Mike Hench

About Mike Hench

Mike received a BS degree in Family and Human Development from Brigham Young University in 1998, an MS degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Kentucky in 2001 and an MBA degree from Arizona State University in 2006. Mike has been a licensed marriage and family therapist in the state of Utah since 2004.

In 2002, Mike spent three years gaining experience and working toward his clinical licensure at an adolescent residential treatment center. From 2005-2012 Mike worked with young adults as a wilderness therapist with Second Nature (now Evoke). Wilderness therapy helped Mike fine tune his assessment skills and gain greater respect for the restorative power of nature and its ability to heal and transform. Mike enjoys in particular working with young adults who have come to ATC having had this experience. After spending years working outdoors, Mike was interested in continuing his work with young adults but also wanted to experience working with clients and developing relationships over a longer period of time than what wilderness treatment offered. He moved out of Utah in 2012 and took off all the way across the country to Portland, ME where he worked as the clinical program director at Foundation House, an extended care sober living program. In 2014, Mike missed family and the desert of the Southwest and returned back to St. George, UT where he connected with a long-time friend, Brian Virgin. During his days at Second Nature Mike had referred clients to ATC over those years and had the opportunity to remain as a contracted therapist with ATC after his clients completed wilderness treatment. Mike’s familiarity with ATC and his years of experience working with young adults made working at ATC full-time the perfect fit. He has been with ATC now since 2014 and has been an instrumental part of the growth of ATC over that period. Mike most enjoys working with oppositional defiant individuals who require support with such clinical issues as ADHD, addictive behavior, executive function deficits, and anxiety.

Mike has lived on and off in Utah since the early 1990s. He is however originally from the East Coast; born in West Chester, PA and raised in Towson, MD just outside of Baltimore. He has made several cross country moves during his adulthood but always seems to find himself back in Utah’s red rock country. Mike is an avid sports fan, particularly Baltimore area sports teams and his college alma maters. Mike enjoys music and is a huge fan of the Seattle Sound, also known as grunge music, that surfaced in the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s. He enjoys spending time outdoors exploring canyons, rappelling, hiking and stand-up paddle boarding. Mike lives with his soon to be wife, Tareyn, his step-son, Everett, and they split custody with his step-nephew, Hudson. The two young boys keep Mike on his toes and feeling young.