AO is a practice of Independent Consultants specializing in therapeutic and educational placements. Founded in 2006, AO has assisted thousands of families from all over the world navigate the difficult and confusing process of exploring residential or boarding options. Our goal is to help every child, adolescent, and young adult succeed in life.

By traveling the country to personally assess schools and programs, we have attained comprehensive knowledge of placement options that will foster growth in all areas of a client’s life. Our clinical training, our membership in national associations, our continued education in the field, our connections with school and program leadership, and our extensive experience counseling parents allows us to guide families beyond marketing materials. Understanding the nuances of each program and who they best serve, in order to determine the optimal fit for our clients, is our specialty.

As independent consultants, we are compensated solely by our clients and not by schools or programs. We have no business relationship with any referral sources or professionals to whom we refer. In other words, we are objectively working on behalf of your child.

What makes us different?

We are clinicians. At AO, we believe strongly in the value of having clinical expertise to accurately evaluate and assess the needs of each client and the efficacy of programs. As such both AO consultants hold graduate level clinical degrees and began our careers in the mental health counseling field.

We are a team. The AO model is unique in that both consultants work together on all cases. Every family has the benefit of having two highly qualified and experienced clinical consultants on their team. Clients are assured that while one is traveling to evaluate programs, the other is in the office assisting families and taking care of our clients’ needs.

We are case managers. We believe that the monitoring of a client’s progress is as important as the placement itself. As such, our contract continues until our client leaves treatment. During this time, we advocate for our clients, assist parents with the important decisions made during a placement, and monitor the happenings of a client’s program to ensure that changes do not negatively affect his or her success.