ABOUT
How It Started
The Cognitive Transformation Model™ is the foundation of several programs and White's coaching practice where he works with men, women, and teens from all walks of life including those coming out of homelessness and overcoming addiction.
For nearly ten years this evidence-based approach has provided manifestations of success in the personal lives and professional workspaces of teams and organizations. White has worked with organizations, employees, and the people they serve such as such as Fargo Public Schools, Sanford, Bytespeed, Down Home, and Spotlight Media.
The consistent success and overwhelmingly positive feedback from clients and their families were one of several factors that led to the development of Beyond the Barriers.
The Foundation of Success
A Passionate Journey
Troy White is the founder of Upstream Enterprises, an organization passionate about improving peoples lives by helping them uncover and overcome the underlying issues that cause negative thoughts, emotions, behaviors and outcomes.
White developed the Cognitive Transformation Model™ through a passionate journey of research, exploration, and refinement. The driving force behind developing this approach was his own personal background of overcoming abuse, domestic violence, trauma, anxiety and the frustration of traditional approaches that were ineffective.
For over 2 years, Troy volunteered his time each week to provide the "Beyond the Barriers" program to the men in the Cass County jail. He awarded certificates of completion and recognition, tracked attendance for over 1,500 participants, met with individuals one-on-one in jail, and communicated with them once they went to prison or were released. With the average jail stay of 20 days, the men constantly asked how they could take the entire class once they got out. The requests for one-on-one visits steadily increased as did the demand to provide the class to the female jail population.
In November of 2024, Troy began offering the program to the women in the Cass County jail, but it became impossible for Troy to ignore the fact he could no longer volunteer his time to meet the increasing demand. It became clear that Beyond the Barriers needed to become a non-profit organization to meet these demands which would allow more focus and time to be invested to expand the program.
In January of 2025, Troy began the process of turning Beyond the Barriers into a non-profit organization. They partnered with Deep Roots Recovery, a 501(c)3 organization, to be their fiscal sponsor, which allows them to solicit and receive tax-deductible donations until they receive their non-profit status.
Additionally, we are providing the complete Beyond the Barriers class to individuals coming out of incarceration and in recovery.
We're excited to start this new journey. We have seen the impact this program has had on the thousands of participants so far. Being able to devote ourselves to expanding the services of this program will no doubt have an even greater impact that will affect generations to come. We invite you to join us on this journey because we can't do it without you.
