Mountain Springs Preparatory Academy
Cedar, UT

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Mountain Springs Preparatory Academy
Welcomes John Buckner.

Mountain Springs Preparatory Academy is excited to announce the expansion of our administrative team, adding John Buckner, LAMFT as an additional Dean of Students. John joins Greg Allred and Ariel Rhoades, who will continue as the other Deans of Students at Mountain Springs. Jon Larsen, Head of School at Mountain Springs commented: "We are very excited for John to join our program. His addition allows us to provide more service and support to our students and parents at Mountain Springs. The Deans of Students are integral at Mountain Springs. They are responsible for meeting with students weekly to review their MAPP plan goals and work on life skills; they update parents and educational consultants on a regular basis and are the link between the school and the student's therapist. Adding a third Dean of Students allows us to offer even more of the individualized care and attention our families have come to expect from our school."

John has worked in the helping profession for over a decade. He has worked as front line staff at therapeutic boarding schools, as a service coordinator at a geriatrics community center, as a volunteer at a crisis center, as a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist for the state of Idaho, as a milieu director in residential care, a private practice therapist, and as a therapist at a residential treatment center.

He jokingly says he picked up three diplomas along the way in his career as a helping professional. He received his Associate's degree at Snow College and his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Southern Utah University (SUU). While at SUU, he was honored by his professors with the Applied Psychology award, which he was given for his research and volunteer service at a local crisis center. He went on to get his Master's degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) in Marriage and Family Therapy. At ULM he was elected by his fellow classmates to be president of Delta Kappa honor society, and also won several awards for his research and academic excellence.

In his free time, John loves spending time with his wife and four kids and playing in the great outdoors where he reminisces of his days as an Eagle Scout. He loves to workout but more particularly delights in the challenge and personal growth aspects that CrossFit provides. Furthermore, John enjoys running in local 5K races, reading great books, and having intellectual conversations.

Mountain Springs Preparatory Academy is a co-ed transitional boarding school for adolescents ages 14-18. We specialize in helping student's step-down from a higher level of care (residential treatment or wilderness). Mountain Springs is designed as a practice environment where students have greater access to community involvement (through varsity athletics, University classes, employment/volunteering, and other extracurricular activities) and more opportunity to make choices. It is an experiential learning environment where students have the chance to bump up against challenges and learn from mistakes with mentoring and support. We utilize a strength-based and solution-focused approach. Mountain Springs provides a small, intimate environment with a highly individualized approach. Therapy is available off-site and the minimum length of stay is only 6 months. Mountain Springs is a proud member of the CERTS programs.