Dear Participant,

OBH Council is excited to be returning this year to Park City, UT for our annual National Wilderness Therapy Symposium. At the Symposium we invite you to discover a wealth of new information in an exciting collaborative atmosphere. This event is purposefully called a symposium instead of a conference to emphasize that this is a gathering of people with similar interests and concerns who want to learn from each other.

The Symposium cultivates cooperation, inquiry and sharing. People come with awillingness to share knowledge and ideas. Presenters are encouraged to make their workshops experiential, hands-on, and interactive. Please expect nothing less than the very best at your Symposium.

Park City WT Symposium Schedule overview:Note: ALL preconference workshops on Thursday 8/22 are included in full-conference registration fees – no additional fees required to attend.

Thursday 8/22/19

7am-8am Friends of Bill meeting

9am-3pm Onsite Preconference Workshops

12-1pm lunch break – lunch provided

4pm-6pm Registration/Check-in and Networking Reception

6pm-7pm Dinner

7pm-7:30pm Opening intro and Eagle Award

7:30pm-9pm Keynote Lecture: Dr. Dante Bryant

Friday 8/23/19

7am-8am Friends of Bill meeting

9am-12pm Onsite half-hour, 1.5hr & 3hr workshops

12pm – 2pm Lunch break; lunch not provided except for participants attending the Women’s Leadership luncheon

12:15-1:45pm Women in Wilderness Leadership Luncheon

2:15pm-5:30pm Onsite & Outdoor half-hour, 1.5hr & 3hr workshops

6pm Reception and dinner at Red Pine Lodge

7pm-11pm Jumping Mouse Ceremony & DJ music/dancing

Saturday 8/24/19

7am-8am Friends of Bill meeting

9am-3pm Outdoor 6hr workshops

OR

9am-12pm Onsite workshops (half-hour, 1.5 & 3hr available)

12pm-1:30pm Lunch break; lunch not provided

1:30pm-3pm Onsite 1.5hr workshops

3pm Closing ceremony

OBH Council and its member programs would like to welcome you to the 2019 National Wilderness Therapy Symposium! In the spirit of a true symposium, your participation is as essential as that of the facilitators. Please listen closely, ask inquisitively, and share openly, so others can learn from you as well.

Thanks for being here!

OBH Council Members:

Adventure Works Anasazi Foundation BaMidbar Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness Elements Wilderness Program Equinox Counseling Evoke at Cascades Evoke at Entrada Legacy Outdoor Adventures New Vision West Coast New Vision Wisconsin

Open Sky Wilderness Therapy Outback Therapeutic Expeditions Pure Life Aspiro RedCliff Ascent Second Nature Summit Achievement SUWS Carolinas The Aspiro Group The Mountain Center Trails Carolina True North Wilderness Program WinGate Wilderness Therapy

The OBH Council represents numerous and varied wilderness therapy programs which utilize outdoor modalities combined with therapeutic interventions to assist adolescents, young adults and their families to make positive and lasting life changes.

Founded in 1996, representatives from a handful of wilderness treatment programs joined together to collaborate, share ideas/best practices, promote program standards, and research the effectiveness of wilderness therapy. The organization and its member programs have been instrumental in “raising the bar” for wilderness treatment and have proven its profound benefits for teenagers and young adults challenged with mental health, behavioral issues and/or substance abuse.

Since its inception, the OBH Council has set a high standard that families can trust when seeking a solution for their troubled teenagers or young adults. In this tradition, the OBH Council partnered with the Association of Experiential Education (AEE) to form the most stringent accreditation process in the field. OBH Accreditation is likely to emerge as the standard by which all future wilderness treatment programs will be measured.

Registration (8am-9am): Registration desk open from 8am-9am: Please stop by to pick up your name-tag, CEU packet, and sponsor back-pack. This year the conference program, participant email list, and workshop locations are all digital through the “Results@Hand” app. Please be sure to download the conference app prior to the start of the Symposium. More information on how to download the app will be sent to you in your registration packet after completing the online registration.

Friends of Bill meetings (7am-8am)

Darcy Holt

Please join us for an open 12 step meeting. The first 20 minutes with a speaker and the rest would be an open share. The only requirement is the desire to stay sober!

Darcy grew up in Greenbrier, Arkansas where she graduated high school and attended Arkansas College in Batesville. After her parents retired, they moved to Enterprise, Utah and Darcy transferred to Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. Darcy has over 21 years of experience working as a mentor and sponsor with adolescents and adults that suffer with the disease of addiction.

Thurs Dinner: 6-7pm Dinner will be provided onsite this year courtesy of the OBH Council.

The Eagle Award (7pm Thurs)

The Eagle Award was created in 2012 by the OBH Council and is given annually at the Wilderness Therapy Symposium to recognize outstanding contribution to the field of wilderness therapy. The 2019 Eagle Award will be given to Dr. Anita Tucker

The OBH Council is proud to recognize Anita for her profound impact on the field of Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare, so please join us on Thursday night as we present her with this year’s Eagle Award!

Please refer to schedule spreadsheet attachment for exact days/times for each workshop

Thurs night Keynote: What Does Change Look Like: Understanding the Relationship Among Diversity, Equality, Equity, Inclusion & Power Within Mental Health Practices

Dante Bryant, PhD

This keynote lecture will explore:

• History of mental health and marginalized populations

• The role of Power in defining Normal & mental health practices

• The relationship among key terms (Diversity, Equality, Equity, Inclusion) and Power within mental health services

• Using Power to create a new Normal within mental health services

Dr. Bryant is a well know diversity trainer, researcher, educator, and professionally published author. Dr. Bryant’s research and diversity training strategies have been published in more than a half a dozen peer reviewed academic journals, and two nationally released books. Trained as a community-organizer,

educator, counselor and critical social theorist, Dr. Bryant combines the knowledge of four distinct academic disciplines (i.e. Psychology, Theology, Philosophy, Social Work) with the everyday experiences of a direct-practitioner. This unique combination of formal and informal knowledge allows Dr. Bryant to engage and facilitate conversations related to issues of diversity and equity that are both innovative, intellectually challenging, and personal.

Diversity Ed Sessions:

Session #1: Train the Trainers:

Dante Bryant

The purpose for this workshop is to provide participants with a pragmatic set of skills and resources (equity tool kit, strategic business, strategy implementation, and work plans etc.) they will need to better access and institutionalize responses to inequity within their respective practice areas. Activities will include a detailed and participatory experience of how to identify equity related issues via the utilization of an equity tool kit, how to institutionalize and promote accountability to change related to the identified concerns, and how-to track and measure success. All material uses during this training will be made available to all participants for the personal and professional use.

Dr. Bryant is a well know diversity trainer, researcher, educator, and professionally published author. Dr. Bryant’s research and diversity training strategies have been published in more than a half a dozen peer reviewed academic journals, and two nationally released books. Trained as a community-organizer, educator, counselor and critical social theorist, Dr. Bryant combines the knowledge of four distinct academic disciplines (i.e. Psychology, Theology, Philosophy, Social Work) with the everyday experiences of a direct-practitioner. This unique combination of formal and informal knowledge allows Dr. Bryant to engage and facilitate conversations related to issues of diversity and equity that are both innovative, intellectually challenging, and personal.

Session #2:

Are We Really Prepared to Treat the Marginalized Clientele We So Enthusiastically Seek?

PANEL: Dr. Dante Bryant & Wilderness Therapy Clinicians*:

Bryan Lepinske, LCSW, Second Nature

Daniel Fishburn, LCSW, LCAS, MAC SUWS of the Carolinas

Emily Fernandes, LCSW, Open Sky Wilderness Therapy

Lauren Roberts, MS, LPC, Evoke Cascades

Neal Christensen, PhD, LP Elements Wilderness Program

Panel Facilitated by Rick Heizer, OBH Chair

*This group is representative of current clinical leaders in the field of wilderness therapy. While there is some racial diversity in wilderness therapy, the field is significantly lacking. The OBH Council also applauds these clinicians’ willingness and vulnerability in being a part of this session and assisting us all in learning how we can continue to appropriately serve a greater racial diversity in wilderness therapy.

OBH programs are seeking to serve a greater diversity of clientele with the best of intentions. Concurrently there has been a significant lack of representation of diversity in the development of OBH programming. How do we meet the intention of greater diversity of clientele when we lack the representation?

