All Kinds of News for May 06, 2020

Tooele County, UT-May 1, 2020 - Alpine Academy is making final preparations to open its new, state-of-the-art campus in June 2020. This will be Alpine Academy's second campus, located three miles south of its current location, nestled at the base of the scenic Oquirrh Mountains.

The new campus will allow Alpine Academy to serve students of all genders and gender identifications. The current Mountain View campus provides therapeutic and academic services to teenage females ages 12-18. The new Lakeview campus will provide these services to young males in the same age range. Upon completion, the Lakeview campus will feature six family homes, an academic and clinical building, fitness and arts complex, indoor and outdoor equine riding areas, career and technical education building, outdoor pavilion, and soccer field.

In a statement on the completion of the new campus, Alpine Academy Director Christian Egan remarked "The Alpine team is excited about the new campus launching in June. We look forward to serving a new demographic of teens facing challenging life circumstances from around the nation and welcoming them into our family-style environment, providing a nurturing, individualized and strength-based treatment approach."

"We look forward to replicating and improving upon the success we have enjoyed over the last eighteen years at our current campus," said Angie Alvey, Alpine Academy's Academic Director, and School Principal. "We've improved hundreds of lives for the better during this time and look forward to improving hundreds more in the future."  Alpine Academy was created in 2001 as a program of the Utah Youth Village, a nonprofit founded in 1969. The Academy is licensed as a residential treatment facility in the state of Utah and certified as a non-public school.

About Alpine Academy Schools 

Alpine Academy Therapeutic Schools, licensed as residential treatment centers for adolescents, ages 12-18, include two campuses - one for males and one for females - thus providing treatment for all genders and identified genders. The campuses are just three miles apart. Both serve students struggling with severe emotional disturbances. Alpine is a fully accredited school with dual-endorsed teachers. Therapy, with Master’s level clinicians, is built into the school day. Alpine is a nationally certified Teaching-Family Model treatment program. Students live in homes with married couples - trained and certified Family Teachers. For questions please  contact Jill McIntyre jmcintyre@alpineacademy.org.

In support of the community of mental health and educational professionals, Polaris and Clearview Treatment Programs have launched a weekly "Silver Linings" virtual meeting. Please join Polaris for connection as they focus on acts of kindness, and personal Silver Lining moments during these uncertain times. The “Silver Linings” program will begin Thursday, April 16th from 9-10 am PST. If you would like to join, please contact Wendy Adamson, Clinical Marketing Manager at wendy@polaristeen.com.

Polaris Teen Center is open, and is able to accept new clients who are medically cleared. Please contact Angi Grassley, Admissions Director for more information about the new admissions policies and procedures at 818-616-8650 or angi@polaristeen.com. 

About Polaris Teen Center

Polaris Teen Center is a residential mental health treatment center for adolescents and teens in Los Angeles, California. The Polaris treatment team is committed to providing sophisticated, innovative, and compassionate treatment of major depression, bipolar, anxiety and trauma, gender dysphoria, co-occurring substance abuse and eating disorders, attachment disorders, autism spectrum disorders and self-harm.

Newport Healthcare, which includes Newport Academy and Newport Institute, has been carefully monitoring the current coronavirus pandemic to ensure the continued safe, effective delivery of essential mental health services for teens, young adults, and families. As many companies in the nation are facing the dilemma of how to move forward, Newport Healthcare considered: do they close their doors to prevent all risk associated with COVID-19? Do they stop admitting new clients who are in desperate need of mental health treatment?

The answer was easy: they can’t and they won’t. Newport Healthcare has been providing premier care for those struggling with mental health issues and co-occurring disorders for 12 years. The team has decided that they will not turn away from teens, young adults, and families during this time of vulnerability and intensified need.

Newport Healthcare families and community members have expressed appreciation and relief to know that the programs are not sending their loved ones home:

“During the last two weeks, [a Newport Employee] has provided excellent support, care and patience to our family as we worked on enrolling my daughter into Newport Academy. [The Employee] always followed up as promised and listened well with the many questions I had. This has helped confirm the fact that out of the many residential treatment facilities we could choose from, that we chose wisely with Newport Academy. I'm so grateful for a people who are willing to provide high levels of excellent customer service in an age where that seems to get more and more rare.” —JH.

“We are so incredibly grateful to the entire team who goes above and beyond to care for our son. Thank you for your commitment, tenacity and dedication to our kids. Newport Academy is a special place, with gifted, talented and kind people. Thank you again for everything you and your teams across the country do to care for our kids.” —CH

Safety is paramount at Newport Healthcare during times of crisis and always. As such, the following modifications have been made: 

• Residential treatment is still open, but with a revised and highly specific admissions process and updated Respiratory Virus Protocol in accordance with CDC guidelines. Learn More.
• IOP, PHP, and OP services have transitioned to virtual treatment via the HIPAA-compliant online video conference platform, Zoom for Healthcare. 
• Family Sessions are being offered remotely for all levels of care.

All services continue to be provided by Newport Healthcare’s licensed/credentialed therapists, counselors, and teachers. In addition, Newport Healthcare continues to work with all major insurances to provide coverage of services, even when modified to telehealth, during this crisis and is accepting new clients. For more information, call 844-244-5194.

About Newport Healthcare

Newport Healthcare provides evidence-based healing centers, Newport Academy for teens and Newport Institute for young adults, struggling with primary mental health issues. With locations across the United States, Newport offers gender-specific, individualized, and comprehensive treatment programs that encompass evidence-based clinical therapy, experiential modalities, life skills programming, and academic excellence. Driven by research and outcomes, Newport Healthcare achieves long term results, affirming statistically significant improvement in levels of depression, anxiety, and overall well-being, from a foundation of compassionate care, clinical expertise, and unconditional love. Newport Healthcare’s primary mission is to empower lives and restore families.

CooperRiis Offers Direct Admission with Quarantine

As CooperRiis Healing Community continues the effort to keep our current community as safe as possible, we also acknowledge the need to offer treatment to those who are struggling during the COVID-19 crisis. In order to do this, we are modifying our admissions process to include a direct admission and a 14-day quarantine. The CDC and the WHO recommend this “traveler’s quarantine” as best practice. With an incubation period of 5 days from SARS-CoV-2 exposure, and a 97-99% rate of symptoms presenting within 11-14 days of exposure, the 14-day quarantine is the most accurate tool we have in order to mitigate risk of exposure.

CooperRiis has developed two options to offer our families and referral sources who are interested in joining our Healing Communities.

CooperRiis is proud to offer on-campus quarantine options for each location in Mill Spring and Asheville. Virtual recovery-based services will be offered such as a modified orientation, group activities and check-ins. The new resident will virtually meet with their counselor, recovery coordinator, nursing staff, nutritionist, personal trainer, residential staff and psychiatrist. While experiencing the on-campus quarantine, a structured virtual schedule as well as in-person staff visits will keep the days moving along quickly. Crisis support will be available during this quarantine period and all meals will be provided. 

As a second option, CooperRiis is proud to announce a new and unique partnership with AdventHealth Hendersonville's clinical team, who will offer Behavioral Health Services through a secure virtual platform to individuals seeking admission to CooperRiis and self-isolating at a hotel near their hospital with a loved one or support person. This team may include social workers, wellness coordinators, a psychiatrist and a psychologist. They will engage in structured outpatient services that will include counseling, medication management, groups and wellness checks. CooperRiis will also collaborate throughout the quarantine period. Crisis support will be available through their local mobile crisis team during this quarantine period and all meals will be provided. 

With a negative COVID-19 test given on day 10, and when the 14-day quarantine has concluded, the new CooperRiis resident will be welcomed into our Healing Community on campuses in Mill Spring on “The Farm,” or Asheville “85Z” location.

About CooperRiis Healing Community:

Founded by Donald R. Cooper and Lisbeth Riis Cooper, CooperRiis is a residential healing community in western North Carolina, with a rural campus on a 94-acre farm and an urban campus in the heart of Asheville. Since 2003, CooperRiis has been helping adults living with mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD, major depression and anxiety, achieve their highest levels of functioning and fulfillment. A personalized recovery approach combines trusted clinical therapies, community work & service, education and integrative wellness practices.

