Our Approach
Evidence-Based Therapy for Teens
One of our goals is to provide the space for our adolescent clients to begin to heal from the mental, spiritual, and physical damage done in active addiction. Alongside this healing process, we also want to equip our clients with the necessary coping skills to handle the emotional ups and downs that accompany daily life even when we are in a state of good mental health.
See our approach in action
Dr. Aflatoon and our clinical director walk through the philosophy behind our program and what a week of care actually looks like for your teen.
Skills that last a lifetime
Every therapy at Eagle Overlook is evidence-based and individualized - delivered on 54 wooded acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and tailored to where each teen is in their recovery.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns and maladaptive behaviors, helping adolescents develop healthier coping strategies they can carry into everyday life.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Teens
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) provides clients with new skills to manage painful emotions and decrease conflict in relationships. DBT specifically focuses on providing therapeutic skills in four key areas:
- Mindfulness - focuses on improving an individual’s ability to accept and be present in the current moment
- Distress tolerance - increases a person’s tolerance of negative emotion, rather than trying to escape from it
- Emotion regulation - covers strategies to manage and change intense emotions that are causing problems in a person’s life
- Interpersonal effectiveness - consists of techniques that allow a person to communicate with others in a way that is assertive, maintains self-respect, and strengthens relationships
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Teens
Another skill-based treatment approach, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a way of connecting with one’s values and living a meaningful and connected life even in the presence of difficult emotions. ACT presents therapy for teens in way where they employ six core principles or skills in order to take meaningful action, even when it’s difficult:
- Cognitive defusion - recognizing urges, thoughts, emotions, sensations, and feelings for what they are and recognizing they are temporary
- Presence - experiencing the world more directly rather than through the lens of judging experiences as “negative” or “positive”
- Acceptance - being present with difficult emotions, thoughts, and feelings rather than struggling against them, which only prolongs and increases unwanted experiences
- Self as context - getting in touch with a transcendent “observing” self can notice thoughts and feelings without being changed by them
- Values - connecting to guiding principles and life directions that are meaningful and valuable to the individual
- Committed action - developing the skill of taking meaningful action even in the presence of difficult emotions
Existential Therapy
Existential Therapy helps adolescents explore meaning, purpose, and personal values, fostering self-awareness and guiding them toward purposeful living.
Wilderness & Experiential Programming
Wilderness therapy, also referred to as outdoor behavioral healthcare, is a treatment modality that uses expeditions into the wilderness or other unfamiliar surroundings as a means of addressing behavioral and mental health issues. The clients’ engagement with the natural world also produces a healing and salutatory effect on the individual, restoring balance to the connection between their mind, body, and spirit.
Wilderness therapy provides a secure, non-critical, and supportive environment for self-discovery. Individuals are often guided through an examination of ineffective behaviors that contribute to negative circumstances in their lives. Through the use of wilderness expeditions, primitive skills training (such as primitive fire starting), and team-building exercises, disruptive or unproductive beliefs and views may be challenged and possibly transformed.
A foundation of spiritual growth
Spirituality can mean different things to different people. For some, it’s primarily about participation in organized religion. For others, it’s a non-religious experience that involves getting in touch with their spiritual selves through yoga, meditation, quiet reflection, or time in nature. Instincts toward spirituality appear to be deeply ingrained in individuals. As the brain processes sensory experiences, it naturally looks for patterns and our conscious selves often seek meaning in those patterns.
We believe that growing spiritually is the foundation for understanding a relationship with one’s self and one’s mental health and well-being. As a foundation to our approach, we use a Twelve Step framework to provide a positive and open atmosphere of spiritual growth and recovery for young people. We strongly encourage the clients to incorporate their own beliefs and practices to find a spiritual approach that is meaningful to them and provides them with a sense of connection. We also seek to incorporate SMART Recovery approaches.
Understanding the process
Psychoeducational groups are therapy groups conducted by a mental health professional that educate clients about their addiction and other mental health challenges and ways of coping. Psychoeducational groups utilize the group therapy process but emphasize helping the clients to understand the underlying process of addiction and mental health. In these groups clients learn about coping skills, defense mechanisms, consequences of substance use, relapse prevention, community support systems, anger management, the Twelve Steps, and recognizing signs and symptoms of mental health concerns.
Healing in connection with horses
The use of horses is gaining more recognition as a powerful and effective approach to helping children, adolescents, and adults. Horses are innate at reading our non-verbal body language, experience a wide range of feelings, and provide immediate, honest, observable feedback in response to our interactions with them. They are social beings and bring insight into group dynamics and the individual roles we play in our daily lives. It’s an action-based therapy in which individuals learn about themselves and others by participating in activities with horses followed by a discussion concerning their feelings, behaviors, and patterns.
- Builds trust and emotional awareness
- Develops responsibility and communication skills
- Gives immediate, honest, observable feedback
- Brings insight into group dynamics and personal patterns
Care in every setting
Beyond our core modalities, treatment happens across the settings that matter most to lasting recovery.
Family Therapy
Family Therapy involves parents and caregivers in treatment, strengthening family bonds, improving communication, and creating a supportive home environment.
Individual Therapy
Individual Therapy offers one-on-one sessions that allow adolescents to address personal challenges, explore emotions, and develop individualized coping strategies.
Group Therapy
Group Therapy provides peer-focused sessions with social support, shared learning, and the opportunity to practice new skills in a safe, structured environment.
Progress, not perfection
Eagle Overlook uses a structured Level System to encourage growth, accountability, and positive change. Clients advance through Levels 1 through 4, recognized for effort, growth, and achievement rather than expected to be perfect.
- 1Level 1
- 2Level 2
- 3Level 3
- 4Level 4
Advancement is based on positive reinforcement - recognizing real effort and growth.
Individualized goals
As clients advance, they complete individualized assignments and goals that align with their treatment plan.
Meaningful measurement
Clients and the treatment team can measure progress in a real way, while building healthy habits, responsibility, and self-awareness.
Milestones that motivate
Celebrating milestones and rewarding positive behaviors keeps clients engaged and reinforces the skills that support long-term success.
Ready to take the first step?
Our admissions team is confidential, compassionate, and ready to help your family - call us anytime.
Care a parent can trust
The Joint Commission
Accredited · Gold Seal of Approval®
LegitScript Certified
Verified, legitimate addiction treatment
Clinically-driven adolescent recovery in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Dahlonega, Georgia.
34.446° N · 83.975° W