Facilities and Services > Eagle Academy


Welcome to Eagle Academy

Location/Contact Information
446 E. 450 S.
Clearfield, UT 84015
Ph. 801.779.2253
Fax: 801.525.6415
State of Utah Information
Service Code: DSF
Guaranteed Beds: 15
NOJOS: Level 6/Sex-specific Residential Intensive Treatment
Agencies Served: Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS)
Eagle Academy serves higher-risk males, ages 16-19, who engage in sexual misconduct with a broad range of sexual-offense behaviors and who are often sexually-preoccupied. Eagle Academy is a 24-hour (awake) intensive community-based residential treatment program. We provide maximum, non-secure supervision and intensive clinical intervention. Eagle Academy is not a locked facility but is treatment staff secure. The boys residing in Eagle Academy have serious and significant sexual acting out issues, potentially having persistent or fixated patterns of offending, use of force or weapons in committing their offenses. These youth also exhibit a propensity to act out with same-aged peers in addition to younger victims. Eagle Academy residents also present with multiple vulnerabilities and deficits in their abilities to meet their needs.
 
Youth admitted to Eagle Academy present a significant risk for reoffending sexually, and therefore, require intervention in a structured and restrictive residential treatment setting. Due to the manner in which these youth sexually offend and the number and variety of risk factors identified in these youth, they score in the moderate-to-high and high risk range on acceptable national risk assessment tools. These young men possess risk too great to remain in the community or be placed with less-sophisticated youth in lower levels of care.
  • NOJOS Certified Therapists
  • Sex-Specific Treatment
  • Holistic/Developmental Approach
  • High Recreation Emphasis (8000 sq. ft. indoor gym)
  • Family, Individual and Group Therapies
  • Sex-specific Treatment for DDMR, Aspergers, and Autistic Disorder
Presenting Youth Issues
Eagle Academy’s youth present in treatment with multiple developmental issues, environmental issues, deficits in executive functioning, cognitive distortions, emotional issues, self-concept deficits, social competency and social relatedness deficits, childhood maltreatment, and awareness deficits including, but not limited to the following:
 
  • Failure or disruptions in the developmental stages;
  • Attachment deficits;
  • Learning disabilities;
  • Developmentally delayed and mentally retarded;
  • Autistic Disorder;
  • Negative family environment;
  • Parental of familial separations;
  • Negative peer influence;
  • Emotional self-regulation problems;
  • Limited rules for appropriate social behavior and interaction;
  • Poorly-developed or primitive senses of morality;
  • Failure to understand consequences of their behavior;
  • Limited self control over ADHD, Anger management, Impulsivity;
  • Conduct disordered;
  • Depression and anger issues;
  • Limited emotional expression;
  • Deficits in self-esteem, worth, independence and confidence;
  • Sexual, physical and psychological abuse;
  • Exposure to domestic violence;
  • Lack of empathy;
  • Little remorse for behaviors;
  • Narcissistic qualities.
Treatment
Consistent with Youth Health Associates’ therapeutic philosophy, Eagle Academy endorses the use of holistic/integrated approach to treating youth who engage in sexual misconduct. Eagle Academy uses a blend of traditional sex-specific treatment―development of full accountability for all offense behaviors, insight into offense dynamics and choice to offend, building realistic and effective relapse prevention strategies, development of a family safety plan, development of healthy sexual attitudes and boundaries, and develop and sustain victim empathy―into a more developmentally-consistent model for working effectively with our residents. Therapeutic interventions do not focus solely on sexual problems, but also address the youth’s growth and development, health, social skills, resilience and resolving the youth’s own victimization and co-occurring disorders.
 
Eagle Academy’s treatment strategies also include sex education and healthy sexuality work, life-skills training, skills development training, independent –living skills and psychiatric/medication management services. We provide a psychosexual educational  emphasis in group treatment to provide our residents with information regarding maturation, human development, healthy sexual functioning and the current laws regarding sexual conduct.
 
Many of our youth have had multiple, deliberate trauma exposures in their lifetime, and therefore, trauma-specific treatment interventions are utilized when necessary. Eagle Academy believes that our youth must have the opportunity to resolve his own childhood victimization with sensory interventions, separate from the focus on his sexual offending to assist him to resolve trauma, enhance his emotional coping skills and develop a healthy sexual identity.
Treatment Modalities
Resident activities and movements are controlled or monitored by treatment staff on a twenty-four-hour basis at Eagle Academy. We place strong emphasis on structure, intensive behavior management and containment to promote public safety. All schooling for Eagle Academy is provided on-site. Eagle Academy relies upon behavioral systems and behavioral modification programming to gain compliance from residents.
 
