Experience shows that success is all about the transition. 

F&A knows that motivated students and their families tend to do great work at treatment programs (wilderness therapy and adventure programs, RTC's and therapeutic boarding schools).  Successful students coming directly from a therapeutic experience have recently proven to themselves and their families to be highly motivated, successful in treatment, supportive of peers and responsive to adult authority. The family is in the process of healing and all are feeling hopeful. Parents are invested emotionally, financially and are extremely motivated to help their children return to a college bound track. Going home, to the previous school, reintegrating into the presence of a toxic peer group, and returning in general to the stressful situations that resulted in placement is often times not recommended by the therapeutic program or educational consultant. Educational consultants and parents will often consider a carefully selected boarding school as the most significant and appealing next step to getting "back on track."  F&A works with students after they have been accepted to an appropriate boarding school and have been referred to F&A by the educational consultant. 

 
For even the most motivated student, the risk of relapse or regression is real. We specialize in supporting the transition from a treatment program to boarding school or to college. 

Boarding schools want all students to be successful. They also know that their community is a fine balance of unique and diverse individuals and that appropriate levels of support must be available for optimum results for all. Despite best intentions, most schools are not staffed nor structured to support the student coming immediately from the carefully controlled and contained environment of a therapeutic program to the socially rich environment of a boarding school campus. F&A believes that with its unique combination of increased communication, guidance, supervision and responsibility, students and their families can better acclimate to the real world challenges and benefits of boarding school. 

Our clinical approach uses proven techniques to guide the transition.

Onward employs a strengths-based, family centered and treatment team approach in guiding the transition from the highly structured and closed environment of a treatment program to a more normalized and socially rich environment of a boarding school.  Honoring and building upon the strengths and solutions identified in past treatment experiences, F&A works to design individualized, continued support plans that help students transition their success forward in their lives. Based primarily in the northeast, F&A meets with the family, student and school staff in person on or around the day of enrollment to establish face to face relationships. Parents contract for academic quarters, and may choose to continue the family counseling and coaching through the summer  Afterward, and upon successful integration into the boarding school, F&A prepares a termination and continuing care plan with all parties. 

Despite best intentions, the risk of regression/relapse at boarding school is real.

Boarding schools strive for success for all students, but they are, by design, very different from treatment programs. They may have determined that they cannot provide adequate support to or be hesitant to accept a student directly from treatment. If not aptly supported, they recognize that a student may drift and begin to regress in a way that is detrimental for the student and toxic for the school community.  For even the most motivated student, the risk of relapse/regression is real. Despite best intentions, most schools are not staffed nor structured to support the student coming immediately from the carefully controlled and contained environment of a treatment program to the socially rich environment of a boarding school campus.  Very few schools really understand or appreciate the rigor of the challenge and the significant gains made in a treatment program. They expect their students to be able to manage varying degrees of independence and responsibility. The greatest challenge is often in the first few months of transition. F&A supports both the transition and the relationships, as a qualified clinical liaison with a specialization in treatment programs. 

Our practice is more specialized to boarding schools than generalized aftercare services.

F&A has many years of established relationships with educational consultants, program therapists and boarding schools. F&A specializes in guiding the transition from treatment programs to boarding schools.   Due to geographic constraints and our commitment to on site campus visits, F&A is primarily designed for students attending boarding school and college in the Northeast.  As caseloads allow, other locations are carefully considered and may be appropriate for an additional fee. 

We combines state-of-the art, HIPPA compliant technology with face-to-face meetings to keep the lines of communication active and engaging. 

F&A makes every effort to maintain client privacy and confidentiality.  As a tele mental health and coaching service, F&A employs encryption, password protection, secure data storage and remote memory wiping to safeguard against threats to client records. F&A utilizes BestNotes, CRM for its client records management.

Prior to or around the day of enrollment, F&A arranges an initial in-person meeting between Darrell and the student, family and the school contact. Once enrolled, F&A provides weekly individual and family counseling and coaching through phone or HIPPA compliant video-conferencing.  F&A works with the faculty and staff from both the student’s former treatment program and the new school to create a dynamic and collaborative team. This team supports the transition while still preserving as much autonomy as possible for the student. Quarterly visits to the school to meet with the student and school staff creates a strong connection and add an additional element of communication, support and accountability.