Founder Charles B. West establishes the George M. West Mental Health Foundation, named after his father, to raise funds and establish a community-based residential mental health treatment organization in Atlanta.

Skyland Trail opens one of the first community-based residential treatment programs in the Southeast. Programming includes group therapy, social and independent living skills training and vocational readiness.

Programs expand to include horticultural therapy, nutritional counseling and job coaching.

Advisory Board established.

Aftercare and case management programs start to support transition to independent living.

Board adopts first long-range strategic plan

Skyland Trail earns first Joint Commission accreditation. Skyland Trail has earned the Gold Seal of approval from The Joint Commission since 1999. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organizations commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.

First Arts in the Garden community event is held. Skyland Trail continues to kick off Mental Health Month in May each year by inviting the community to our Charles B. West Campus for Arts in the Garden, a celebration of the talent of individuals living with a mental health diagnosis and the roll of art and nature in recovery and wellness.

Benefits of Laughter continues to be Skyland Trail's signature fundraising event.

Now part of the Charles B. West Campus, the Health and Education Center continues to be the centerpiece of the adult residential and day treatment programs.

Skyland Trail South Campus opened in 1999 as the residential facility for adult clients entering treatment. Today, adult clients ages 25 and older admit to South Campus to begin their treatment.

The first financial aid scholarships were awarded to clients in 1999. Today, through the generosity of Skyland Trail donors and friends, the financial aid program distributes at least $2 million annually to help clients and families access and complete treatment. You can help.

The Life Enrichment Adult Program (LEAP) begins in 1999. Today, LEAP activities take place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and weekends and include cooking classes, art projects, group fitness and recreation, pet therapy, and special outings to sporting events, restaurants and museums. Our licensed counselors organize and lead LEAP activities and help clients address their social anxieties through experiential learning. Charitable donations help support the LEAP Program. You can help.

The Skyland Trail Associates auxiliary group was established in 2000. Skyland Trail Associates are women business and civic leaders who help raise awareness about mental health and introduce Skyland Trail as a resource for mental health treatment and education. Associates also support Skyland Trail and the clients we serve through fundraising and volunteer service activities. LEARN MORE >>

Skyland Trail receives recognition: Rosalynn Carter/ Johnson & Johnson Caregiver Award and the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Managing for Excellence Award

Professional Advisory Board is formed to forge stronger ties with Atlanta mental health professionals

Family STEP is a weekly education and support group open to family members and important friends of adult clients enrolled in a Skyland Trail mental health treatment program. Families of Skyland Trail graduates and alumni may also attend. STEP is offered to Skyland Trail families free-of-charge and is made possible in part by charitable donations from the community.

National Advisory Board is instituted to engage national leaders in psychiatry.

Skyland Trail receives the American Psychiatric Association Gold Achievement Award for excellence and innovation in service delivery.

Cypress Society planned giving program welcomes first members.

On-site primary care clinic opens. Skyland Trail is one of the first residential mental health programs in the country to open an on-site primary care clinic and integrate primary care and psychiatric services.

New recovery model implemented: psychiatric care moved in-house and evidence-based integrated care organized around recovery communities

Professional Education Series is launched offering continuing education workshops for mental health professionals.

The first Skyland Trail Associates Luncheon is held. The event is organized annually by the Skyland Trail Associates, a volunteer group of Atlanta women leaders. Guests enjoy a luncheon and keynote presentation on mental health. Generous Atlanta-based businesses sponsor the luncheon. Each year the Associates select an area of need or opportunity at Skyland Trail and direct proceeds from the event to help us advance or improve our world-class mental health treatment programs for clients and families.

Skyland Trail celebrates 20 years of serving the community. In the same year, Skyland Trail is recognized by the Georgia Center for Nonprofits with the Revolutions Award, and the clinical team receives the “Heroes in the Fight” award from Mental Health America of Georgia

Skyland Trail receives the 11Alive Community Service Award

Dorothy C. Fuqua Center is dedicated, consolidating administrative space and expanding clinical and vocational services space. Today the Dorothy C. Fuqua Center also includes the adult admissions center, the Tompkins Family Art Gallery, and the Glenn Family Wellness Clinic.

Dorothy C. Fuqua Lecture Series at Skyland Trail is launched. The annual community education series honors the late Dorothy Chapman Fuqua, former board member and benefactor of Skyland Trail. Past speakers include The Honorable Patrick Kennedy, Sanjay Gupta, Dr. Richard Kogan, Former U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates, and many individuals and families with lived experience with mental health disorders.

First medical student from Emory Medical School is welcomed and medical student training program begins

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) team receives certification from Behavioral Tech. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is one of the most researched treatments for borderline personality disorder and diagnoses involving emotional disregulation. Today, Skyland Trail offers one of only a few residential DBT programs in the country. Our intensively trained DBT treatment team meets weekly to discuss complex client cases and to develop comprehensive strategies to help clients progress. Across the organization, our multidisciplinary treatment team, including residential staff members, receive ongoing training on how to support DBT clients. 

Mark West retires as board chair after 25 years of service. “A source of great satisfaction to me has been being a part of the growth and development of Skyland Trail,” said West.  “Watching it become one of the premier mental health treatment facilities in the country has given me enormous pleasure.  This organization started in 1982 with my father’s vision of providing innovative treatments to adults with mental illness so they could reintegrate back into the community.  Today, Skyland Trail has a dedicated leadership team and a strong fiscal outlook.  I felt the board of directors was in a position to carry on our track record and made the bittersweet decision to pass the torch.”

Alumni Program helps graduates stay connected. Alumni program is offered free of charge to adult graduates and is made possible by charitable donations. You can help.

Main Campus dedicated as The Charles B. West Campus as part of the 25th Anniversary Celebration

Skyland Trail is recognized with a Special Presidential Commendation at the 2014 APA Annual Meeting

The Glenn Family Wellness Clinic Opens to provide primary care and wellness services to adults in the community living with a mental illness.

After completing the Changing Minds capital campaign, Skyland Trail breaks ground on the Rollins Campus, a residential and treatment facility for young adults.

The Rollins Campus opens and begins welcoming young adults and college age adults with depression, bipolar illness, anxiety, and schizophrenia. The campus includes 32 private rooms with private bathrooms, a kitchen and dining hall, group rooms and therapist offices, a family room, client lounge, fitness room, and an outdoor courtyard.

Skyland Trail begins offering Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in the Glenn Family Wellness Clinic. TMS is a non-invasive FDA-approved treatment that has been shown to effectively reduce symptoms of treatment-resistant depression in adults.

Skyland Trail announced the permanent endowment of the chief medical officer position in honor of the organization’s founding board member, Charles B. West. The establishment of the endowed position of Charles B. West Chief Medical Officer was made possible with support from a charitable remainder unitrust from the late Mr. and Mrs. West, in addition to support from The West Foundation. 

Skyland Trail broke ground and began construction on an adolescent campus. When complete, the campus will be home to a treatment program for adolescents ages 14 to 17 with mood and anxiety disorders. Construction of the facility and development of the new treatment program was made possible by the Building Resilience, Changing Lives campaign, which raised more than $20 million for the project.

Skyland Trail earned Behavioral Health Home Certification from The Joint Commission. The certification demonstrates Skyland Trail’s commitment to the integration and coordination of behavioral health care services and primary physical health services through a rigorous process of external validation by recognized experts in the field.

Skyland Trail celebrated the grand opening of the J. Rex Fuqua Campus for adolescents. The J. Rex Fuqua Campus offers specialized residential psychiatric treatment for adolescents ages 14 to 17 struggling with anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. The facility includes 26 private bedrooms with private bathrooms; group therapy rooms and offices; therapeutic spaces for fitness, meditation, art and music activities; a learning lab for academic activities; common areas for socialization; a dining room that opens to an outdoor dining patio; and a courtyard and outdoor sports court.

The Skyland Trail Board of Directors issued a resolution creating the Marjorie West Wynne Art Fellowship in honor of the dedication and passion of longtime board member Marjorie West Wynne. This newly established fellowship will be awarded annually to a current or graduating client of Skyland Trail who demonstrates creativity and an interest in art as an outlet for mental health and wellbeing. The award provides financial support for one individual to further their skills and passion through continuing art education. Marjorie West Wynne, the daughter of Skyland Trail founder Charles B. West, served as a Board Member from 2000 through 2019 and as Chair of the Financial Aid Committee from 2006 through 2019. Her commitment to Skyland Trail and her passion for art and art therapy have helped improve the lives of thousands of individuals with mental illness.

Skyland Trail celebrates 30 years of meeting the needs of individuals and families struggling with mental illness.

Skyland Trail responds to the coronavirus pandemic by developing a virtual day treatment and intensive outpatient program, establishing infection prevention and control protocols, and re-configuring admissions processes and residential programs for adults and adolescents.

Skyland Trail began offering TMS services in 2017 and acquired the Theta Burst technology in 2021 to improve the patient experience. The Theta Burst Stimulation system significantly reduces the length of TMS treatment sessions. TMS patients receive treatment sessions five days per week for six to nine weeks.

Opened the adolescent day treatment program, also know as partial hospitalization or PHP program as a step-down level of care for adolescents transitioning home after residential treatment.

Thanks to generous community support, Skyland Trail purchased a 1.99 acre property adjacent to the J. Rex Fuqua Campus for adolescents in 2021. Work to convert the undeveloped property into additional parking for the campus as well as additional recreational and expressive therapy space for adolescent clients was completed in September 2022.

Skyland Trail hosted the first Skyland Trail 5K Run/Walk at the J. Rex Fuqua Campus in September 2022.

Added dual diagnosis groups and Prolonged Exposure Therapy to adolescent curriculum