This session will focus on the importance of understanding the specifics of racial issues and their effects on mental health treatment in OBH programs. This presentation will use a unique format in which attendees have the opportunity to observe a group of leading wilderness therapists process with one another and this year’s keynote speaker and diversity educator, Dr. Dante Bryant. The group will explore their own beliefs, biases, values and personal ideologies and how they influence their and their programs’ treatment approaches. They will examine potentially marginalizing practices within wilderness therapy and explore how race and racial generational trauma plays a crucial role in one’s treatment approach with marginalized populations. And finally, they will challenge their beliefs, many of the common wilderness therapy practices and the therapeutic approaches of wilderness therapy and discuss alternative methods to potentially marginalized behavioral or cognitive conceptions. Attendees will be invited to offer observations and ask questions towards the end of the presentation.

Dante Bryant: Dr. Bryant is a well know diversity trainer, researcher, educator, and professionally published author. Dr. Bryant’s research and diversity training strategies have been published in more than a half a dozen peer reviewed academic journals, and two nationally released books. Trained as a community-organizer, educator, counselor and critical social theorist, Dr. Bryant combines the knowledge of four distinct academic disciplines (i.e. Psychology, Theology, Philosophy, Social Work) with the everyday experiences of a direct-practitioner. This unique combination of formal and informal knowledge allows Dr. Bryant to engage and facilitate conversations related to issues of diversity and equity that are both innovative, intellectually challenging, and personal.

Rick Heizer: As the Executive Director at Evoke Therapy Programs, Rick ensures overall program evaluation and consistent quality of finance, administration, communications, and effective program systems. He provides strategic direction for both ongoing operations and the creation and implementation of future programming. Rick supports the management teams through collaboration, empowerment and a common goal of greater health and wellness for all participants and employees. Rick received his Bachelors of Arts degree from Augustana College and his Masters of Science from Aurora University. Rick’s prior work experience includes being a Senior Field Instructor and administering outdoor education and adventure-based programs at an outdoor education center. Rick has also held positions as Field Coordinator, Assistant Field Director, and Field Director, and played a significant role in wilderness program development, including adolescent and adult wilderness therapy models. Rick stays involved in the industry through attending a variety of conferences and trainings and retains memberships with AEE and NATSAP. Rick is also actively involved with maintaining industry standards for Wilderness Therapy programs through his membership with OBH and consistently attends their conference, The Outdoor Behavior Healthcare Wilderness Therapy Symposium.

Daniel Fishburn: Daniel Fishburn is a Clinical Social Worker with decades of experience working with teens and young adults in a variety of settings, including wilderness, therapeutic boarding school, and transitional programs. A board member of GEMS and a volunteer for Asheville's Youth OutRight, he is an advocate for LGBTQA+ youth and other marginalized populations.

Neal Christensen: Dr. Christensen is the Clinical Director of Elements Wilderness program has been treating adolescents for 15 years in the wilderness. Issues Dr. Christensen frequently treats include depression, anxiety, and neurodevelopmental disorders. He is the Research Committee Chair of the Outdoor Behavioral Health Council, focusing on clinical important outcomes and family functioning improvements. Dr. Christensen is fascinated with how the outdoors and adventure therapy helps teens challenged by social and emotional deficits.

Lauren Roberts: Lauren is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Master’s of Science in Mental Health Counseling. Lauren has been working in the mental health field since 2005 in a variety of therapeutic roles. She worked with both adolescents and young adults at Evoke Entrada in southern Utah for 9 years. She began as a field instructor then moved into an assistant therapist role working with a variety of wilderness therapists while obtaining her Master's degree. She began her own group as a primary therapist in 2010. In 2014, Lauren decided to move her family to Bend, OR. While in Bend, Lauren has worked in private practice and as a parent specialist for a therapeutic program. Lauren was drawn back to Evoke because she believes the power of the wilderness can be profound in creating change. Lauren currently runs a co-ed young adult group.

6-hour Workshops

Research and Social Justice: How Do We Create More Ethical and Socially Just Interventions through Research?

OBH Center Research Scientist and friends: Tony Alvarez, LMSWEllen Behrens, PhD, Licensed Psychologist David D. Christian, PhD, LPCMary Covington, JDDerek J. Daley, SUDCSteven DeMille, LMHC, PhDMichael Gass, PhD, LMFT Lee Gillis, PhD, Licensed Psychologist Brian King, JDKeith C. Russell, PhDJoanna Bettmann Schaefer, PhD, LCSW Brett Talbot, PhD, Licensed PsychologistAnita R. Tucker, PhD, LICSW

The purpose of this year’s workshop is to focus on research that addresses how we can create more ethical and socially just interventions through research. With the rise in accessibility of OBH through insurance reimbursement, as well as an increase in community based OBH programs, our day will focus on how research itself can be a change agent for social justice both for individual programs, as well as the clients that we serve. We will follow a similar format as last year to maintain the experiential format of the day. The workshop will begin with a quick introduction, followed by groups of 15-minute presentations with experiential activities between each group of presentations meant to bring the audience together in meaningful dialogue and reflection of the research and ideas presented throughout the day.

Come join us to be a part of this important discussion! Abstracts of all the research will again be available for all participants. Lunch will be provided outside at the Canyons for participants.

Creating therapeutic value with the use of mountain biking

Jamie Ahern, Max Wheeler & Luke Eckert

During the course of the workshop several topics will be covered. Firstly, how to manage the risk of mountain biking with a group of clients that have a skill range of none to highly experienced. Second how to build students up to a skill level of being able to ride different areas and create different amounts of challenge to each student, depending on their skill ranges, while still together. Third how to create a therapeutic purpose towards the event of riding a bike (either as a whole group context or an individual context). As well as the administrative aspects of running mountain biking in your program, including ways to own and store and transport program own bicycles, maintenance towards the fleet bicycles keep longevity of equipment for multiple use. Other topics that will be covered include proper bike sizing for participants, multiple different therapeutic themes that can be presented to different demographics including but not limited to substance abuse, oppositional defiance, autism spectrum and trauma. As well as how to incorporate the main theme of flow theory and how it connects to the adventure of mountain biking.

Max Wheeler began his involvement in the therapeutic industry by going to Georgia college and State University In 2010 and studying Outdoor Education and Adventure therapy under Jude Hirsch and Lee Gillis finally graduating in May of 2014. Since Graduating Max has work in several different programs and varieties of therapeutic programs (primitive wilderness, Adventure therapy and therapeutic boarding schools). While working in different programs he has held positions as field guide, recreational coordinator and even gained the rank of master bike facilitator with Aspiro Adventure.

Jamie is a wilderness adventure therapist who believes in the healing power of adventure therapy. He also relies on the use of EMDR, CBT and Motivational Interviewing for treating his clients. He has worked as a therapist in wilderness therapy and outpatient therapy since 2011. He recently returned to Aspiro Adventures in January 2019.

Luke Eckert has been working with Aspiro since 2015. Luke started as a field guide at Aspiro, where he ran mountain biking itineraries regularly. Luke has since moved on to the medical department at Aspiro, but still rides with groups and helping train guides to be better mountain bike facilitators. Before working at Aspiro, Luke was the mountain bike program director at Summit Base High Adventure in NY, where Luke helped build the mountain biking program from the ground up. Luke is also a former

Barkeater Trails Alliance member, which is the primary organization responsible for building singletrack in the Adirondack Park in Northern NY.

The Words That Scare You; A Mindfulness Approach to Discussing Race, Power and Privilege

Norman Elizondo

Participants will learn how to use somatic meditation to resource themselves when discussing the emotionally charged topics of race, power and privilege.

Norman has over twenty years’ experience in wilderness therapy and is trained meditation teacher in the Tibetan Kagyu and Nyingma lineages. He is a co-founder of Open Sky Wilderness Therapy and specializes in helping families struggling with difficult challenges and life circumstances by teaching them how to stay embodied such that they may access their own inherent clarity, wisdom and compassion.

Multi-Cultural Co-Creation: Nature Connected Work in Complex World

Rob Meltzer, Danny Recio & Tony Naidoo

This will be a day spent in connection to the land, to ourselves and to each other. Facilitators will provide unique multi-cultural perspectives on wilderness work and facilitate a process for cross-pollination of approaches and sharing of practices. We expect participants will take home new ways to approach nature-connected work. Perspectives will include wilderness-based work in South Africa oriented towards gang prevention, principles of rites of passage and hero’s journey, and indigenous wisdom from Costa Rica and other parts of the world. Facilitators wish to attract diverse participants eager to collaborate, co-create and willing to offer and take in a multitude of perspectives.

