Discovery Academy
Provo, UT

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Journal Publishes Discovery Author

Dr. Triston Morgan, Admissions Director at Discovery Academy, has been published in the latest issue of Journal of Family Therapy.

Dr. Morgan's article, "The Cost of Treating Substance Use Disorders: Individual Versus Family Therapy," appears in Issue 35, 2013. He co-authored the article with D. Russell Crane, Adam M. Moore and Dennis L. Eggett.

Dr. Morgan is a licensed marriage and family therapist who joined Discovery Academy in 2009 after working for several years as a wilderness therapist. As the lead study author, Dr. Morgan and his colleagues studied the cost of substance use disorders treatment in the Cigna Health Insurance Company. Cigna is a global provider of variety of insurance services.

The team evaluated more than five million mental health outpatient claims from 2001 through 2004. The claims were for care from approximately 66,000 mental health providers throughout the United States.

The study focused on four cost related issues. Including:

• Which types of treatments (family therapy vs. individual therapy, etc. ) are the least costly in a healthcare organization context?


• Which types of treatment are most effective at addressing co-morbidity issues of substance abuse and an additional mental health diagnosis?


• How do treatment costs vary in terms of types of providers?


• What are recidivism rates (recurring episodes of care) in each type of treatment environment?

Dr. Morgan says economic realities drive treatment decisions. "Insurance companies, providers, and families all have the same goal - the most effective treatment at the best possible price. To achieve that goal, we all need to understand what types of therapy really work."

Dr. Morgan's article is available online at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-6427.2012.00589.x/abstract.

Discovery Academy is a therapeutic boarding school for troubled teens and a sister program to RedCliff Ascent, Discovery Ranch and Oxbow Academy.