Cascade Academy Clinical Director Amy Griffin, MS, EdS, CMHC, shares her own journey with panic disorder and how Exposure and Response Prevention therapy changed everything.

When a teen struggles with OCD or anxiety, the whole family feels it, but not always equally. Parents naturally focus on the child who is in crisis. Therapy appointments, school meetings, and daily emotional triage can dominate family life.

And in the midst of it all, a quiet group often gets overlooked: the siblings.

Navigating adolescent anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder can be challenging, especially when progress does not always look the way people expect. Many families enter treatment hoping for rapid relief, immediate confidence, or a return to “normal.” However, recovery from anxiety rarely happens in large, dramatic steps. More often, it is built through small, steady victories that may appear minor from the outside but represent major internal growth for the student.

For parents of children with therapeutic needs, short-term programs can seem like an attractive solution offering concentrated support in a manageable timeframe. But the key question is this: how do you ensure that the progress your child makes in a short-term program lasts beyond the program’s end? The answer lies in choosing a program with […]

When a teen is struggling with anxiety or OCD, it can feel like the entire family is holding its breath. Parents often find themselves reorganizing routines, adjusting expectations, and doing everything they can to ease their child’s pain. These efforts come from a place of love, but all too often, they end up feeding the very symptoms families are trying to escape.

This past February, I had the incredible honor of traveling to Guatemala with a group of remarkable students from Cascade Academy, as part of a transformative program with Cultiva Institute. The purpose of this trip was more than just a cultural excursion; it was an opportunity for these students to step outside their comfort zones, embrace leadership opportunities, and engage in meaningful social-emotional learning experiences. As a therapist, watching them grow, connect, and find strength within themselves and each other was nothing short of inspiring.

One of the instinctual responses humans have to perceived danger is freeze. While the specific freeze response may change depending on the person and the situation,  it is driven by a release of hormones in preparation for a stressful event. This release of hormones also drives specific behaviors that are used to cope with the stressor, such as lying, running away, falling asleep, and most frequently, avoidance. Our instincts are programmed to protect us from what we believe are dangerous situations.  However, our specific behaviors in response to this perceived danger is learned, and can be changed over time.

I am incredibly proud to share that we have successfully renewed Joint Commission Accreditation, further solidifying our commitment to excellence in adolescent behavioral health. Cascade Academy has been Joint Commission Accredited since 2021, and maintains accreditation in our latest survey.  This accomplishment is especially meaningful as Cascade Home received a flawless score—zero findings—during the evaluation, a rare and distinguished achievement.

Navigating the complexities of mental health can be challenging, particularly when it comes to understanding the relationship between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and anxiety disorders. While they are distinct conditions, overlapping symptoms can cause significant distress and lead to confusion on what to treat and how to support an individual and their family best. We […]

The Academic department at Cascade Academy is Accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI). The three listed regional agencies provide our institution with a highly regarded accreditation that is recognized throughout the world. To achieve Cognia accreditation, Cascade Academy adheres to over 30 standards set forth by the organization.

I am proud to know that we have a culture where gratitude abounds.  We laugh together, enjoy
experiences together, and are proud of every milestone in the lives of our coworkers. Cascade
is a place where I consistently see genuine care for every team member. We celebrate one
another’s successes and provide support in times of hardship.  We know our work is meaningful
and bonds us in unique experiences. This quarter we have celebrated employee marriages,
engagements, pregnancies, and more.  I am proud of the many connections fostered between
employees which will undoubtedly yield lifelong friendships.

In an era where technology has become an integral part of our daily lives, finding the right balance between screen time and mental health for our teenagers has never been more critical. As parents, it is our responsibility to equip our teenagers with the tools they need to thrive in this digital age while also safeguarding their mental well-being. 

Cascade Academy is excited to announce new group offerings to include weekly music therapy and improvisational theater. Researcher and Author Dan Siegal identifies essential neurological changes during adolescence that present as unique challenges and opportunities of this developmental life stage. He describes this time period as the Essence of Adolescence. He argues that not only is this stage of life full of changes and challenges, it is also a time of life to be celebrated and explored with its fullest potential in mind.

We are halfway through 2023 and the happenings of Cascade continue to bring evolution and excellent support for students and families.

