Equinox Counseling & Wellness, located in Glendale, Colorado, incorporates the use of expert-led wilderness therapy intensives that are action and adventure-oriented as a necessary complement to traditional therapies for clients. Equinox clients are youth, ages 10 to 17, and young adults, ages 18 to 28, with issues related to anxiety, depression, suicidality, and mood disorders often in combination with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADD/ADHD, and Executive Function Disorder. Equinox recognizes that the lasting results of wilderness therapy are much more likely to occur when youth remain connected with their families, schools, and social environments. Subsequently, Equinox wilderness experientials are intentional and purposefully shorter in length -- usually 2-5 days and are scheduled with a frequency that supports longer-term therapeutic goals. This clinically sophisticated treatment approach focuses on generalization, integration, and sustainability. It is a purposeful approach that focuses on generalizing new skills for coping and functioning. It allows youth and families to learn and integrate these skills into their interpersonal relationships and natural environments resulting in sustained growth and healing. When wilderness therapy interventions occur with these practices in mind, the lasting results of wilderness therapy are more sustainable. Wilderness Therapy is often a critical component in helping teens and young adults overcome complex emotional, behavioral, and psychological health challenges.
Wilderness Therapy intensives at Equinox may include peak ascents, white water rafting, fly-fishing, rock climbing, back-country skiing or mountain biking, and helps individuals gain valuable skills and insight they can utilize in the world around them. Said one 17-year-old client after hiking uphill to ski fresh powder on an Equinox wilderness intensive, “It’s worth working through the discomfort and pain to get to the sweet stuff.” In addition, Equinox uses the benefit of wilderness and adventure therapy for youth and young adults with executive function challenges. Action-based learning and challenging adventure experiences give clients the opportunity to practice concepts that complement what is being learned in individual or family therapy.
Equinox uses Wilderness Therapy as a supportive component versus the sole element of treatment. This intervention is recommended at very specific junctures in a client’s therapeutic plan. Weekend or multi-day programs are specifically developed for clients and their families as one part of a larger treatment plan. One that not only includes outdoor and adventure-based environments, but also milieu therapy, expressive arts, somatic work, and nutrition alongside family and individual counseling.
Prior to any intensive, the Equinox treatment team completes a pre-course process. This process matches the client’s therapeutic goals to an appropriate activity, the right staffing for the experience, choosing the specific activity site, and reviewing site-specific protocols. Equinox requires all treatment staff members be thoroughly trained, and all Equinox clinical staff hold a minimum of current first aid and CPR training. Lead field staff hold a minimum of current Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification and are present on all backcountry outings. Many also hold credentials from certifying organizations such as American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA), the Professional Climbing Guides Institute (PCGI), the Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT), and the American Avalanche Institute (AAI). While the Equinox staff to client ratio on wilderness outings is 1:4, recent scrutiny of the troubled-teen industry suggests programs fail to have staff that is fully aware of a child’s diagnosis and treatment plan, field staff who are not trained or credentialed for various outdoor adventure activities, and safety and risk concerns from parents who are placing their children in these programs.
Equinox Counseling and Wellness Center utilizes pre-and post-course processes to ensure a high level of excellence and risk management for client experiences. After each adventure or wilderness experience, the treatment team completes a post-course review and summary of how goals were met, the client’s experience, highlights of the trip, incidents, and what could be improved in the future — and most importantly, how the treatment team activates on specific strategies in their everyday work with youth to ensure optimal transition and practice of skills once back in their community and home setting. Tim Burke, Director of Experiential and Wilderness therapy Officer at Equinox, places the highest emphasis on physical and emotional safety and uses “client choice” at the foundation of every experience with his team. “As an adventurer, I know the inherent value of being in nature and the importance of clinically founded, and thoughtfully guided experiences to safely help clients develop new insights and practical tools for healthy living. Our field and clinical teams take safety very seriously. We don’t do anything with youth, that we wouldn’t do with our own children,” says Burke.
About Equinox Counseling & Wellness Center
Equinox Counseling & Wellness has taken the best components of residential treatment, wilderness therapy, and holistic milieu services—providing youth and families a safe, healing, compassionate treatment experience. Equinox utilizes these modalities to complement what is being learned in the client’s broader treatment plans. Our multi-disciplinary team of clinicians, evaluators, and parent coaches help youth, young adults, and families who are experiencing complex psychiatric, emotional, and behavioral health issues. These issues are often related to anxiety, depression, suicidality, and mood disorders in combination with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADD/ADHD, and Executive Function Disorder. For over 12 years, Equinox has been serving clients in the Denver metro and across the nation. Contact us at 303.861.1916 or visit us online at EquinoxCounseling.com.
May 2021 marks Next Step Recovery’s 15th year of providing substance use disorder treatment services for young men in Asheville, North Carolina, with hundreds of alumni living successfully in long-term recovery.
Next Step Recovery’s staying power can be attributed to the quality of its addiction treatment services and its highly trained clinical team, that includes psychologists, licensed clinical addiction specialists, professional counselors, masters-level social workers, and certified substance use counselors. This expertise and individualized support make Next Step Recovery much more than a place to land after discharge from treatment. The highly structured program provides a place where men in early recovery can learn critical recovery skills that will last a lifetime. By contrast, many of the sober living programs that have proliferated during the opioid epidemic provide little or no oversight and, consequently, little protection from relapse during the very vulnerable early recovery period.
“Addiction is a challenging disease to treat, and relapse is common without the right support,” explained Next Step Recovery’s founder and executive director Susan Stader, MS, LPC, LCAS, CCS. “We’ve been doing this work for a long time. We know that structure and accountability work. Many of us are in sustained recovery ourselves. That’s what keeps us going and growing over the past 15 years.”
Sober living communities are substance-free residential communities geared toward individuals in early recovery. Next Step Recovery goes beyond this minimum definition by combining sober housing with a robust array of individualized treatment services. At any given time, the program supports up to 23 young men from across the United States. Recovery support services include an intensive outpatient program with concentrated relapse prevention education five times per week, individual case management to support whole person wellness and goal setting, 24/7 onsite peer support, weekly individual and group counseling, 12-step program support, life skills training, wilderness adventure therapy, and job search and transportation assistance.
“What makes our program unique is our small size and our hands-on engaged approach,” shared John Ferris, Next Step Recovery’s admissions coordinator. “We focus on building trust and connections so that program participants know how to access extra support when they need it. No one gets left behind here.” That support includes onsite house managers, many in sustained recovery themselves, whose doors are open any time of day or night.
Next Step Recovery’s support doesn’t end when participants graduate from the program. Weekly alumni and parent support groups provide a touchstone and reminder that recovery is a lifelong journey. These weekly meetings are led by addictions professionals and provide opportunities for encouragement, resources, and ongoing fellowship. The fact that alumni stay in touch is a testament to the program’s impact. It is not uncommon for alumni to call years later to share they have gotten married, welcomed their first child, or landed their dream job.
Parents and family members stay in touch too. “Next Step Recovery has been a blessing for our son and our entire family. The living arrangements, the way the program is run, the requirements and accountability, the great staff, the attention given to the men – it all works,” one parent shared.
About Next Step Recovery, Inc. and NSR of Asheville:
Next Step Recovery is located in Asheville, North Carolina, and offers a fee-based intensive outpatient program (IOP) for young men in early recovery. Supported sober living housing is available through its affiliated nonprofit. Next Step Recovery’s IOP is built on a 12-step recovery framework and provides relapse prevention education, trauma resiliency training, mindfulness and self-regulation tools, stress management techniques, and dialectical behavioral therapy. The sober living program includes three updated and fully furnished homes located in Asheville. Residents are supported by onsite house managers, 12-step meetings, case managers, individual and group counseling, wilderness therapy, and transportation assistance for work, school, and shopping. Next Step Recovery is led by a team of addictions professionals who are certified by the NC Addictions Specialist Professional Practice Board, National Board for Certified Counselors, and LegitScript.
