Aspen Achievement Academy
Aspen Achievement Academy was a wilderness therapy program for adolescents, based in Loa, Utah. It was operated as a part of Aspen Education Group. The program has been moved, in name only, and merged with another wilderness therapy program in Utah - Outback Therapeutic Expeditions - in March 2011. According to the program's promotional materials, Aspen Achievement Academy enrolled adolescent males and females, ages 13–17, with a history of moderate to severe emotional and behavioral problems, such as low self-esteem, academic underachievement, substance abuse, and family conflict. The program had a flexible length of stay, with a  minimum of 35 days. Some parents use the services of a teen escort company to transport their children to the site. The program's website state that the program was JCAHO certified and licensed as an "Outdoor Treatment Program" by the State of Utah Department of Human Services. It had memberships in the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs and the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Industry Council. In news media and popular culture. Aspen Achievement Academy has been a subject of several media reports and works of popular culture: History. Aspen Achievement Academy (AAA) was founded in 1988 by Doug  Nelson, Dr. Keith Hooker, Doug Cloward, and Madolyn Liebing, Ph.D. It was originally named Wilderness Academy. AAA is known for being the first wilderness therapy programs to have a clinician (Liebing) who provided individual therapy. AAA was also the first Utah State licensed wilderness therapy program. References. (White, W. (2012) Chapter 2: “A History of Adventure Therapy” in Adventure Therapy: Theory, Practice, and Research by Gass, M, Gillis, L. Russell, K. Routledge/Bruner-Mazel Press.)]