Caleb Cottle, founder of Cascade Academy, was recently voted onto the board of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP). Caleb Cottle's experience in the mental health industry and passion for helping young people make him an excellent addition to the NATSAP board.

The first quarter of the year has closed, bringing a new momentum and energy to our campus. While we impatiently wait for the snow to subside and usher in a true spring, positive transformation abounds within our departments. I am proud to highlight several of our many accomplishments your internal teams have orchestrated. As always, the most important accomplishment and the goal we all share, is the continuation of providing the best care for our students and their families; helping them embrace life with courage and joy. However seemingly small, each task contributes to this larger outcome.  

The use of animals in a therapeutic environment has been gaining attention in recent years, with numerous studies highlighting their positive impact on mental health. Cascade Academy recognizes the value of animal therapy and creates opportunities for students to connect with dogs, cats, chickens and occasionally baby goats. These animals have been shown to have a calming effect on anxious students and can help them to manage their stress. They also provide exposure opportunities for students with contamination disorders.

Every winter, Cascade Academy students will participate in the skiing & snowboarding sequence. This sequence is one of the core activities our students will participate in throughout the year. It begins with 3-4 weeks of cross country skiing to build a foundation. Then, those new skills are transitioned to downhill skiing or snowboarding at Sundance […]

Cooking is a valuable skill that can have a significant impact on an adolescent's future. In today's fast-paced world, having the ability to cook a nutritious meal can lead to better health and well-being, as well as save time and money. Moreover, formalized cooking classes in schools can provide adolescents with a range of benefits […]

I am excited when I reflect on the contributions and accomplishments of every member in this village.  Today we celebrate Cascade’s 3rd birthday because three years ago a small group of inspired and principled founders came together to enact a vision.  Their vision was to provide highly specialized quality treatment for adolescents with primary anxiety and OCD […]

Cascade Academy delivers the most specialized long-term anxiety and OCD treatment for adolescent girls available. To date over 70 students and their families have been served. Following treatment students have returned to their homes, their High Schools, Boarding Schools and even Colleges with the skills and self-efficacy necessary to succeed. It has been an honor […]

A week ago, a student here at Cascade Academy asked me if we could do Kintsugi in Art Class. I wasn’t familiar with that form of art, so I looked it up. She told me that her therapist told her about it, and we should try it. Kintsugi is a Japanese art form in which […]

Experts agree that mindfulness improves the quality of life. It increases relaxation, promotes healing, increases immune response, and decreases pain, anxiety, and depression. Cascade Academy focuses on creating a balance in the student’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual self. Mindfulness brings clarity, and calmness to each area of their lives. A daily wellness walk, yoga […]

Christa McAuliffe Space Center Cascade Academy students had the opportunity to go to the Christa McAuliffe Space Center in Pleasant Grove, Utah. The Christa McAuliffe Space Center opened in 1990 as a way to immerse students in space education. The center started with their first simulator known as the Voyager and it has now grown […]

Each year as the temperature drops and the leaves change to reveal a colorful tapestry across the Wasatch Back, Cascade Academy works in collaboration with the Forever Young Foundation to raise awareness for adolescent anxiety.  This past weekend, bike riding enthusiasts and supporters of adolescent mental health united at Pedalfest in Midway, Utah to ride […]

Throughout his career as a Hall of Fame Quarterback, Steve Young struggled with severe, and at times debilitating anxiety. He outlines this struggle in his book, My Life Behind the Spiral. Learning to manage and overcome his anxiety with the help of his family, his friends, his teammates, and professionals has provided him the grit […]

Anxiety is a complicated disorder.  The brain of an anxious person is focused on self-preservation. As triggers push one’s system into a sympathetic response mode, they are forced to prioritize their surrounding threats, asking themselves the following questions:  Am “I” safe?  How do “I” protect “myself”? What accommodations do “I” need to feel supported and […]

Cascade Academy recently celebrated two years of operations in April of 2022.  Since opening during the height of Covid, Cascade Academy has been established as a clinically sophisticated treatment option for adolescent girls struggling with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) related issues.  Due to the link between academics and anxiety/ OCD related issues Cascade Academy […]

How many emotions do you think people can label in the moment they are experiencing them? Three? Five? Seven? If you answered three, you would be correct. Most people can only label three emotions as they experience them; anger, sadness, and happiness (Brown, 2021). There are approximately 3,000 emotion words in English, yet most of […]