Pacific Pathways is a young adult residential behavioral health care program, located in Petaluma, California, combining sophisticated therapeutics with a college-level educational component that resonates with the 18 to 24-year-old age group. The mission is to help young people experiencing anxiety, depression or other mental health challenges resolve these issues so they can build a life worth living
Pacific Pathways has combined decades of practice designing the approach to therapy that provides “real life“ application of evidence-based DBT therapy, through immersion in a fully integrated educational program that helps young men and women discover their gifts and passions connecting with peers, mentors, community organizations and the natural world. The sustainability-focused education helps young adults examine their lives through the lens of minimizing impact while maximizing ways to improve the quality of their lives socially, economically and environmentally.
Through a partnership with Prescott College, students actively examine how systems are interconnected, and so, are able to integrate and generalize their therapeutic work through real-world experiences. Students are engaged in understanding where and how their food is produced, how local businesses can be successful while minimizing their impact, and begin establishing connections with a wide variety of other organizations that model sustainability.
Pacific Pathways is much more than a “treatment experience“. Clinical Director Michael Beswick, LICSW, brings decades of experience to this endeavor. “We are one of the few DBT-based residential programs in the country for young adults. During the approximately four-month treatment experience, emerging adults are able to develop skills to handle situations that use to seem overwhelming, while simultaneously engaging in a learning experience that fosters academic confidence and provides them with a life direction. This time frame is short enough and long enough to disrupt maladaptive patterns and create new ways of living“.
Additionally, Pacific Pathways integrates a strong family component, with weekly family therapy and regular three-day intensive workshops that take place at a healing retreat center. These workshops have garnered a national reputation for repairing families that have lost hope.
Students will discover and relinquish limiting beliefs, find meaning and purpose in their lives and be able to embark on a path of self-fulfillment created by recognizing that they can make a difference in the world.
To take a virtual tour of Pacific Pathways please click this link.
About Pacific Pathways
Pacific Pathways, located in beautiful Petaluma, California, is a behavioral healthcare residential treatment experience for young men and women ages 18 to 24. The focus is on young adults with a primary mental health diagnosis, assisting them in recovering from mental and emotional health challenges. Insurance is accepted for the clinical services and the billing and authorization is handled by our team. Please check out our website, pacificpathways.us for further information. Contact Michael Beswick, Clinical Director for admissions.
Eva Carlston is pleased to announce that Kristin Hilman, a long-standing faculty member, has joined the leadership team as the Academic Director. Kristin will be taking over for Corrie Norman, who is transitioning to the role of Outreach & Development Director.
Kristin has always been an advocate for education, knowing early on that she wanted to influence young minds as a teacher. Immediately after graduating from college with a B.S. in History and a fresh teaching license, Kristin started teaching high school students. She has been with Eva Carlston for 8 years, leading classes in history, current events, and government to a countless number of ECA students. Kristin has a Master's degree in Education and 22 years of experience as a teacher, advisor, and counselor in various school and treatment settings. Eva Carlston is thrilled to welcome her expertise and personal experiences to the leadership team and Kristin is excited to work with the students in a different way and get to know Eva Carlston parents in this new role.
As the Outreach & Development Director, Corrie will be overseeing the public outreach and business operations for Eva Carlston, in addition to applying her years of experience into the continued development of Eva's already effective program. Corrie has a Master's in Public Administration and over 22 years of experience working with children and families at risk.
About Eva Carlston Academy
Eva Carlston Academy (UT) is a licensed residential treatment center located near the urban center of Salt Lake City. The program serves young women between the ages of 12 and 18 in a clinically intense, family-style program which focuses upon creating opportunities for students to explore the arts while working toward continued growth and healing.
The majority of clients at Applewood Transitions for Young Women and Journey Transitions for Young Men are currently employed at the two long standing resorts located in the higher ranges of the Allegheny Mountains - Canaan Valley Resort and Timberline Mountain. Winter recreation is a huge attraction in Canaan Valley which has become a go-to destination for countless tourists to enjoy, as some would say, a mountain paradise. The resorts are located ten minutes apart and provide some of the best ski conditions on the east coast.
Clients at Q&A Associates have endless winter activities right in their back yards on a regular basis. Skiing, snowboarding, tubing, ice skating, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and more - all can be done right in the heart of Canaan Valley. Snow accumulation has been greater this winter than in past years, making it even more enticing to enjoy the great outdoors. "It is remarkable to see clients who come from areas without a winter season step into a Canaan Valley winter and all it has to offer," said Marci Jones, Student Services Coordinator/Life Coach. Cultivating a connection to nature and outdoor activities is a big part of Q&A programming. "We believe that exposing our clients to a variety of outdoor activities helps them cultivate healthier ways to make use of their down time," said Keith Bishop, COO.
While the clients at Q&A Associates are able to partake in all the wondrous activities, COVID-19 precautions remain in effect to keep everyone healthy during the pandemic. Both resorts have put COVID precaution measures in place (these can be referenced on their websites). "Fortunately, with these outdoor activities, our clients are able to naturally social distance along with wearing masks at all times to remain cautious," continued Bishop. In many ways, the clients of Q&A Associates have been able to experience some normalcy in recent weeks due to significantly lower numbers of COVID cases. "Everyone is looking forward to more community immersion, but we have been blessed to have a bit more freedom than other areas of the country," said Angie Shockley, Founder and CEO. "Our staff has done an amazing job of keeping clients engaged and on track during a very difficult year;" she continued, "I couldn't be more proud or grateful."
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.
Denver, Colorado: Wonder – A Confident Living Company today announced a new program called 'Wonderness.' 'Wonderness' is a 3-month program geared to provide immersive support to kids and parents to create a path for students to come home after wilderness therapy programs. This program will continue the work done in wilderness and interweave wilderness practices at home with both kids and parents. The goal of this program is to help families have the support they need to achieve long-term results through integration into everyday life.
“When kids come home directly after wilderness (therapy), we want the work to continue. So we created an exciting new program that combines key wilderness components into our work so parents and families can experience it together” says Dave Herz M.S.Ed., Founder at Wonder.
Key Tenets of Wonderness Wilderness Therapy Aftercare:
- Mastering healthy relational skills takes practice in the real world. Being with clients day to day allows for the natural trial, error, and repair of communication which creates a safe space for youth and parents to learn together.
- Gaining mastery in different real-world environments. Using experiential support activates clients to integrate the concepts of therapy into concrete skill sets.
- Interweaving local coaches and community for long-term, ongoing therapeutic integration and skill mastery. Using local clinical teams creates a home base of support for clients and families resulting in an end to clinical work and the beginning of healthier living.
- Finding the sense of play and adventure in everyday life. Boots on the ground support extends the sense of adventure in the wilderness to everyday life.
Wonderness Wilderness Therapy Aftercare is available immediately, Denver & Boulder, CO, Chicago, IL, Atlanta, GA, San Francisco Bay Area, CA, Orange County, CA, New York City, and Dallas, TX. For more information visit http://www.TeamWonder.org
About Wonder
Wonder, A Confident Living Company, is a national counseling organization dedicated to providing modern therapeutic support to distressed families, teens, and young adults. Wonder provides a continuum of care from early intervention to helping support transition home from an inpatient level of care.
Elevations RTC is thrilled to welcome Leigh Uhlenkott, MS, LPCS, NCC, LCMHC to the clinical team. Leigh is passionate about working with adolescents with multiple diagnoses. During her 20 years of experience, Leigh has worked as a Clinical Director at a therapeutic boarding school for boys specializing in learning disabilities and 14 years dedicated to wilderness therapy working in 3 wilderness therapy programs and models; Expedition/Nomadic model, Transition Model, and Adventure based programming model.
Leigh is trained and certified in Gender Therapy, certified in Rapid Trauma Resolution and also specializes in Transgender, gender fluid and gender non-conforming students. Other specialties include Social Communication Disorder, Learning and Executive Functioning Issues, Substance Dependence, Mood Disorders, Self-Esteem Issues, Adoption, School Refusal, Anger Management, ADHD, and Oppositional Defiance Disorder.
