Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors

Dave Herz is the founder of Wonder: A Confident Living Company, which "supports families through coaching and therapy in real-life settings." Dave shares a brief history of Wonder, how the organization began and evolved over twenty years and how he met co-founder Willow Rubin. Dave discusses the differences between coaching and therapy and how coaching can help young people and their parents before, during, or after attending a wilderness therapy program. Dave also explores the changes he has seen in the field over his 23 plus years of coaching and where he thinks the field is going.

All Kinds of Therapy is sponsoring Season 13 of the podcast and will focus on experts who help families navigate treatment options. You can find Wonder on the All Kinds of Therapy Website in the expert's section.

Link to All Kinds of Therapy

All Kinds of Therapy Blog

All Kinds of Therapy Job Postings

All Kinds of Therapy Newsletters

Joanna Lilley is the Chairperson of the Therapeutic Consultant Association (TCA) and a practicing Therapeutic Consultant who previously worked in wilderness therapy. In this episode, Joanna shares a brief history of TCA, why the organization began, and how a Therapeutic Consultant can help parents and other caregivers when considering a wilderness therapy program for their teen or young adult. She also dives into the different approaches that a therapeutic consultant may use to help a family. All Kinds of Therapy is the sponsor of Season 13 which will focus on experts who help families navigate treatment options. You can find a Therapeutic Consulting Association and Lily Consulting on the expert section of All Kinds of Therapy Website.

Link to All Kinds of Therapy

All Kinds of Therapy Blog

All Kinds of Therapy Job Postings

All Kinds of Therapy Newsletters

Hilary Moses is co-owner and parent coach of Solutions Parenting Support and has a long history of working in wilderness therapy. In this episode, Hilary shares how being authentic and compassionate bad-ass has allowed her to challenge systems, whether it be a parent system or the field of wilderness therapy as a whole. Hilary shares how she became frustrated with how so many young people she worked with as a therapist in a wilderness therapy program in the 2010s went onto residential treatment or therapeutic schools and how she started to question that approach. She and the other powerful women teammates at Solutions Parenting Support have created a program for parents to help young people return home after treatment. Hilary also explores the difference between psychotherapy and coaching and shares her nature-based retreat program, Rooted Connections.

All Kinds of Therapy is the sponsor of Season 13 of the podcast which will focus on experts who help families navigate treatment options. You can find Solutions Parenting Support on the All Kinds of Therapy Website.

Link to All Kinds of Therapy

All Kinds of Therapy Blog

All Kinds of Therapy Job Postings

All Kinds of Therapy Newsletters

We explore the All Kinds of Therapy (AKOT) website which provides a resource for those interested in learning more about behavioral healthcare, including wilderness therapy. In this episode, we dialogue with the founder of AKOT, Jenney Wilder, about the intention of the website, the monthly newsletter, program listings, jobs section, blog posts and the Expert Section. Season 13 of Stories from the Field is sponsored by AKOT and will focus on experts who help families navigate treatment options.

Link to All Kinds of Therapy

All Kinds of Therapy Blog

All Kinds of Therapy Job Postings

All Kinds of Therapy Newsletters

Dr. Fred Peipman is a therapist at Second Nature and works primarily with an adolescent all-gender group. Fred shares his fascinating story of growing up on the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea and leaving there at 15 to go to school in the United States. He reveals his unique path to becoming a psychologist, his research background, and how he learned about wilderness therapy by bringing several private practice adolescent clients in Miami to enroll in different programs in Utah in the early 2000s.

Fred shares how he found his calling in wilderness therapy by working with gender-expansive, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and trans teens at Second Nature. Fred educates about creating a welcoming group, dealing with shame, and working with parents struggling with their children.

Bio from the Second Nature Website:

Fred earned his B.A. from Yale University in music and psychology, followed by a M.S. in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Bridgeport. After working in college admissions and counseling, as well as in mental health clinics and hospitals, he went on to earn his PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Miami, with a focus in behavioral medicine and adolescent mental health. Fred has since worked as a wilderness therapist, and as a psychologist in private practice providing therapy and psychological testing. In addition, he has enjoyed speaking at workshops and conferences

Casie Fariello is the co-founder of Other Parents Like Me (OPLM.com), a subscription-based online platform designed to support parents of young people struggling with mental health and substance abuse challenges.