Rob Meltzer, MA - Rob is a Consultant, Wilderness Guide, Therapist, and Educator. He’s been a program director, school principal, and university professor. He facilitates experiential workshops for families that include outdoor adventure, music, art, and horses. He is the founder of the Wilderness Therapy Symposium.

Danny Recio, PhD - Danny is a Costa Rican psychologist and ecologist. For the past 15 years, he has been dedicated to guiding coming of age experiences for youth using nature and cross-cultural immersions. Danny is the Founder and Director of The Bridge in Costa Rica, a Supportive Immersion Gap Year program for Young Adults that uses Adventure-Based Practices.

Tony Naidoo, PhD - Tony Naidoo is a South African of mixed heritage. Raised in the challenging context of the apartheid era, he sought to combine formal training and teaching in Psychology with his passion to introduce disaffected youth and their communities to the restorative powers of rites of passage work and exposure to the healing influences of nature. He is mindful of his current transition to Elderhood and wishes to learn from other cultures and their ways of supporting these traditions.

Cueing events for behavior change

Brett Talbot & Derek Daley

In this interactive workshop we will focus on methods designed to prompt client behavior change. Utilizing the mountain as a backdrop we will explore techniques for processing experiences with groups and individuals. Field guides and clinicians will learn to co-create metaphorically rich dialogue and reflection for clients and groups. We will cover effective tools for engaging groups actively in processing. Participants will leave with new perspectives, tools and ideas to use for debriefing intentional and unpredictable behavior changing opportunities. By understanding the phenomena created through interaction and communication participants we be better prepared to initiate these moments and use them wisely to maximize the benefit. Although teachable moments occur naturally in interaction, we will identify the contextual factors that enhance or impede the approach. We will create an interaction-based practice setting on the mountain to provide the setting for training.

Dr. Brett Talbot, PhD is a licensed Psychologist and the Director of Research and Quality at RedCliff Ascent. Prior, Dr. Talbot was a Chief Clinical Officer and an Executive Clinical Director for residential group practices. Brett is certified in Healthcare and Project Management. He specializes in clinical administration and supervision, program development, performance improvement, quality assurance, and risk management. He is faculty at Utah Valley University and is an avid outdoorsman. Brett is married and has 3 children.

Derek is a co-founder of Legacy Outdoor Adventures and a seasoned professional in the field, with 18 years of experience working in the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare industry, he was the recipient of the 2017 Utah Community Service award for his nonprofit work. Derek began his career as a field guide and is currently the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Marketing Chair.

Natural Collaboration: Wilderness as Guide, Teacher, and Co-facilitator

Alex White & Rebekah Phipps, Eric Dooley-Feldman

Natural world experiences provide opportunity for growth, insight, and learning like few others can. As practitioners of wilderness therapy, it is our opportunity not only to use the woods as a backdrop for treatment, but as an ally and co-facilitator. Within this immersive, full-day workshop, participants will explore the Canyons landscape through several adventure therapy and ecotherapy activities focusing on drawing in the natural world as a collaborator in the process of therapeutic growth. Exercises will focus on several familiar aspects of mental health practice, including relationship-building, assessment, goal-setting, intervention, reflection, and transfer of learning.

Alex is a licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, adventure therapist, and new addition to the Wasatch Range. He joins the team at Psychological Solutions, Inc. / Wasatch Learning and Wellness with ten years of experience working with youth and families in residential and outdoor therapeutic settings. In addition to therapy, Alex provides training and consultation for organizations seeking to integrate experiential practices into their clinical programming. He also works as a therapist at the University of Utah Counseling Center and adjunct faculty at Westminster College.

Rebekah has been with Aspiro since May 2017. She has worked as a Field Guide, clinical assistant, and currently as a therapist. Rebekah is attending Prescott College to earn a degree in Clinical Mental Health

Counseling, with a concentration in Adventure-Based Psychotherapy. Her undergraduate degree is in Interpersonal Communication Studies from UNC-CH. Previously, she worked in experiential and outdoor education as Program Manager and Lead Instructor at the UNC-CH Outdoor Education Center. Rebekah has passion for program development, group work, and working with adolescents/young adults to help them find a deeper understanding of themselves, others, and the natural world.

Eric is currently pursuing his doctorate in Counseling Psychology at the University of Utah, with a focus on best practices in social-emotional learning programs and group psychotherapy. Prior to his doctoral studies, Eric worked throughout Asia, collaborating with international schools in the design and management of experiential learning and outdoor leadership curriculums. He has also worked Open Sky Wilderness Therapy and credits outdoor behavioral healthcare and experiential education as core influencers in his orientation and approach to counseling. Over his summer “break” Eric has been launching a non-profit focused on addressing issues of technology dependency through therapeutic group adventure.

3-hour Workshops

Who are our plant allies? How building relationship with the land can enhance the wilderness therapy experience

Kim Belair & Maddy Liebing

An interactive workshop to empower guides, clinicians, and anyone else who wants to learn more about how to use relationships with plants to enhance the experience of clients, as well as their own while in the field. Part discussion, part education, part interactive. This workshop will focus on plant identification, plants as a therapeutic tool for building relationship with self, others, and environment, risk management of plant use within the wilderness therapy container, and different ways to utilize our plant allies for teaching self-care and health. Each participant will walk away with a more in-depth knowledge of the plant-life inhabiting the Colorado Plateau, tools to share and engage with this world in the field, and a self-crafted custom tea blend made up of wild plants harvested from our own course area.

Kim is an experienced outdoor professional with nearly a decade in wilderness therapy. She has worked and guided in many different landscapes ranging from the deserts of the American Southwest, to the coastal rainforests of SE Alaska, and a multitude of places in between. Her roles have varied from guide to field director and program coordinator, but her heart will always be in the field. The thing that keeps her coming back is a love for wild open spaces, a deep gratitude for the lives that have been changed in these places, and a certainty that lives will continue to be changed through relationship with wild nature. She is a co-founder of Juniper Canyon Recovery Center for Women.

Dr. Liebing was the co-founder and psychologist/clinical director of one of the first wilderness therapy programs in 1988 (The Achievement Foundation which became Aspen Achievement Academy), but was taking teens out on wilderness treks as early as 1978 as a high school counselor. She was the recipient of the OBH Eagle Award in 2015 for her contribution to wilderness therapy. More recently she has helped

design and implement the women’s division of Legacy Outdoor Adventures: Juniper Canyon Recovery Center for Women.

Is There a Boy in My Daughter’s Tent?: Serving Gender Non-Binary Clients in Wilderness and Beyond

Ashley Brown & Lisa Cheyette

“Until we are all free, we are none of us free” – Emma Lazarus

What will other students’ parents say? Is my kid really transgender? What if she gets surgery and it makes her more messed up? He’s really just doing this for attention. These are the formidable and complicated questions that often arise in our work with gender non-binary clients and their families. We must educate ourselves around best practices and dive into the conversation, if we want to uphold our ethical call and help heal lives. Ashley and Lisa will introduce some basic principles, evidence-based interventions, and tangible case studies to best prepare participants for working with gender non-binary clients and their families. This will be a safe space for dialogue and asking questions. No experience is necessary. This workshop is geared towards anyone who works with LGBTQA+ clients and their families.

Ashley has a background in visual art, sexual violence education and prevention, and LGBTQA+ advocacy. She joined the Trails Carolina team in 2011 and has worked in wilderness therapy since 2006. Ashley believes in the power of wilderness to challenge, nurture, and hold a mirror up to young people and help them in finding reconnection with their families and selves. She grew up playing in woods and building forts behind her house. Nowadays, she enjoys exploring with her husband and dog, Crossfit, and expressing her voice through voting, peaceful protest, and education.