Leigh’s eclectic approach fosters her ability to be creative with everyone she works with, finding the best possible interventions to meet their needs. She enjoys helping families find their common ground so that they can move forward through crises.
"Leigh brings decades of experience working with youth, deep experience working with families and referral sources as well as an exceptionally positive energy to our team". -Jordan Killpack, Clinical Director
Elevations provides an intensive, highly professional, therapeutic program utilizing an interdisciplinary approach for adolescents of all genders ages 13-18. The Elevations program includes college preparatory academics, therapeutic recreation activities, and individual, family and group psychotherapy as well as on-site medical and psychiatric services available to all students. Elevations offers guidance, support and relief to students struggling with issues such as trauma, depression, anxiety, mood disorders, behavioral problems, and substance use. Elevations RTC is located just north of Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information, please call 1-801-773-0200 or visit Elevations RTC
OREM, UT March 2021 - Telos is excited to announce that Kylee Shields, LCSW has accepted the position of Life Skills Director. This pivotal role is located on the Geneva Campus for students 17.5 years of age and older. Students in this age group regularly need support moving toward independent living. The Life Skills team is always ready to assist. Life Skills mentors guide students in life choices, grooming, interactions, roommate etiquette and a host of other skills. Having students learn these skills, as early as possible, is key to long term success.
“What an incredible influence Kylee has been the 4 years while at Telos. She has been with us since opening Geneva Campus and I have full confidence in Kylee and believe she is ideally suited for this key role at Telos. I believe our students are the ultimate winners because of Kylee and the Life Skills team.” remarked Tony Mosier, COO
To provide a strong learning foundation, Life Skills mentors use an Executive Function platform. This includes teaching Time Management, Organization, Initiation and Completion, Flexibility and Shifting and among others.
Students who master these and other skills of independent living find themselves enjoying a new level of empowerment for the many bumps associated with independent living.
#thetelosway #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness
About Telos
Telos is located at the base of the Wasatch Mountains in beautiful Orem, Utah. Available are two campuses specifically designed for teens and co-ed young adults dealing with depression, anxiety, social problems and learning differences. Caring staff use proven clinical therapies coupled with the power of healing relationships to promote deep, lasting change. The aim is to help students live principle-based lives characterized by insightful choices that promote clarity, healing, and direction. Telos is a unique, clinically-sophisticated, relationship-based treatment center for teens and young adults ages 13-26. For more information: info@telos.org or online at telos.org.
BOULDER, Colo. (March 4, 2021) – Digital Media Treatment and Education Center (dTEC®), the Boulder, Colo.-based outpatient therapy program treating digital media overuse and addiction, announces the launch of a first-of-its-kind, unique clinical training program for practitioners treating media addiction. The training program, called the Introduction to Digital Media Overuse; Assessment, Intervention, Treatment, is now open for registration and will be a one-day training offered on three dates: April 16, July 16, and October 15, 2021.
"The statistics are clear. The number of individuals struggling with digital media overuse and addiction has exponentially increased over the past several years,” says Tracy Markle, MA, LPC, founder of dTEC. “Our mission at dTEC is to treat and support those struggling with digital media overuse and to educate and train professionals working with these vulnerable populations. With this new training program, we want to share the foundational knowledge needed to recognize digital media overuse and foster progress in this important area of our work.”
dTEC, founded in 2015, is a community-based psychotherapy practice providing intervention, assessment, and treatment for those affected by digital media overuse (DMO) and internet addiction utilizing the FITS-IA® approach. The FITS-IA® approach, also founded by Markle, is a collaborative treatment program for Internet addiction and the common co-occurring diagnoses that prioritizes family engagement, integrated treatment, and social connections to support recovery and long-term change for the client. dTEC Co-Director Dr. Brett Kennedy joined the practice in 2016. Seen as thought leaders in developing best practices for the treatment of digital media overuse issues, Markle and Kennedy are now bringing their combined expertise to prepare professionals for treating DMO and help those in need.
The NBCC, CE-Approved one-day training is open to mental health counselors, addiction specialists, psychologists, occupational therapists, parent professionals, school counselors, and others in the field. For more information or to register for the program, please visit digitalmediatreatment.com/trainings/.
Please direct all inquiries to info@digitalmediatreatment.com.
About Digital Media Treatment and Education Center (dTEC®)
Founded in 2015 by Tracy Markle, MA, LPC, dTEC® is a community-based psychotherapy practice that provides intervention, assessment, and treatment for those affected by digital media overuse (DMO) and internet addiction, utilizing the FITS-IA® approach. Along with co-owner and co-director Dr. Brett Kennedy, dTEC® provides, education, consultation and training to mental health providers, educators, and the public.
For more information, please visit digitalmediatreatment.com.
Boulder Creek Academy is delighted to welcome Kathleen Hall, LCP, to the Clinical team. Kathleen is a fabulous addition to this solid group and brings with her an enthusiasm that complements the Boulder Creek Academy program. Kathleen has been a part of Boulder Creek Academy since October 2020. From Jeff Miller, BCA Dean of Students, "Kathleen initially joined the BCA team in the Student Life department as a student mentor. Her intention was to gain a better understanding of our program, the students we serve, and how best to provide opportunities for them to experience positive growth while here. As hard as it is to have her leave the student life department, I am happy for her to be achieving her professional goals in the clinical department. I look forward to seeing her continue to do what she does best, as she strives to serve the students and their families."
Kathleen holds a Master’s in Counselor Education from Adams State University and a B.S. in Social Psychology with an emphasis on abnormal psychology. Kathleen is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Clinical Director Lynn Marshall, Ph.D., shares, “We are super excited to have Kathleen expand her role within BCA; she is an outstanding addition to our clinical department and we look forward to her building her connections with educational consultants and families”.
Kathleen recently moved with her family from the neighboring state of Montana to beautiful Northern Idaho. Kathleen comes with a diverse background, having served in the military and worked for US Customs. Kathleen has worked with youth in foster homes and at-risk youth for a non-profit organization, prior to joining Boulder Creek.
Kathleen believes that relationships are a key component of therapy, and understands the unique situation of parents with teenagers. Kathleen has raised one teenager and has two younger children at home. Kathleen enjoys spending quality time with her family, whether that is camping, hiking, hanging around the fire pit, or being indoors reading stories, doing crafts, or digital scrapbooking.
About Boulder Creek Academy
At Boulder Creek Academy, students rediscover their academic and social confidence. The key to our success is that we reignite our students’ belief in themselves by utilizing time-tested and proven methods. Students begin to experience academic achievement, regain self-esteem, learn to embrace their uniqueness and become capable learners who are confident in themselves. Each day at Boulder Creek Academy is purposefully designed to maximize experiences that allow students to practice social skills, improve self-worth and develop a healthy identity, benefit from therapeutic learning and to have fun.
Boulder Creek Academy has been creating a therapeutic learning environment for high school students ages 14-18 with anxiety, depression, untapped academic potential, interpersonal relationship difficulties, limited executive function skills and overlooked strengths and talents for more than 25 years.
Trails Momentum, a wilderness therapy program for young adults, has added alternative exercise activities to their programming, as a result of student-led advocacy groups on campus. Recently, students worked together to come up with new activities that they want to incorporate into their life at base camp as part of Trails Momentum’s focus on empowering student voices and decision-making.
Together, students chose to add Just Dance as one of their exercise activities. Students have been enjoying playing Just Dance as a fun activity that is a workout, builds confidence, and encourages bonding as a group.
Students participate in a biweekly Advocacy meeting with staff, where they are able to voice their opinions on changes they want in the program. In this meeting, students propose ideas with supporting information on why and how they should be added to the program. Other examples of added activities include tie-dyeing shirts, community-wide lunches with all student groups, and student-designed and student-led group bonding experiences.
“Students advocated for more exercise options, including Just Dance,” said Director of Student Development Sarah Parlier, Ph.D. “Nowadays, most students say that their exercise time is a highlight of the day.”
