Jeff Erbst MBA
Director of Academics, Single-Subject Credentialed Teacher
Director of Academics, Single-Subject Credentialed Teacher
Jeff holds a California Teaching Credential in Social Science and Business. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California Santa Barbara, studying Philosophy, Psychology and Art. He earned his Master’s of Business Administration degree from the University of Redlands. He has enjoyed teaching a wide variety of high school classes including History, Entrepreneurship, Graphic Design, Journalism, Economics, and Online Learning. Jeff also has over twenty years of work business experience in Operations Management, Production Management, Information Systems Management and Software Development. A native of Anaheim, Jeff has been part of the Petaluma community since 1999 and volunteered as a coach and director for many youth sports programs including Petaluma American Little League, St. Vincent CYO, Petaluma United Soccer, and The Boys & Girls Club of Petaluma. He is in his second decade as the Boys’ Basketball Coach at Petaluma Junior High School. As a coach and teacher, Jeff is dedicated to helping teen boys develop the skills they will need to succeed in their next challenge.
Who We Are
Muir Wood treats primary mental health and co-occurring substance use disorders with equal clinical depth. Our approach is mental health-first, trauma-informed throughout, and grounded in nationally recognized expertise in adolescent substance use treatment.
Every program is designed exclusively for teens, with specialized environments for those needing an even greater level of psychiatric, trauma, or clinical support — like our Penngrove campus for girls, and our upcoming Sonoma Mountain campus for boys (Fall '26).
Mental Health First
Every program treats primary MH — anxiety, depression, trauma, mood — as the core clinical focus.
Trauma-Informed Lens
Every staff interaction, not just therapy, is filtered through a trauma lens. It is our operating principle, not a modality.
Integrated SUD Expertise
Substance use is treated alongside mental health throughout all programs, not in a separate track.
Adolescent Specialists
Every clinician, psychiatrist, nurse, and educator works exclusively with teens ages 12–17.
We Treat the Whole Teen
Nothing is treated in isolation, because nothing exists in isolation.
Every teen arrives with behaviors that developed for a reason — ways of coping with or adapting to emotional pain. Our role is to understand what's driving those patterns and build healthier, more sustainable ways of regulating and coping.
Mental Health
Trauma Informed
Emotional Functioning
Family Systems
Why Specialized Programming Matters
Many teens benefit from environments designed around shared clinical presentations and needs.
Greater Peer Alignment
Shared clinical presentations create more cohesive, therapeutically relevant group dynamics.
Individualized Treatment
Approaches tailored to the specific developmental and psychiatric profile of each population.
Improved Emotional Safety
Environments designed to reduce threat, increase predictability, and foster genuine connection.
Clinically Relevant Groups
Group therapy dynamics mirror real-world experiences of teens with similar presentations.
Lower-Stimulation Environments
Sensory and environmental design calibrated to the needs of highly activated or sensitive teens.
Enhanced Psychiatric Support
Specialized staff training and clinical protocols matched to the population's complexity.