Why a CERTSProgram
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 the highest standards of care in the industry.
Our Mission
Our mission is to create leading adolescent treatment programs through relentlessly asking the right questions, where a climate of growth and personal development inspires positive change and the desire to live true principles in our students, their families, and our staff.
Our Philosophy
All CERTS schools and programs share some basic beliefs:
- We believe in change! Given the right setting and treatment approach, there is incredible reason to be optimistic about what your family and your daughter can accomplish.
- Building a program specifically for a student profile—rather than asking them to “adapt” to all of the elements that don’t fit them as well—is a tremendous improvement for adolescent treatment. In fact, we believe it is the next generation of treatment.
- True, lasting change comes from within. Our students, ultimately, are the ones who have to choose to accept these new patterns and habits. This will happen when our students have been prepared to a point where they embrace these new habits and reject once and for all their old, self-defeating behaviors.
- An outstanding education—that is, an education that is actually exciting, varied, and yet challenging—is part of the cure. Well-prepared teachers instruct students in drama, art, spanish, music and physical education, in addition to the core classes of english, math, science, and history. These “extra” classes are important for giving students non-traditional opportunities to excel and to boost self-esteem.
- Parents are an important part of the youth treatment process and must be heavily involved, both educationally and therapeutically.
- Experiential therapy is a very important complement to traditional therapies. In fact, we believe that most treatment programs “talk” too much and “do” too little! “Doing” therapy makes it stick!