This model is a great way to give power and choice to students resulting in better participation. Since students are shaping the way the program is and are involved in the process, they are invested in the activities and are able to create programming that is aligned with their various interests.
Trails Momentum’s programming presents opportunities for students to practice self-advocacy skills and build confidence. Self-advocacy is an important skill for young adults to learn and practice in order to transition into being the decision-maker in their own lives. To support these skills, each group of new students will shape the program to their needs and interests. Trails Momentum empowers all students to individualize the program to best support their goals.
Trails Momentum is an adventure-based outdoor program for young adults ages 18-25 who are struggling to launch themselves into adulthood. Students 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 skill development are seamlessly interwoven to maximize the transference of important life skills and address clinical and behavioral challenges.
Journey Home Young Adult, a transitional living program for young adult females ages 18-23, helps clients prepare for the next steps in their lives through academic and career planning. Clients come to the program after attending a previous residential treatment or wilderness therapy program. Building on the skills they have already learned in treatment, Journey Home Young Adult helps clients gain life skills to apply in their daily routines including work and school.
As part of life skills training, clients are encouraged to set both short and long-term goals for themselves. Many times, this includes college and career goals. For students who wish to go directly into career planning, Journey Home Young Adult can help them look at all of their options depending on what they would like to do. Education and Career Services Coordinator at Journey Home Young Adult, Bailee Gacioch, guides clients through completing a Greenwood Assessment, which generates potential academic or career paths for the individual. The Greenwood Assessment takes into consideration personality traits to identify what may be a good career path for the person and gives more information on job details like typical salary and demand. Clients may start out in entry-level jobs for a specific field they are interested in, and work with mentors at the program on identifying ways to move up in the company.
“We want to try to get them started on their goals whether that is a part-time job, or even just preparing for school or a job,” said Bailee. “Our goal is for our students to feel engaged and self-motivated as we set these goals in the program.”
Journey Home Young Adult provides ongoing support to clients in their academic, career, and day-to-day life goals. Clients grow their self-confidence, develop responsibility, and gain an overall sense of emotional maturity to set the foundation for success in their lives.
About Journey Home Young Adult
Journey Home Young Adult is a transition program for young women 18-23 years old. Our home-like setting provides a place for these young adults to develop independence while still receiving therapeutic support. Clients are transitioning from a previous therapeutic placement into young adulthood. Therapists help them with individual and family issues while clients attend school or work in the community. For more information, visit journeyhomeyoungadult.com or call (855) 918-0032.
Red Mountain Colorado, a residential treatment center for teens 13-17, recently completed additional staff training on support for LGBTQ+ youth. The training was presented by Red Mountain Colorado’s Clinical Director, Bennet Edgerly, Ph.D.
Transgender youth often face challenges in healthcare not experienced by their cisgender peers. LGBTQ+ individuals have elevated rates of suicide, depression, anxiety, and other health issues. As a result, it’s critical that residential treatment centers like RMCO are equipped to provide the best possible care for these students.
Red Mountain Colorado encourages staff to use inclusive terminology and create safe spaces for their students. Assuring students that they have allies at the program and advocating for LGBTQ+ youth is key to helping them overcome the challenges that brought them to treatment.
For some transgender students, part of their treatment plan could entail helping support students during their transition. The therapeutic team will make sure students have a supportive environment in which they can grow into happier, healthier lives. This also includes educating students on how to create safe spaces and support their peers.
“We want to try and include education for current and future students as well on how to be mindful for transgender students in the program,” said Dr. Edgerly. Clinicians will provide educational opportunities for all students on how to be inclusive and supportive of their transgender peers.
Red Mountain Colorado staff will continue to maintain a holistic healing environment for all students. The Clinical Leadership team attended February’s GEMS (Gender Education and DeMystification Symposium) Conference in an effort to stay up to date with the most current clinical information available. Staff training on best practices for creating positive healthcare experiences for LGBTQ+ teens will be ongoing to provide students with continued support.
Red Mountain Colorado, located just north of Denver, provides an ideal location for adolescents who would benefit from a mindfulness-based residential treatment program. Red Mountain helps teens with co-occurring disorders heal by working with the mind, body and spirit using various forms of meditation, mindfulness, yoga, martial arts, life skills education, and multi-modal therapies, including CBT, DBT, EMDR and Brainspotting.
Foothills at Red Oak Recovery is excited to announce their new Alumni Family Support Group. Created to support Foothills’ alumni parents and family members, this virtual monthly support group provides ongoing encouragement and community during the important and potentially delicate months following the transition from primary care.
The journey of recovery continues on after graduating from Foothills at Red Oak Recovery, and it is important to find support groups to ensure sustainable recovery and healing, and that healthy relationship development remain a priority. Staying committed and connected with others who have had similar experiences can be a wonderful way to share one's journey and be of help to others.
“Providing alumni families the opportunity to connect and process their shared experience can be powerful. During the struggles that lead a young man to treatment at Foothills, families can feel isolated and alone,” says Kurt Arsenault, LCSW, Executive Director of Foothills. “Often the fear, grief, and guilt of needing to seek treatment for their child outside of their homes leave them disconnected from extended family and friends. By connecting through the Alumni Family Group, families learn that they are not alone. The process of discussing their experiences with other families who have had similar struggles provides crucial support and aides in their continued healing.” Kurt Arsenault, LCSW, leads these monthly support groups.
Feedback from parents and caretakers will help inform future topics, in order to best support attendees’ needs. Some future topics include:
- Self Care for Parents
- Boundary Setting
- Impacts of Social Media
- Healthy Coping Skills
- Effective Communication Strategies
- Addressing Setbacks
- Rebuilding Trust and Connection
If you are a family member of an alumni of Foothills, please join us for our next support group on March 25th at 6:30 pm EST. Please reach out to Ashley Egeland, Alumni Program Manager for the link to join. You can email Ashley at: ashelye@redoakrecovery.com.
Red Oak Recovery® programs are located throughout Western North Carolina and include clinically-driven and gender separate trauma focused mental health and substance abuse treatment for young adult men (www.redoakrecovery.com), young adult women (www.thewillowsatredoak.com), and adolescent boys (www.foothillsatredoak.com). Learn more by reaching out to: 866.457.7590.
[MAYER, AZ] — Spring Ridge Academy uses multiple types of COVID-19 testing to ensure high-quality therapeutic programming, allowing students to spend time with family in the local area and at home. Students interact within a therapeutic milieu. Parents can shadow their students on campus and Spring Ridge can hold in-person family workshops.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, experts have recommended comprehensive testing to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Spring Ridge developed a close relationship with a local provider early last year. This relationship has been vital in testing and contributed to how it has evolved over the last year. Because timeliness and accuracy are necessary to make decisions about student and staff safety, through this partnership, Spring Ridge can get PCR test results in hours instead of days. Antigen tests, which can be administered on campus and have results in 10 minutes, provide information quickly.
Area and home visits are an essential part of the therapeutic work at Spring Ridge. Visits provide an opportunity for families to reconnect and use the skills they have been building in therapy. Then, the families can process the issues that arise during the visits to ensure success when students transition back home. Spring Ridge uses a combination of antigen tests and PCR tests as a safety precaution.
When students return to campus, Spring Ridge staff gives them an antigen test before allowing them to interact with other students. For five days, students live in small milieus and on the 5th day receive a more sensitive PCR test. Once those tests come back, Spring Ridge can make decisions about bringing the community back together as a whole.
Parents can visit campus and attend family workshops with either a PCR test or antigen test administered within the 48 hours before their visit. The Spring Ridge staff working with the families in these workshops are also tested. Many staff members have received the vaccine.
Although the testing process far from normal, it allows Spring Ridge to bring normalcy and safety back into programming. They can focus on the critical work of healing.
About Spring Ridge Academy
Spring Ridge Academy, located 1.5 hours north of Phoenix, Arizona, serves young women ages 13-17. Founded in 1997 as a female and family-owned Residential Treatment Center. It is licensed by the State of Arizona. The academic program/school is accredited by AdvancED. Spring Ridge has created a relationship-based setting that allows the students’ emotional, relational, spiritual, intellectual, and physical growth.