Dr. Lisa Cheyette has practiced as a licensed psychologist in the Atlanta area since 1995, working with children, teens and adults. In 2015 she opened a second office in Asheville, North Carolina. Dr. Cheyette serves families, both locally and nationally, as an educational and therapeutic consultant. A recognized specialist in autism spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders, depression and other complex psychological issues, Dr Cheyette uses her skills in diagnosis, assessment and treatment in her consulting work. Combining individual attention with first-hand knowledge of programs and schools, she strives to become the family’s advocate before, during, and after placement. Dr. Cheyette personally visits schools and programs around the country throughout the year. She talks with the students, tours the campus, and meets directly with the clinicians and administrators to learn who they work best with, and how they work with them. Dr. Cheyette received her Bachelor of Arts with Highest Honors from McGill University in Montreal, a Masters in Counseling/Criminal Justice from Northeastern University in Boston, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from CSPP-San Diego. She also completed an advanced training program in psychoanalytic psychotherapy with the Atlanta Psychoanalytic Society and the Emory University Psychoanalytic Institute. Lisa serves on the faculty of the Emory School of Medicine as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. As a Professional Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) since 2013, a Professional Member of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) since 2013 and a Professional Member of The Therapeutic Consulting Association (TCA) since 2015, Dr. Cheyette is dedicated to providing quality

professional services and assistance to her clients. Lisa spends her downtime running with friends, hiking, working out, reading and spending time at home with her family.

How post generational patterns inform present behaviors and help us understand a client’s attachment style

Porter Macey

This workshop is designed to increase clinicians understanding of attachment theory as well as create confidence in the use of genograms as a therapeutic intervention. It will explain how to work with parents of adolescents using a short-term intervention that will yield long term outcomes in the home. It also demonstrated how natural it is to integrate attachment theory, including adult attachment, into the creation of a genogram designed to explore post-generational patterns. It will also include a series of sample questions to ask while creating a genogram and a unique method of genogram construction.

Porter is a family therapist at Elements Wilderness Program and the owner/clinic director of Amber Creek Family Counseling and Psychiatry in Sandy Utah. Porter has loved the outdoors since he was a child and appreciates combining his passion for therapy with his respect for nature. His specialties include relationships, addiction and recovery, and adolescents. Porter earned his doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy from Texas Tech where he supervised master’s students, taught courses on addiction, and worked in multiple clinics.

EXPLICIT: An in-depth examination of pop culture, its influence on developing youth identity; with an exploration of how wilderness therapy can “mitigate” those effects and help “re-create” identity

Emily Miranda & Kris Brightbill

In this workshop, participants will become familiar with pop culture and its influences on youth and their emerging identity. Participants will discuss and interface with current lyrics, video games, “verbiage” and social media to best understand the depth and detail of those factors. Participants will consider the role that wilderness therapy plays in 'detoxing' students from those current, adverse cultural influences. Additionally, the wilderness therapy course and its components will be highlighted as to their efficacy in mitigating some of those effects. The “re-creation” of a healthier or more robust identity will be explained.

Emily Miranda, LCSW, works as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Emily has worked with adolescents and young adults in wilderness, residential, and outpatient settings since 1999. She spent 5+ years working in the University Counseling Center (UCC) at the University of Utah where she earned her Master’s degree and Student Affairs Diversity Council Certificate. She currently works at Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness as a primary therapist with female, non- binary, and trans identified clients.

Kris Brightbill enthusiastically brings over 20 years of clinical experience in working with clients and their families. In addition to being a licensed professional counselor and Pennsylvania certified secondary guidance counselor, she is the Clinical Consultant at Redwood Educational Services. She is also the founder and director of Turning Tides Transitions, a customized and supportive after-care program for

adolescents and young adults who are transitioning out of wilderness therapy programs and/or residential treatment placements back to home. She also is a seasoned conference presenter and educator. Kris' passion and dedication to understanding residential treatment options began over 15 years ago when a family member enrolled in a wilderness therapy program, followed by a therapeutic boarding school. Since that time, she has devoted herself to thoroughly learning the many behavioral health care industry options, treatment options and programs throughout the United States including wilderness therapy programs, therapeutic boarding schools, residential treatment centers, and substance abuse programs. She particularly finds benefit in spending time with clinical staff, therapists, field staff, program staff and by participating in family seminars and workshops.

Parents and Kids in Transition: Understanding the Post Wilderness Experience

Hilary Moses, Guy Dumas & Kris Brightbill

While the majority of wilderness graduates go on to further placements outside the home, many do make the transition home. This presentation aims to share the experience of two coaches who focus on transitions and have extensive experience inside wilderness programs. Wilderness graduates can and do succeed at home with regularity. In order to optimize outcomes, their exit from wilderness should be noticeably different from the student who is continuing in residential treatment. We will focus on improving transition outcomes without requiring increased effort on the part of the therapist and field team.

Hilary Moses, LCSW served adolescents, young adults and their parents in wilderness therapy from 2001- 2015. As the co-owner of Solutions Parenting Support, she offers parent coaching, transitional support and personal growth opportunities both preventatively and for parents who have children at every stage of therapeutic treatment.

Guy Dumas is an independent personal coach. With over 1000 days in the field as an instructor between 1996 and 2004 he developed the Continuum Coaching transition model that focuses on the individual student. With 14 years’ experience guiding program graduates home he has a rare perspective on the intersection of wilderness treatment and front country success.

Kris Brightbill enthusiastically brings over 20 years of clinical experience in working with clients and their families. In addition to being a licensed professional counselor and Pennsylvania certified secondary guidance counselor, she is the Clinical Consultant at Redwood Educational Services. She is also the founder and director of Turning Tides Transitions, a customized and supportive after-care program for adolescents and young adults who are transitioning out of wilderness therapy programs and/or residential treatment placements back to home. She also is a seasoned conference presenter and educator. Kris' passion and dedication to understanding residential treatment options began over 15 years ago when a family member enrolled in a wilderness therapy program, followed by a therapeutic boarding school. Since that time, she has devoted herself to thoroughly learning the many behavioral health care industry options, treatment options and programs throughout the United States including wilderness therapy programs, therapeutic boarding schools, residential treatment centers, and substance abuse programs. She particularly finds benefit in spending time with clinical staff, therapists, field staff, program staff and by participating in family seminars and workshops.

Honoring the body’s wisdom: Somatic healing for anxiety, depression, trauma & compassion fatigue

Jenna Pacelli

Depression, anxiety, trauma and compassion fatigue are real issues that come with the intensity of outdoor behavioral healthcare. The body stores stress and trauma below the level of cognition, in the nervous system, so it can feel difficult to treat and manage, both in our clients and in ourselves. Through somatic practices, rejuvenating yoga, clinically-informed aromatherapy and grounding meditations, we can start to inhabit our bodies in a different way. The more we know and connect with our bodies in this new way, the more we can show up for ourselves and our clients, free of burnout, stress and the physiological impacts of trauma. From this more healed and integrated state, we have greater capacity in our systems to hold space for the healing of others.

This workshop is for you if you’ve been experiencing or have experienced any of the following:

Tension in any areas of the body

Digestive problems or recurring illnesses

Anxiety or a sense of being overwhelmed by life

Panic attacks

Difficulties relaxing or getting or staying active

Mild to strong irritability

Difficulty connecting with others

Moments or situations where you involuntarily “freeze”

Difficulty sensing subtle sensation in your body

Desire to self-medicate with food/alcohol, drugs, or other behaviors to feel better

Low tone of voice, inability to speak up

Difficulty setting limits and saying no

Jenna Pacelli is a primary wilderness therapist for Evoke Therapy Programs. She has been teaching and practicing yoga and mindfulness for over a decade. She is a board-certified holistic health coach, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner in Training and essential oil educator. She incorporates neurobiological, holistic, somatic, transpersonal and relational approaches into her work: no part of her clients’ lives go unturned and the entire person is honored and seen as important. She works with people of all genders, races, orientations, and nationalities and helps them understand themselves in the context of privilege, intersectionality, society, issues of oppression, marginalization, their family systems, and intergenerational trauma. She works from the perspective that the client carries deep wisdom within themselves. She sees psychotherapy and holistic healing as tools for individual, systemic, and societal healing and freedom because when we heal ourselves, we pave the path for others to do the same, healing the collective. She understands that when we wake up to who we truly are, away from the

influences of our everyday environments and defense mechanisms, we can change ourselves, thereby changing the world over time. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time skiing, taking barre3 classes, cooking vegan food and training her Great Pyrenees pup, Lennon, to one day be a therapy dog.

Keeping the Tradition of Ceremony and Wooden Spoon Carving Alive

Justin Swensen, Darcy Holt & Steven DeMille

Join Justin C Swensen, Steve DeMille PhD, and Darcy Holt in keeping the tradition of handmade wooden spoons alive. In this workshop, participants will learn how to use handmade wooden spoons in ceremony, the fundamentals of ceremony, and how to create their own spoon. Carving a wooden spoon is much more than making a few cuts on a piece of wood, it is an opportunity to engage our creative energy to create something useful and beautiful in a ceremonious way. Spoon carving offers opportunities to physically and emotionally engage with ourselves, the natural world, and most important, the students we work with in the field. Together as we remove the unnecessary wood from the blank to reveal the inner beauty, I believe that you will find wooden spoon carving is rich with metaphor. All participants will not only have the opportunity to participate in a spoon ceremony, but they will also learn how to create their own spoon and spoon ceremony. All skill levels welcome!