“Does therapy work”? This is a reasonable question asked by fans and critics alike.  Mental health services tend to be relatively new, and the scientific method is just recently being applied to measure the effectiveness of various interventions.  At this stage, there are many excellent studies geared towards accurately tracking the effectiveness of therapy and […]

At Cascade Academy we use a number of treatment models to help our students excel in meeting their goals. Students engage in traditional forms of therapy with individual counseling, family therapy sessions, psycho-educational content media and workbooks and group therapy with peers who face challenges similar in nature. Through these experiences our students are more […]

At Cascade Academy we often refer to ourselves as an avoidance treatment program.  Our students have struggled by avoiding things like school, friendships, family relationships, expression of their emotions, setting boundaries with others, or just facing the day.  Students found themselves in a place where they could not participate in the daily pace of life […]

What is adaptability and why is it so important for our students and families? Adaptability is being able to adjust to change. It is a skillset used to quickly learn new behaviors to respond to a change in circumstance. An adaptable person can move fluidly, bend and be elastic through all circumstances. They are problem […]

Enrolling your child in a residential treatment center is an important and difficult decision.  What guarantees do you have that it will help?  Will the cost of treatment provide the desired results?  While there are no guarantees with mental health, outcome measures can help show a history of success.  It is important to be aligned […]

As Director of Admissions, I receive calls from families desperate for help and guidance. By the time they have reached me they have typically spent hours researching mental health treatment facilities for their child. They are seeking for answers and are overwhelmed and uncertain. I recommend a professional, an educational consultant, who can access their […]

As director of business development, I do a fair amount of traveling across the country connecting with educational consultants, therapeutic programs, and other referents.  My hope is to educate the industry about Cascade Academy and our specialty approach to treatment for anxiety and OCD related issues.

It is the time of year where people pay attention to accomplishments of the past year and set goals for the next.  We are all familiar with the typical “eat better”, “exercise more”, “spend more time with loved ones” goals.  And while these are excellent goals, we often see a 30-day fizzle.  We suggest an alternative goal by having a different approach to daily living.

Service underpins our values at Cascade Academy. While our students are with us, they have the opportunity to provide service to their friends, peers and the local community. This service-oriented mentality leads our students to develop behavior that extends beyond scheduled projects. The more we practice serving others, the more natural it becomes to identify […]

Andrea arrives at Cascade Academy after 4 years of clinical experience as a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist.  Her initial interest in psychology began in her early twenties when she started researching the work of William James, Sigmund Freud, and Carl Jung in an attempt to understand her lucid dreams and nightmares. Andrea has […]

Join Cascade Academy with Dr. Spencer Brandshaw and Dr. Stacey Jones in learning about how our brains can more effectively process anxiety and trauma.  Movement, or bilateral stimulation, is key in allowing our brain to experience and code information in a healthy way.  In these times stressors are often occurring when we are stationary, in […]

By high school and college, many students have run out of steam. Anxiety—the mental-health tsunami of their generation—has caught up with them. Today’s teens and young adults are the most anxious ever, according to mental-health surveys.

Caleb Cottle, Director of Business Development, shares on Fresh Living at 2KUTV the connection Cascade Academy has with Steve Young’s Forever Young Foundation.

Bekah Schuler was recently interviewed on Fresh Living at 2KUTV. She speaks to parents and gives them steps to take if they are concerned about their child and their progressing anxiety and depression.

Caleb Cottle, featured on Fresh Living at 2KUTV, speaks about anxiety, it’s increasing role in society and how Cascade Academy is treating adolescent girls around the country. 