Evoke Therapy Programs is pleased to announce the hiring of Jordan Kling, MSW, CSW, as the newest therapist for adolescent girls at its Santa Clara, Utah location.
Kling is no stranger to Evoke, having started in wilderness therapy as a field staffer at its Bend, Oregon location. So drawn was she to the work and transformational change she saw in clients and families in the program, she resolved to get a master’s degree in social work so she could come back to the wilderness as a therapist. Kling earned her MSW from Portland State University, and has spent a total of six years working in residential, community, and wilderness settings.
Kling works well with strong-willed girls who “have become strategic in getting their needs met,” as she says. This can show up as manipulation, impulsivity, defiance with underlying depression, and/or anxiety, among other manifestations. With past experience as a family therapist, Kling believes that her work with her clients can be exactly the change agent needed to begin a healing process for the entire family. In her wilderness work she uses mindfulness to help her clients learn to cope with their emotional challenges in a sustainably healthy way. She also views the wilderness as her co-therapist; it helps to push young people through emotional blocks and equip them with self-sufficiency and also greater self-worth.
“We sought out Jordan due to her strong interpersonal skills and dynamic therapeutic approach,” says Matt Hoag, clinical director and co-owner of Evoke. “Her mindfulness-based practice supports young people well as they navigate a variety of presenting issues. We appreciated her prior work as a field guide at Evoke Cascades and believe that it provides a powerful base of experience for her current work at Evoke Entrada.”
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.
Pure Life Adventure, a young adult adventure therapy program located in Costa Rica, is pleased to officially announce the ability to offer up to 18 transferable general education credits within their current program structure. Their professional certification courses and outdoor activities along with their life skills curriculum will be able to convert to college credits throughout the entire stay in the program.
“We are excited to be able to offer a robust, value add to the young adult experience at Pure Life. Young people joining our program can further their education while getting the help they need to thrive in their personal and academic lives after our program,” said Andrew Taylor, Executive Director.
Raelyn Viti, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Outdoor Education, at New England College, located in Henniker, New Hampshire, will be the Pure Life Academic Director. Viti will meet virtually with the students each week. Program Director Allan Capp says, “Students will have the option to opt into the credits they want to acquire at a rate they feel comfortable with, allowing them the ability to focus on their mental health first.”
Students will be asked to create reflections based on their activities for the week. Raelyn Viti says, “We’re all about finding options for our students that work. If someone has a hard time with writing a reflection they will have the option of doing it orally or even using nature, such as rocks and trees, to communicate their takeaways from an itinerary.”
About Pure Life Adventure
Pure Life Adventure is located in the Central Pacific region of beautiful Costa Rica. Relying on decades of experience in the Costa Rican outdoor industry, the bicultural team provides a therapeutically sophisticated and holistic approach to helping young adults with depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, lack of motivation, executive function deficits, trauma, and substance abuse. The students are individuals with very real challenges looking for lasting change. Pure Life utilizes traditional individual and group therapy in combination with outdoor experiential learning and adventure. The Pure Life integrated and dynamic approach includes an emphasis on fitness, mindfulness, life skills, and cultural immersion.
Evoke Therapy Programs recently began an all-new Coaching program designed to support families and individuals through life challenges, whether they are Evoke Wilderness program clients or not. Evoke Coaching will provide guidance during life’s critical challenges including parenting issues, reintegration from wilderness or other treatment settings to home, mental health or addiction issues, communication training, co-dependency, and more.
Piloted by Dr. Brad Reedy, executive clinical director and owner of Evoke Therapy Programs, and Travis Slagle, clinical director of Evoke Therapy Intensives, the program features a range of experienced, compassionate therapists who are attachment-based and can be ultra-flexible with clients’ needs and schedules. Unlike traditional wrap-around coaching and mentoring programs, which require contracts and long commitments, Evoke Coaching sessions are billed hourly on a week-to-week basis, allowing clients to dial up and back on support as it is needed. Evoke’s therapists will also work with other consulting professionals, including Educational Consultants, in a client’s life to make sure that all care and coaching is complimentary between the entire team.
Upon registering, clients have access to family, parent, or individual coaching; phone or video sessions as scheduling allows; quick (5-10 minute) check-ins outside of appointment times; access to live, twice-weekly webinars, and free attendance at Evoke regional support groups.
“Our Coaching program was developed to meet Evoke Therapy Programs’ goal of providing comprehensive family support,” says Sara Carroll, program director for Evoke Coaching. “It's important to us that we assist the whole family. Any people entering Evoke Coaching can expect a collaborative, solution-focused partnership with a professional who is highly skilled and experienced with this type of work.”
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.
Joanna Lilley, MA, NCC, of Lilley Consulting, a solo practitioner and expert working with Generation Z and their families, provides countless free resources. As a highly specialized therapeutic consultant and gap year expert, she spent the 2020 lockdown creating and expanding varying types of content including a Mental Health Resource Guide for Parents of College Students, a Psychiatric Advanced Directive Guide for Parents of College Students, and podcasts, articles, and blogs.
In 2020, Joanna nearly doubled her publications and content for the web in all forms, utilizing the lockdown to provide for families and young adults who were struggling mentally. To date, Joanna has written 153 articles covering a multitude of topics related to the struggles of current college-aged young people. There are 69 blog posts on her website, she has been the guest on 14 podcasts, and has recorded 7 webinars that can all be found on the Lilley Consulting Website. On top of the growing numbers of releases of her podcast, 'Success is Subjective' available on all podcast platforms. It is currently at Episode 52. “My goal is not to have every family hire me. In fact, I’d rather parents stumble upon some of my materials and find what they were looking for. Education alone can sometimes be the catalyst for change,” said Joanna.
As the only consultant in the United States who focuses exclusively on college-aged students, she realized as an administrator in high education, the needs of Generation Z were not being met. "Although my job in higher education was technically to 'retain' students, often having an existential conversation with a student about why they were in college if they were so unhappy, I realized I could be more creative as a consultant, to assist students who were struggling with substance abuse, homesickness, executive functioning, grief, trauma, perfectionism, or psychosis than in an administrative position.”Realizing that she wanted to be the professional waiting off-campus to immediately guide young adults and empower them to connect with the resources needed has started this desire to generate conversations and dialogues.
All of the content that is contained on the website is to assist families and young adults with finding what they need, assessing needs, and supporting their adjustment into young adulthood which has only become more confusing since the pandemic began one year ago.
About Lilley Consulting
Since 2016, Lilley Consulting has been helping families and young adults find treatment options during a time of transition or crisis. Joanna dedicates herself to working solely with emerging adults who unravel before going to college, when they land on a college campus, or right after college graduation. Young Adulthood can be messy, but it doesn’t have to be if you find the best treatment resources at the time that you need them.
Legacy Outdoor Adventures and Juniper Canyon Recovery Center for Women are excited to announce another #RXOffTheCouch Challenge is in the works. Last Summer, the programs hosted a virtual #RXOffTheCouch Summer Challenge, as part of their virtual CityScape Adventure Series. Coming this June, the 2021 #RXOffTheCouch will be another opportunity for folks to celebrate getting outside and active.
The challenge this year will be more formalized: participants will be asked to register prior to June 1st, 2021, and throughout the entire month they will be able to share with others their daily activities - from hiking to biking to surfing or walking the dog- via social media groups, Zoom “check-ins” and other support networks. There will be weekly, virtual events such as yoga classes, live-streamed adventures from around the country, and a speaker series highlighting non-profit organizations working to diversify the outdoors.
The mission of the Cityscape Adventure Series is to bring together the public, mental health, and addiction treatment programs, and professionals from around the world to experience first-hand the power of Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare, by which they mean staying connected to nature, community, and adventure.
Stay tuned for more information about how to register for the upcoming challenge. For more information, contact Derek Daley or Lily Wilkinson directly.