Justin is a co-founder and Program Director for Kokua Recovery based out of Northern Colorado. He completed his BA at Prescott College in The Therapeutic Use of Adventure Education and Art; and is currently pursuing a MA in Marriage and Family Therapy. Justin has more than 15 years-experience in wilderness therapy with nearly 8 years as a field staff. He is currently using his wilderness experience to develop a robust wilderness adventure program at Kokua Recovery. Justin has been carving wooden spoons for more than 20 years. Most of his spoons have been gifted to people in a ceremony, and now live with them in locations around the world. Justin utilizes the tradition of spoon carving in his work as metaphor for intentionally removing the unnecessary pieces to reveal the beauty within.

Darcy grew up in Greenbrier, Arkansas where she graduated high school and attended Arkansas College in Batesville. After her parents retired, they moved to Enterprise, Utah and Darcy transferred to Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. Darcy has over 21 years of experience working as a mentor and sponsor with adolescents and adults that suffer with the disease of addiction.

Steven DeMille is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor who has been working in the helping industry since 2000. He is the Executive Director for RedCliff Ascent and has over ten years of experience working with adolescents and young adults. His research interests include ethics, digital boundaries, identity development and Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare.

1.5-hour Workshops Red Cape, Green Cape Superhero: The importance of cultivating well-being in a wilderness therapy setting

Tracey Bachrach & Andrew Taylor

Does happiness and well-being matter in a wilderness therapy setting? Absolutely, yes! The intention of this presentation is to state the necessity of integrating well-being practice with crisis intervention in a wilderness therapy setting. Participants enrolled in wilderness therapy programs have the right to well-being and happiness throughout their healing journeys. Focusing on enhancing well-being pillars such as positive affect, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement can allow participants to stabilize emotionally and behaviorally while developing strengths and increasing well-being.

Tracey Bachrach, MAPP, CTRS is the Coordinator of Business Development at Point School Puerto Rico. She received her Master’s of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and is also a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist. Tracey is passionate about integrating well-being practices and experiential opportunities into therapeutic environments and presents on the topic at conferences nationwide. She is also enjoys planning and implementing large-scale conferences; serving on the organizational board of the National Autism Symposium and volunteering on other conference committees including the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs annual conference and the Master of Applied Positive Psychology annual summit. Tracey loves her professional work, but also loves to hike, travel, surf, and paddle just as much!

A native of Utah, Andrew grew up in the outdoors and spent his college summers as a river guide on the Upper Colorado River. After graduating from the University of Utah with a degree in Organizational Communication, Andrew went to Costa Rica in search of whitewater. During his time in Costa Rica, he fell in love with the Costa Rican people and the wide range of adventure activities the country has to offer. Andrew has been running adventure trips in Costa Rica since 2004. He has rafted and kayaked rivers all over the world, including Costa Rica, New Zealand, and Venezuela. He is trained in Swiftwater Rescue and has also spent time as a White Water Rescue Technician Instructor. In 2010 he received a Master of Business Administration from Westminster College in Salt Lake City and pursued a Substance Use Disorder Counseling Certificate through the University of Utah in 2012. He has enjoyed and been inspired by his work with individuals suffering from drug and alcohol addictions at Cirque Lodge, which is one of the top substance abuse programs in the nation. Andrew speaks fluent Spanish and is a certified Wilderness First Responder. He has a passion for adventure, the outdoors, and helping others experience the beauty that exists within nature around the world. He loves adventure travel and the many lessons it has taught him along the way.

Cultivating a resilient and effective risk management culture

Danny Frazer

This workshop will be targeting a wide audience from administrators, admissions, clinical, field staff, medical staff and owners/partners. Participants will come away with a broader, more inclusive perspective on risk management as well as take away priorities for the risk management goals unique to their role and organization. We will discuss what risk is, how it is inherent in what we do, regardless of our program methodology and the role risk plays in outdoor behavioral healthcare. Introduce the evolution of risk management thinking including the more recent emergence that the culture of an organization is a leading contributor to successfully managing risk. We will look at our field as a whole compared to other adventure activities and sports programming and how we differ and what we can learn from one another. Discuss how to create and manage a risk management committee (which is a

requirement for all AEE OBH Accredited programs), including the role of independent external team members, using data to inform decision making as well the role case studies can play to promote dialogue and program risk management practices. Do exercises utilizing a triage system (aka "heat map") to determine high priority risk management issues for any/every facet of your organization.

Danny graduated cum laude from Texas A&M University with a BBA in Management and Human Resources. He took his first wilderness therapy job as an intern while in college in 1996, working for a small, family-run wilderness program. This experience inspired him to pursue work in the field of wilderness therapy after graduating. In 1998, he began working as field guide for Aspen Achievement Academy, eventually becoming Field Director. For six consecutive summers, while guiding at Aspen, he worked for the Montana program of the Voyageur Outward Bound School, where he served as an instructor, course director, trainer, and logistics manager. In that early 8-year period, he accumulated over 700 field days working directly with adolescents and young adults. Since Open Sky’s inception, Danny has served in multiple leadership roles, starting as the field and operations director and then as the first marketing and business development director. He eventually landed in admissions, where he served as the director. He brings a vast history of working in the field with special emphasis on risk management, safety, wilderness programming, and personnel development to Open Sky’s leadership team. In addition, he chairs the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Council, the field’s leading organization representing over 20 wilderness programs throughout North America. Danny’s passion for the wilderness was ignited at an early age, wandering the undeveloped hill country around Austin, Texas. His first foray into the mountains was as a boy in Colorado, with his father and brother. The connection he felt during this time in the wilderness became his life calling, and he is dedicated to facilitating wilderness experiences and connections for youth, adults, and families. Danny spends most of his free time with his wife and two sons. He revels in the moments of getting home and playing roughhouse or hide-and-seek. He often gets out on weekends to enjoy the local trails and is a regular at CrossFit

Mentoring Women in a Male Dominated Field

Cassie Ali, Clara Durham & Rebekah Phipps

Women in Wilderness is a conversation of rising importance. It is a goal of this workshop to identify structure, techniques that are effective in advancing outdoor professional women. We will breakdown the specifics of professional mentorship to understand what is working to advance opportunities for women and focus on things that are working in order to broaden everyone's scope in professional development. The workshop will include discussions, breakout sessions and scenarios. The goal is for everyone to leave with at least two solutions or action items surrounding mentoring women.

Cassie grew up in both Minneapolis and Massachusetts. She graduated the University of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in Geography and English. After a brief stint in cooperate finance, Cassie began guiding with Aspiro in Fall of 2015. She spent two years as a field guide and in 2017 she transitioned into a trainer role, developing professional development for field staff. In her current role, Cassie manages Aspiro’s Field Guides, overseeing weekly staff trainings and engaging with students and staff in the field through adventure, therapeutic connection and the beauty of the Utah wilderness

In college, Clara studied Management and Educational Leadership. Prior to Aspiro, she worked as a Program Director for a leadership program and guided backpacking trips for an outreach program. Clara discovered Aspiro and began as a guide, where her focus was on working with the young adult population. The Recruiter position is a great fit for Clara, enabling her to combine her work experience with her passion for the outdoors while developing and inspiring new guides at Aspiro.

Rebekah has been with Aspiro since May 2017. She has worked as a Field Guide, clinical assistant, and currently as a therapist. Rebekah is attending Prescott College to earn a degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, with a concentration in Adventure-Based Psychotherapy. Her undergraduate degree is in Interpersonal Communication Studies from UNC-CH. Previously, she worked in experiential and outdoor education as Program Manager and Lead Instructor at the UNC-CH Outdoor Education Center. Rebekah has passion for program development, group work, and working with adolescents/young adults to help them find a deeper understanding of themselves, others, and the natural world.