For more about CooperRiis Healing Community and its approach to mental health treatment, please reach out to the Admissions Team at (828) 894-7140, email Admissions@CooperRiis.org twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, or visit the website at https://www.cooperriis.org

Equinox RTC, a residential treatment center for boys ages 14-18, has promoted Team Manager Liz Yorck to Program Director. Liz has been part of the Equinox team for over a year as a team manager, where she worked directly with students in the milieu and checked in with staff and students on a daily basis. 

As Program Director, Liz will run the residential program in all aspects and work to strengthen connections between direct care staff and students. Dan Keith, Clinical Director, noted, “As a relational program, it is critical that direct care staff (mentors) are equipped to support our young men through connection and cooperation. As team manager, Liz led a revival of her team culture and staff skill set. We are excited to see her bring that to the rest of the Equinox family.” 

Equinox’s residential treatment center is focused on providing clinically intense treatment for boys struggling with mental health issues related to trauma, loss, and attachment. Their treatment team is certified across a variety of therapeutic modalities including Relationship Based Trauma-Informed Care (RB-TIC), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and others. 

Adventure therapy is another key component of the program. Students participate in off-campus activities such as mountain biking, hiking, and snowboarding to further their treatment through real life challenges.

“I’m excited to have more impact on the growth and development of the program as a program director. Working together as a community takes a village,” describes Liz. “One of my main goals is to continue to implement a frequent and comprehensive training curriculum for direct care staff, leadership, and clinicians.”

Liz received her Bachelor’s in Elementary and Special Education from Wagner College in Staten Island and has worked with teens in a variety of educational and therapeutic settings. Liz is interested in the holistic and experiential aspect of education as a therapeutic tool. Before moving into the mental health field as a wilderness guide for several years, Liz worked at a Waldorf School, creating and implementing their first Remedial Education program. She believes the Waldorf philosophy of mind, body, soul is similar to Equinox’s holistic therapeutic approach.

“From my experiences working with teens in educational settings, I have seen how wrap-around support is critical to each student’s personal growth and academic success,” says Liz. “I am proud to be part of an Equinox team that is so dedicated to the success of the young men we work with.”

About Equinox RTC

Equinox RTC is a leading residential treatment center for boys ages 14-18. Equinox is unique in its focus on Trauma, Loss, and Attachment, providing clinically intensive treatment for boys struggling with anxiety, depression, OCD, ASD, learning disabilities, and other emotional and behavioral needs. Equinox offers a combination of clinically sophisticated support with a whole-person approach including adventure therapy, integrated Crossfit program, and a whole foods diet. Equinox provides a fully accredited school, with broad course selections taught by licensed teachers in a college-preparatory environment.

Solstice West, a residential treatment center for girls ages 14-18, is excited to announce the promotion of Stacey Rosenberg to Program Director. Stacey has been at Solstice for 10 years, serving as the director of the Adventure Therapy program. During her time at Solstice, Stacey has developed close relationships with all departments, which supports a natural transition into the role of Program Director.

A graduate of Boston University with a BS in Secondary Math Education, Stacey has worked with adolescents in the adventure therapy and residential treatment industry since 2001. A member of the Solstice team since 2010, Stacey led the growth and development of Solstice’s renowned adventure therapy programming. The adventure therapy program includes skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, and hiking trips in the surrounding Utah mountains.

“As the adventure therapy director, I have an informed understanding of what our students have been working on clinically and have been able to challenge and support them by offering a fresh perspective,” explains Stacey. “This experiential approach will continue to be central to my role as Program Director.”

All departments, from clinical to academics to residential, work closely together to ensure a cohesive treatment plan for each student. As Program Director, Stacey will oversee the relationships between the departments and help bolster those relationships across the Solstice team. “My role is to support each department in their programming and create an even stronger culture within each department and across Solstice collectively,” Stacey said. “There is a lot of talent at Solstice. I’m excited to help highlight our strengths and help people develop even further in their roles as they help our students make positive, lasting changes in their lives.”

About Solstice
Solstice RTC is a residential treatment center hat has helped hundreds of struggling teen girls on their journey to solving issues like trauma, depression, anxiety, and mood disorders. Solstice RTC, located in Layton, Utah, offers a specialized, clinically intensive program based on the specific needs of young women. At Solstice RTC, young women discover their full potential. For additional information on Solstice RTC, please visit http://solsticertc.com or call 801-444-0794.

During this unique time of social distancing, ReSTART has offered weekly webinars to help educate parents and professionals around issues of internet and video game addiction.  Discussions range from “Introduction to Internet and Gaming Addiction”, “The Rise of the Female Gaming Addict”, “The Convergence of Gambling and Gaming Addiction”, and others; these webinars take place every Thursday at 10 AM PST.

ReSTART is the national leader in mental health treatment focused on internet and gaming addiction.  They have been targeting this specific population and treating the anxiety, depression, ADHD, and other underlying issues that accompany internet and video game addiction for almost 11 years.  As families are restricted to their homes, ReStart is planning to see a rise in tech addicted clients and students.

Being the first treatment program focused on tech addiction, ReSTART feels it is important, not only to treat the problem, but also to educate. It is important to be educated and knowledgeable about this topic as treatment programs and providers will see more and more clients struggling with their relationship with technology.

Invites to the webinars are found on ReSTART’s Facebook page, as well as their emailing list.  If you would like to be added to this email list so that you can participate in future webinars, please contact johnny.tock@restartlife.com

about ReSTART

Headquartered in Fall City, Washington, reSTART is a leading advocate of healthy sustainable digital media use (internet, VR, and video games for people and the planet. ReSTART offers staffed residential care for youth (13-17) and life sharing retreats for adults (ages 18-30), along with independent living support.

Dragonfly Transitions, a young adult treatment program in southern Oregon, announces that Mark White, LMHC-MAC has joined the team as Executive Clinical Director. Mark is dedicated to supporting the community of emerging young adults and the clinical department. Mark utilizes a variety of therapeutic approaches that include Horticulture Therapy, solution-focused counseling, Jungian depth psychology, ecopsychology earth-based healing, rites of passage, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Mark is a Level II trained practitioner of Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), credentialed as a Master Addictions Counselor (MAC), and also incorporates Sandplay Therapy into his practice.

Co-Founder and Executive Director Mona Treadway, Ph.D., LCSW said that in “addition to his extensive clinical background, Mark served as Director of Clinical Quality for an integrated health care agency.” She is excited for “his focus on clinical outcomes and research as this continues to drive improvement of data-informed treatment. This increases positive change in the lives of students and families”.

Mark also holds a master’s degree in school counseling and has a breadth of professional experience as a teacher, school counselor, and head of school. Mark holds a deep sense of learning styles, learning differences, and student engagement strategies to skillfully help young adults effectively utilize their learning preferences to advance their personal growth.

About Dragonfly Transitions  

Dragonfly Transitions supports young adults 18-30 on a journey of personal exploration, health, and independence.  Dragonfly is designed with progressive phases, college and vocational options, recreation, therapeutic support, and a variety of living environments located in southern Oregon.  Students are provided opportunities for hands-on experience in a supportive environment where they can flourish.

Sunrise Residential Treatment Center is thrilled to celebrate its 20 year anniversary. While there are several events throughout the year to celebrate this giant occasion including a Going Virtual with DBT webinar series, the program is most excited to announce the creation of 5 murals, designed by current students, to be painted at each of the campuses. Each community, or the assigned group that each girl lives with, spent weeks planning their “Life Worth Living”. The hope is to help the girls recognize and celebrate the work, past and present, that has transformed them to where they'mare today.

Brad Simpson, DSW, LCSW, and Executive Director of Sunrise RTC, has been with Sunrise for 14 of those 20 years. Here is what he says about the journey that he has experienced while being at Sunrise: "I can't imagine working with a better population. I've worked in a few different capacities in the mental health fields and adolescent girls are my favorite to work with. As Sunrise has grown and developed over the years we are providing these girls and their families with the skills they need to build a life worth living. And, our feedback informed treatment ensures that we are providing the quality of care our families deserve."

