Outback Therapeutic Expeditions Annouces Andrew Powell As Executive Director

Outback Therapeutic Expeditions, an 8-10 week, strengths-based wilderness therapy program for teens, has announced the promotion of Andrew Powell, MBA, to Executive Director following the appointment of former Executive Director, Rick Meeves, to Director of Clinical Services for Adolescents at Outback's parent company, CRC Health Group.

"We are very proud to announce Andrew's promotion at Outback and congratulate Rick on his new position with CRC," said Susan Cambria, Senior Vice President of the Aspen Education Group network of programs of which Outback is a part. "Andrew's passion for helping youth and families, and his extensive background in wilderness therapy made him the ideal candidate to lead Outback into the future."

Powell has been with Outback for five years in roles of increasing responsibility, most recently serving as Program Director. In this position, he played a key role in quality improvement and client experience, and helped Outback achieve the first-ever wilderness program CARF accreditation. Prior to Outback, Powell was a director for a social entrepreneurship program promoting economic development and visual health in emerging nations. He also worked at a youth services agency that provided education for at-risk students outside the public school system, and was part of the U.S. Peace Corps in El Salvador. Powell has received Kinship training certification for work with adopted youth and holds an MBA from the University of Utah.

"I am really looking forward to leading the outstanding team of professionals at Outback," said Powell. "By leveraging this amazing team, I will work to maintain this great program, enhance our services and expand them as necessary to meet the growing needs of today's teens and their families."

Outback Therapeutic Expeditions has created a solid reputation for its strengths-based approach to helping teens and blends the best of ancient cultural systems with the most effective and proven therapeutic processes. Incoming students are typically experiencing family conflict, negative peer interaction, isolation, low self-esteem, academic difficulty, or addictive drug, alcohol or computer habits. In addition, Outback's recent certification with the Kinship Center allows therapists to address the specific needs of teens who are adopted as well. Outback incorporates the highest standards of safety and therapy with one of the most powerful settings for real change: the wilderness.

Former Outback Executive Director, Rick Meeves, has accepted the position of Director of Clinical Services for Adolescents with CRC Health Group, Outback's parent company and the nation's largest provider of behavioral health and addiction treatment services. In this newly created position, Meeves will provide onsite and remote support services to the CRC youth programs, and act as mentor and coach to clinical directors and staff. Meeves' new role is but one part of CRC's larger initiative to create a culture of clinical excellence through the CRC Treatment Model, under the guidance of the company's Chief Clinical Officer and a Clinical Advisory Board of industry professionals that was recently unveiled. More information and an official announcement for Meeves are forthcoming.

Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., CRC Health Group is the most comprehensive network of specialized behavioral healthcare services in the nation. CRC offers the largest array of personalized treatment options, allowing individuals, families and professionals to choose the most appropriate treatment setting for their behavioral, addiction, weight management and therapeutic education needs. CRC is committed to making its services widely and easily available, while maintaining a passion for delivering advanced treatment. Since 1995, CRC has been helping individuals and families reclaim and enrich their lives. For more information, visit www.crchealth.com or call (877) 637-6237.