Adrian Hickmon Ph.D
The roots of Capstone trace back to a resilient depression era family
from Bradford, Arkansas. Adrian Hickmon Ph.D was raised by two parents who, despite
enduring years of traumatic abuse and hardship in their upbringing, instilled a strong faith
and desire to make a difference for good. Their love and compassion for those who were
struggling set the foundation for their son’s career in counseling.
D
r. Hickmon first integrated these life lessons into decades of playing and coaching football.
He saw personal success as a college player at Harding University, starting his career as a walk-on and ultimately closing as an all-American and team captain. The successes continued with coaching by leading a high school program to its first state championship and obtaining multiple coach of the year awards during his tenure. While notable football achievements, he feels his best work was done off the field.
The coaching platform led to father-son camps that never involved football. This time was spent connecting families, sharing struggles, and learning tools to help young men lead better lives. The struggles his players and students were facing planted a desire for further education, which led Dr. Hickmon to a masters in substance abuse counseling from Northeast Louisiana University and set the stage for a new chapter.
Resigning after the 1990 football season, Dr. Hickmon applied and was accepted to Virginia Tech’s PHD program in Marriage and Family Therapy. In 1991 his wife and their four children moved to Blacksburg, where he began the stringent 3-year program. Unexpected expenses nearly derailed the completion of his degree. With no clear path in sight, Hickmon mapped out a plan to complete the final two years of the program simultaneously and completed the entire program in under two years.
After completing his degree, Hickmon returned to his alma mater and became one of the founding faculty in Harding University’s Marriage and Family Therapy program. He accepted this position knowing fully what God had done in his life. Had he completed the 3-year PHD program as originally intended, he would be ineligible for the position due to his graduation date coming after the 1993 cut off Harding required.
Hickmon went on to teach at Harding for 20 years as a full-time professor and supervisor training over 200 master’s level therapists. In 1994 they purchased land to build a ropes course in Judsonia, Arkansas. For six years he and his family lived on the property and facilitated experiential activities through the ropes course and other mediums for teams, youth groups, families and more. All the while laying the foundation for what would become Capstone Treatment Center.
Dr. Hickmon holds a Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Virginia Tech University, where his academic and research focus centered on building intimacy through a marriage enrichment program utilizing experiential and adventure modalities. He has an M.Ed. from Harding University and an M.A. in Substance Abuse Counseling from Northeast Louisiana University. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, and a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor. In addition, he is a Certified Trauma Therapist, a Certified Sexual Addiction Therapist—Supervisor, a Certified Multiple Addiction—Supervisor, and a clinical member of AAMFT. Hickmon is the Founder and Clinical Architect of Capstone Treatment Center and the creator of the Core Systems Model.
He and his wife, Joanna, have been married for 50 years and are the proud parents of two daughters, twin sons, and eight grandchildren.
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