Sunrise opened its doors in January of 2000 to serve adolescent girls and their families. Although treatment has improved throughout the years, one goal has not changed: Sunrise works to shift the entire family unit effecting future generations in a positive, consistent manner. And so Sunrise focuses on both the individual and family relationships that need to be mended throughout treatment and not the behaviors we see from our adolescent clients.

About Sunrise RTC

Sunrise is a residential treatment center for adolescent girls ages 13-17 aimed at uncovering the academic, social and emotional potential of girls who have been held back by emotional or behavioral struggles. Sunrise combines the warmth of a home, the safety and clinical expertise of a residential treatment program and the community access of a transition program.

Summit Achievement announces a strategic addition to its program model with Summit Approach.  The Summit Approach program was developed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. While Summit Achievement and Traverse will continue to enroll appropriate clients from around the country, all new clients will first spend fourteen days at the Summit Approach program before transitioning to Summit’s base.  Summit Approach runs on a satellite property in Maine, where new clients will work on therapeutic, academic, and wilderness skills with field guides and clinicians while being monitored for any COVID-19 signs and symptoms. After successful and healthy completion of the Summit Approach program, clients will move onto different teams on Summit Achievement and Traverse.

Summit Achievement has limited enrollment days to Summit Approach in order to bring in potential new clients to Achievement and Traverse mindfully.  The enrollment days to Summit Approach for the next two months are  May 5, May 18, June 1, June 15, and June 29. Summit Achievement will update enrollment dates or changes in policies in the next All Kinds of Therapy Newsletter.

Summit Approach was developed in order to lower the risk of COVID-19 on the main campus and to follow the guidelines laid out on Tuesday, April 28, by the Governor of Maine, Janet Mills.  Nichol Ernst, Summit’s Executive Director, Co-owner, and lifelong Mainer remarked on Governor Mills’ four-phase plan to reopen Maine, “Governor Mills is doing a great job in keeping the health and safety of the people of Maine in mind during this challenge.  We are fortunate to have a governor who cares first and foremost about the health of people.” 

About Summit Achievement

Summit Achievement is, and always has been, guided by positive reinforcement and the power of choice. Our outcome-focused program employs effective therapeutic and educational principles. Through the process of engaging therapy, classroom academics and exciting wilderness expeditions, students experience the therapeutic benefits of outdoor adventure-based activities while learning to manage the demands of a more traditional environment. As an intentionally small, owner-operated wilderness therapy program, we serve adolescent boys and girls, ages 13-20, from around the world.

Legacy Outdoor Adventures and Juniper Canyon Recovery Center for Women are taking serious steps to ensure as much safety and comfort as possible for their staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Leadership understands that the field staff specifically is being asked to put themselves at risk by associating closely with clients, and as such believes that proper protocols must be practiced to ensure safety at the wilderness recovery programs. 

One action that the leadership at Legacy and Juniper Canyon took within days of the publication of CDC guidelines regarding social distancing was to procure and provide free housing for staff members. If staff members working directly with clients are being asked to stay socially distant and avoid travel and unnecessary social interactions while off shift to prevent bringing in the virus when coming on shift, then safe and comfortable housing close to work should be provided. Legacy and Juniper Canyon staff are currently staying at lodges and the Sky View Inn, a local bed and breakfast in Wayne County, where both programs are located. There, they can practice social distancing and return to work for each shift as confident as possible that they avoided exposure to the virus. As an added bonus, they are able to enjoy living and playing in and around the Legacy field area during downtime. It is worth noting that Wayne County has, as of April 30, seen zero cases of COVID-19.
 
In addition to providing housing for staff who need it in order to keep up the social distancing measures and remain safe to come to work, Legacy is also providing hazard pay for those who work as direct care staff to our clients. Especially considering that some guides and therapists (not to mention transport and medical staff) are working with clients who are coming into recent-admit quarantine groups, this is an extremely important step and not only provides extra compensation for their efforts, but also incentivizes the rigor to which safety protocols are upheld by all.
 
Lastly, led by the founders of Legacy and Juniper Canyon as well as the executive team, spaces of emotional safety and support are being offered more regularly. All staff members are encouraged to seek support in the form of extra meetings (offered virtually) and individual therapy. Says founder Derek Daley, “This is a time for us to double down on our values and culture. As a program, we are committed to our entire community and need to ensure that everyone is treated with respect and treated like family. The values that we put in place as an organization are more important now than ever. While we are also trying to encourage everyone to stay positive and present and are hopeful that we will be back to business as usual as soon as possible, we also need to be taking a pandemic extremely seriously… We need to be implementing extra safety measures rather than increasing anxiety.”
 

Legacy Outdoor Adventures is located in Loa, UT. Legacy Outdoor Adventures is an adventure therapy program for young men ages 18 and up.  Legacy is licensed as both an Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Program and a Residential Treatment Center. Together with the women’s program, Juniper Canyon Recovery Center for Women, Legacy is the premier wilderness recovery program for adults.

Trails Carolina, a wilderness therapy program for young people ages 10-17, is excited to announce that Primary Therapist Sarah McGahran, LCSW-A will be expanding her role this month by working with Charlie group, teens that primarily identify as female ages 14-17.

In Charlie group, students typically struggle with challenges related to issues such as adoption/attachment, trauma, depression, anxiety, gender identity, and autism. Before leading Charlie group, Sarah worked with families and a variety of Trails student groups, providing therapeutic support and guidance.

Years ago, Sarah first learned about wilderness therapy through a magazine article in Outside Magazine. Ever since that day, she knew that working in wilderness therapy was her dream job. 

Sarah has spent the last few years working with teens and families in numerous therapeutic settings including a youth advocacy group and as a Primary and Family Therapist at Trails Carolina. “I am looking forward to helping students develop a healthy sense of identity and celebrate who they are,” comments Sarah. “My clinical focus has been working with individuals struggling with attachment issues, resistant behaviors, rigid thinking, and anxiety. Additionally, my graduate studies were focused on attachment issues, which inspired my passion for working with adopted students and their families.”

In Charlie group, she plans on incorporating a variety of art mediums into the therapeutic work with students.

“Art and other forms of immersive therapy are an incredibly helpful way for students to express what’s going on inside,” says Sarah.”When we go beyond talk therapy, it can be a powerful way for students to feel comfortable sharing their emotions. For example, one art assignment that I’m excited to share with students is the mask assignment. Students create tactile masks that express how they show up in the world on the outside versus the way they actually feel internally.”

About Trails Carolina

Trails Carolina is a wilderness therapy program based just outside of Asheville, North Carolina that offers a multi-dimensional wilderness therapy model to troubled adolescents, ages 10-17. Trails capitalizes upon the profound effects of a student’s wilderness experience and then combines that experience with strong clinical assessments and therapy. For additional information about Trails Carolina, please call 800-975-7303. 

As therapeutic programs and schools across the country work to stay ahead of the risk to their communities and their organizations from the spread of the coronavirus, the Northern New England Consortium of schools and programs (NNEC) is living its purpose of continually working toward program excellence during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Consortium was formed in 2018 to support “the advancement of its members through collaborative efforts fostering the delivery of evidence-based practices, program management, leadership development, and collective outreach.”  The founding members of NNEC are:

• Onward Transitions
• Summit Achievement
• Cornerstones of Maine
• Mountain Valley Treatment Center
• Shortridge Academy
• PATH at Stone Summit
• Confluence
• Spruce Mountain Inn
• Mansfield Hall

Since its founding in 2018, NNEC has provided a platform for the progressive exchange of ideas, organizational collaboration, and inter-organizational training and staff development.   As the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic spread, NNEC program representatives immediately began connecting and collaborating, exchanging ideas and practices about critical elements of operations. The programs continue to connect regularly to share resources and evidence-based practices, and to collaborate on problem-solving measures - all done synchronously and on occasion, in real-time as challenges emerge. 

