The mission of those at The Aspen Institute is to provide parents and students with an accurate and full diagnosis, based on a wide array of assessment tests. With a full and accurate diagnosis of the problems, parents, students and clinical professionals can work together to plan an effective long term treatment plan – one that actually meets the needs of the student!

The Aspen Institute provides:

• A wide array of assessment tests
• Crisis stabilization services
• An intensive therapeutic program
• A long term “road map” treatment plan based on the results of comprehensive testing

The Aspen Institute is licensed by the State of Utah to serve as a psychiatric hospital and accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)

Who Benefits from a Stay at The Aspen Institute?

Teens typically come to the Aspen Institute presenting with a complex and under diagnosed mixture of behavioral, psychological, physical and emotional problems, typically including one or more of the following:

• Thought disorders
• Suicidal thoughts or attempts
• Self harm behaviors
• Severe depression
• Severe anxiety
• Certain types of OCD
• Lowered physical health
• Body weight concerns
• Poor physical stamina and fitness
• Treatment resistance

Adolescents come to The Aspen Institute when:

• 24 hour a day structured supervision is necessary
• The severity of certain symptoms prohibit a participation in a wilderness program
• Successive treatment failures in other environments indicate a novel strategy is required
• The patient requires intensive testing to determine a most beneficial longer term placement
• The patient has not yet received a fully integrated evaluation and diagnosis for problematic symptoms

Assessment Testing

Comprehensive assessments are the cornerstone of the Aspen Institute program. Every adolescent admitted to The Institute will leave some 6 weeks or so later with a much better understanding of the challenges faced and the solutions to those challenges. A full and comprehensive diagnosis allows for the creation of a long term placement and treatment plan.

The Aspen Institute is uniquely able to provide a full battery of in-house evaluation and assessment testing, over a many week period. Since all testing and evaluations are integrated into a single treatment plan, clinicians with expertise in varying domains will work in concert to develop a singular understanding and comprehensive diagnosis.

Assessment tests used on every client include:

• A full psychiatric assessment
• An assessment of family systems dynamics
• A full medical and physical health evaluation
• A screening test for self harm thoughts and behaviors
• IQ testing
• Personality tests
• An evaluation of medications taken and needed
• An evaluation of recreation abilities
• A nutritional evaluation
• Psychosocial testing
• Achievement testing

Most clients will require additional more specialized testing, contingent on the results of this first full battery of tests. Additional testing offered includes:

• Speech testing
• A neurological exam
• Brain mapping
• A full battery of psychological testing
• Vocational assessment
• Educational needs assessment
• A learning disorders assessment
• Others

Therapies

The Aspen Institute's therapeutic program is integrated into the extensive testing and evaluatory milieu. Intensive therapeutics also helps to stabilize in–crisis adolescents and to ready these teens for a next step progression to a wilderness program, a therapeutic boarding school or to continuing residential treatment. 

Therapeutic program elements include:

• Individual therapy (offered 3 times a week)
• Family therapy (offered once a week)
• Addiction and chemical dependency counseling (offered once a week)
• Group therapy (offered 5 times weekly)
• Psychiatric services (offered once a week)
• Leisure and recreational activities and therapies
• 24 hour a day nursing supervision and medication management

Program therapies are administered by trained and licensed clinical therapists.

Academics

Every student will complete a full academic needs assessment test within 5 days of arrival.  Based on this needs assessment, experienced educators will develop an individualized curriculum plan for each student and provide attentive tutoring and teaching services for 4 hours daily, 5 days per week.

Upon program completion, a written report card of progress made and credit hours earned is sent the future or home school.

Financing

Some students and their families may qualify for financial assistance. Parents who wish to defer the upfront costs of treatment may choose to work with Clark Behavioral Loans, a loan organization that partners with The Aspen Institute to provide hassle free loans to parents needing healthcare financing.