Discovery Academy mentors interact with your student every day. Besides monitoring daily activities, mentors are mirrors to successful young adult living.
David Mason
David Mason was born in Wales but grew up in Sacramento, California. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology and plans on attending graduate school at Brigham Young University this fall. He hopes to continue working with adolescents and possibly teach psychology.
David has worked as a tour guide in Alaska and lived in Italy for two years. He’s been with Discovery Academy since 2004. “The best thing about this job is feeling like you helped change someone’s life,” David says. “When these students look back on the pivotal moments of their life, I might be a part of it. It’s so rewarding when you see a kid realize he can take control of his life – and then actually do that.”
Cami Jarvis
Cami Jarvis is a Senior at Utah Valley State College majoring in psychology. She’s been a Discovery Academy mentor since 2003. Originally from Orem, Utah, Cami loves musical theatre and assisting with Discovery Academy productions.
She also loves the girls she mentors. “They’ll find every single button you have and push it to the full extent,” she says with a laugh. Cami admits she’s never bored. “There’s a different challenge every day. It’s so gratifying to see these girls come into the program, then graduate and go on to college and continue doing what they should be doing. I love these kids.”
Discovery Academy students have a new tool to make certain they receive medications on time, every time. The Academy recently implemented a new data base system that links the school directly with an outside pharmacy. Medications are re-ordered on-line and each student’s prescriptions come individually packaged for accurate and easy dispensing.
“The pharmacy is incredibly important,” says Laura Elliker, Residential Director. “Making sure students stay on a regular medication system plays a key role in their over-all success.”
The new computerized pharmacy puts information about which drugs students are taking, as well as their current doses, as close as the therapist’s computer. Besides information on which medications students are using, therapists can also tell when the last dose was given and by whom.
The on-line system also means therapists can quickly access the information during parent telephone conferences. Parents won’t have to wait while their child’s therapist runs to the medication room to check a handwritten log or seeks out a staffer who may have the information.
The new pharmacy program is password protected to insure student privacy. Only therapists and key Discovery Academy administrators will have access to the information.
“Students will still come to the med room to take their medications,” Elliker explains. “The big advantage is that we won’t have to worry about being out of a medication when it’s needed. We can re-order instantly and the pharmacy automatically processes the order for us.”
Because the medications are delivered to Discovery Academy in pre-packaged daily doses, school staff members spend less time counting pills and more time working with students.
“We think it’s a great tool to improve the quality of service we offer to students and their families,” Elliker says.
Welcome to “In the Loop”, – the quarterly newsletter for Discovery Academy. We’re pleased to offer news and information to enhance your family’s DA experience. In the coming months you’ll see updates on programs, information about our staff, relationship helps and parenting tips from respected authors and speakers. We welcome your contributions as well. Please give us your feedback at editor@discoveryacademy.com
by Brent Hall, Discovery Academy Executive Director
Twice each year Discovery Academy hosts a parent seminar. To simply come and visit with your child would be a lost opportunity to learn with your child. The parent seminar gives you an opportunity to see the Discovery Academy philosophy in action.
We’ve learned that parents choose Discovery Academy for a variety of reasons but they often don’t have a real understanding of exactly what it is we do or how we do it.
Some parts of the seminar are explanations in a classroom type setting. Other activities are hands-on, experiential therapy where you as the parent must learn a skill your child has mastered. The goal is to help parents understand what their student is experiencing during treatment.
If you haven’t yet attended, here’s what you can look forward to:
Parent-to-Parent Interaction:
All of the seminars begin with introductions. Parents have a chance to talk about themselves, their student and what brought them to Discovery Academy. Interacting with other parents in situations similar to yours can be very therapeutic. Most parents feel much better when they’ve talked with someone who understands how they feel. Over the years we’ve found parents connect with one another in meaningful ways that help them while their student is at DA and sometimes for months afterward.
Communication Techniques:
We want to give you real tools to help communicate with the child in the program and other children you may have at home. That’s why we have some of the most respected facilitators in the industry present a family communication seminar.
This class includes actual dialogue between parents and the presenter on real communication issues. It may also include having your personal communication style analyzed with tips on how to improve based on your unique style.
Substance Abuse Awareness Training:
Substance abuse problems are a common thread among Discovery Academy students. Trained counselors teach parents how to spot behavioral clues and physical signs that may indicate drug involvement, as well as what to do when abuse is present.
Parent/Teacher Academic Conference:
Part of what distinguishes Discovery Academy from other residential treatment programs is our emphasis on individually designed academic programs. Parent/teacher conference lets you review the academic goals our teaching staff and your child have made, as well as assess your child’s progress in reaching those goals.
Family Therapy:
You’ve spoken on the phone many times with your child’s therapist. The parent seminar is an opportunity for you to meet face-to-face and continue counseling. Ask questions, observe the interaction between your child and his/her therapist and take notes – mental or otherwise – on what you want to follow-up on or practice at home.