Much like the Governors of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont actively engaging in planning processes together, the membership of NNEC continues to be in close contact. Because the Consortium is made up of programs in regionalized, contiguous states with similar demographics, they share similar local governance and assets. As these three states begin to release details about safely opening back-up their economies, NNEC leaders reflected on some of the initiatives that they have worked together on over the past six weeks:

• Restructuring staffing patterns to create a “deep bench” philosophy, ensuring for enhanced community safety. 
• Discussing sound and ethical business practices to ensure the safe continuation of services while meeting the changing financial needs of families.
• Implementing new training policies and procedures for staff on COVID-19 specific prevention, control, and management practices. 
• Reviewing and sharing information and best practices for cleaning, sterilizing, equipping, and protecting clients and staff.
• Refining safe admissions and health screening practices for residential-based programs.
• Enhancing the use of telemental health and virtual services, specifically for programs that have moved all, or a portion of their services, online. 
• Participating in national leadership forums as presenters and speakers on current topics related to the current pandemic.
• Understanding and forecasting for general industry and economic trends. 

NNEC leaders are confident in their shared ability to manage this current crisis, and in supporting clients in the ensuing recovery from it as mental health and education services will likely trend to being needed more than ever. Additionally, NNEC is currently exploring virtual alternatives for their annual training and conference in June. 

It’s been a busy time at Evoke Therapy Programs. Steve Kirk, a longtime employee of the company, has moved into the role of Director of Admissions and Outreach and Travis Slagle has been hired to be the Clinical Director of Evoke’s Intensives program. Additionally, due to COVID travel and distancing restrictions, the company developed a new Online Intensives program that will now continue even when precautions end.

When Steve Kirk began his time at Evoke in 2006, his skill in communicating and customer relations took him directly onto the Evoke Admissions team, where he distinguished himself as a compassionate ally for struggling families. After years of expertly bringing together parents, consultants, and therapists and forming lasting bonds with them, Kirk moved into the Director of Admissions and Outreach position last month. “Steve brings a collaborative and supportive leadership style to the Admissions and Marketing team and provides our families with kindness, patience, and understanding,” says Rick Heizer, owner and Executive Director of Evoke Therapy Programs. “We are happy to have him at the helm.”

Travis Slagle, the new Clinical Director at Evoke’s Intensives program, is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and advanced certification in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics. His background includes working as a psychotherapist and program administrator in a variety of settings including wilderness, residential, outpatient, and young adult transitional living. He has published articles and presented at national conferences on topics related to parenting and identity development, brain-based psychotherapy, and nature-informed treatment. “Travis brings vast experience from his work in the therapeutic field both as a therapist and as a supervisor,” says Brad Reedy, owner and Clinical Director of Evoke. “We are excited to learn from him, and we believe his vision compliments ours as we embark on the next chapter at Evoke Intensives.”

Intensives are multi-day experiences that use various therapeutic modes to explore family-of-origin issues and provide participants with practical, meaningful understanding of their challenges in life. The program’s most recent growth came from facing adversity. As the company grappled with how best to continue to serve people with mental health needs during COVID, Evoke looked at bringing its Intensives online. Though there was some skepticism about whether seeing faces on screen instead of meeting in-person could pack the emotional weight needed for a successful experience, it proved to be unwarranted. “There were some real advantages to doing it online,” says Reedy. “We could harness the technology to find totally new ways for people to tell their stories and connect. Also, many people said they would not have been able to come if it had not been for the online aspect. I couldn’t be happier with the process and the outcome.” The move has been so well-received that Evoke will continue conducting online Intensives as a regular part of its therapeutic offerings even after travel and distancing precautions abate.

About Evoke Therapy Programs
Evoke Therapy Programs provides both outdoor-based therapeutic programs for adolescents, young adults and families and Intensive therapy programs for individuals, families, and couples. Evoke is accredited by the AEE/OBH and is a NATSAP Research Designated Program. Evoke’s outdoor programs are based in Bend, Oregon and in Saint George, Utah. Evoke’s Intensive Therapy programs are in northern Utah.

outBACK Therapeutic Expeditions is pleased to announce the addition of Scott Jones, CMHC, to the clinical team at outBACK. He brings with him over 25 years of working with adolescents and families and officially joined the outBack team May 1, 2020.

Scott holds a Master's in Mental Health Counseling and a dual bachelor's degree in Psychology and Sociology. Prior to joining the team at outBACK Therapeutic Expeditions, Scott worked as a Primary Therapist, Family Therapist, and most recently, as Program Director at Stillwater Academy. Scott takes a strength based, relational approach to therapy and loves guiding students in the discovery of their unique strengths; to “see” their inherent value. His approach draws from cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, dialectical behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and the 12-step model.

Scott will be a Primary Therapist working with adolescent boys. He works well with students who struggle with:

• Substance Use
• Trauma
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Oppositional Defiance
• Attachment Disruptions 

When asked to share about Scott Jones, Gillan Smith, PhD, owner of Maple Springs Counseling in Mapleton, UT shared: 

“I had the immense privilege of introducing Scott to the world of adolescent treatment 27 short years ago. He joined me at Stillwater Academy, then called Turnabout Day Treatment. We got to learn from each other for a few years prior to my departure to pursue my doctorate. Scott stayed and took over my position as Program Director and Primary Therapist and improved on both. He helped that program grow for almost three decades and we have always remained close.

What I know about Scott is he is a fantastic therapist; he is a talent. He knows how to help adolescents and families. He is who you want with you in a crisis. He shines light on things not easily seen. He attends to detail. It has been one of the privileges of my life to be connected to Scott personally and professionally. He will be one of the great wilderness therapists. What a perfect marriage - Scott Jones and Outback Therapeutic Expeditions. I am grateful to have been the matchmaker. I love this guy and I love this program.”

“We are really excited to have Scott join the outBACK family”, added Tracy Hopkins, Business Development Director at outBACK Therapeutic Expeditions.  “There is a strong sense of calm, patience, and understanding that Scott embodies. He is a natural fit for our strength based culture and seamlessly rounds out the existing clinical team members. He is steady, seasoned, and sound and the ease of his engagement highlights his humor, his kindness, and his love for family, community, and soccer.”

For more on Scott Jones, contact the following members of the outBACK team:

Greg Burnham, Clinical Director, greg@outbacktreatment.com

Tracy Hopkins, Business Development Director, tracy@outbacktreatment.com

About outBACK Therapeutic Expeditions

outBACK Therapeutic Expeditions is a highly effective, clinically informed treatment program dedicated to bringing families BACK together. Utilizing the wilderness as an alternative to traditional treatment settings, we guide students (13-17) and families in their process of reconnecting to Self, re-engaging with Family, and recommitting to Purpose. outBACK provides an innovative clinical structure designed to yield the highest clinical value for students and their families by providing access to multiple therapists for each student; Primary Therapists who oversee treatment plan and Associate Therapists who are in the group daily. outBACK is a licensed wilderness therapy program in the state of Utah and helps teens with various areas of difficulties such as depression, anxiety, trauma, family conflict, engagement in dangerous behaviors, neurodiversity, ASD level I, electronic and gaming addiction and more.

Jennifer Snyder, RN, BSN, OCN, has joined the staff of Q&A Associates. Jennifer brings 24 years of nursing experience to her position as Medical Services Coordinator. In those 24 years, Jennifer has worked in a variety of hospital settings, focusing primarily on caring for patients battling cancer. The Medical Services Coordinator is a member of the leadership team at Q&A and will be overseeing medication management, assisting clients with setting up medical appointments, assessing medical needs of clients on site, and making recommendations regarding medical needs.

"We are blessed to have Jennifer join our team," said Angie Shockley, Owner and CEO of Q&A.  "In addition to her experience as a registered nurse, Jennifer has also developed wonderful patient care skills, which allow her to work effectively with our young adult population by empowering them to be more involved in their medical processes," she continued.

Jennifer's ancestors were some of the original settlers of Canaan Valley in Tucker County, WV, where the Q&A programs are located. She and her husband, Bill, are the parents of two adult sons and grandparents of one beautiful granddaughter.  Jennifer's experience as a parent of two young adult men gives her an effective and innate ability to work with the young adults of the Q&A programs.

