L
Jay Mitchell has been focused on growing through learning since he was a child.
Growing up in the thick of the Vietnam War led him to question why people were
self-absorbed. He traveled to the University of Idaho to find the answers.
He
found the psychology department was too focused on theories and animal testing
to be useful to him. The law department provided the ability to work with
troubled people and educate them about the world. He graduated with a Juris
Doctor.
His
law degree first took him to the U. S. Air Force, where he worked with a team
of defense lawyers to defend thousands of administrative and criminal cases. He
learned how to convey a message and began to work with forensic psychologists.
After four years, he transferred to a civilian law firm.
At
this time, he started working with many professionals to develop a program for
troubled teenagers. This became the SUWS Adolescent Program. The program was a
short-term treatment center that used the wilderness to empower youth. He used
the program he developed for his school as the basis for a three-year study of
interpersonal relationships in adolescence.
L
Jay Mitchell also studied neurolinguistics. This helped him to understand how
the brain processes language. He learned why the communication techniques he
learned in law school worked and how he could further improve that skill.
He
began to create seminars to teach other people what he had learned. In 2014, he
published a self-help book entitled “Decide Now: The Good Life or the Best
Life.” This enabled him to teach even when he was not in the same room as his
student. He also started a now-defunct wilderness program. Each program gave
him more experience to draw upon.
In 2006, the Greenbrier Academy opened its
doors. The program for troubled young women age 13-18, became a success. The
programs L Jay Mitchell developed helped these women succeed academically and
socially. More than 95% of Greenbrier Academy students go to college. Many have
said that L Jay Mitchell’s academic prowess has helped them to learn
academically, personally, and socially.