Family Time:
You will have an opportunity to stay overnight with your child in the off-campus setting of your choice. We will provide you with some very specific guidelines to make certain your student maintains Discovery Academy standards during your time together.
The Value of Experiential Therapy:
For many of the parents who attend the seminar, the last time they saw their child was when he left, angry and resentful, for treatment. At the seminar, that same child is suddenly signing or dancing on stage, negotiating a ropes course, or convincing a willful horse to do his bidding.
We have a school play every year because it’s reflective of our commitment to experiential therapy. Students need to experience something different in order to feel something different.
We say to them, in effect, “We want you to take off the mask of an addict, a cutter, a whatever, and put this one on. Be the Lion or the Tin Man or Dorothy for one night.”
Your student may never have participated in speech, drama, or dance in their old school setting. Suddenly they’re in a whole new environment! Whether its equine therapy in the riding arena or dance or drama or sports, Discovery Academy students are trying on new masks, some of them literal, some of them figurative, to help them feel differently than ever before.
That is what therapy really is – trying something else on.
Alumni Presentations:
Most parents are understandably worried about how their child may fare after completing treatment. At the parent seminar we often have one of our graduates return and update parents on their activities. These are students who have often chosen to stay in the area to pursue college or other vocational interests.
After graduating from the Discovery Academy program they are surviving and thriving as productive young adults.
Our next seminar is scheduled for October. If your child has been in the program for at least six weeks to two months, we encourage you to attend. You’ll find out first-hand why Discovery Academy works for your child.
Discovery Academy is pleased to share an article by noted author and speaker Linda Kavelin Popov. Linda Kavelin Popov is co-founder of The Virtues Project™, a global initiative to inspire the practice of virtues in everyday life. She is the author of The Family Virtues Guide and The Virtues Project Educator's Guide. www.virtuesproject.com
The Gift of Words
by Linda Kavelin Popov
In the last week of his life, my father gave me a gift I had yearned for since childhood. Like most parents of his generation, he thought that pointing out flaws and mistakes would shape my character and give me “backbone”. He believed that praise was unnecessary, even harmful. His criticisms, though well intentioned, left a deep scar, still tender whenever I receive a hint of criticism, especially from my intimates.
Looking frail, my father gathered the family around him, and spoke words of praise we had never heard before. I was stunned by the strength he saw in me, his appreciation for my compassion and my service.
The childhood chant, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me” is a lie. Words can break our hearts. When our words are weighty, we need to weigh our words. We are mirrors to our children of who they are. The words we use about them have a profound effect on how they see themselves.
Like so many others, I walked around for years with a harsh inner critic that would yammer at me at the slightest mistake, creating feelings of unworthiness, of not ever being good enough. Because I wanted life to be better for my children, I slipped into “opposititis” -- over-praising them, justifying their mistakes, indulging their willfulness, and failing to give them sufficient discipline, leaving them with a life-long struggle for self-discipline.
Our real job as parents and teachers is to mentor our children, empowering them to be the best people they can be, not by shaming or indulging them, but by encouraging the virtues of their character. The world’s sacred traditions describe virtues as the essence of our character and the qualities of our souls. Virtues resonate as no other words can. Naming someone’s courage, kindness, caring, or self-discipline is a powerful catalyst for authentic self-esteem.
The Language of Virtues helps us to break the cycle of negativity in labeling children or ourselves. It replaces name-calling words like “stupid”, “lazy”, or “mean” by calling them to their virtues. It gives us a new way to respond when we are frustrated or disappointed by finding the virtue in each teachable moment. Here are four ways to use the Language of Virtues to bring out the best in our children -- at any age:
- See the Good: Catch them in the act of committing a virtue. “It was kind of you to help Josh with his back-pack.” “You’re showing a lot of patience waiting to come home.”
- Always acknowledge improvement. “You were peaceful today. You only had two fights instead of six.”
- Use virtues to correct. “I’ll listen to anything you have to say as long as you say it respectfully.” “Even when you’re angry, I expect you to use your peacefulness. Use your voice to say how you feel.”
- Be Clear: Tell them what you DO want, not what you DON’T want. “Please walk! Be considerate and keep everyone safe at the pool.”
I close most conversations with my sons or my husband with an expression of love and more importantly, an appreciation for some virtue I see. “You sound really determined.” “I love your passion for excellence in your job.” “Thanks for your thoughtfulness.” It is deeply healing to acknowledge ourselves for our virtues as well, and to transform our internal critic into a gentle instructor that encourages us to keep growing our virtues.
Let’s take a moment to offer a precious gift to the ones we love, one that costs us nothing but is absolutely priceless. “Have I ever told you what I admire about you?” Find a virtue or two that’s just right and let them have it.
Learn more about the Virtues Project™ by visiting their website at www.virtuesproject.com See www.paceofgrace.net for a list of virtues definitions
Discovery Academy | 105 North 500 West | Provo, UT 84601
801-374-2121