"It is my honor to join such an awesome organization, and I am looking forward to working with the young adults and growing with them," said Snyder.  "Staying healhty in mind, body, and spirit is my goal for myself and each client with whom I work," she continued.

"Having Jennifer join our team has enhanced our ability to work with our clients in many ways," said Marci Jones, Student Services Coordinator and Lead Life Coach, "We are thrilled to have her."

About Q&A Family of Programs

Q&A Family of Programs works with young adults ages 18 and up, providing opportunities for each of them to develop independent, functional, and happy lives with a high level of quality. Our clients have struggled to reach independence for a variety of reasons such as the inability to develop and/or implement the life skills needed to be successful, or struggling to obtain consistent employment. Our goal is to help these individuals find meaning and an authentic purpose for their lives and a practical path to achieve their goals.

On Tuesday April 21, 2020, Josh and Maureen White, founders of Red Mountain Programs, launched a new video series called Mindful Moments, created to provide its audience with mindful ways of approaching the COVID-19 crisis, as well as other challenging parts of the human experience.

“This is something that we’ve actually been wanting to do for a long time,” Josh said on the first episode and with so many people under stay-at-home orders or sheltering in place during the pandemic, he and Maureen felt compelled to begin the series now.

As creators of the leading mindfulness-based, therapeutic programs for adolescents and young adults in Colorado and Sedona respectively, Josh and Maureen draw on their extensive experience as clinicians and meditation teachers. The husband and wife duo use humor, neuroscience and an understanding of Eastern philosophies and Western therapeutic modalities with the hopes of helping to shift perspectives and demonstrate how mindfulness can be employed in everyday life.

The videos are intended to feel informal and conversational, and so far, the response has been positive. “[I] love the videos,” said Jennifer Taylor, founder of JET ED Consulting, “it’s like I am right there having lunch with them.”

Mindful Moments, three of which have been released as of May 4, 2020, can be found on the Red Mountain Sedona YouTube channel as well as on the Red Mountain Sedona and Red Mountain Colorado social media pages. Those who wish to receive the videos via email can contact Deara Ball at deara@redmountainsedona.com.

Red Mountain Sedona is a mindfulness-based, trauma-informed young adult “Launch” program, located in beautiful Sedona, Arizona.  Red Mountain specializes in helping young adults between the ages of 18-28, address the social, emotional and behavioral issues holding them back from successfully transitioning into adulthood.  Through a truly holistic program that provides structure, individual, group and family therapy, life skills training, recovery support and mindfulness-meditation, yoga and martial arts instruction, Red Mountain Sedona helps students gain the stability and maturity needed to move forward in life.  For more information on Red Mountain Sedona call (855) 998-5272.

Onward Transitions has been helping emerging adults and their families move toward their shared goal of individuation since 2016. Weekly family work focused on boundary setting, empowerment and developmental psychology has included therapy sessions, parent coaching, progress updates, and collaborative planning with referring educational consultants. This week the program based in Portland, ME will launch its parent portal internal website and host the first of twice-monthly virtual parent groups. The effort, spearheaded by Program Director and Therapist Austin Mehlhorn, LCPC-cc and Clinical Director Andy Derstine, LCSW will add a level of peer connectivity for families as they work through the process of moving towards a more adult relationship with their children. 

Derstine stated his hope that a “deeper understanding of the therapeutic process will help families support Onward members as they move forward with their goals in the face of COVID-19.” He added that “for members who are living at home and working with us remotely, I hope that we are better able to support parents in maintaining adult-to-adult relationships, maintain healthy boundaries and expectations, and help them better understand the developmental aspects of emerging adulthood and how this plays out in day-to-day family life.” Derstine will co-facilitate each family group session with a rotation of Onward staff based on the particular theme of that meeting.

Mehlhorn manages the technical aspects of Onward’s HIPAA-compliant G-Suite, and created the parent portal with the hope of balancing ease of use with strict privacy protocols. The intention of the new programming is to provide a space for families to feel a level of togetherness, explore common and general issues in parenting and provide more direction for their family therapy sessions. Simultaneously, Onward needed to find a way to protect and respect the privacy of their members’ individual stories. “Google's cloud platform provides advanced security and allows administrators to set permissions and controls for different areas of our service delivery,” Mehlhorn explains. “The family site will be accessible only by the families that choose to enroll in the service.” He continued to explain that “the family forum group is set so that families can interact with and post questions to staff and therapists, in a confidential manner, directly to and visible only by the staff facilitator. This will help to protect the anonymity of specific members and then refer those particular issues back to family therapy.” 

About Onward Transitions

Onward Transitions (OT) in Portland, ME is a small, independent, owner-operated program for bright, motivated, emerging adults in the final stages of learning to live on their own. OT supports actual sustainable independent living and autonomy from two city locations. Participants (members) ages 18-29 never live with us; they live in their own apartments, scattered throughout the city. Members' challenges include anxiety, depression and executive functioning.

In a time when the coronavirus pandemic has turned the world upside down and topsy-turvy seemingly overnight, the need for a sense of safety and healthy ways to tolerate distress persist in the children receiving mental health treatment at Northwest Passage. Social distancing and other recommendations to help keep others physically safe seem to fly in the face of what is known to help people cope with and overcome mental illness. From wearing masks that limit the ability to connect non-verbally to physically distancing from others it seemed, at first, the therapists and caregivers at Northwest Passage were being handed insurmountable hurdles. Instead, they learned their resilience-based, therapeutic lifestyle approach to mental health treatment was stronger than they thought.

Unfettered access to the outdoors has proven to be one of Northwest Passage’s greatest assets during the coronavirus pandemic. While the world beyond their campuses in rural northwestern Wisconsin is unpredictable and ever-changing, the biggest worry on their Prairieview prairie and Riverside peninsula has been “will it rain today?” Springtime in Wisconsin brings a wealth of opportunity for place-based learning and growth according to Northwest Passage’s grounding principle, the PassageWay. The PassageWay is an approach to wellness proposing the journey to a healthy lifestyle includes the building of skill and insight through the consistent awareness of the use of eight therapeutic lifestyle choices: Nature, Recreation, Relaxation, Nutrition, Exercise, Relationships, Service, and Spirit. Northwest Passage residents have practiced Service by building and installing bluebird nesting boxes and planting trees; Relationships by working together on the Prairie Challenge; Recreation and Relaxation by enjoying evening campfires; and Exercise while walking the Prairie and Peninsula trails and bicycling on the Gandy Dancer Trail - all while spending time in Nature. Northwest Passage residents and staff have found that practicing a therapeutic lifestyle is not only possible but necessary and even optimal in these unique times.

 As an effort to increase opportunities for physical contact with other living beings, which has been so severely limited during this time, Northwest Passage chose to invite their equine partners back to campus much earlier than in previous years. The first weeks of intervention included simply spending quiet, uninterrupted time with the equine team which includes the addition of two goats this year. Residents have reflected on what they have noticed during these times and themes of connection, mindfulness, and peace have come up over and over. As the equine therapy agenda shifts over to targeted group and individual sessions, relationships seem to be at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

These program adjustments started with good communication and support for caregivers who were being asked to do many things they had never done before. Staff were encouraged and supported in the creative use of the outdoors while abiding by the state-mandated Safer at Home order. Now, more than ever, Northwest Passage remains committed to its mission of restoring hope through innovative mental health services for children and families.

Northwest Passage’s success is due in large part to its high-impact experiential programming. They have implemented a powerful therapeutic arts program, InaNewLight, and showcase their residents’ inspiring artwork to the public at the one-of-a-kind Northwest Passage Gallery in Webster, WI. Funded with private donations and grants, the InaNewLight program has provided an opportunity for Northwest Passage’s youth to travel around the country, and even internationally, capturing amazing sunsets, beautiful wildlife, and serene wilderness scenes with their cameras. Along the way, many also captured parts of themselves that were otherwise out of reach.

