By Mike Deluca, LCSW I am writing to preface this post by saying I was an outpatient therapist for four years and I loved it! I also deeply respect my fellow outpatient therapists and their critical role in the continuum of care for clients. This post is intended to highlight some of the critical differences […]
Summit Achievement is, first and foremost, a State of Maine Licensed residential treatment program that provides mental health and substance abuse treatment and has been operating since 1996. Summit is located on a 55-acre campus with a main lodge, academic building, and four heated cabins that have attached bathrooms with showers. In recent years there […]
What Parents Should Consider Many families are desperate to find enriching programs for their teens or young adults during the summer months as well as other times of the year. For over 50 years, Outward Bound has had a positive reputation for empowering young people and leaving them stronger and more resilient than before because […]
While your child is the primary client we work with at Summit Achievement, we believe that a strong family program is an integral part of the overall treatment process and plays a significant role in the success of our students after graduating. The innovative Summit Achievement Parallel Process Curriculum was designed by the renowned author […]
Summit Achievement has just successfully completed our third, vigorous re-accreditation process by the Association for Experiential Education for Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Programs and subsequently has been awarded accreditation for another six years! Summit was the second in the nation to be initially accredited in 2015, and is now the first Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Program in […]
It was 5 AM when the LOD (Leader of The Day), watch went off. My teammates were all sleeping, as were the guides. I woke up my guide, Whitney, who maybe was hoping I would sleep in. We packed day bags and headed up South Bald Face, almost running, so we could get to the […]
The following Summit Blog Post is the lightly edited transcripts of the Autism and Neurodiversity Podcast hosted by Jason and Debbie Grygla. This episode is with Nichol Ernst, our executive director, in which he talks about how Summit Achievement works with young people with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Non-Verbal Learning Disorders. To listen to this episode titled click “Safe […]
by Will White, DA, LCSW, MLADC CSW, MLADC Over 25 years ago, I was part of the team that started Summit Achievement, the country’s first hybrid model wilderness therapy program. Before joining Summit, I practiced as a licensed mental health professional in various organizations, including an outpatient mental health clinic, boarding school, hospital, public […]
By Caitlyn Cook, LCPC, ATR-BC, Clinical Director of Summit Achievement Read the below blog post or watch this new video with Caitlyn talking about the benefits of wilderness therapy for teen girls. When you find your adolescent daughter struggling with anxiety and depression, your first thought might not […]
By Mike DeLuca, LCSW Since the days of vision quests in the wild by First Nation youth, or much later in the 1960s when the Colorado Outward Bound School first started using wilderness to foster resiliency, character, and compassion in American youth, humans have sought out wild places for catalysts for change and transformation. Why does […]