About Juniper Canyon Recovery Center for Women and brother program Legacy Outdoor Adventures:
Juniper Canyon Recovery Center for Women and brother program Legacy Outdoor Adventures are located in Loa, UT, and made up of two, gender-specific programs. Legacy Outdoor Adventures for Men is an adventure therapy program for young men ages 18 and up. Juniper Canyon Recovery Center for Women is the premier wilderness recovery program for young adult women 18 and up. Both Legacy programs are licensed as Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Programs. Additionally, Legacy programs are licensed by the state of Utah as Residential Treatment Centers. They are Joint Commission Accredited and treat addiction, trauma, depression, anxiety, and dual diagnosis clients.
BOULDER, COLO. [March 8, 2021] – Choice House, a residential and transitional program for men struggling with substance use, co-occurring mental health, and trauma, has added capacity at both its residential and transitional programs, in addition to key staff at both.
After purchasing their Residential Campus last year, Choice House began an immediate renovation at their North Boulder Residential Campus 'the Lookout.' This renovation is not only aesthetically beneficial to the program but expands its ability to help men and provide effective and unique treatment experiences. Several months ago, Choice added another house to their transitional program. Choice has added an additional primary therapist at the RTC level of care in order to keep caseloads small, and a Sober Living Program Manager position to aftercare in order to further fortify the support staff at their transitional program.
“Growth is exciting, and we are happy about it,” said Jordan Hamilton, Executive Director and co-owner of Choice House, “but the commitment to excellence and the pursuit of the best care possible for our men is the true heart of this expansion.”
Choice House strives to make addiction treatment as accessible as possible, integrating the ability to work with insurance carriers for its 90-day residential treatment and intensive outpatient programs, which can significantly reduce treatment cost while helping to ensure the comprehensive support needed to achieve lasting sobriety. Men with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders may choose from several treatment options, including a 90-day residential treatment program, intensive outpatient program, and a structured sober living community.
About Choice House
Colorado-based Choice House is Boulder County’s premier provider of 90-day residential treatment, long-term structured sober living, and intensive outpatient services (IOP), all paired with world-class outdoor adventure and experiential work. The treatment center helps support those on their road to lasting recovery with a strong focus on beautiful Colorado outdoors. Learn more at choicehousecolorado.com.
[MAYER, AZ, MARCH 1] — Spring Ridge Academy welcomed Beth Ragland as the new Admissions Director at the beginning of January. Beth brings over 25 years of experience in the behavioral health field to her role at Spring Ridge.
Beth filled the role after Kate Deily transitioned from Spring Ridge to take a position as an educational consultant. “I am thrilled to join the team at Spring Ridge Academy. Having known and worked with a number of the staff over the years, I have always had great respect for the philosophy and work ethic that everyone here embodies. It is a privilege to continue my involvement with the therapeutic community in my role as admissions director at SRA,” said Ragland. Beth is available for admissions inquiries at 928-899-5839 or bragland@springridgeacademy.com.
Her experience in start-ups, working with short, intermediate, and long-term residential programs, therapeutic boarding schools, and day treatment/schools make her an asset to Spring Ridge and her role. “We are so excited to welcome Beth Ragland to the Spring Ridge Academy family. Prior to joining Spring Ridge, Beth has been a valued and esteemed colleague with many years of experience. Beth’s history of work in therapeutic programming brings a breadth of knowledge, enhancing Spring Ridge Academy’s service delivery and continued evolution,” said Suzie Courtney, Executive Director.
She has worked on various community projects, including the Junior League, the Gothic Guild (supporting the arts), Angels for Children, and numerous others in addition to serving on the Board of Directors for Partnership for a Drug-Free Community, the advisory board, and fundraising committee for Saving Teens, and the membership committee for National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP).
About Spring Ridge Academy
Spring Ridge Academy, located 1.5 hours outside Phoenix, Arizona, serves young women ages 13-17. Founded in 1997 as a female and family-owned Residential Treatment Center. It is licensed by the State of Arizona. The academic program/school is accredited by Cognia. Utilizing evidence-based clinical modalities with a traditional rigorous college-prep curriculum, including fine and expressive arts and team sports, Spring Ridge has created a relationship-based setting that allows the students’ emotional, relational, spiritual, intellectual, and physical to grow.
This month at Trails Carolina, a wilderness therapy program for pre-teens and adolescents, staff and students are celebrating the graduation of six horses from their equine program. All of the horses at Trails are rescues, learning to trust people again in order to eventually move on to their forever home. In March, six of those horses will graduate from the Trails program and move to other farms and ranches across the country.
Equine programming provides a supportive environment for students to model their human relationships with horses. Students build their relationship skills, learn to self-regulate, and practice non-verbal communication through their interactions with the horses.
When entering the program, the horses are in a parallel process with the students. Many students come to Trails with challenges that make it difficult to open up and feel comfortable in their relationships. Similarly, the rescue horses may need time to build trust. By working together, the students learn the value of trust and how to maintain a healthy relationship.
“We encourage our students to view their relationship with the horses as a reflection of themselves and what they bring to the relationships in their lives,” said Experiential Education Director Kyle Shepard, MS, LRT, CTRS. “Equine programming helps students develop tools to communicate more effectively and get their needs met in a healthy way.”
Horses are intelligent animals that emulate the emotions they feel from their handlers. Through their interactions with the horses, students can better understand how their own behaviors affect themselves and others Much like the horses, eventually, students will be ready to move to the next steps in their lives and will have gained the skills needed to thrive.
Students are excited to celebrate the graduation of their equine friends and look forward to building their relationships with the next generation of horses that join Trails’ equine program.
For more information about equine programming, please visit https://trailscarolina.com/adventure-therapy-programs/equine-programming or call 800-975-7303.
About Trails Carolina
Trails Carolina is a wilderness therapy for pre-teens and adolescents ages 10-17. The clinically sophisticated and time-tested program engages students through wilderness therapy, mindfulness and yoga, equine-assisted therapy, intentional transitions, and academic engagement. Recent outcome research demonstrates efficacy. Trails Carolina was created to help families reconnect and heal. For additional information about Trails Carolina, located just outside of Asheville, North Carolina, please call 800-975-7303.
Equinox RTC, a residential treatment center for adolescent males, adds Music Club to extracurricular activities available to students. The class is led by Zach Allen, Math Teacher at Equinox. Zach is licensed in K-12 Masters-level Math and Music Education. He has experience with music, orchestra, and string ensembles.
The Music Club meets weekly in the math room, which has a full complement of musical equipment though students can bring their own instruments if they prefer. Students are practicing drums, guitar, synth/keys, and bass. The group mainly consists of those with some prior music experience but is open to all students that are highly motivated.
Music provides several benefits for students dealing with emotional regulation and relationship-building challenges. Music can be the perfect arena for students to practice regulation and accessing their emotions. Additionally, students learn how to work as a group and build their relationships with their peers. The boys will continue to practice and hone their skills, building confidence in themselves along the way.
Mr. Allen noted: “Music is a great way to bring folks together, to explore diversity and break down barriers. In an RTC, thinking about the health and progress of the milieu, it creates a place for safe expression, unity of purpose, and joy. It’s important to practice these things, to experience a common ‘human-ness.’”
The current goal is to have the students perform at the next parent seminar to show their families all they have learned. The performance will include original compositions and covers. Students are excited to continue working on their music skills in the new club.
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, a health and fitness 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.
Valley View School is happy to announce that Amanda Wilson, MSW, has joined the clinical team as an in-house clinician. Amanda was raised in New England and received her undergraduate degree from Framingham State University. She went on to receive her MSW from Salem State.
Before joining Valley View's clinical team, Amanda worked as an ABA therapist for several years and as an inpatient therapist at the Hospital for Behavioral Medicine in Worcester, MA. Amanda's interests include clinical work with children and adolescents, group therapy, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Dr. Nowak, Executive Director, states, "Amanda understands the power of residential care for adolescents and has worked hard to integrate individual, family, and group therapy with the experiential aspect of our program. She has been a tremendous addition to the Valley View School clinical program."