About Northwest Passage 

Founded in 1978, Northwest Passage is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring hope through innovative mental health services for children and families. With over 40 years of rich history, Northwest Passage has become a national leader in residential mental health assessment and treatment for youth experiencing severe and complex emotional and behavioral disruptions. The organization has two residential facilities. Riverside, situated on 70 acres of iconic Northwoods landscape and bisected by the winding Clam River in Webster, WI, serves boys ages 12-17. The Prairieview campus is located on 25 acres of rolling prairie in Frederic, WI, and houses females ages 12-17 as well as Northwest Passage’s Assessment Program which serves youth ages 6-17 in a co-ed environment.

Northwest Passage has earned academic accreditation through Cognia, Inc., formerly AdvancED. For more information about Northwest Passage call 715-327-4402 or visit nwpltd.org.

In an effort to stay safe and limit exposure to COVID-19, the amazing students at Auldern Academy have experienced a lot of changes lately, particularly related to losing their Spring break, not having family visits, and losing outings. During this difficult time, they have graciously decided to help those in need. While in art class, they have been learning to sew and make masks to donate to various local medical groups, including Waverly Hematology Oncology as well as Greenville Shriners Hospital.

Auldern Academy staff and parents are so thrilled to see this special group of students find a silver lining in this current situation. Choosing to help those who are helping others is a true sign of maturity and growth.

That being said, the spirit of serving others is not new to Auldern Academy. Earlier this year, our students led an amazing fundraiser for the Boy Scouts of America. In their ceramics class, they made beautiful bowls, which they then sold to staff and the community at a vendor fair. The proceeds, totaling over $850, went to the Boy Scouts! It was a wonderful project to witness and see students become so passionate about.

About Auldern Academy

Auldern Academy is a college preparatory, therapeutic boarding school for young women ages 14 to 18. We provide a positive platform that helps transform the lives of young women academically, emotionally, and socially.

The country appears to be on a path toward reopening, yet Elements Wilderness Program and Elements Traverse remain committed to the same level of vigilance they have had in place since before COVID-19 first appeared in Utah. In efforts to allow the Utah economy to begin the recovery process, Governor Herbert of Utah eased his guidelines around the state on May 1. “Just like all essential companies, Elements benefitted from Governor Herbert’s directives that all Utahns stay home, because it reduced the risk to everyone residing in the state,” said Andrew Powell, CEO of the Elements Programs. “However, we had our policy in place before the Governor created this directive, and we will keep our policies in place until the risk of COVID-19 entering our program is definitively behind us.”

Elements Wilderness Program and Elements Traverse employ what is traditionally called an expedition model, in which each group operates independently of each other, supported by their primary therapist and each week drafting a new backpacking itinerary, most of which accommodate some kind of adventure programming. Despite the austerity and remoteness of our model, the novel Coronavirus requires staunch adherence to Social Distancing and Hygiene Protocols. 

That said, Social Distancing policies present a unique challenge in a program that is built upon the power of relationships within a social milieu. “I am proud to see the entire team at both programs pull together to provide innovative and creative ways to capture the full range of benefits our clients and their families can receive,” said Elements Wilderness Program’s Clinical Director, Dr. Neal Christensen, “from intentional community building amidst social distancing to virtual parent visits and sanitary high-angle adventure, every department has stepped up to meet the standards set by our Social Distancing and Hygiene Guidelines.” 

About Elements Wilderness

Since 2008, Elements Wilderness has been providing a specialized therapeutic intervention for adolescent boys aged 13-17. We at Elements envision a world in which everyone has the skills and support necessary to live a full and healthy life. Through innovative therapeutic interventions, a comprehensive outdoor living experience complete with expeditionary backpacking and adventure programming, a robust family program involving the family at every step, and evidence-based substance abuse treatment, we provide every client and family with excellence in assessment and treatment. Elements is licensed and supervised by the State of Utah Department of Human Services and accredited through the Outdoor Behavioral Health Council and the Association for Experiential Education.

Trails Momentum, an outdoor adventure-based therapy program for young adults ages 18-25, is excited to announce Jacob Thomason, LPC as their new Clinical Director. Prior to moving into his new role as Clinical Director, Jacob helped provide support to families and young adults as the Parent and Family Services Specialist at Trails Momentum and Trails Carolina. With over a decade of experience working in wilderness therapy and transitional programs, Jacob has held leadership roles in clinical and family programming throughout his career.  

In his tenure, he has specialized in helping young people struggling with attachment/adoption issues and family dynamics. Jacob is also trained in brainspotting, a treatment method designed to help people access, process, and overcome trauma, negative emotions, and pain.

As Clinical Director of Trails Momentum, Jacob will act as supervisor and oversee the training and development of the clinical team. He will also be working with young adults directly, taking on a caseload of students. Over the course of his career, Jacob has spent several years working with young adults in a number of therapeutic settings.

“A major focus for me is to help strengthen and enhance the clinical aspects of the curriculum here at Momentum,” comments Jacob. “Another focal point will be helping support families throughout the healing process. My experience as a family therapist will help bolster the already amazing clinical work we do with families.”

“I’m very excited to work with the young adult population at Trails Momentum,” says Jacob. “I will be helping young people find what they are passionate about, whether that’s going back to school or seeking other ways to gain independence. The culture and community here is really empowering for young adults who are ready to begin taking more ownership in their lives. I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”

About Trails Momentum

Trails Momentum is a wilderness-alternative for young adults ages 18-25 struggling to launch themselves into adulthood. Young adults are guided on a journey of self-discovery where they develop self-concept and are empowered to make the transition into independence. Adventure programming, clinical services, family involvement, college coursework, and social and life skills development are seamlessly interwoven to maximize the transference of important life skills and address clinical and behavioral challenges.

Scott Boice, LPC has joined the New Haven RTC clinical team as the Executive Clinical Director. Scott earned his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University Hawaii and his Master's in Counseling from The University of Alabama. Scott brings over twenty years of clinical experience and has held a variety of roles throughout his careers, including Executive Director at a counseling and consulting company, Family Program Director at a wilderness program, Clinical Director at a residential treatment center, and Director of Clinical Services at a well-known boarding school. Most recently Scott worked with InnerChange and Embark in training and consulting roles. 

New Haven sought Scott out because of his many strengths and wealth of experience.  As a relational therapist, Scott strongly believes in attachment-based treatment modalities.  He feels that making strong, healthy connections is an anchor and foundation for individuals and families who are struggling emotionally, behaviorally, and systemically. He also uses cognitive behavioral therapy, family systems, and other evidenced-based approaches. Scott has exceptional skills in providing individual, group, and family counseling to adolescents as well as significant leadership and training experience. He has extensive experience working in the areas of ADHD, mood disorders, effective parenting, trauma, family therapy, health and wellness, addiction and recovery, and anxiety disorders.

About New Haven RTC 

New Haven empowers adolescent girls to overcome life's traumas. New Haven specializes in treating bright and sophisticated girls with complex issues such as traumatic stress, complex family systems, relationship issues, depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal ideation, attachment, eating disorders, and personality disorders. New Haven’s program is designed to provide world-class clinical services along with college prep academics.

Three weeks ago, Celine, an x-ray technician at Lafayette General Hospital in Louisiana, entered the breakroom for a much-needed moment of peace on a long shift of doing chest x-rays.  Ever since Louisiana was declared to be a COVID-19 hotspot, the unit has been working non-stop to help “flatten the curve”.  She and everyone else on the unit found in their inboxes a “power-pack” including protein snack, a hydrating sports drink, a candy treat and a note saying “we see you – thank you for your service”.  While enjoying this delightful snack in a moment of respite, she noticed the bulletin board across the hall was full of encouraging notes from students who had prepared the power-packs.  Celine and others on her unit shared feeling blessed for the recognition and asked how to get more of these “power-packs”.  Before long, other front-line healthcare workers and first responders heard of the power packs and also requested them. Now over 250 power packs per week are being delivered – and the number of requests is growing daily.
 