Clarity and Intentionality: Finding our grounding in our clear and muddled path

Tony Alvarez, Julia Alvarez, Anita Tucker & Mike Gass

Our work invites us to provide clear paths for which our clients can take to meet their desired outcomes and wishes. Sounds simple enough, right? Except for these major factors- we work with humans, we invite empowerment into our spaces, and we are not really in charge! So, from this perspective, how do we do best work? And what does it take? Join us as we create opportunities to explore several potential “solid rocks” on our facilitator path, including knowing who we are, minding our space, seeking feedback, constantly noticing, finding and confronting distractions, and a few others.

Tony Alvarez, LMSW, (UM-1975) has been a practitioner for over 40 years, working with children and families and teaching interpersonal practice courses at the schools of Social Work at both University of Michigan and University of New Hampshire. His practice/teaching approach involves engaging participants/clients through experiences, including nature and outdoor -based experiences. A co-author of two books and multiple articles and manuals, Tony’s current consulting practice focuses on helping others develop and design programs infused in the use of an Experiential/Adventure approach with diverse client populations in diverse settings. He has developed and taught several courses that focus on the use of this approach in social work

Need bio Julia

Michael Gass is a Professor and Coordinator of the Outdoor Education Program in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of New Hampshire. He received his Ph.D. in experiential education from the University of Colorado at Boulder and completed postdoctoral studies in marriage and family therapy. He is the director of OBD Research Center and NATSAP Research Database.

Anita R. Tucker, PhD, LICSW is an Associate Professor in Social Work at the University of New Hampshire where she co-coordinates UNH’s Dual Master’s Program in Social Work and Outdoor Education. She has a MSW from the University of Michigan and her PhD in Social Work from Boston College. She currently is the Associate Director of the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Center at UNH and serves on the Board of Directors for the Association for Experiential Education (AEE).

Understanding and Treating Obsessive-Compulsive Related Disorders in the Wilderness

Jonathan Hoffman & Neal Christensen

Obsessive-Compulsive Related Disorders (OCRDs) are re-contextualized in wilderness programs. This may result in symptoms being missed, masked, or misunderstood, thus derailing treatment, or creating illusory progress. Alternatively, wilderness programs entail a unique opportunity to address these challenging presentations by conducting evidence-supported CBT/exposure therapy in a naturalistic way that is simply not feasible in other settings. Utilizing case examples, this presentation aims to be both informative and experiential for field guides and clinicians who want to increase their skills in understanding the complexities of conceptualizing and treating OCRDs in the context of wilderness settings.

Jonathan Hoffman, Ph.D., ABPP is a licensed psychologist in Florida, New York, and Utah and Board Certified in Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology. Dr. Hoffman is a Clinical Director of the NeuroBehavioral Institute/NBI Ranch in Weston, Florida. He has extensive experience in Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders. Dr. Hoffman is on the Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation, is co-chair of its Special Interest Group on OCD and Autism Spectrum Disorder and has served as a faculty member for its Behavior Therapy Training Institute (BTTI). He is on the Adjunct Faculty of Nova Southeastern University, College of Psychology.

Dr. Christensen is the Clinical Director of Elements Wilderness program has been treating adolescents for 15 years in the wilderness. Issues Dr. Christensen frequently treats include depression, anxiety, and neurodevelopmental disorders. He is the Research Committee Chair of the Outdoor Behavioral Health Council, focusing on clinical important outcomes and family functioning improvements. Dr. Christensen is fascinated with how the outdoors and adventure therapy helps teens challenged by social and emotional deficits.

Double Ball and Other Rockin Native Games (Outside)

Shayne Gallagher & Sheri Gallagher

This is a physical presentation. Several traditional native games will be described then actually be played! The games played will include Double Ball, Spear & Hoop, Hunter & Rattler, Keeper of The Fire. All games presented will be simple in terms of equipment needed to play. All can be done with many age groups and populations. All can be added to extant curriculum of most if not all wilderness therapy programs. All are fun!

Shayne has worked continuously in wilderness therapy for 29 years and has been a principal designer and developer of four wilderness therapy programs. He discovered Double Ball in 1993 and has been a fan of the game ever since. He has explored many native and primitive games that can be played with minimal equipment on the trail. Shayne is currently the Executive Director of WinGate Wilderness Therapy.

Birth of The Industry, Loss of The Icon: Remembering Larry D. Olson

Shayne Gallagher

Although most people currently working in the outdoor behavioral healthcare sector don't know much about him, Larry Dean Olson is one of the main reasons why most wilderness therapy programs exist today. Larry Olson passed away in December of 2018. Join us as we walk through some of his history and his foundational impact on why we all have a wilderness therapy symposium to come to in the first place.

Shayne is in his 29th year of working in the outdoor behavioral healthcare arena. He is a principal developer of four wilderness therapy programs. Early in his career he worked directly with Larry Olsen for many years and sought to understand the ‘roots’ of wilderness therapy.

Exploring Nutritional Impact

Lindsey Bosse

This will be a two-part talk. Part one will be introducing the idea of a healthy diet that is based off of a macronutrient ratio of 40-30-30. We will then explore foods and meals that meet these ratios in a field setting. Additionally, I would like to talk a little bit about appropriate cooking practices and ways to avoid some of the mistakes made in wilderness eating. Then, we will have break-out conversations where small groups would discuss ways to accommodate a proper macronutrient diet in a wilderness setting then share that info. The second part of the presentation will discuss the research that I am doing looking at the effects of an appropriate macronutrient diet and changes in behavior with clients diagnosed with ADHD and/or Autism. I will discuss a little more what the impacts of various nutrients/ingredients have on mental health and behavior.

Lindsey grew up in Telluride, CO surrounded by humbling mountains. Being influenced by the power of the mountains and the beauty of nature, Lindsey began her hunt for an outdoor involved profession once in college. Her passion for psychology steered her into studying and working in mental health fields first, before a wise friend told her about wilderness therapy. Lindsey has now worked with Evoke Therapy Programs for six years in several different roles but is now one of the field directors.

From the Woods to the Screens: An Alternative Approach to Mindful Social Media Use

Ryon Smith & Hannah Mariotti

As technology continues to play a dominant role in young people’s lives, attention to the potentially negative effects is increasing. Outdoor advocates have raised the alarm as well, identifying technology as an impediment to healing and growth. It appears to be a simple argument, reduced to “screens versus nature.” This presentation will examine both sides of this complex, polarized debate and will provide a balanced view: that technology and the outdoors can enhance well-being. Participants will also explore ways that their role in the therapeutic continuum of care is pivotal in helping families to utilize technology in healthy, mindful ways.

Ryon has been a part of the Aspiro team since 2012. Starting with Aspiro as a field guide, he has been an integral part of developing culture, implementing therapeutic interventions and facilitating adventure in our adolescent boys’ groups. As a clinician, his unique field perspective lends itself well to his treatment approach which emphasizes concrete interventions, expanding comfort zones, coping skills, self-efficacy, and self-reflection. Ryon has a passion for demystifying oppositional behavior in adolescents. He trains staff and professionals on the underlying factors that contribute to maladaptive behavior which helps to suggest the most appropriate interventions.

Hannah is an Educational Consultant with Beacon Coaching and Consulting, LLC, a veteran educator and a mental health counselor with over 20 years of experience. She has held positions in schools, hospitals, health services, and private practice, and has worked in both traditional independent and therapeutic schools serving students from K-12. Her areas of expertise include: applied neuroscience, anxiety/depression, attachment and trauma, social/emotional learning, mindfulness, growth mindset, and cognitive behavioral techniques. She is an instructor with the University of New Hampshire Professional Development & Training Department, and volunteers with the Granite State Crisis Intervention Team.

Trips & Tricks: How mental shortcuts can help or hurt us in decision-making

Anson McNulty & Andrew Farris

This presentation will discuss how the mind works in decision-making. During this workshop we will discuss heuristics, cognitive biases, and how the brain filters sensory information. Heuristics can be either mental shortcuts that ease the cognitive load of decision making or quick ways to accidentally create larger problems. We will investigate cognitive biases like recency, resource, and choice anchoring and others to see how these play into the choices we make. We will explore how the brain is filtering our sensory experience and how that impacts our decisions.

Anson earned his bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Recreation Administration from Unity College. He is also certified as Wilderness First Responder, and a CPR Instructor. Anson has been working with troubled teens in wilderness and residential settings since 2000 and is dedicated to helping struggling teens find their way utilizing experiential learning. Anson has worked at Summit Achievement since 2002. Anson enjoys family time with his wife and son, and adventuring in the backcountry, whether it be paddling, rock climbing or skiing.