At age 15, musician and entertainer Alex Boyé found himself homeless and alone on the streets of London eating out of a trash can. Unsatisfied with his life he made a plan to dance away his sadness at a local club and then take his life. While at the dance club a three minute and […]

Cascade Academy is proud to announce that we have achieved our Joint Commission Accreditation.  For those unfamiliar with the process, Joint Commission Accreditation is considered the “Gold Star” awarded only to programs, schools and healthcare facilities that meet the highest industry standards of care.  This achievement has required significant effort by each of our departments […]

A common thread among our students here at Cascade Academy is perfectionism. As the Admissions Director, oftentimes during my conversation with parents I am alarmed as they describe the lengths their child has gone seeking perfection. If perfection is not achieved, they shut down. They stop going to school or turning in assignments, they avoid […]

Executive Director and Co-Founder, Brad Gerrard, shares his insight and passion for Cascade Academy. Having experience as a COO, CEO and Founder of several residential treatment centers he understands the importance of specialization. He is quick to recognize the attributes and qualities of the leadership and staff and the important role they play in the […]

Our mentors serve at the forefront of everything we do here at Cascade Academy. As mentors they have direct contact with our students throughout each day. As they coach and direct our students, they are the first to know about bad days and physical ailments, as well as achievements and successes! Their most meaningful purpose […]

Cascade Academy began with a dream of treating adolescent girls suffering with severe anxiety. Adolescent girls are three times more likely to experience anxiety than boys.

Too often we become so consumed with life that we don’t take time to breathe, relax, and be in nature. Natural beauty surrounds us but oftentimes we don’t take time to enjoy it. Recently I went camping with my sons. The calm smooth pond, the gentle breeze, and the beautiful green hillside was breathtaking. While […]

Spencer has been doing Recreation Therapy long before he knew what it was. Heavily involved with The Boy Scouts of America when he was younger, Spencer took part in and often organized high adventure trips for younger scouts, focusing on expanding their comfort zone and doing hard things. In high school, Spencer joined an anti-bullying […]

“We can not be afraid of change.  You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea.” C. JoyBell C.  At Cascade Academy we constantly encourage our students to step […]

Learn more about Briana Petters as she gives a brief overview on how we approach anxiety.

The way we mentally approach and manage stress makes all the difference in our long term health and resilience.  Semantics matter; and choosing words like “crazy busy” instead of “ready mode” is just one example of how we can reframe the challenges of life and shift our mindset from just surviving to excelling in high […]

How is it that children can so gleefully play without a care in the world? They get lost, completely immersed in their make-believe world. We all need to take a few lessons and learn the art of being playful. If play is important to healthy development in children, what can our students glean from playing […]

At the end of my zoom lesson, I could clearly see that my student was shaking.  Throughout the lesson her internet would periodically freeze making it difficult for her to follow along.  Having other students in the class, I continued on with the lesson and asked her to stay “behind” after class and I would […]

From 1986 – 1999 Steve Young played in the highest levels of the NFL as one of the great quarterbacks of all time.  Winning three championship rings with the 49ers, a two-time league MVP and a 2005 Hall of Fame inductee, Steve Young in one of the most notable professional athletes of all time.  In […]

After hours of trekking up the grueling marble mountain, me and a small group of hikers finally arrived at our destination. The stunning Zhuilu Old Trail, which spans 500 m (1,640 ft) across a sheer cliff and overlooks a majestic gorge sitting a menacingly 700m (2,2956 ft) above the canyon floor. To the right, a […]

The other day I asked my wife Marilyn what initially piqued her interest in dating me or even being remotely interested.  Amongst many of the things I thought would come out of her mouth were as follows… great afro, charming personality, chiseled looks, but her response took me by surprise, as I don’t really ever […]

While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Porter accepted a position as a direct care staff and began his career in mental health. This instilled within him a strong passion for working with adolescents. Throughout his career Porter has had the privilege of working side by side with seasoned professionals who have mentored and directed him on […]

According to Albert Bandura, self-efficacy is "the belief in one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations." Self-efficacy is a person's belief in his or her ability to succeed in a particular situation.  Self-efficacy is the crucial ingredient between the times that we feel secure and confident and times we feel anxious […]

For over 17 years I have been organizing and implementing experiential recreation opportunities for clients, families, friends and even my own children.  What I love about experiential recreation is that participants are generally so caught up in achieving a specific objective that they let their guard down and reveal their authentic selves. At times these […]

Anxiety and panic attacks have their grip on millions of people across the world. Anxiety is not a respecter of age, gender, race or economic or social status. For some anxiety and panic attacks begin while they are young, for others it mysteriously unveils itself later in life. Interestingly enough, the treatment for the physical […]

I was fortunate to grow up in a very small community. With only 13 in my graduating class, we all knew each other well. Except for a few occasional move-ins and those families who moved away, my classmates and I were very close as we spent many hours with one another. I never wanted for […]