About Valley View School
Valley View School, founded in 1970, is a private therapeutic boarding school serving boys in grades 6-12. Our non-profit 501(c)(3) school is located in the central Massachusetts town of North Brookfield. The Valley View Program consists of a comprehensive blend of Therapy, Academics, Athletics, Arts and Activities challenging our students emotionally, intellectually and physically. The boys learn self-control and anger management, social skills in order to create and cultivate relationships with peers and adults, while developing compassion, empathy and respect for others and to realize their true potential.
Foundation House, an extended care program for young men, located in Portland, Maine, is led by dedicated mental health professionals and accomplished alumni who facilitate an extensive, diverse experiential therapy program. In the face of the struggles of early recovery, coupled with the adversity and uncertainty of the past year, Foundation House has continued its progressive approach to offer unparalleled opportunities for meaningful connection. Programmatic and clinical enhancements were made to turn away from the destructive comfort of isolation, and towards the relationships, vulnerability, and experiences that foster lasting change.
First, Foundation House has expanded from its urban campus to include a 120-acre therapeutic ranch in Bethel, Maine, at the edge of the White Mountains. This property serves as a vital programmatic expansion to offer residents bi-weekly trips to engage in experiential therapies and outdoor adventures. The clinical team joins these trips to lead valuable group and individual therapy sessions and to participate in outdoor adventures and holistic activities with residents. While utilizing this retreat over the past year, residents have summited the Presidential Mountains, skied Sunday River, participated in mindfulness retreats, and played on the newly constructed paintball course. At the Foxhole Ranch, residents have the space to focus on their recovery and to bond over the shared experiences. The impact of this expansion is a tangible benefit to many residents' daily lives and long-term sobriety.
Additionally, new activities and events were created at Foundation House to deliver a more engaging resident experience. These new program offerings include the Foundation House Olympic Games, talent shows, trivia nights, Iron Man competitions, fishing charters, private movie showings, and personalized training at the new Foundation House gym. Many of these new additions came from residents' feedback and requests. Foundation House staff prioritized these new additions as a way of inspiring and supporting residents, all while exemplifying the fullness of life possible in recovery.
Foundation House plans to continue in this spirit of progress and connection in the year ahead to include a more diverse clinical curriculum, more structured support, and increased educational guidance. In facing the present challenges of early recovery, fostering meaningful connection and championing vulnerability will continue to be the Foxhole way.
About Foundation House
Since its inception in 2002, Foundation House has been a pioneer in substance abuse and mental health treatment. A program dedicated to its residents' long-term success, Foundation House consistently offers progressive clinical care in place of tired treatment methods, favoring an approach that empowers its residents and removes the impediments of institutionalization. Throughout the Foundation House program, residents are offered a dynamic selection of therapies and activities, including outdoor adventure, intramural sports leagues, educational tutoring, service missions, money management, acupuncture, surfing, reiki, yoga, cooking lessons, alumni engagement, painting classes, professional music studio time and international expeditions. For more information regarding Foundation House or the above press release, visit www.foundationhouse.com or call 207-791-2000.
Summit Achievement, a hybrid wilderness therapy program located in Stow, Maine, is happy to announce that Alicia Jacobs, M.S.W., has joined the clinical team in early February. Alicia achieved her Bachelor of Arts in philosophy at the University of New Hampshire (U.N.H.) in 2013 and her Masters of Social Work (M.S.W.) in 2018 at U.N.H. After earning her masters, Alicia began working in rural community mental health, where she was able to engage with a diverse population of adults and adolescents struggling with severe mental illness, substance use disorders, and socioeconomic limitations and challenges. Alicia recently served on the clinical team in a twelve-step-based, residential substance use treatment facility. Alicia has experience in crisis prevention and intervention, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and group psychotherapy. While in graduate school Alicia interned for an academic year in the counseling department at Brewster Academy, a traditional boarding school, located in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.
Summit Achievement is thrilled to have Alicia join the clinical team. Summit Achievement co-founder and outreach director Will White stated, “We are fortunate to have Alicia join the Summit clinical team. Her energy, professionalism, and commitment to young people are palpable. Our organization will benefit from her experience in working on the front lines by providing mental health treatment in rural communities with limited resources as well as her employment at a substance abuse residential treatment center.”
When Alicia’s not working she enjoys spending time with her young son, finding hidden swimming holes, and playing music.
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.
In late 2020, Red Mountain Sedona launched its Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) staff training initiative. As a mindfulness-based, trauma-informed therapeutic program for young adults, this training venture is a critical component of Red Mountain’s mission to provide staff at all levels with on-going, comprehensive training, and professional development experiences.
First Aid is a familiar concept that describes behaviors designed to provide immediate health assistance to someone in need. MHFA, a relatively newly developed protocol established in 2001, helps users to recognize and intervene in mental heath crisis situations.
Though the Red Mountain staff consists of licensed therapists, all with Master’s or Doctorate degrees, the staff is also comprised of a variety of other individuals with various educational and professional backgrounds. Because of this, Maureen White, one of Red Mountain’s co-founders, felt it was important for all staff to receive the MHFA training to ensure that every department can support crisis prevention efforts in a streamlined and consistent way.
The MFHA training is provided by an in-house facilitator, Taryn Quenzer, a primary therapist and executive functioning specialist. Taryn’s background is in education; however, years before she joined the Red Mountain team, she saw the way her students were impacted by trauma and mental health concerns and realized that many of them were from low-income families, who did not have access to counselors or therapists. Taryn went back to school to get a Master’s in Professional Counseling “to become a better teacher,” she said.
Being trained as an MHFA facilitator was important to Taryn. “For me, it was about empowerment,” she said. “[As a teacher,] I had a clear plan of what to do when I saw these signs.” Taryn sees the MHFA training as an asset for direct care staff and parents as well, as it can help non-clinically trained individuals to feel skillful when they see someone in distress.
To learn more about MFHA visit https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/. To learn more about Red Mountain Sedona contact Deara Ball at deara@redmountainsedona.com
About Red Mountain Sedona
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.
As of the first week of March, the majority of staff members and students at Foundations Asheville have received vaccinations for COVID-19. Staff and students were given the option to receive the immunization and those who chose to be vaccinated are amongst the 34,000 to date to have received vaccines in Asheville’s Buncombe County.
“Since March of last year, the wellbeing and safety of our students and staff have been our number one priority,” says Adam Ray, Director of Business Development and Programming at Foundations. “We feel incredibly fortunate to have had access to vaccines and are thankful for the healthcare workers in our area who have made it possible.”
Everyone at Foundations Asheville will continue to follow CDC guidelines, including the wearing of masks in public areas, to ensure the protection of the community.
“We have made significant efforts to find COVID-safe activities and environments for our students over the last year, which has been really helpful for morale,” says Ray. “Like most people, we are looking forward to an eventual return to normalcy. Having students and staff vaccinated allows us to expand our community-based programming and brings us one step closer to that goal.”
Foundations Asheville is a program for young adults of all genders ages 18-24 who are struggling to find the motivation to launch into adulthood. Many of our students struggle with anxiety, depression, social skills, and learning difficulties. This program is committed to helping young adults develop and sharpen the skills they need to be successful in the real world. There is a focus on teaching students how to enter the workforce, develop vocational trades, and functional living skills. Located in Asheville, North Carolina, Foundations Asheville gives young adults the opportunity to gain confidence, find their purpose, and learn useful skills that will help them navigate through the adult years. For more information about Foundations Asheville, please call (828) 604-6570.
Along Their Way, LLC offers support groups in person or through video chat, for adults, parents, and caregivers who are coping and learning about ADHD. The next group begins April 7th, 2021 from 6-7 pm MT for six sessions and is $350. Many participants learn more about solutions and strategies to help ignite task initiation and follow-through, decrease negative self-talk and increase social connections to demystify ADHD. Each week Jamie will dive into a different topic leaving plenty of time and space for discussion and sharing. Participants who join these groups will receive information and research on factors that affect executive function, including brain wiring, brain health, processing modalities, nutrition, environment, lifestyle, and stress. Discussions will cover time blindness, poor judgment, procrastination, perfectionism, distractibility, and impulsivity and much more.
