Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors

Will interviews Dr. Anita Tucker, Professor of Social Work at University of New Hampshire (UNH), Associate Director, Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Center at UNH. Co-Coordinator, Dual Masters Program in Social Work and Outdoor Education. Dr. Tucker talks about her long journey into the field of wilderness therapy and how she has become one of the foremost researchers in the field.

Will talks with Shayne Gallagher, Founder and Executive Director of Wingate Wilderness Therapy. Shayne shares how his high school years greatly influenced his direction into wilderness therapy. Shayne has been active in the field for almost 30 years and has worked at various programs before founding Wingate.

Will talks with Nathan Olsen, CEO of BestNotes, an electronic health records company that is used by many wilderness therapy programs. Nathan shares is unique childhood experiences from being raised by Larry Olsen who is considered the founder of the primitive skills model of wilderness therapy. Nathan reveals that he first started working in some of the wilderness programs that his father founded when he was age 11!

Will has a conversation with Tracy Hopkins Founder of Dare to Rise Consulting as well as Director of Business Development of Outback Treatment. Tracy shares her passion for wilderness and her mission to empower others.

In this episode Will interviews Drew Hornbeck who shares his journey into the wilderness therapy field and how he ended up co-founding New Visions Wilderness.

Will interviews Gary Ferguson and Mary Clare, Gary is the author of many books including "Shouting at the Sky: Troubled Teens and the Promise of the Wild" and Mary Clare is founder of Clare Consultation. They were the keynote speakers at the 2018 Wilderness Therapy Symposium. Gary and Mary talk about their lives together and what they see going on in the wilderness therapy field and beyond.

In this interview Will talks with Rob Meltzer, educational consultant and founder of the wilderness therapy symposium. Rob talks about his journey into the field and how the Wilderness Therapy Symposium began.

In this interview Will dialogues with Jenney Wilder who founded the website, https://www.allkindsoftherapy.com/, which is helps parents and young people navigate the difficult task of finding treatment options including wilderness therapy programs. Jenney talks about how she feels the field of wilderness therapy field does not do an adequate job in informing the public of all the benefits of this form of treatment as well as economic benefit to rural areas.

In this episode Will interviews Lee Gillis leading researcher in the field of Wilderness and Adventure Therapy just after he was awarded the 2018 Eagle Award by the Outdoor Behavioral Research Council for his contributions to wilderness therapy. Lee talks about his time in the field and the many changes he has seen in the research area.

In this interview Will White interview Andrew Taylor, Founder of Pure Life Aspiro a wilderness adventure program in Costa Rica. Andrew is also host of the podcast, "In the Trenches."