Casie shares how she met the other two co-founders of OPLM during one of the most challenging times in their lives when their children were in treatment. She shares how the organization was developed, how it provides daily support groups, weekly speakers, and peer-to-peer help, and why she decided to start OPLM.

Casie reveals how having her son attend a wilderness therapy program changed the course of her family's life and helped plant the seeds for the start of OPLM, and what she recommends for parents whose teens are in a wilderness therapy program.

Information from the OPLM Website:

About the co-founders (Casie Fariello, Liz Reitman, Antonia Lavender):

Our families were impacted. Our lives became unmanageable. And we struggled to find support — until we met each other at a therapeutic boarding school where we had each enrolled our sons. As we met other parents like us, we felt an immediate connection and the relief that comes from knowing you aren't alone. As we shared our stories and learned from parents further along the path of healing, we realized we had something precious—each other. And Other Parents Like Me was born.

OPLM is an online platform and virtual community, designed to create a safe space with the access and support parents need as they move from crisis to healing.

Dr. Thomas Doherty is one of the foremost authorities on Ecopsychology and is a widely sought-after researcher and speaker on how climate change impacts mental health. He is the co-host of the new podcast, Climate Change and Happiness, and has a private practice in Portland, Oregon. Thomas shares his early career highlights of being a field guide in a wilderness therapy program for inner-city youth in Arizona and a therapist in a wilderness therapy program in Oregon. Thomas discusses how he transitioned to Ecopsychology and dives into the differences between Ecotherapy, Wilderness Therapy, and Adventure Therapy and how climate change impacts mental health.

Link to "Climate Change Enters the Therapy Room" New York Times article that Thomas is profiled in.

Link to Ministry of for the Future book mentioned in this episode.

Link to Thomas's website.

Bio from website:

About: Dr. Thomas J. Doherty is a psychologist from Portland, Oregon who specializes in applying an environmental perspective to mental health and well-being. Thomas provides individual and couples services through his business Sustainable Self, and also consults about climate change, health and wellbeing to groups and organizations.

Therapy Approach: Thomas Doherty's approach with individuals is highly interactive and positively-focused. He integrates techniques that have been demonstrated to be effective into a unique plan for each client. A collaborative relationship with clear feedback is at the core of the work. See client testimonials.

Research and Teaching: Thomas Doherty is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and Past President of the Society for Environmental, Population and Conservation Psychology. He has multiple publications and professional presentations on nature, mental health and well-being; his groundbreaking paper on the psychological impacts of global climate change, co-authored by Susan Clayton has been cited over 700 times. Thomas Doherty was an adjunct professor at the Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling in Portland where he founded one of the first environmentally-focused certificate programs for mental health counselors and therapists. Thomas was also the founding editor of the peer-reviewed interdisciplinary academic journal Ecopsychology.

Presentations and Workshops: Thomas Doherty has provided workshops and trainings for the Technology Association of Oregon, US National Park Service, the New Zealand Department of Conservation, the American Psychological Association, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Oregon and California Department of Health.

Background: Thomas is originally from Buffalo, New York and received his BA from Columbia University and Psy.D. in Psychology from Antioch New England Graduate School. In addition to his psychology training, Thomas draws on his professional leadership experience and early career adventures as a wilderness therapy and professional whitewater rafting guide, and as an environmental advocate for Greenpeace. Thomas lost his wife to breast cancer in 2017. He lives in Portland with his daughter.

Read and Listen to Thomas Doherty on his Personal Sustainability blog and his podcast Climate Change and Happiness.

