We believe in the potential of teenagers and the power of Christ to change the trajectory of their lives. Teen drug rehab is more than a job to us; it’s a calling. These factors are what make Clearfork Academy distinct from other addiction recovery facilities.
This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.
Jeremiah 6:16 NIV
Addiction is a powerful thing. Substance abuse rehabilitation requires more than behavioral modification; it requires a heart change. Jesus is the one best qualified to change hearts, so He’s central to all we do at Clearfork.
The habits we develop as teens set the trajectory for the rest of our lives. We treat adolescents because we believe in a better future for them. By addressing faulty thinking now, we can literally change their minds before their brains are fully developed. If they’re impressionable enough to fall into addiction, they’re impressionable enough to recover.
A job pays the bills; a calling is a life’s purpose. Helping adolescents overcome substance abuse is a calling for us. We love what we do and the teens with whom we work. We celebrate their victories and grieve their setbacks.
The origin of our name comes from 3 unique identifiers.
Eagle Mountain Lake is fed by three different regions, West Fork, Clear Fork, and The Trinity River. We are positioned on a Texas ranch backdrop on the Clear Fork region of the lake, thus the name Clearfork. In many of the stories in the Bible and other significant events throughout history, they are often memorialized by a place. We invested a lot of time, energy and other resources to create the prime location because we want to provide the most captivating atmosphere for our teens and our staff to conduct therapy. We wanted to give them an area to get out into nature and connect. Having a beautiful campus which overlooks Eagle Mountain Lake allows us the opportunity to provide this kind of environment.
When individuals are stuck in addiction or other mental funk, they cannot see a “clear fork” in the road. It can be difficult to see the path that leads to recovery or at the minimum a road that leads to change. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy suggests that there is always a “clear fork” for us and if we are willing, we can find that new direction. Often in the midst of all the chaos, our teens feel like they are on a tunneled road with no exit ramp. At Clearfork Academy we provide that “exit ramp” through our clinical excellence and treatment programming which ultimately brings us to a place that we can lead teens to a new legacy.
This is the major factor that separates us from the pack. We are not just a treatment center with a small section devoted to Christianity. We are totally and fully devoted followers of Christ and we strive to represent that daily. However, this does not mean that we are just a glorified church camp incapable of clinical intervention. In fact, the opposite is true. We use the call from Jeremiah 6:16 as a guidepost to lead our teens to a new legacy. We stand, look, ask, walk, and rest with each of our clients and their families as well. This is The Clearfork Way.
Honor, Unity, Sacrifice, Transparency, Legacy, Excellence, and Fun are the core values at Clearfork Academy. First and foremost, our core values really are not words that we just kind of came up with in a brainstorming session. They are quite literally posted on my refrigerator at home and they represent something that comes out of who we are and who we are developing into. These are the marks we aspire to each day. A lot of people do vision, marketing, and branding sessions to come up with core values and mission statements and purpose for their organizations. But these values really have come out of who I am personally and who we are as an organization.
We made banners and signs and placed them all over our campus to visually instill the beliefs in the entire community, clients and employees alike. We did not have them in any specific order and one of our teens said, “Hey, did you know the core values spell out H.U.S.T.L.E. and Fun.”It was a mind-blowing revelation that nearly knocked me off my feet. Those two things on their own – Hustle and Fun – are purely representative of my entire life. They resonated so clearly with me at that moment. I could remember preparing before a game in my high school years and the coach would call us over for a huddle. He would say, “There is no substitute for hard work.” That drive instilled in me then paved the pathway to the actions of H.U.S.T.L.E. and Fun in my own life.
After 15 years of research and practice The Clearfork Way program philosophy and methodology was developed by our founder Austin Davis.
The program was designed with today’s teenager in mind. Each of the modules reflect both a Clearfork core value and a therapeutic modality that has stood the test of time. This concept allows us to connect not only to the presenting symptoms of mental heath and substance abuse but also to the issues which are deeply rooted in the heart. Rather than taking a broad non directive approach, the scope and sequence is designed to build upon each other so that the cascading messages and themes permeate the heart and mind.
Each week a Clearfork core value will be brought forth in hopes that each teen will adopt the “core behavior” that represents the value. To say something has little to no value in today’s culture, we want to see action! Therefore honoring God, self, and others becomes supremely valuable. Having a unified core is essential to recovery and sustainable mental health. We call it a “common – unity.” We teach that sacrifice is about going the extra mile and doing things that are uncomfortable. We know that without transparency we will never get to the core of an issue, so there is a commitment to bringing our true self to every interaction. We are painfully committed to helping create a new legacy for our teens. This requires constant support and guidance from every team member. Excellence can often be over looked but we ask everyone at Clearfork to give their best every single time, without exception. Lastly, we are obsessed with making our life’s full of fun, laughter, and ultimately joy. We know this life is difficult and each step should be taken as lightly as possible.
Each clinical intervention drives toward a moment of change. We utilize narrative therapy to help our teens find the “real” story hidden inside of themselves. We know that the personal narrative isn’t alway enough and it needs to be told from a family systems perspective, therefore we want to therapeutically embrace the entire family system. Many times trauma is the road block to sustainable recovery so we have devoted a non-intrusive approach to these sensitive topics.
As we say “we are all survivors of something.” Coming out of treatment our teens will exhibit leadership skills that will empower them to take charge of their created design. What good are leadership skills without a plan? Aftercare planning starts on day one for our teens and families at Clearfork. Moreover we have devoted an entire week to getting these plans accurate on all accounts. We know that life and recovery are stressful and require some level of distress tolerance. Our “center” week is designed to build skills to “sit” in moments of stress and not use the poor coping mechanisms which have been naturally used in the past. Lastly, we know teen boys need experiences to make permanent the change happening inside of them. So, we have a high ropes course, boating, fishing, mountain biking, fitness obstacle course, and many other opportunities for therapists to use play as an intervention.
The practical application of our program can be found in our life skills manual. This compilation of skills has been designed to address the most common mishaps in our daily life. Topics such as communication, anger management, coping skills, time management, conflict resolution, and stress management are the focus. Mastering these skills will take a life time but our life skills curriculum will establish a sustainable foundation.
Of course, no recovery program is complete without the support of others with a common resolution. The Clearfork Way utilizes the core tenants Smart Recovery and Alcoholics Anonymous to build awareness to the possibilities in recovery.
It’s our hope that in the 13 weeks of programming we can build rapport, repair the brokenness inside, and create new strategies for wholistic sober living for each teen and his family. Ultimately we believe a new legacy will begin for each teen that walks onto our campus.
HONOR God first
Win by being in UNITY
SACRIFICE by doing more than our responsibility
Provide TRANSPARENCY as ethically as possible
Lead teens to a new LEGACY every day
Exemplify EXCELLENCE always
And
Have FUN as much as possible
We do it all through our core values H.U.S.T.L.E. and Fun that guide everything we do.