Many participants either have a child who struggles with ADHD or is unsuccessful achieving personal goals or executive functioning skills. Another commonality is a recent diagnosis in the family. "I aim to offer a feeling of belonging and empowerment. Taking this step can be life-changing," said Jamie Blume, founder and CEO of Along Their Way, LLC. Jamie is a certified ADHD and life coach for teens, young adults, and their parents. She herself was a parent of a struggling teen with executive function challenges. Jamie goes on to explain, "Through this community, I strive to offer a safe place to get your questions answers, increase patience for yourself and your loved ones, get emotional support, and hopefully share some laughter."
Jamie Blume is also meeting with clients in person in and around Denver, Colorado, or video chats nationwide. Blume holds advanced degrees in nutrition, holistic wellness coaching, and public health. As Jamie explains, “I believe that every child is creative, resourceful, and capable of making choices that will lead to a gratifying life; some simply need more help figuring it out along their way."
If you have any questions and are interested in learning more please contact Jamie Blume at Along Their Way, LLC 303-506-5776 jamie@alongtheirway.com.
About Along the Way
Along Their Way support teenagers, young adults, and their families by focusing on the whole being–mind, body, spirit, and heart. Our goal is to provide guidance and insight as to your teenager maneuvers around the rocks, goes through rough waters, and finds areas of flow. Based in Denver, Colorado, we offer guidance through ADHD and life coaching, and group retreats nationwide.
Mountain Valley, a residential treatment center for anxiety and OCD in New Hampshire, is pleased to announce continued growth in the Clinical Team. The expert team at Mountain Valley, led by Clinical Director Dr. Tim Digiacomo, will be introducing Associate Directors to the staff structure in order to allow for quality supervision, in-service opportunities, and improved services for the residents.
Rachel Morin, LCMHC will be expanding her role as Supervising Clinician; Rachel has been on the Clinical Team at Mountain Valley since 2018. A graduate of the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Argosy University where she earned her Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling, Rachel is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and has completed the International OCD Foundation’s Pediatric Behavior Therapy Training Institute as well as the Advanced Behavior Therapy Training Institute. With training in trauma-informed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Rapid Resolution Therapy, she is well-skilled in individual, group, and family psychotherapy and is adept at assessing the strengths, challenges, and needs of her clients and their families.
Laurie Rosen, LICSW will be joining the Mountain Valley team as Associate Director this March. Laurie is joining the team after almost fifteen years at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center where she has served as a Crisis Clinician in the Emergency Department, a Behavioral Health Clinician, and a Pediatric Social Worker. For the past five years, along with her clinical work, Laurie has supervised psychiatric residents and has taught medical students at Dartmouth University. She is a graduate of Tufts University and earned her Master’s in Social Work from Simmons College in Boston. Before moving to New Hampshire, Laurie spent twelve years in San Fransisco working with teens involved in the juvenile justice system and then as a therapist on the Child and Adolescent Team at Kaiser Permanente. With over 25 years' experience in the mental health field, Laurie believes in an eclectic approach to treatment and incorporates different modalities based upon the needs of a client including CBT, ERP, DBT, ACT and Mindfulness-Based Therapy.
Carl Lovejoy, Executive Director of Mountain Valley, shares, “We are so excited to bring Rachel and Laurie’s expertise to the Clinical Team. Their ability to share their experience with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Exposure Response Prevention Therapy, and Mindfulness-Based Therapy will support the entire Mountain Valley Staff in continuing our mission to provide the highest quality, evidence-based treatment of anxiety, OCD and related disorders.”
About Mountain Valley Treatment Center
Mountain Valley Treatment Center is a nationally recognized evidence-based treatment center for adolescents suffering from anxiety and OCD. Located along the New Hampshire bank of the Connecticut River, Mountain Valley Treatment Center stands apart from like providers because of its specialization, unique setting, and comprehensive approach to care.
For over 18 years, the College Excel Summer Program has created the structure and experiences needed for students to develop college success in the classroom and beyond. Their long history of innovative services based on the latest research in the fields of neuroscience and human development has inspired them to develop a new approach this summer for their students who have spent the last year navigating the pandemic.
The Summer Program will have an intentional, strong focus on in-person experiential learning where students have the option of earning college credit or working to prepare for Fall Term without the pressure of taking courses. During the 12-week Summer Program, all students will build or brush up on the foundational skills needed for the in person classroom experience, while building vital connections with their peers and community, participating in College Excel's wellness curriculum and honing the life skills necessary to establish a higher level of self-reliance.
Experiences this summer include a focus on project-based learning, service learning, academic workshops, outdoor adventures, trips, and much more. Project-Based Learning (PBL) encourages students' learning by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects. The curriculum is designed to support and challenge the students to reestablish their confidence, digitally detox, get healthy, and reconnect with their sense of place in the world.
As a company whose expertise is in neuroscience and human development, College Excel understands the need for their students to learn how to manage and overcome the impact of the consistent anxiety and stress of being a young adult in a pandemic. Much of the methodology at College Excel is based on the work of Dr. Srinivasan Pillay, a Harvard psychiatrist and researcher. He finds there is power in creative rest and the unfocused mind. Dr. Pillay writes that “clarity and sharpness of mind increase when one learns to value and harness what comes from giving time for the brain to wander.” The Summer Program is designed for students to experience and appreciate this creative approach, with the goal of re-engaging their brains in a way that allows for a deeper sense of well-being and hope for their future.
The Summer term culminates with a September NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) rafting expedition. College Excel has partnered with NOLS to foster community, team building, and leadership development while participating in a most memorable adventure.
College Excel is currently enrolling students for the Summer Program. Please reach out to their Admissions Director Jon Baker. jon@collegeexcel.com 541-388-3043
About College Excel
Founded in 2003, College Excel is the nation’s leading residential college support program located in beautiful Bend, Oregon. At College Excel, post-secondary adults (18+) with diverse learning needs requiring extra support are provided the structure they need to move forward, both academically and personally. Using a proprietary, blended coaching model rooted in Harvard research-based neuro coaching and behavioral coaching techniques, College Excel students receive daily support from a team of credentialed and experienced Academic and Student Life Coaches while earning transferable college credits.
outBACK Therapeutic Expeditions (OTE) is thrilled to announce that Jessie Brunelle, MSW, LCSW is set to transition into the role of Primary Therapist on April 1, 2021. Jessie’s extensive experience with adolescents in the wilderness setting at outBACK, as well as her own personal experiences, has informed her belief in the power of nature as a therapeutic outlet. Her approach as a Primary Therapist is to address students’ needs for connection and belonging, help them navigate the concepts of acceptance and commitment, and empower them to discover their potential through a strengths-focused lens. She believes that the meaning human beings assign to their experiences influences their attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, and relationships.
Since receiving her Master of Social Work at Boise State University, Jessie has accrued an array of professional experience spanning from helping clients with substance abuse issues in a correctional facility to serving as a Primary Therapist at Cherry Gulch Therapeutic Boarding School, to ultimately working on the clinical team at OTE. Jessie has been a member of the outBACK team for years: her first position being an Associate Field Therapist. In this role, she lived and worked with outBACK students in the Utah desert. Since then, Jessie has stepped into the position of Clinical Services Specialist, where her priority has been to recruit, train, and support other Associate Field Therapists. Jessie’s blended background at outBACK and beyond makes her a knowledgeable, experienced, and compassionate fit for the role of Primary Therapist.
Jessie is set to launch the second adolescent group for students who have been assigned female at birth. Jessie works well with students struggling with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, individual/family trauma, poor social skills that lead to interpersonal difficulties, internalized emotional distress, and those having a hard time navigating and/or knowing how to express their needs and pain. Jessie works to help clients reconnect their mind and body, ultimately moving towards repairing the relationships her students have with themselves and their families in a curious, non-judgmental and supportive way.
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.