatever clinical or coaching work happens. Transitional living programs are lower-intensity but still carry housing and staffing costs. In-home coaching has none of that overhead — I come to your family, or we work by phone and video, so the cost reflects the coaching itself.
An honest comparison
| Model | What drives the cost | Relative cost | Keeps your child at home? |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-home coaching | Coach’s time — evaluation, plan, in-home work, check-ins | Lowest — a fraction of residential care | Yes |
| Transitional living | Shared housing, part-time staff, some programming | Moderate | No |
| Wilderness therapy | Field staff, gear, remote logistics, clinical oversight | High | No |
| Residential treatment | 24/7 campus staffing, housing, clinical & medical care | Highest | No |
Exact rates vary by provider, region, and length of stay — this is a directional comparison, not a quote. I don’t publish a price list here on purpose, because every family’s plan is different; we work out what makes sense on a free call.
Why in-home coaching costs less
The biggest cost driver in any away-from-home program is exactly that — the “away from home” part. Housing, feeding, and supervising a young adult around the clock is expensive no matter who’s doing it. When the work happens in your home instead, that overhead disappears, and what’s left is the coaching itself: evaluation, a written plan, hands-on work with your young adult and your family, and ongoing check-ins.
It’s also worth saying plainly: I’m a coach, not a clinician. I don’t diagnose or treat mental illness, and if your family needs a higher level of clinical care first — a safety concern, an untreated condition — I’ll say so and help you find it. For families where coaching is the right fit, it’s a doable, lower-cost way to get a young adult moving without uprooting the whole family.
How to think about the investment
Sending a child away is a major financial and emotional decision, and plenty of families take on debt to do it. Before you get there, it’s worth a free conversation to see whether a structured, in-home program can get you the same outcome — a young adult launched into independence — at a cost that doesn’t require re-mortgaging the house.