Individual, family, group and recreational therapies, as well as the therapeutic milieu intervention, provide the basic structure of programming for Eagle Academy. Additionally, our residents participate in group therapy that focuses on sex-offending issues. Youth admitted to Eagle Academy typically cannot be adequately treated in a non-sex-specific or traditional residential programs.  An integral part of our programming and therapeutic intervention is to decrease sexually-abusive behavior problems.
 
The treatment of youth who engage in sexual misconduct requires specialized training and a unique treatment approach, which Eagle Academy offers each of our residents. All of our clinical professionals are NOJOS certified, and have extensive experience working with this particular population. Eagle Academy provides the following treatment modalities and components:
 
  • Sex-specific group therapy two to three times per week focused on allowing the youth to work on accomplishing the treatment goals and expectations of sex-specific treatment with the support of a peer group;
  • Cycle work focusing on the identification and understanding of contributing factors (thoughts, feelings and behaviors) that occur before, during and after a youth’s sexual misconduct, and development of coping strategies specific to each factor to interrupt unhealthy cycles and establish a relapse-prevention/self-regulation plan for such factors;
  • Sexual-arousal modification, including use of strategies to help the youth understand their sexual attractions and arousals, differentiate healthy from unhealthy sexual functioning and develop the self-regulation and coping skills to control deviant impulses;
  • Sex education and healthy sexuality development in individual therapy, and/or a psychosexual education group setting, to teach the youth about human sexuality and enhance their understanding of developmentally expected, healthy, appropriate adolescent sexual unfolding and expression;
  • Life-skills training in a group setting centered on the mastery of life and social skills;
  • Individual therapy one to two times weekly addressing both sex-specific and more general psychological issues and needs;
  • Family therapy weekly (as determined appropriate by clinician);
  • Highly structured academic programming; Psychiatric and medication management.
Graduation Criteria
Youth admitted to Eagle Academy have significant abusive-behavior patterns that require long-term treatment intervention. The length of stay at Eagle Academy is twelve to eighteen months, with six to twelve months of follow-up aftercare services. Due to our experience and advanced level of programming, Eagle Academy is generally able to graduate a youth from the program in twelve months.
 
The Eagle Academy Clinical Team recommends that our residents undergo a graduation assessment to determine if:
 
  • Family issues and environmental risk factors have been stabilized and/or reduced;
  • Co-morbid issues have been addressed/stabilized;
  • Level of functioning/skills has improved;
  • A stable support system has been developed;
  • Risk has been lowered;
  • Etiological and maintenance factors, as well as treatment issues identified in the intake assessment, have been addressed;
  • Protective factors, resiliency, internal and external assets have been increased;
  • Progress has occurred on sex-specific treatment goals.
Referral Contact
Brian Garlock, LCSW
801.628.6160
brian@yhautah.com
  Mace Warren

Mace Warren, CSW

Therapist

Mace has a BS in Criminal Justice, Political Science and Social Work (2008) and a Master of Social Work (2009). Mace started with YHA in 2002 as direct care staff. He quickly moved up to be a Lead and then Swing Supervisor. He continued his education and is now a dynamic therapist. Mace enjoys working with youth because of the personal interactions and the intrinsic rewards. He constantly is seeking for new experiences adding to his knowledge, skills and values. Mace not only seeks for mental challenges, but physical ones as well. He is quite active with running marathons, weight training and Jiu-Jitsu.
 
  Matt Clark

Matt Clark

East Home Supervisor

Matt has worked with at risk youth since 1994. He started with YHA in 2003. Matt has a special aptitude in dealing with youth and their behaviors. In visiting the East home it is not a rare occasion to see Matt with boys, tools, and wood building something, or beautifying the yard. Matt has a remarkable ability to build rapport with the youth, staff and parents. “I enjoy helping the boys try new things, snowboarding, sports, hikes and experience all that life has to offer and further watching them grow from boys to young men.” Matt and his staff spend a lot of time mentoring the youth; building self esteem and teaching them appropriate coping and social skills.
 
  Matt Merback

Matt Merback, LPC

Therapist

Matt has a BS in Psychology (1996) and a Master of Educational and Professional Counseling (1998). Matt has been working with at risk youth since 1990. He started as direct care staff, moved on to be a school counselor and later started with YHA in 2006.

Matt not only enjoys being part of a team that facilitates responsibility, growth and success, but recognizes the capacity in our youth. Mary McLeod Bethune said it best: “We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends.” Matt enjoys being with his family, golfing, sports, and reading.