Uinta Academy is a licensed and accredited residential treatment center that uses relationship therapy and equine therapy to help teens with trouble with attachment issues, mood disorders, keeping relationships with other people, or healing from trauma. Our approach is based on research that shows that healthy relationships are the key to recovery from trauma.

Nestled in the beautiful Wellsville Mountains in northern Utah, our residents live in one of our four residential homes and work with their horses to help them get better. At Uinta, teens move into a home that best fits their needs and helps them grow as people.

Our staff is made up of licensed therapists, educators, and kind people who provide direct care. As trained professionals, we have made it our mission to help young people heal and learn skills that will make a positive difference in their lives.

Whom do we work for?

Families come to us when their child is dysfunctional or out of control because of a trauma, a mood disorder, an inability to internalize social skills, or problems in school, with friends, or in the family. We also deal with other issues that are tied into these structures.

Uinta's approach to therapy is based on the idea that supportive relationships with caregivers are the key to effective, long-term treatment. This is done in our program by setting up rooms like a family so that residents can learn how to get along with staff and other people in their home.

The East and West homes help kids ages 12 to 17 with clinical and caring relationship-based care. Young adults between 18 and 21 live in separate house that better fits their needs and goals. We also have a place where people can stay while they finish their treatment programs and work on becoming more independent and responsible.

The Teaching-Family Model is a therapeutic environment model that is used every day in all of our homes. This is one of the few residential treatment models approved by the American Psychological Association because they are based on evidence. It helps people learn new skills and improve their relationships, and it also helps them become more independent and aware.

How do we help?

We try to help our residents as a whole, complicated people, not just as a list of their problems. Cohesive treatment plans consider how family, friends, and school affect each other, as well as how hard it can be to grow up in the midst of it all.

Residents at Uinta get a lot of support and chances to grow through equine-assisted psychotherapy, a therapeutic environment, personalized academics, and individual, group, family, and recreational therapy sessions.

One of the most important and unique parts of our program at Uinta is how the residents get to know their horses on a personal level. Horses teach us to be responsible, control our emotions, and connect with others. By learning these skills in equine therapy, students can find more of their strengths and use them to get through challenging situations. This is vital in helping young people take charge of their own care.

Uinta offers a transitional program to residents in their last stages of treatment to help them get back into their families and communities. During this part of the program, people move into the transitional house, which is like a home and has flexible programming to help teens become more independent.

How to Treat Patients

We get young people to follow their treatment plan by helping them gain confidence and find their strengths. Young adults often feel like victims because they don't have enough power over their lives. When teens learn how responsibility and accountability work in a group, they feel more in charge of their lives.

At Uinta, team members from every part of programming work together to make treatment plans for your child that are unique to them. This cooperative approach to therapy has been shown to improve how family members get along and reduce mental and behavioral health symptoms.

All treatment plans focus on the person's strengths, building healthy relationships to help them change for the better, and giving teens the tools they need to change on their own. Our clinical work doesn't use fake level systems or old punishment-based models.

Our therapists use the following trauma-focused clinical modalities in treatment plans:

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) (ACT)

Desensitization and reprocessing of eye movements (EMDR)

Therapy for the whole family

Psycho-Education

A Smart Comeback

Therapy based on experience

Psychotherapy with the help of horses

Academics

Uinta has a tremendous academic program to ensure that residents are supported in all parts of their lives while they work on improving themselves. Utah's State Office of Education has given each teacher a Secondary Teacher endorsement. The teachers take the time to work with each student one-on-one.

With rolling enrollment, students can start classes where they left off at home. This is important because it means that they won't miss any credits and won't feel like they're "behind" other students if they start treatment in the middle of the year.

Coursework covers many core topics and levels, and some college-level classes can be taken online. We work with the school districts where people live to make sure IEP plans are followed to meet the learning needs of residents.

In addition to their core classes, students will take courses in music, dance, photography, creative writing, art, and dance. Uinta has systems in American Sign Language and six other languages from around the world.

Our individualized classes and therapy-based teaching help students develop their minds, improve their reasoning, and boost their self-esteem through creative expression. Because of how we teach, Uinta graduates have improved their grades by an average of 1.8 points (D to B-).

Activities to help with treatment

Teens at Uinta get to see northern Utah's local attractions and beautiful scenery. This helps them grow in all areas and connects the hard work they do in therapy and school. Every week, the students and staff work together to plan a "family outing." The best options are going to the movies or a local sports game as a group, going on a family hike or picnic, or going to a local rodeo or fair.

We also give people chances to interact with the world in different ways. Exploration therapy offers teens the opportunity to try fun outdoor activities that they might have avoided in the past because they didn't trust themselves or were afraid of what other people would think. Some examples are white water rafting, skiing, snowboarding, exploring caves, and visiting National Parks.

The best way to bring together all the parts of a healthy, happy life is to keep the mind and body connected. Trauma and emotional imbalances can throw off how our nervous system works, leading to a chain of nasty things.

Uinta knows how important exercise is for managing stress, doing well in school, and staying healthy overall. We work physical activities into our daily lives to get used to healthy living. Residents can use our tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball nets, and soccer pitches.

Our experienced clinical and educational team at Uinta is rounded out by a certified yoga teacher who knows how to help people who have been through trauma. Mindfulness-based yoga classes give students a safe place to learn about and connect with their feelings maturely while learning to calm their minds.

Safety

Our top priority is to keep residents safe as they work on improving themselves and getting better. In addition, our staff cares about the health and well-being of the teens in our program and how well they can get back into society.

As a member of our professional care team, our psychiatrist works with families to ensure medications are being taken correctly. It's important to remember that drugs, a big part of some residents' treatment plans, can affect how a teen's brain grows and develops.

Staff members work together to keep an eye on how people act and how they feel in different settings. As a result, our psychiatrist can treat disorders effectively by giving the lowest effective doses of the fewest medications. This method allows for natural growth and a thoughtful treatment process.

A licensed nurse on our team checks the residents' health as soon as they move in. During treatment, the RN works closely with our therapists to help each person stay physically and mentally healthy. In addition, our nurse advises and keeps an eye on teens with ongoing health concerns or problems with eating and weight.

Outcomes

Every family has a different idea of what it means to be successful, but we are proud to help people live better lives. Every day, our staff gives students the tools they need to take charge of their lives.

Not only can we show that students' GPAs go up after they finish our program, but families also often thank us for helping them reconnect with their children. In addition, family and student surveys show that relationship problems, behavioral problems, depression, and anxiety have decreased significantly.

The relationship-based care model at Uinta encourages people to build on their strengths and use them to make connections that improve their mental and physical health over time. So even if it seems like everyone else has given up on your child or family, we won't.

Ownership

Uinta Academy was started by a group of people who wanted to help children and families who were having problems with their mental health. Over half of the owners in our larger organization, Family Help & Wellness, are licensed therapists and experienced teachers who are deeply committed to trauma-informed care.