Briana Petters joins Cascade Academy after 8 years experience in the mental health arena. Briana is an LCSW who found her passion for psychology and psychotherapy early in her undergraduate degree while working as a supervisor in an adolescent treatment center for teen girls. She received her Bachelors of Science in Psychology in 2015 from […]

One of the most difficult things I do as an Admissions Director is to listen to parents who are distraught and yearning for answers. Our conversations typically begin with how their daughter is isolating and disengaging from life as this is a common reported symptom of anxiety. After speaking to parents about their daughter’s history, […]

Parents want to be supportive and help their children overcome fears of growth and challenges.  That is no small task, and there are many hazards along the way.  For parents of children with high anxiety/OCD there are some specific patterns to pay attention to.  People with high anxiety/OCD often seek excessive re-assurance.  One such hazard […]

Albert Bandura is the father of what is generally referred to as “Self-Efficacy Theory”.  In its simplest form this theory basically states that: One’s belief in success is a greater contributor to future success than past experience.  The old adage, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right” certainly supports this […]

I have been here at Cascade Academy for 9 months now. They have focused on teaching us how to have a balanced life. A few months ago, during one of our groups, a mentor asked me, “how do you feel about running a food drive?” At first, I thought it was dumb but throughout the […]

Recently as a team we reviewed this talk by Wendy Suzuki, Ph.D. , Professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University.    As most of my friends and colleagues know I am an exercise fanatic.  It helps me unwind, fight depression, release what I call natural feel […]

My 7 year old daughter’s class came home each day with a paper filled with smiley faces that were color coded for how the child behaved in class. Blue meant everything was great, followed by a struggling yellow, and a “we have a problem” red. My daughter only ever had blue faces. While driving home […]

When I was 15 years old my grandmother Barbaralee passed away after a particularly grueling battle with cancer. Because we had always been so close, it left a painful hole in my life. For as long as I could remember she had cheered me on in sports, in school and in life. Towards the end […]

I am always excited to attend my son’s football games. His competitive team has been undefeated, which can be attributed to a balanced team that is skilled in both offense and defense. The defensive team has been coached to anticipate threats and prevent the opponent from breaking down their barriers and moving forward. No matter […]

Cascade Academy is excited to announce an addition to our clinical team! Amy Griffin, MS, EdS, CMHC comes to Cascade with 7 years of clinical experience and 5 years working with adolescents and families. Amy received her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology at Florida State University in 2010. After working at […]

In July 2020 we held our first high school graduation ceremony for one of our girls at Cascade Academy. What made this ceremony especially significant was that the bright young woman graduating struggled daily with severe anxiety. While she will remain with us for a few more months to complete her residential treatment program, she […]

The growth zone is intentionally uncomfortable. Some people believe the growth zone is where we test our character and resilience, but I believe it is where character and resilience are acquired.

Mindfulness is sometimes about slowing down. Recently, I took a quick trip over my bike's handlebars and landed in the doctor's office to get some stitches.

Anxiety is not that different from fire. It can be scary, painful and frustrating. It can hurt us and those we love. However, at its core it is a very intentional and necessary part of who we are.

Audrey Hepburn said “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” The work of planting a garden is no small task. We ask our teen students and their families for trust in their treatment team to help them grow and surpass the restrictions of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Adolescent girls are currently being diagnosed with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders at twice the normal rate of any other group within our population! But why is this?

A recent “Times Magazine” article released a study suggesting that 40% of Americans are more anxious than they were at this time last year.  This total includes the more than 40 million Americans who have diagnosable anxiety disorders.  With such staggering numbers it seems appropriate to seek to understand the cycle of anxiety. As noted […]

Are you ever too old to color? Some feel that coloring is childish but recently, it is becoming a more common way to ease anxiety. With a variety of adult coloring books and a wide selection of crayons, colored pencils, markers and gel pens, who wouldn’t indulge now and then? At Cascade Academy, we treat […]

For teen girls with anxiety, overcoming fears can take on many forms. This week, Cascade Academy students got to spend some quality time at Daybreak Pastures, a local farm specifically designed to improve mental health. During our time at the farm, our students learned how to care for the chickens, goats and horses. While they were initially […]