How can wilderness therapy help young people suffering from trauma? Is transporting young people to wilderness therapy traumatizing? We explore these topics and more with Steve Sawyer, Co-Founder/Chief Clinical Consultant of New Vision Wilderness. Steve has been a long-time champion of trauma-informed care and entered the wilderness therapy field when there was little discussion about trauma in behavioral healthcare. Steve shares his thoughts about trauma-informed care versus trauma-responsive care and how wilderness therapy programs have evolved in their approach to trauma over the years. Steve also dives into the challenging subjects of whether transporting youth to wilderness therapy can be done without trauma and whether behavioral healthcare has become too focused on trauma.

From the New Vision Website: Steve Sawyer, Co-Founder/Chief Clinical Consultant of New Vision Wilderness, Deschutes Wilderness Therapy, and First Light Wilderness Therapy. Steve is a licensed psychotherapist filled with passion and knowledge surrounding the intervention and change process. His experience comes from over a decade of intervention with tough-to-reach client populations in therapy settings ranging from residential, community-based, outpatient and wilderness therapy. Steve is trained in several unique therapeutic models including somatic trigger release, traumatic memory reprocessing, and HeartMath. He is also recognized internationally as a Brainspotting trainer and consultant who trains outpatient therapist and treatment programs. Through his experience he has authored two books, co-founded Wisconsin's only wilderness therapy program, New Vision Wilderness, and works as a core therapeutic training development staff with the Institute of HeartMath. He was an author in the innovative and comprehensive HeartMath Interventions Establishing a New Baseline for Sustained Behavioral Change therapist training Module that revolutionizes modern therapy interventions through an emotional physiology approach. Steve's largest project has been the development of NVW's Trauma Informed Care model in the wilderness setting that has challenged the entire wilderness therapy industry on making healthier interventions with their clients. Steve's trainings are recognized nationwide for cutting-edge therapeutic techniques and inspiration.

In this special episode, we honor and explore the legacy of the late Adam Tsapis, Summit Achievement co-founder, tall ship captain, father, partner, friend to all, and advocate for wilderness therapy in its many forms. The first segment features archival audio recordings of Adam sharing some stories about his life and the early years of Summit Achievement with other Summit co-founders. The second segment is an interview with Tobie Feigenbaum, Adam's widow, on what she sees as Adam's legacy and how he impacted others. The final piece is a summary of Adam Tsapis's life story.

In 2015 the Adam Tsapis Memorial Fund was set up by his family, Summit Achievement, and the Skys the Limit fund to help defray the costs of family wilderness therapy treatment. Please donate if you can.

Dr. Madolyn ("Maddy") Liebing is the Clinical Director of Legacy Outdoor Adventures and Juniper Recovery Center for Women. Maddy is a historical figure in wilderness therapy and has worked in the field since the 1970s. She was the first licensed psychologist to work in a primitive skills-oriented wilderness therapy program and helped develop many accreditation standards. She shares several stories, including the co-founding Wilderness Academy (later known as Aspen Achievement Academy) in 1988 and the challenges she has faced as a professional and a woman in the field. Maddy shares how Legacy and Juniper Canyon have been working with insurance companies to get reimbursement for services and her thoughts on where the wilderness field is heading. Bio from Legacy Website: Dr. Madolyn ("Maddy") spent her childhood traveling and moving throughout The West. Her family spent time in many of the western states before settling in Southern Utah. Dr. Maddy grew up appreciating the outdoors and spending as much time as possible outside.

She grew up to become an educator, teaching both English and history at a high school in Utah. She loved getting to know her students and was inspired to become a school counselor. While working as a high school counselor, Dr. Maddy started leading short wilderness trips as a drop-out prevention program in 1978. She was struck by the powerful experience her students had in the wilderness and while earning her Ph.D. wrote her dissertation about these "survival trips," noting the positive impact they had on adolescents. What she might not have realized at the time, was that she was developing and shaping what would become the field of Wilderness Therapy.

In 1988, Dr. Maddy was part of the team that founded Aspen Achievement Academy. She was integral in establishing that program and went on to advise the State of Utah as they created systems and regulations for the emerging field of Wilderness Therapy. Over the course of the next several decades, Maddy continued her work in the field, only taking time off to raise her own family.

Dr. Maddy still finds time to get outside herself, and enjoys being with her children and grandchildren.