CERTS Accreditations & Partnerships
The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP)
The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) was created in January of 1999 to serve as a national resource for programs and professionals assisting young people beleaguered by emotional and behavioral difficulties. The Association is governed by an elected, volunteer Board of Directors comprised of representatives from the NATSAP membership.
NATSAP requires the members to be licensed by the appropriate state agency authorized to set and oversee standards of therapeutic and/or behavioral healthcare for youth and adolescents or accredited by a nationally recognized behavioral health accreditation agency and to have therapeutic services with oversight by a qualified clinician. To Learn more about NATSAP click here.
The Northwest Accreditation Commission
All CERTS schools are accredited by The Northwest Accreditation Commission, formerly the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS). this body accredits distance education, elementary, foreign nation, high, K 12, middle level, post secondary nondegree granting, residential, special purpose, supplementary education, and travel education schools.
The Northwest Accreditation Commission is one of the nation's six acknowledged accreditation agencies. The geographic territory of the Association consists of the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, and other worldwide geographical areas designated from time to time by the Board of Trustees. You can learn more at www.northwestaccreditation.org
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Since 9/11/2001, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security requires all private schools to be certified by them to ensure that the schools are not training those who might be a potential threat to the security of the United States. All CERTS programs meets the U.S. Department of Homeland Security requirements. You can learn more about the U.S. Department of Homeland Security by clicking here.
CERTS Programs and Schools
Certified Educational, Recreational, and Therapeutic Schools and Programs (CERTS) is a family of adolescent schools and programs recognized nationally and internationally for providing unique, specialized treatment programs for specific student profiles and also for providing outstanding care.
CERTS schools and programs have always adhered to the highest standards: small caseloads, outstanding staff to student ratios that far exceed regulatory requirements, and a commitment to excellence in every facet of treatment.
Intermountain Therapy Animals
La Europa Academy works with Intermountain Therapy Animals (ITA) animals. ITA is a non-profit organization, which brings animal resources to human needs. They specialize in providing animal-assisted therapy in the areas of physical, occupational, speech and psycho therapies, as well as special education.
Their mission is "enhancing quality of life through the human-animal bond". Their motto is "Pets Helping People". The ITA volunteer program provides carefully screened therapy animals and handlers who work with human service and health care professionals to serve those in need. ITA works with children and adults who are physically, developmentally, or emotionally disabled, as well as others who can benefit from the unique qualities that interaction with an animal can provide. More can be learned about ITA here.
The Pony Club
Kolob Canyon Residential Treatment Center and Moonridge Academy are, as far as we know, the only 2 residential treatment centers in the United States that have met the requirements of The Pony Club. The mission of Pony Club is "to provide a program for youth that teaches riding, mounted sports, and the care of horses and ponies, thereby developing responsibility, moral judgment, leadership and self-confidence.” Members of USPC have joined an organization dedicated to producing well-rounded horsemen and women and one that has produced many of the past and current Olympic and International riders.
USPC is unique because its educational programs place equal emphasis on the teaching of riding skills, horse-care fundamentals, and team participation with sportsmanship. From the moment youth join USPC until they graduate, they are part of a broad network of activities and educational programs that promote the health and safety of both horse and rider. USPC is dedicated to developing knowledgeable, competent, responsible, and caring horsemen. More can be learned about the Pony Club here. www.ponyclub.org/
Greg Kerston's OK Corral
Kolob Canyon and Moonridge Academy clinicians have been trained in Greg's approach to working with horses as a means of therapy--Equine Assisted Psychotherapy. In the early 1990s, Greg Kersten created this term to describe the specific work he was doing with horses and at-risk youth who were incarcerated or in treatment. At the time, no one had ever used the phrase "equine-assisted" to describe the powerful healing and informative powers of horses on the lives of humans. Kersten published the first Equine Assisted Psychotherapy training manual in 1995 through his corporation, Equine Services, Inc., and began to certify professionals in the practice of EAP, using core philosophies and specific exercises he had found to be particularly effective in his work.
Equine-assisted work honors the natural behavior of horses and herds. Horses are skilled at keeping themselves safe and adept at survival, their natural behaviors are optimal for mental and physical health. In many respects, humans have lost the instinct to keep themselves safe and healthy. We entrust horses to show us the way back to health. Work and observation in the horse world lends itself to extremely powerful metaphors into our own patterns, strengths, and the nonverbal messages we send out. Equine Assisted Psychotherapy implements the power of equine-assisted philosophies and exercises to introduce therapy clients to themselves in a modality that has been found to be more efficient and less threatening than traditional talk therapy. More can be learned here.
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