Behind it all is a group of quarantined students at Evangelhouse Christian Academy, a therapeutic boarding school for girls in St. Martinville, LA.  This effort was conceived of and is led by dedicated staff member Marissa Trahan.  In an after-work conversation with a close friend who works at Lafayette General, they were sharing the challenges of being essential healthcare workers through the Louisiana stay-at-home ordered quarantine.  The idea struck Marissa that she could help make a difference with a little treat and a word of thanks.  In her spare time, she started making a few packs and dropping them off.  Word of showing thanks to front-line medical professionals quickly got out on social media, and soon Marissa was flooded with donations from the community.  “After my apartment ran out of room to store the donated supplies, I knew I needed some help to keep up with the requests. Now I am being contacted daily with funds, supplies, even gas for my car to help with the effort.” She shared the need with staff and students at Evangelhouse, and they quickly rose to the challenge of sorting individually wrapped snacks, writing notes of encouragement and helping organize the effort.  Marissa and her team of student volunteers expect to be making over 1,000 packs per week for essential healthcare workers before the end of the month.
 
Marissa and the students at Evangelhouse have shared feeling like they are contributing to the efforts to stop COVID-19 in a small but meaningful way.  While working toward their treatment goals and remaining safe and secure on the Evangelhouse campus, they continue to volunteer their free time to this effort.  If you would like to donate to the cause, please contact marissa@evangelhouse.com to arrange a tax-deductible donation to the Evangelhouse COVID-19 relief fund.
 
 
Evangelhouse® Christian Academy is a boutique, fourteen-bed therapeutic boarding school for girls ages 12-18 in St. Martinville, LA.  The academy offers a unique integration of licensed clinical therapy in a non-denominational Christian environment. To learn more, visit www.evangelhouse.com

Open Sky is excited to welcome Clinical Therapist Coady Schueler, Psy.D. to the clinical team. Dr. Schueler has nearly thirty years of clinical experience and is widely respected for her work with adolescent girls. Dr. Schueler brings broad clinical experience to Open Sky, including an extensive background in wilderness therapy, therapeutic boarding schools, private practice, mental health facilities, and psychological testing. Dr. Schueler earned a Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Antioch New England Graduate School and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology. The topic of her dissertation explored the impact sexual abuse has on the way adolescent females conceptualize emotional intimacy.

Dr. Schueler is passionate about working with adolescent girls who are well-defended and tend towards embodying their emotions rather than acting out. Her ability to make empathetic and genuine connections with her students stands out amongst her many special qualities as a therapist. As a parent, Dr. Schueler brings compassion and humility to her work with families and is known for her gentle, yet straightforward approach. “Coady’s passion for family work, collaboration, and wilderness therapy are just a few of the reasons she is a great match for Open Sky’s community-centered, holistic model,” says Emily Fernandes, Open Sky Co-Founder and Executive Director. “We couldn’t be more excited for Coady to join the Open Sky clinical team!”

Originally from the east coast, Dr. Schueler lived in Utah for over 25 years, and now calls Durango, Colorado her home. During her free time, Coady enjoys mountain biking, telemark skiing, and adventuring with her friends, her dogs, and her son, Ketch.

About Open Sky Wilderness Therapy

Nestled in the mountains of southwest Colorado and the canyon country of southeast Utah, Open Sky transcends traditional wilderness therapy with an approach that emphasizes treatment for the whole family. By partnering with Open Sky, each family member embarks on a rewarding adventure of self-discovery, learning valuable skills that promote lasting success. The Open Sky clinical approach utilizes the latest in evidence-based clinical modalities integrated with innovative, research-driven mindfulness and holistic healing practices. Therapists develop treatment plans, provide individual and group psychotherapy, and update families each week via teleconference. Students participate in daily process groups and a wide range of experiential activities designed to increase awareness and facilitate healing.

Shortridge Academy launched Shortridge Online in April 2020.  The school enrolled multiple new students into its innovative remote academic and therapeutic program. New Shortridge students will be enrolled virtually until they can be welcomed to campus in the coming several weeks. A decade of taking a progressive approach to technology and leaning into new ideas and platforms that add value to the Shortridge experience has made this shift to virtual enrollment almost seamless for students and families, ensuring continuity of support and structure in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shortridge Online is focused on daily virtual community engagement, including virtual classes, and individual and family services provided by academic and clinical teams. Since its inception, Shortridge Academy has been a relationship-based program, which is now being replicated through online platforms featuring:

• NEASC-accredited academics delivered remotely by live teachers
• Teaching assistants providing individual and group instruction
• Remote Center for Learning and Cognitive Enhancement support 
• Weekly individual, family, and group teletherapy sessions 
• Consistent community-based engagement and virtual activities from residential mentors, nurses, cooks, and administrators

“I want to underscore what makes Shortridge Academy a truly special experience. We have always worked to create a strong and vital on-campus community. I’m happy to report that this commitment continues as our teachers, clinicians, and mentors work to create an online community where every student feels embraced, inspired, and valued," said Mik Oyler, Head of School & COO.

In their 18th year of operation, Shortridge Academy is the most normalized and progressive therapeutic boarding school in the country.   With a strengths-based and authoritative approach, the teachers, staff, and administration support students struggling with anxiety, depression, family dysfunction, and learning disabilities.  For more information about Shortridge Academy, please contact the Admissions Director, Katie Rainer at admissions@shortridgeacademy.com.

About Shortridge Academy

Shortridge Academy is a private co-ed Therapeutic Boarding School, founded in 2002, emphasizing challenging yet supportive college prep academics within a therapeutic community. Located in southeastern New Hampshire with close proximity to both the seacoast and the mountains, Shortridge’s setting and Positive Youth Development model provides students with an ideal environment to further develop their sense of self and strengthen family relationships in an intellectually stimulating learning environment reflective of a traditional boarding school.

Governor Kemp lifted Georgia’s shelter-in-place restrictions on April 30 and has allowed many businesses in the state to reopen with precautions in place. This has been a highlighted topic in the media as it is one of the first states in the country to reopen throughout the COVID19 pandemic. As a company that operates in the state of Georgia, Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness has underscored their commitment to the heightened preventative measures they have taken in order to continue serving adolescents, young adults, and families in crisis during the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the company is committed to keeping these safeguards in place to support and protect the small town of Clayton, in Rabun County, GA where Blue Ridge has operated for close to twenty years. Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness’ adolescent program and their young adult program, Emerald Arrow, remain dedicated to maintaining firm safety measures despite these reduced restrictions in the state of Georgia. 

Blue Ridge continues to take every measure to keep current and future students protected.

1. Every new student is tested for COVID-19 upon arrival at their initial physical. 
2. Every new adolescent student enrolls in an orientation and self-monitoring group, called Emergence Camp, where their symptoms will be closely monitored. Emergence Camp has been a highlight for new adolescent students as well as for staff and therapists, as it provides a soft landing pad for our new students as they orient to life in the wilderness. 
3. For Emerald Arrow’s young adults, the student will self-isolate from the group but still stay within the vicinity of the group (12+feet minimum distance). This provides the student the opportunity to acclimate to wilderness life, begin learning skills, while also connecting with fellow young adult group members, from a safe distance. 
4. All employees and students continue to distance in their groups and everyone is required to have protective face coverings. 

Blue Ridge asked all of its employees to continue social distancing practices while at home and on their off-shifts and, additionally, directing staff to continuing the mandatory protective face covering protocols enacted several weeks ago. As guidelines surrounding COVID-19 are continually evolving and recommendations on the federal and state level can vary, Blue Ridge’s priority is and will remain the health and safety of their students and employees.

About Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness

Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness offers clinically driven wilderness therapy programs encompassing advanced therapeutic skill, a highly flexible nomadic wilderness therapy model, licensed wilderness therapy assessment and multiple treatment options for struggling teens ages 13-18 and for young adults 18-30 in their Emerald Arrow program. Their individualized approach, family support and commitment to service translate to an unparalleled experience and better outcomes for adolescents and families.

Solutions Parenting Support continues to provide parent coaching when a teen or young adult child's difficulty isn't resolving. Solutions Parenting Support works with parents who have a child in a wilderness therapy program, in therapeutic boarding school or long term residential treatment or parents who are transitioning their child home from an adolescent or young adult treatment program. Solutions Parenting Support also focuses on parents who would like preventative support, aiming to change the dynamics of the family system and decrease the possible need for out-of-home treatment.

