Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors

Bryan Delaney, Program director at SUWS of the Carolinas, has been working in the outdoors with adolescents since he was a young man. Much of his early outdoor training was in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and he would go onto become an Eagle Scout as a teen. In college he worked for several years at the BSA's world's largest summer camp, Philmont Scout Ranch, and was offered a full time job there. Bryan, who is gay, refused the job after being asked to sign a document in order to be employed at Philmont saying he was not. Bryan shares this story and why continues to be be involved in Scouting and wilderness therapy.

After college Bryan pursued a career in the outdoor education industry and worked as a field instructor for numerous wilderness programs.Bryan has been an industry influence in wilderness programs and boarding schools for over 15 years. He started as a residential staff at Brush Ranch School and in 2003 became a field instructor at Second Nature Blue Ridge (SBNR). While at SNBR, he held positions as Mentor instructor, Program Coordinator and Field Director.

Paul Wolf is the Director of the Outdoor Leadership and Wilderness Therapy Program at Southwestern Community College located in Sylva, North Carolina. This program is the only one in the nation that provides a certificate in wilderness therapy for those interested in working as field staff. Paul helped developed the certificate program and has been the director and mentoring students for over 18 years!

Paul's journey into the field includes working as course director, climbing technician and staff trainer for Voyageur Outward Bound in Minnesota in the 1980's and 1990's. He has worked with many legendary figures in the field of experiential education, adventure therapy and wilderness therapy. Paul's story is one that you will truly enjoy!

Bill Brown is the Co-founder and Family Services Director of Confluence which is a wilderness therapy program for young adults located in Thetford Center, Vermont. Bill and his brother, Patrick, founded the program in 2016 to be a hybrid wilderness program with a focus only on emerging adults (age 18-28).

Bill shares his story of working as a field staff and field director for almost half a decade at Second Nature Wilderness Program in Utah to being a transition coach for Second Nature 360 for two years to deciding to start his own wilderness therapy program. He shares his unique journey into the field.

Robert Trout is the founder and director of The Experiential Healing Institute which is an organization that provides family support before, during and after treatment when a family member is in a wilderness therapy program. Robert was a student in a wilderness program as a teen and went onto work as a clinician in wilderness therapy programs in different programs.

Robert's journey into the field began after a family tragedy occurred and he was sent to a wilderness therapy program to address the issues. He went to the program thinking it was a summer camp and upon returning home informed his mother, "it saved my life." He went onto work in the field for over a seventeen years.

Robert has worked at over eight different wilderness therapy programs including Aspen Achievement Academy, Pacific Quest, New Visions Wilderness, and Open Sky Wilderness

David Koortis is a former wilderness therapy field guide at several programs including Summit Achievement and Second Nature who went onto start Good To-Go foods which makes the best lightweight dehydrated gourmet meals in the world. David shares the story of his time as a wilderness therapy guide and what he learned from his time working in the field. He recounts how he met the amazing chef, Jennifer Scism, who would soon become his wife and business partner. Jennifer was a chef from New York City who bought a house in Maine when she met David.

Jennifer could hardly stomach the foods that David would bring for them to eat when out on overnight camping adventures so Jennifer remedied that by created amazing dehydrated foods which has evolved to become Go To-Go.

Go To-Go's mission is to "create the most delicious meals, using clean ingredients, to be enjoyed wherever your adventures take you."

Dr. Sandy Newes is a researcher, practitioner and trainer in the wilderness therapy. She has been active in the field for over twenty years and currently provides psychological testing for participants in wilderness therapy programs as well as training services for guide staff via Peak Performance Training which she co-founded. Sandy shares her journey into the field from her travels around the country to working on her doctorate degree at Penn State in which she had to educate her psychology professors on what wilderness therapy is.

Mark Synnott is an amazing athlete, writer and father of four. His newest book,"The Impossible Climb: Alex Honnold, El Capitan and The Climbing Life" has just been published and is a must read for those interested in adventure and an outdoor life. Mark's book delves deep into the history of climbing, free climbing as well as Honnold's historic free climb of El Capitan (seen in the 2019 Oscar winning documentary "Free Solo"). Mark shares his life journey and how he has changed after becoming a father.

Biography from his book: "Mark Synnott is a twenty-year member of the North Face Global Athlete team. He is a frequent contributor to National Geographic magazine and has written for Outside, Men's Journal, Rock and Ice, and Climbing. He is also an internationally certified mountain guide and a trainer for the Pararescuemen of the United States Air Force. He lives in the Mt. Washington Valley of New Hampshire'.

To buy the book: Link to the Impossible Climb book

Reid Treadaway, Co-founder and Admissions Director of BlueFire Wilderness Therapy, started working in the wilderness therapy field in 1996 at the Ascent Program, in Idaho, as a field guide. After several years he moved onto being a admissions person and eventually would move to North Carolina in 2001 to become admissions director for SUWS of the Carolina. After a few years in North Carolina he decided to return back to Idaho and in 2014 he would join with others to start BlueFire Wilderness Therapy.

Listen to this interesting story on why Reid went on to starting a wilderness program after working in the field for almost 20 years.

Jesse Quam, educational consultant and clinical social worker, started working in the wilderness therapy field after landing a job at Aspen Achievement Academy as a field instructor in 1996. Jesse shares stories about his upbringing in which his father was a pastor and the family traveled all over the country providing services to those in need which influenced Jesse to start a life of service.

Jesse describes how he worked at Aspen for seven years and eventually became a field director and would meet his future wife, Grace, who also worked as a field instructor. They would both leave Aspen to pursue graduate degrees and in 2005 Jesse would become a clinician for SUWs of the Carolina's and then clinical director. He would leave SUWs in 2015 to become an educational consultant with John Huie and Associates located in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Jesse talks about how having worked in a wilderness therapy program helps him to be a better educational consultant.

Dr. Mike Gass is a Professor in the Outdoor Education Program in the Department of Kinesiology at University of New Hampshire as well as the Director of the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Center.

Mike shares his journey of being recruited to play college football at St. Olaf College, in Minnesota, to becoming one of the foremost researchers and teachers in the field of wilderness/adventure therapy.

He is one of the creators of the Browne Center, a program development center on adventure learning that serves over 8,000 clients a year with educational, therapeutic, and corporate clients.

Mike also serves as the Director of the NATSAP Research Database Network and has published numerous books and research articles about the field of wilderness/adventure therapy.