Kent Wieshaus, LCSW Joins Idyllwild Arts Academy Staff

Idyllwild, CA, November 27, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Kent Weishaus, LCSW, has joined the staff of Idyllwild Arts Academy's to serve in teh capacity of school counselor. Weishaus, a former television producer, says his primary function is to help students maximize their successes at Idyllwild Arts Academy and beyond. Weishaus has a deep understanding of the kinds of stresses that are common to performing arts students—prior to becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, he had a long and successful career in television production. Weishaus, reflecting on his career in the entertainment industry says, “I like to think my years of real-world experience have given me some wisdom. While in TV production I worked with every kind of personality type and saw first-hand the adverse effects of stress and how it can push some into unhealthy and dangerous behaviors.” Later, after earning his master’s degree in Social Work he paid his dues by working with at-risk clients where he was challenged professionally every day to help them achieve their natural potential. Weishaus continued, “I am excited about working with IAA students. They tend to be much higher functioning and goal-oriented. It will be a welcome opportunity to collaborate with them.”

In addition to serving as the Academy’s school counselor, Weishaus has a long and rich history with Idyllwild Arts that reaches back nearly three decades before the Academy was founded. Weishaus recalls, “My first summer at ISOMATA was with my family in 1958 and we returned for many summers that followed. I went through the all of the Children's Center programs, followed by the Puppeteers, Junior Players, and finally, before former headmaster Bill Lowman hired me to be a summer camp counselor in 1974, I took ceramics classes.”

Weisehaus' career in TV production began in the 1970's when he began working for Dick Clark Productions. In the 1980's he worked as a production manager on the hit TV show "Solid Gold," the sitcom "Amen" and several Disney specials. Later Weishaus was the associate producer for the Arsenio Hall Show followed by a stint on "Hard Copy" as associate director. Weishaus was later earned a Daytime Emmy Award for his work as Associate Director on the "Wolfgang Puck Show." Weishaus varied and rich career also included writing and producing promotional videos for several talk-shows and perennial specials and was in charge of post production for the "Dr. Phil Show." After deciding to switch careers, Weishaus pursued a Masters Degree in Social Work at California State University, Los Angeles and later became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Idyllwild Arts Academy is a fully-accredited, college-preparatory academics and pre-professional arts training boarding school that hosts approximately 300 students from the United States and around the world. The Idyllwild Arts Foundation, which supports the Academy was founded in 1946 by Dr. Max Krone and his wife, Beatrice, to fulfill their dream of “creating a remote place where people of all backgrounds could come together to experience the arts.”

Idyllwild Arts Academy is located at 52500 Temecula Drive, Idyllwild, CA 92549. For more information, call 951.659.2171 or visit the website at www.idyllwildarts.org.