Families seeking mental health treatment for their children often worry about how the experience will impact academic progress. Fortunately, Huntsman Mental Health Institute’s unique, accredited education program ensures youth don’t need to choose between receiving essential treatment and staying on track in school.
A Legacy of Commitment to Education and Treatment
Since the late 1980s, the institute has held academic accreditation, allowing enrolled youth to continue their education while participating in treatment. Very few mental health treatment programs have an on-site school, making our approach both rare and invaluable.
In October 2025, Huntsman Mental Health Institute’s onsite school, University Academy, earned higher accreditation, achieving COGNIA system accreditation—an accomplishment that normally takes two years but was completed in just seven months. This designation allows qualifying entities with up to nine sites to be reviewed as a unified system. With this accreditation, students receiving intermediate services such as day treatment and residential treatment can now earn a high school diploma through University Academy.
COGNIA evaluates programs across 32 standards in four key domains using a rigorous 1–5 rubric, ensuring educational excellence and continuous improvement.
University Academy operates across several of our intermediate programs, including:
“It can feel demoralizing or defeating to a student in treatment if they believe they will be academically penalized for accessing mental health support.”
A Supportive, Fully Integrated Educational Model
At University Academy, credentialed teachers work closely with students’ home schools by communicating regularly with classroom teachers and counselors. By understanding each student’s curriculum, our educators foster a safe, structured, and supportive learning environment tailored to individual needs.
This collaborative model helps ensure students maintain academic progress while receiving therapeutic care—removing one of the most common obstacles families face when considering treatment.
Crisjon Solano, M.ED, principal of University Academy, explains the importance of academic continuity. When students are able to continue to engage in their academic curriculum during treatment, she says, they avoid the unnecessary stress of catching up later. Also, students are able to work through the academic barriers they typically experience at school—barriers that are often tied to their emotional difficulties—in a highly supportive and therapeutic environment.
University Academy's academic system reduces the stress students encounter when re-entering the school environment because they have been kept abreast of their schoolwork.
A Learning Environment Designed for Every Child
University Academy's teachers choose this unique academic setting because they enjoy working with youth who may not thrive in traditional classrooms. They understand how conditions such as anxiety, depression, autism, OCD, and substance use disorder affect learning—and they adjust instruction accordingly.
Every student receives an individualized plan. Teachers assess academic levels, adapt lessons, and collaborate with schools to develop safety plans and share best practices for ongoing support after treatment.
A Valuable Resource for Families Considering Day Treatment
“For parents exploring mental health treatment options,” says Solano, “it’s important to look for programs that integrate structured academic support.” University Academy ensures students enrolled in day treatment or residential treatment receive both therapeutic care and high-quality education, helping them return to school confidently and without academic setbacks.
In the best interest of every child, Huntsman Mental Health Institute continues to provide paths where healing and learning go hand in hand. To learn more, visit: