Mental Health PlaybookBoulder Crest Foundation
- Geographic Focus: National (with locations in Arizona, Texas and Virginia)
- Mission: The Boulder Crest Foundation exists to transform the way that our society thinks, feels, and acts when it comes to notions of mental health and struggle to create a world that is fueled and founded in notions of Posttraumatic Growth (PTG), not PTSD, diminishment, diagnosis or dysfunction.
- Operating Budget: $16 million
- People Served: Military, veterans, first responders, mental health professionals, educators, healthcare workers
- Focus Areas and Core Competencies: Boulder Crest focuses on the development, delivery, study and scale of peer-based, Posttraumatic Growth-focused training programs. These include intensive and immersive programs ranging from one to seven days, with ongoing support and training provided online.
Impact Statement
The Boulder Crest Foundation has profoundly impacted the lives of nearly 125,000 service members, veterans and first responders with innovative Posttraumatic Growth-based training programs. By addressing PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges, the organization empowers individuals to reclaim control over their lives and live the great lives they deserve.
A conversation with Josh Goldberg, CEO of the Boulder Crest Foundation
Q: What is the mission of your organization? What specific areas related to mental health challenges are you working to solve?
Our mission is to transform our nation’s approach to mental health — and to do so by both serving and solving. We are in the midst of a massive mental health crisis in our nation — and no group of people bears the weight of this epidemic more than those on the frontlines of our society: our military and veterans, our first responders, our mental health professionals, educators and healthcare workers.
Our work to support these communities began with the opening of the first-ever retreat center in the country dedicated to combat veterans and their families in September 2013, and has grown into programs delivered at our locations in Virginia, Arizona and Texas, as well as across 18 states. As the home of Posttraumatic Growth, we train members of these essential communities to thrive in the midst of stress, struggle, hardship and trauma — so they can live great lives and serve their communities in a healthy and constructive fashion.
Q: How do you describe the big goals your organization is working to achieve? How do you measure impact?
The mental health challenges highlighted by the Boulder Crest Foundation represent just a portion of a larger, nationwide crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide ranked as a leading cause of death among various age groups in 2021, and the National Institute of Drug Abuse notes a rise in drug overdose deaths, exacerbated by synthetic opioids. These intertwined issues often derive from a loss of hope and connection, compounded by a healthcare system that emphasizes diagnosis over personal growth, fostering feelings of defeat and isolation.
Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) offers an alternative perspective, viewing trauma as an opportunity for transformation. Boulder Crest Foundation’s programs empower individuals to reframe struggles as sources of strength, ultimately renewing their hope and agency. The foundation’s mission aims to pivot the national dialogue on mental health towards PTG, focusing on support for society’s frontliners and eventually the broader public. This includes initiatives like the PTG in Practice course and future PTG Certification for mental health professionals.
Achieving cultural transformation in mental health necessitates widespread PTG training, supported by micro-learning, content creation and ongoing support. Impact is measured through training days, organizations, individuals trained and shifts in future outlooks, monitored using metrics like the PTGI-X and Cantril Scale, complemented by qualitative feedback and survey results.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges the organization has experienced in working to accomplish its mission? How did your organization overcome those challenges?
Our primary challenge is enhancing support for those who depend on our services. We face two main obstacles: increasing program capacity due to alumni referrals and providing long-term mental health improvements. To address the first challenge, we’ve expanded the Warrior PATHH program through partnerships with nationwide nonprofits and established the Warrior PATHH Network as part of the Avalon Action Alliance. From 2019 to 2024, we scaled up from 34 to 154 programs, growing from 212 participants to 1,075. Responding to COVID-19 challenges, we’ve developed Struggle Well programs for first responders and active-duty military to cope with pandemic stress and social unrest.
For continued engagement, we launched Couples PATHH, enabling alumni and their partners to participate in PTG modules together. This is complemented by alumni events organized via our app. Our comprehensive strategy includes a mobile app offering learning materials, real-time check-ins, and a social space for connections, alongside newsletters and an online PTG course to support ongoing learning.
Q: What is the organizations’ biggest needs? How can philanthropists help your organization achieve its goals?
Boulder Crest Foundation’s biggest need is unrestricted funding to support our program expansion, and partners and individuals who can help us balance the mental health narrative — focusing more on growth and possibility and less on diagnosis and dysfunction.
Q: Beyond the organization, where should philanthropists who care about advancing knowledge related to improving mental health invest their charitable dollars?
Boulder Crest Foundation operates the Boulder Crest Institute for Posttraumatic Growth, which is dedicated to the development, delivery, study and operational scale of PTG-based solutions to the challenges combat veteran and first responder communities face. The Institute pursues projects to familiarize a wider range of people with Posttraumatic Growth, including university level classes, online learning and publications.
We enjoy strong partnerships with Disabled American Veterans, the Gary Sinise Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Project, all of whom expend considerable resources to address the challenge of unmet mental health needs within the military, veteran and first responder communities. These groups support evidence-based approaches to mental health challenges and, in the case of DAV and WWP, undertake public policy advocacy for improvements in mental health resources available to veterans.
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