Aspen Education Group

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Aspen Education Group is an organization based in Cerritos, California, that operates a variety of therapeutic treatment programs for troubled adolescents, including wilderness therapy programs, residential treatment centers, therapeutic boarding schools, and weight loss programs.

Contents

[edit] History

Aspen Education Group, Inc. was formed in December 1997 as a spin-off from a company called College Health Enterprises. Since November 2006, Aspen Education Group has been a division of CRC Health Group, based in Cupertino, California.

[edit] Programs

Aspen's programs are listed in the tables below, organized by corporate division.[1]

[edit] Wilderness therapy programs

Most of Aspen's wilderness therapy programs are members of The National Association of Therapeutic Wilderness Camps (NATWC)[2].

Name Location Notes
Aspen Achievement Academy Southern Utah For adolescents 13-17. Minimum stay is 35 days.
Adirondack Leadership Expeditions near Saranac Lake, New York An wilderness program with an average stay of 45 days, using a dense forest environment for the hikes. [3]
Four Circles Recovery Center Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina Treatment program for older teens and young adults, ages 18-28, with addictions, substance abuse, and co-occurring mental health disorders. Combines traditional counseling setting with extensive wilderness experiences and a 12-step approach.
Lone Star Expeditions East Texas- Davy Crockett National Forest Wilderness intervention for youth ages 13-17 and their families. In 2004 a boy died following a hike.[4]
Outback Therapeutic Expeditions Utah For youth ages 13-17.
Passages to Recovery Southern Utah A 35- to 50-day intensive outdoor drug and alcohol treatment program for young adults ages 18 and over.
SageWalk, the Wilderness School Oregon For boys and girls ages 13-17 with emotional and behavioral problems. The minimum stay is 30 days, after which participants often transfer to a boarding school or other long-term facility. The average is 60 days or the "Family Reunification Plan".[5]
SUWS Adolescent Programs Southern Idaho Two programs are offered. One is for children aged 11-13 and the other is for children aged 14-17. A stay may last from four to nine weeks. In August 2006 the programs attracted attention after a child died from West Nile virus. [6]
SUWS of the Carolinas North Carolina Specializes in the assessment and treatment of students ages 13-17. Also conducts SUWS Seasons, a licensed, clinically focused wilderness treatment program for younger children, ages 11-13.
Talisman Camps and Programs North Carolina Offers summer camps for youth, ages 9-17, with attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities, Asperger's syndrome, and high-functioning autism, as well as a school-year program for teens with Asperger's syndrome.

[edit] Residential programs

Name Location Notes
Academy at Swift River Cummington, Massachusetts Coeducational college preparatory therapeutic high school curriculum for grades 9 through 12
The Aspen Institute for Behavioral Assessment Syracuse, Utah Conducts assessments needed to develop treatment plans for troubled adolescents.
Aspen Ranch Loa, Utah For adolescents aged 13-17; utilizes an equine therapy program. Length of stay ranges from 6 to 12 months.
Bromley Brook School Manchester Center, Vermont Boarding school for girls ages 14-18.
Cedars Academy Delaware Boarding school for boys and girls ages 11-18 specializing in Aspergers Syndrome and Non Verbal Learning Disorder
Copper Canyon Academy Rimrock, Arizona Boarding school for girls ages 13-17
Excel Academy Conroe, Texas Coeducational boarding school for grades 9 to 12
Island View Residential Treatment Center Syracuse, Utah[7]
Mount Bachelor Academy Prineville, Oregon Co-educational, enrolls ages 13-18
New Leaf Academy Bend, Oregon and Hendersonville, North Carolina Enrolls girls ages 10 to 14
NorthStar Center Bend, Oregon Young-adult transitional-living program for ages 17.5 to 24
Oakley School Oakley, Utah Co-educational therapeutic boarding high school
Pine Ridge Academy Draper, Utah Therapeutic boarding school and residential treatment center enrolling ages of 11 to 18
Stone Mountain School Black Mountain, North Carolina Therapeutic boarding school for boys aged 11-16, specializing in ADHD. Uses a stage system inspired by Joseph Campbell and his Hero's Journey.[8]
SunHawk Academy of Utah Utah Residential treatment program and boarding school for teens aged 13-17
Turn-About Ranch Escalante, Utah Short-term coeducational therapy program licensed as a residential treatment center and located on a working cattle ranch. Enrolls ages 12 to 18.
Youth Care of Utah Draper, Utah Residential treatment center with enrollment limited to 14 students ages 11-18. Provides mental health and chemical dependency diagnosis. The death of a male student in June 2007 led to a state investigation that could lead to a license suspension.[9]

[edit] Weight loss programs

Programs Location Notes
Academy of the Sierras Reedley, California and Brevard, North Carolina Year-round boarding schools for overweight or obese teens. The diet has been criticized by some lay observers,[10] but such a very-low-fat diet is supported by the World Health Organization [11] and the American Diabetes Association [12]
Wellspring New York Adirondack Mountains, NY Weight loss for girls and women ages 12-24.
Wellspring Adventure Camp North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains, NC Co-ed program for ages 11-16.
Wellspring Adventure Camp California Sierra Nevada Mountains, California Co-ed outdoor program for teens aged 13-18.
Wellspring Texas Hill Country, Texas Co-ed weight loss program for ages 12-17.
Wellspring Hawaii Big Island of Hawaii Weight loss program for boys and girls aged 13-18.
Wellspring Family Camp Upper Peninsula of Michigan For children aged 5-13 accompanied by parents for a two-week session.
Wellspring UK Lake District of Northern England For ages 12-17.

[edit] In news and popular culture

Several Aspen Educational Group programs have been featured in television series including Brat Camp, I know what you ate last summer, and Britain Biggest Boozers in Europe; and Dr. Phil in the United States. Aspen Achievement Academy was featured in the third season of the UK television series Brat Camp. SageWalk (which was not yet owned by Aspen Education Group at the time the series was aired) was featured in the American version of Brat Camp.[13]

An article in the UK Sunday Mirror described the experiences of a teenage girl from England who attended Aspen Achievement Academy.[14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Aspen Education Group, Inc. website as of March 14, 2007
  2. ^ The National Association of Therapeutic Wilderness Camps website
  3. ^ RANGERS RESCUE CLIENTS FROM TROUBLED TEEN PROGRAM, WNBZ local news, April 2007
  4. ^ Former Alvin High student dies at camp, The Facts - Brazoria County, September 23 2004
  5. ^ SageWalk Wilderness Programs
  6. ^ Rocco Magliozzi 12 Loved sports (The Boston Globe)
  7. ^ Teen facility targets suicide prevention, by Amy Joi Bryson, Deseret News, July 30 2004
  8. ^ Stone Mountain School website
  9. ^ Center for Troubled Youth Could Have Its License Suspended, 5ksl TV, ksl.com, August 31, 2007
  10. ^ See Jimmi Moore, Extreme Low-Fat Farm Abusing Obese Kids and Chicago Tribune, Losing weight in a boarding-school setting
  11. ^ Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc; Linda Van Horn, PhD, RD; ; for the Nutrition Committee,Very Low Fat Diets, American Heart Association, Inc. 1998
  12. ^ Dietary fat and diabetes, Diabetes Care 2002
  13. ^ These kids face harsh reality (The Boston Globe)
  14. ^ Saved by Brat Camp, Sunday Mirror (UK), February 19, 2006.

[edit] External links

[edit] Homepage

[edit] Homepages of wilderness therapy programs


[edit] Homepages of residential programs

[edit] Homepages of weight loss programs

[edit] Watch organizations