Located in the southwest edge of the White Mountains, Mount Prospect Academy’s Sub-Acute program offers highly supportive, structured, residential treatment for students who have struggled in standard residential treatment programs. MPA’s Sub-Acute students have, in most cases, experienced multiple traumatic events. They have unique needs and challenges which require carefully planned, long-term treatment. The Sub-Acute program is designed to prioritize safety and supervision while maintaining a calming, low-stimulation environment.  

Sub-Acute’s treatment pathway incorporates components from Ross Greene’s evidence-based approach for the “Explosive Child”. The program also uses the clinical methods Attachment, Self-Regulation and Competency (ARC) ; Motivational Interviewing (MI); Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR); and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT). 

​MPA at Pike: Sub-Acute is comprised of two renovated farmhouses: Blake House and Mitchell House.   Each maintain a maximum of 6 students and serve students who range from 10 to 20 years old. Sub-Acute’s small community size and its 4:5 faculty-to-student ratio allow MPA to serve students who exhibit extreme behavioral challenges.

​Sub-Acute first aims to make students feel safe and respected, and then the team begins to work on stabilizing high-risk, maladaptive behaviors. MPA recognizes the instrumental role that all faculty members play in establishing a safe and trusting environment. Sub-Acute staff specialize in treating students who display explosive, aggressive, and violent behaviors. Students work with a master’s level milieu clinician (MC), who takes a lead role in providing case oversight and clinical support for the student and their family. Students are also assigned a permanency coordinator (PC), who provides supervision such as curfew checks and crisis support, while also ensuring that students and their families are adequately connected to long-term community supports.

Once students have been assessed, faculty members focus on helping students improve self-regulation and coping skills while also establishing positive, healthy relationships and experiences. Although each youth is different, common behavior goals could include decreasing self-harmful behaviors and minimizing substance abusing behaviors, physically aggressive behaviors, and other mental and behavioral health safety concerns. Our hope is that this program can serve as the first steps in our students’ lifelong journey of establishing trust, happiness, and success.

Our students tend to be non-traditional learners who struggle with teacher-centered instruction. MPA students often succeed with hands-on, experiential learning, and their successes in this arena lead to more trusting relationships with teachers and caregivers. MPA’s curriculum provides students with opportunities to advance in the general curriculum of their sending school districts, which are considered critical stakeholders in our program. All students follow the general education curriculum standards of their designated grade level as defined by the New Hampshire Department of Education. Students are enrolled in the appropriate academic classes as defined by their sending school district’s graduation requirements and MPA’s recommendations.  MPA strives to develop student interests in real-world career paths and provide curriculum that is relevant. As such, MPA provides students with opportunities to advance in the general curriculum from their sending schools and we use work-based learning experiences to foster a sense of responsibility and diligent work ethic.

Hall Farm serves adolescents and young adults, ages 11- 20, who exhibit significant negative behaviors attributable to co-occurring mental health conditions, trauma, and neurobehavioral challenges including Pervasive Developmental Disorders (Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, PDD-NOS), Attention Deficit- Hyperactivity Disorder, Nonverbal Learning Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder, Expressive language disorder or mild intellectual disability. Due to negative and at times aggressive behaviors, these students have struggled to find success in traditional school systems and/ or other day and residential treatment environments resulting in attachment disruption. 

MPA at Pike; Hall Farm serves students through a moderate and high acuity model based on the student’s needs. Students at Hall Farm engage in and are taught activities of daily living that represent normal “family” responsibilities; cooking, household chores, dressing, hygiene, shopping, etc. In addition they are further challenged by life on a working farm and wildlife preserve/outdoor recreational center, which promotes fitness, fine and gross motor development as well as leisure time recreational interests, ( hiking, skiing, gardening, forest stewardship, etc.). 

Hall Farm setting promotes social and emotional growth which is enhanced by the supported interactions young adults have on the farm. Research indicates that relationships with animals help build an understanding of behavioral cues, reciprocity and empathy and have also been shown to promote improvements in mood, focus and social awareness. 

Student at Hall Farm tend to be non-traditional learners who struggle with teacher-centered instruction. MPA students often succeed with hands-on, experiential learning, and their successes in this arena lead to more trusting relationships with teachers and caregivers. MPA’s curriculum provides students with opportunities to advance in the general curriculum of their sending school districts, which are considered critical stakeholders in our program. All students follow the general education curriculum standards of their designated grade level as defined by the New Hampshire Department of Education. Students are enrolled in the appropriate academic classes as defined by their sending school district’s graduation requirements and MPA’s recommendations.  MPA strives to develop student interests in real-world career paths and provide curriculum that is relevant. As such, MPA provides students with opportunities to advance in the general curriculum from their sending schools and we use work-based learning experiences to foster a sense of responsibility and diligent work ethic.