Andrew graduated from Green Mountain College with a bachelor’s degree in Adventure Recreation. He is a Leave No Trace Master Educator. Prior to joining the Summit team, Andrew taught environmental education to elementary students, adventure education to college and corporate groups, and provided adaptive recreation opportunities for people with physical and cognitive disabilities at a summer camp associated with a children’s hospital. Andrew enjoys fly fishing, hiking, backcountry skiing, making music, and witty puns.

From Gardener to Carpenter: Expanding the Single-Story of Mental Health

Sean Roberts & Travis Slagle

The “single story” of illness focused treatment and emphasis on top down cognitive intervention has the potential to alienate and pathologize. Clients who arrive in wilderness programs have often been labeled as “sick” and are in need of programming that taps into their capability, capacity, and strength. This presentation explores practical tools for integrating a strengths-based framework including using interventions from Narrative Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. In addition, we will discuss how we can widen the scope of what we define as “healthy” from a neurodevelopmental perspective to be more inclusive and accessible.

Sean Roberts worked in wilderness therapy for nine years before moving into a role as Clinical Director for a residential young adult program. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has a PhD Counselor Education and Supervision at Oregon State University. He has been working on a research committee gathering data on wilderness outcomes for the past four years. This blend of experience allows him to have the on-ground perspective of working in wilderness therapy, the clinical perspective, and a longitudinal view of how clients thrive after leaving wilderness.

Travis Slagle is a licensed clinician with over fifteen years of experience providing direct care services, program leadership, and crisis management for struggling teens, young adults, and their families. Travis has worked as a therapist and program administrator in a variety of clinical settings including wilderness, residential, and young adult transitional living. Travis has completed advanced training in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics and was the recipient of a national award for Therapeutic Garden Design from the American Horticultural Therapy Association recognizing his role and contribution at Pacific Quest. He has published research and presented at national conferences on topics related to the integration of nature-assisted therapy and neurodevelopment, and the ecological perspective of young adult attachment and family systems.

Sacred Space: The necessary integration of spirituality in behavior health treatment

Shawn Breeden, Alaina Chatterley

Rumi said, “If light is in your heart, you will find your way home.” For treatment professionals, the goal must be to help clients find a way home - in the physical realm of thought and behaviors and, in the spiritual realm of heart and soul. This presentation from clinicians with over 30 years of experience in clinical practice and religious leadership, explores research on the positive impact of spirituality in behavior health treatment, and offers evidence-based practices for the integration of spiritual practices in treatment.

Shawn Breeden is a Board-Certified Human Services Practitioner, holding an MA in Marriage and Family Counseling. Shawn's experience includes more than 20 years of helping families, guided more than 400 families through transitions from wilderness and residential programs to home over the past 4 years.

Alaina Chatterley is Clinical Director of Launch Academy at Heritage. She began her career as a wilderness field staff in 2002 and completed her graduate work at Brigham Young University in 2005. Alaina has worked in the outpatient settings of individual and couples counseling, play therapy, and has over a decade of work with teenagers in residential treatment including 14 years at Heritage.

Mindful Leadership

Josh White & Norman Elizondo

Just as we understand that there are inherent qualities that make someone a good leader, so too do we know that effective leadership qualities can be taught and therefore cultivated. As program administrators, group leaders and others in the “helper” role, we cannot ignore the influence we have on those with whom we work. As such, it is imperative that we approach our role with patience, integrity and “egolessness.” For leaders who find themselves struggling to embody the qualities of a “servant leader,” attending this presentation will help address the common pitfalls of leadership and will focus on how to better empathize with and ultimately inspire their constituents.

Josh White earned his master’s degree from Naropa University, the nation’s premier mindfulness-based therapeutic institution. He is a renowned Zen teacher and pioneer in the emerging field of mindfulness-based Young Adult treatment. A martial arts expert and licensed therapist, Josh is also Founder and Executive Director of Red Mountain Sedona, where he draws on his decades of training in Eastern philosophy and cutting-edge clinical modalities to help clients achieve their full potential. Prior to the founding of Red Mountain, Josh served as a Program Director, Clinical Director, and Executive Director in top treatment programs for adolescents and young adults, gathering a wealth of experience which now guides the philosophy and day-to-day operations of Red Mountain.

Norman has over twenty years’ experience in wilderness therapy and is trained meditation teacher in the Tibetan Kagyu and Nyingma lineages. He is a co-founder of Open Sky Wilderness Therapy and specializes in helping families struggling with difficult challenges and life circumstances by teaching them how to stay embodied such that they may access their own inherent clarity, wisdom and compassion.

All in the Same Boat! Adventure Therapy Activities for Meaningful, Engaging Family Seminars

Alex White, Lindsay Myrick & Rebekah Phipps

As if sitting in the therapy office together wasn’t adventure enough for a family, what about challenging them to trust one another through a blindfolded activity or collaborate to build the tallest card tower they can? Adventure therapy offers a unique opportunity for innovative, experiential approaches to counseling with families encouraging them to walk the walk of growing together, rather than just talking the talk. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to several adventure activities specifically designed to support skill-building, processing, and healing with every member of a family system.

Alex White is an adventure therapist at heart and looks forward to bringing innovative, experiential approaches to a new position at the University of Utah Counseling Center. Before relocating to the Mountain West, Alex completed his post-graduate internship at Life Adventures Counseling and Consulting, where he used adventure techniques in his therapeutic work with children, adults, couples, and families. Alex holds an MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Prescott College with a focus in Adventure-Based Psychotherapy.

Lindsay currently works as a primary therapist and assistant clinical director at BlueFire Wilderness Therapy where she utilizes EMDR therapy and mindfulness-based interventions in conjunction with wilderness and adventure programming to assist adolescents and their families with healing issues related to trauma and attachment. Lindsay is dedicated to a treatment team approach in wilderness

therapy and completed and presented research related to secondary and vicarious trauma in wilderness therapy frontline staff. She started as a commercial guide and instructor and in her free time enjoys rock climbing and hiking in Sun Valley, ID.

Rebekah has been with Aspiro since May 2017. She has worked as a Field Guide, clinical assistant, and currently as a therapist. Rebekah is attending Prescott College to earn a degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, with a concentration in Adventure-Based Psychotherapy. Her undergraduate degree is in Interpersonal Communication Studies from UNC-CH. Previously, she worked in experiential and outdoor education as Program Manager and Lead Instructor at the UNC-CH Outdoor Education Center. Rebekah has passion for program development, group work, and working with adolescents/young adults to help them find a deeper understanding of themselves, others, and the natural world.

Identifying Trauma in Wilderness Clients & Using Nature to Develop Resources for Treatment

Maddy Liebing

Trauma is often not identified as a primary treatment need in wilderness clients, especially young adult males. Additionally, virtually all female clients who enter primary care, including wilderness therapy suffer from some form of trauma. Often the focus of substance abuse, behavioral problems, and even mental health issues supersede the missing link to why clients view themselves as less than their peers and feel overwhelmed with the challenges of adolescence or emerging adulthood. Identifying life experiences that constitute both big T and little T trauma can allow the clinician to get to the core issues more quickly treat them more thoroughly, leading to better outcomes initially and putting the clients on a positive trajectory for success. Wild nature serves as an excellent setting for developing the resources necessary to begin trauma treatment. This workshop will explore how to identify trauma in wilderness clients and how to use the wilderness to form the safe foundation necessary to begin the healing process.

Dr. Liebing was the co-founder and psychologist/clinical director of one of the first wilderness therapy programs in 1988 (The Achievement Foundation which became Aspen Achievement Academy), but was taking teens out on wilderness treks as early as 1978 as a high school counselor. She was the recipient of the OBH Eagle Award in 2015 for her contribution to wilderness therapy. More recently she has helped design and implement the women’s division of Legacy Outdoor Adventures: Juniper Canyon Recovery Center for Women.

You want me to do what? Novel interventions in wilderness therapy.

Kaylie Corrigan & David Wieder

Outdoor behavioral healthcare is a unique and powerful intervention, often introduced when other forms of therapy have not been effective. The novelty of the wilderness therapy experience, including the creative interventions field guides and therapists infuse into this work, is central to the relevance, vitality, and efficacy of each client’s therapy experience. This workshop will illustrate how novelty in our treatment approach and interventions invites change and helps to disrupt established dysfunctional patterns. Research on novelty in psychotherapy will be presented and participants will have the opportunity to craft their own unique interventions.