Solutions Parenting Support is staying the course and continuing to focus their coaching solely on empowering parents to help them successfully maintain healthy relationships while implementing transition plans, to develop structure appropriate to their dynamics, and to enhance co-parenting teams in order to sustain the work of the whole family during a child's stay in treatment. Solutions Parenting Support is a team of coaches, each a licensed therapist, with extensive experience working in wilderness therapy and residential treatment programs. Solutions Parenting Support continues to provide their coaching services to parents via telehealth in the form of phone and video sessions which they have been providing from the start of their business 8 years ago.

"With day-to-day changes in our current world, we believe it is important for others to know our commitment to staying the course and doing what we have been doing best for years, which is focusing our work on parents and helping them create long term success within and for their families," co-Owner Jen Murphy assured. Solution's team of therapists and their relational and direct style of parent coaching continues to be a pillar in the field of parent coaching and whole family health.

About Solutions Parenting Support

Solutions Parenting Support, LLC is a nationally recognized parent support and transitional program assisting families during and after wilderness therapy treatment and/or residential treatment programming. With business offices in Steamboat Springs, CO, and Tucson, AZ the team is supporting parents and families in the United States and around the globe. The team of parent coaches and transitional specialists are family system focused, licensed professional therapists and/or licensed social workers with a combined 40+ years of experience working in wilderness therapy programs, varying levels of residential treatment programming, and transitional support.

In the midst of an unprecedented pandemic, STRiV (Strive Forward, LLC) has quietly completed its first year of operation and moves into year number two stronger than ever. It embraces a "reverent celebration" of service to assist those in need.

Co-founder and Executive Director Dr. Clark Hammond reflects back on STRiV's opening day. “We had worked really hard to develop the program, but definitely felt that anxious excitement enrolling our first student. It was a great day! Since then we’ve learned a few things and made some refinements. We’re really proud of the important work we’ve done throughout our first year, and we’re also grateful for our ‘continuous improvement’ mindset. We’re better today than when we started, and we plan on being better next year than we are today.”

STRiV remained near capacity throughout the majority of this first year. Like the rest of the world, however, the COVID-19 pandemic brought uncertainty and potential disruption to the program. Fortunately, through its adaptability, the program has remained strong.

The impact of the novel coronavirus also shifted, appropriately, the way they’ve approached their one-year anniversary. Recognizing that so many are truly suffering during this time, STRiV is choosing what it calls a more “reverent celebration.”

“We had envisioned a different kind of celebration as we were approaching this milestone,” said Dr. Hammond, “but we felt moved toward something more reverent out of respect for those who are really struggling. During this difficult time, we just want to quietly give back.” In lieu of an anniversary celebration, STRiV has made contributions to important charities (like the local food bank), and has supported and encouraged students and staff to give of their time or resources to help others as well (like giving blood, cleaning up trails and walking paths, etc.). 

STRiV invites individuals and organizations to participate in their own reverent celebration by making a positive difference, large or small, within their circle of influence. This could include making a financial contribution to a local charity, sacrificing time or talents to help someone in need, or engaging in other creative and caring ways to help alleviate stress, struggle, or suffering.

About STRīV

STRīV is a social, emotional, and therapeutic support program for emerging adults struggling to navigate the challenges of college life and the road toward independence. Located in the heart of Utah County, STRīV students have access to traditional academics as well as vocational training opportunities through Utah Valley University.

First Light Wilderness Therapy is excited to announce its opening in the stunning Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia.  With administrative offices located an in Clayton, GA, First Light will be accepting its first group of adolescent females on May 11, 2020 in its innovative wilderness therapy program.  First Light Wilderness Therapy provides an integrative family treatment model that is centered in Developmental Re-Integration, Generational Empowerment, Interactive Education and Self-Growth, to promote the healing of individuals and family systems. 

First Light Wilderness Therapy is the newest program addition to New Vision Wilderness (NVW), a group of leading wilderness therapy programs. Led by Division President and co-founder Drew Hornbeck, Chief Clinical Consultant and co-founder Steve Sawyer, and Chief Operations Officer Leah Madamba, New Vision Wilderness announced the launch of the Georgia program location as part of its broader vision of meeting the ongoing need for high quality wilderness treatment throughout the country. “We know and are alarmed by the mental health crisis among young people in our country,” stated Hornbeck, “and have been inspired by the clinical outcomes of our treatment programs in Wisconsin and Oregon. Increasing our capacity to positively impact families who are seeking outdoor behavioral health treatment for their children is at the core of our mission to expand our program offerings through the addition of First Light Wilderness in Georgia.”

The First Light Wilderness team will be led by seasoned industry professionals. Theresa Hasting, MA, LPC-S has joined the team as the Clinical Director and will be working with the first group of adolescent female students.  With over 15 years of experience in mental health and specializing in particular developmental and relational trauma, Hasting affords the Georgia program the expertise to craft individualized evidence-based interventions and execute them in an OBH setting.  With over a decade of experience in wilderness settings and a passion for staff and programming development, Nick Pellitteri, BS, who comes with over a decade of experience in wilderness settings and a passion for staff and programming development, ensures industry-leading best practices and safety as he steps into the Program Director position.  The program announced that Zach Pratt, BS, will serve as the Field Director. The admissions and outreach team consists of Stephanie Lewis, BA, who brings 10 years of Wilderness Therapy experience with her to the role of Program / Admissions Support Specialist and Lacey Ely, who brings over 7 years in supporting families in crisis as the Program/Admissions Support Specialist, and the perspective that comes from a decade of outdoor leadership to the First Light Wilderness admissions team.

Rooted in the principles of neurobiology and relational immersion, First Light Wilderness Therapy provides individualized care to achieve meaningful change, create the capacity for joy, and lay the foundation for sustainable personal growth and development.  By utilizing a brain-based and attachment-focused model, First Light’s focus is on supporting clients with the process of understanding how to better regulate their nervous system and build resilience. Additionally, the team at First Light has been training intensively in trauma-informed and relational care. Hasting, a recognized Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) Educator, will be at the forefront of training all First Light staff in this caregiving model for working with children and adolescents who have experienced relational and developmental trauma.  TBRI gives staff concrete skills to build secure relationships with students, empower students in order to create a sense of felt safety, and work with students on developing healthy coping and relational skills.  In addition to TBRI, First Light will focus on trauma-informed interventions, as well as an intensive family systems model of treatment designed to impact and create change for all members of the family.

First Light Wilderness Therapy is currently accepting referrals for its first group of clients. For more information, the program asks that inquiries be directed to 866-489-9277 .

All Kinds of Therapy announced on April 23rd, 2020 that it expanded the Experts advertising section of the website.  The Experts section now includes Teletherapy professionals, Teleassessment professionals, Parent Coaches and mentors for teens and young adults.  Seven new partners joined with the expansion Drs. Todd Correlli and Abby Jenkins, Molly Shriver-Blake, MA, 360 Transitions, Parallel Process, Potomac Programs, Solutions Parenting Support, and Wonder.  

Prior to the expansion of the advertising section of the website, professionals listed included Education Consultants, Interventionists, Therapeutic Consultants, College Consultants, and Teen Transport Companies.  If you would like to learn about how to advertise as an expert, please contact Sam Rotondo (sr@allkindsoftherapy.com).  The full press release is located on PR Web.

About All Kinds of Therapy
Launched in 2015, allkindsoftherapy.com is a web-based platform that focuses on interventions, assessment and varying types of treatment to transition programming for ages 30 and under. Treatment and Transitional programs, Wilderness Therapy programs advertisers must answer 40+ questions, revealing facts about their treatment model, clinicians' training, licensing, etc and offer a level of transparency, unlike any other online treatment directory. The platform provides users with a place to research the best options for the individual presentation, to compare treatment options side-by-side, find an Expert clinician, parent coach, teletherapy, teleassessment, therapeutic consultant, and to read the monthly curated blog to develop a greater understanding of a dynamic field.