Mountain Valley Treatment Center

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Mountain Valley Treatment Center Reflects on 2014

Dear Friends,

I hope that this finds you well and enjoying the beauty of the season. We have a blanket of snow on the pastures, and the serenity gives me pause to reflect on all that we have accomplished over the past three years. I hope that you will indulge me as I share some of my thoughts on the evolution of our unique program.

On Thanksgiving weekend of November 2011, we opened the doors of Mountain Valley Treatment Center to welcome our first four residents. It had long been my dream to open a program such as ours-a place of healing for teenagers who experience the debilitating effects of anxiety.

When I walk onto the Mountain Valley campus, I see how this vision has become reality. Our clinical team, led by our highly accomplished Clinical Director, Dr. Fran Moriarty, is sophisticated and well-trained in Exposure Response Prevention (ERP). Our partnerships with both Hanover Psychiatry, an affiliate of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, and with the Yale Child Study Center's Program for Anxiety Disorders, support our goals of having a clinical program that is well-grounded in evidence-based treatments, and of participating in clinical research that will help improve treatment outcomes for those that suffer from anxiety.

Given that academic anxiety is common among our residents, we are grateful for our talented colleagues at Knower Academics, who are true partners in providing academic exposure to those residents for whom academic pressure has become a trigger for fear and avoidance. The recent addition of our Enhanced Academic Phase allows those residents who may benefit from additional therapeutic support beyond the intensive treatment phase of the program to extend their stay, while also gaining academic credit.

Our program is tightly structured around carefully crafted Wellness Modules, which are facilitated by residential staff, specifically trained as "exposure specialists." They mentor students through situations that encourages them to push beyond their comfort zone, and face their fears head on. Whether growing and preparing food in the Farm to Table module, learning to trust themselves and others in the therapeutic Equine module, or exploring their creativity in Forest to Home module, the cumulative effects of accomplishment across social, academic, and recreational domains results in not only breaking the vicious cycle of anxiety, but nurturing the confidence and courage necessary to succeed. All of this is overseen by our leadership team, under the guidance of our Executive Director, Don Vardell and Associate Executive Director, Greg Vogel.

My role as Admissions Director continues to afford me the privilege of meeting with families in the comfort of their own homes to support them through the admissions and pre-treatment process. About 50% of our families at Mountain Valley benefit from our in-home intervention approach, while others come to our campus to visit, or interview via video conference prior to admission. We continue to evolve our admissions model and strive for excellence in our communication with families, referring professionals, and all members of a potential resident's treatment team. While there is no perfect way to predict clinical success, our goal is to support a process that gets families the help that they truly need.

I am truly proud of what we have accomplished at Mountain Valley Treatment Center, and humbled by the trust that you and so many of your colleagues have placed in us. A specialized program requires an ongoing process of self-reflection, and we are committed to welcoming feedback and suggestions to help us continue to provide the excellent treatment for anxiety that you have come to expect. If you haven't visited our beautiful campus, or if it has been awhile since your last visit, I hope that you will consider coming to see us in 2015.

As we come to the end of 2014, I wish you and your loved ones the warmest of holiday wishes. May the New Year bring you health, prosperity, and happiness!

All my best,
Dr. Dan Villiers

Mountain Valley Treatment Center is a non-profit, short-term, adolescent treatment center that provides residents the unparalleled opportunity to focus 24/7 on overcoming the intrusive emotional and behavioral symptoms related to anxiety disorders and other common co-occurring conditions.