Kaylie Corrigan is a therapist with RedCliff Ascent and has been working in the wilderness therapy context for the last 11 years. Kaylie holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Fort Lewis College and a master’s in social work from Arizona State University. Kaylie’s journey began in 2008 as a field guide. She has since worked in various leadership positions including the Outdoor Program Director for an adventure therapy program and Executive Director for a residential women’s dual diagnosis substance abuse facility. She has been actively involved and responsible for developing and designing various programs.

David began his career in wilderness therapy as a guide in 2004. Living in small groups in the backcountry informed his therapeutic emphasis on connection, transformative honesty, and experiences of beauty. David believes that developing one's relationships is foundational for holistic health. He sees adventure, and the personal growth that it inspires, as a basic human need. Witnessing breakthrough moments for clients is one of the most meaningful parts of his life. He also likes to play outside on large rocks or in deep snow, do very slow yoga, and get lost in less developed regions of the world.

Canines and Attachment in the Wilderness

Rachel Grimm

This workshop will teach the importance and value of having a therapy canine in a group of students with Attachment issues. We will practice some experiential tools using a canine, share stories of canines in the wilderness, and discuss the science and goals behind having a canine therapy program at New Vision Wilderness.

Rachel received a bachelor’s degree in Community Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with an emphasis on Recreational Therapy. She went on to work at New Vision Wilderness in Wisconsin after school and has never looked back. Rachel began as a field instructor 6 years ago and has moved into the Program Director role in the Bend, OR Program as of June 2018. Rachel has a strong passion in working with canines and students and for many years was the canine coordinator at NVW facilitating connection between students and canines while also training staff and educating others on the benefits of Animal Assisted Therapy.

Field Guide's Angle of Repose

Tim Mullins, Mike Swartz & Robert Lee

The angle of repose is the "tense point where hanging together still beats falling apart" (MacFarlane). For field guides and teams these tension points are personal and interpersonal. There are definite subjective stressors in the work and collective challenges in wilderness therapy. Our intention is to explore the forces that hold teams together and the forces that move people away from the work or on to other endeavors.

Tim began in wilderness therapy as a field guide. He was transformed by the work and has continued on a therapist. He is completing work on his PsyD in clinical psychology. For fun Tim plays outside, is a avid chess player and dances Argentine Tango whenever he can.

Mike currently serves as the Field Director for Evoke Entrada. During his professional development he has spent this time in leadership roles working in multiple facets of the outdoor recreation industry including professional guiding, collegiate recreation, and wilderness therapy. He is passionate about supporting effective systems that focus on putting people first and creating opportunities to empower growth. Mike enjoys practicing self-care by spending his free time rock climbing, reading, collecting vinyl records, and shamelessly loving CrossFit.

Bobby Lee is a second-year graduate student pursing a Master of Arts in Adventure Education at Prescott College. His research interests include college outdoor programing and occupational job stress in wilderness therapy. He has worked in the outdoor industry for six years in a wide variety of roles including a year and a half as a wilderness therapy field instructor at TRAILS Carolina based in western North Carolina. He currently resides in Durango, Colorado

Where Wilderness, Culture and Spirituality Connect

Nicholas Magle-Haberek & Jory Hanselman

This workshop will explore the intersectionality of culture, spirituality and wilderness from the perspective of Jewish Wilderness Therapy. Through a Jewish lens, we will explore the relationship and connections between Jewish traditions and modern therapeutic approaches. We then will explore some of the cultural implications of the wilderness and discuss the ways that these help shape our approach to working with our population of Jewish young adults. Finally, we will engage in conversation about the ways that this information can be used within the field of wilderness therapy.

Nick is currently the Clinical Director at BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy Program in Deckers, CO. Nick is passionate about the field of Adventure Therapy, and his career has led him to a variety of amazing locations including Utah, Canada, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Maine and Colorado. While not in the mountains working with the students at BaMidbar, Nick enjoys adventuring, gardening, triathlons and blogging (www.adventure-therapist.com) and spending quality time with his family.

Jory Hanselman has dedicated her personal and professional career to engaging youth and emerging adults in meaningful outdoor experiences, and helping youth build personal resiliency and the skills necessary to grow and thrive in a complex world. Jory has experienced wilderness programs from the client and staff perspective, from field and office formats, in Jewish and secular settings, and in the private industry and the nonprofit sectors.

Impact Letters with an EFT mindset

Troy Faddis & Ray Barlow

Impact letters have been a staple of wilderness and residential therapy. The intentions behind impact letters have often been to aid clients to move to another stage of change by hearing the impact of their behavior through parents’ and peers’ eyes. They have also been used as a solution-focused approach to develop problem identification. These approaches have served well and at times can create distress and recalcitrant behavior. During these times one can wonder why we use impact letters. If we look at

Impact letters through an Emotional Focused Therapy (EFT) framework we start to shape different objectives that can strengthen the bond between the family member and the client. By making a primary objective to talk about the importance of the relationship, to give examples of secure points in their history, to address insecure attachment patterns, and to invite to talk about problem/raw areas in a secure way opens the possibility of leaning in to the conversation and lessens the chance for reactivity. This presentation will outline the history of past frameworks used in impact letters. We will review the basic structure of (EFT) and we will look at ways to instruct families to write impact letters in this style and with these objectives. We will present sample letters from family members and process the reactions to those letters. We will also discuss the experience of participates hearing these letters.

Troy has been working in wilderness therapy since 2001. His clinical experience includes working with adults and adolescents with substance abuse and dual diagnosis. Troy also works with difficult family systems including impacted by divorce and easily frustrated and chronically inflexible children. He excels in helping clients develop resiliency and self-efficacy skills and working with clients who have gifted intelligence. Troy has worked many years as a field therapist and clinical director for wilderness programs. Troy started in wilderness therapy by taking parents camping to see their children and do family therapy. Troy began his studies at Brigham Young University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in family sciences. He received his Masters of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from Seattle Pacific University. Troy is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and an AAMFT supervisor. Troy has been a board member for The Utah Association for Marriage and Family Therapy from 2005 to 2011. Troy was raised in Seattle, WA and Utah. Troy spent much of his time growing up outdoors hiking and playing in the mountains of Utah and the Pacific Northwest. Troy is the oldest of seven siblings, three of whom are adopted. Troy is married and has five children. His experience as a father gives him perspective when doing therapy with families. Troy was raised on Celtic music and likes to play the bagpipes.

Ray’s passion for this work comes from his personal life-changing experiences in the wilderness and a strong belief in the power of mentoring. Through his own remarkable journey, he has gained the experience, insight, and passion to help others find their vision for the future and make the successful transition to manhood. For Ray, this work is much more than a job; it is a life calling. Ray has over 20 years’ experience working in the wilderness and has helped countless people overcome the obstacles standing in the way of their success. Ray is a Licensed Substance Abuse Counselor and has personal experience with the heartache of addiction and the joy of recovery. Ray is a certified Wilderness First Responder and a Certified Positive Control Systems instructor and has had extensive training and experience in the area of wilderness risk management, Motivational Interviewing, 12 Step Recovery, the Gorski Relapse Prevention Model, the Stages of Change Model, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and wilderness survival. Ray has a wife and four children who love to spend time in the wilderness with him fly-fishing, skiing, camping, hiking and exploring wild things and wild places.

Co-Ed Guide Teams and Working with Adolescent Girls

David Wilson & Erin Reynolds

We will discuss how to most effectively utilize the co-ed guide team dynamic to authentically empower guides and students, to influence group culture, and to address therapeutic needs specific to adolescent girls.

David is a Field Guide at Aspiro Adventure, with close to 10 years working in the Outdoor Adventure Industry. I have experience working with a wide range of client demographics, but most recently have become passionate about working with adolescent girls. I love to climb, backpack, mountain bike, kayak, and generally explore the great outdoors.

Erin is a field guide for Aspiro Adventure. My love of the outdoors began as a child running through the woods of Missouri. I am an avid snowboarder, mountain biker, photographer, and general enthusiast. I am passionate about working with adolescent girls, and strive to show authenticity, empowerment and strength through vulnerability to the students with whom I work.

Building an Organizational Culture of Risk Management

Steve Smith

The goal of this workshop are to (1) Explore how the concept of "Risk Management Culture" has evolved throughout the ages; (2) Identify specific organizational steps that can help foster a culture of risk management; (3) Apply these steps and theories to participants' own programs in small-group exercises and scenarios. This presentation outlines a brief history of risk management evolution through the ages, identifies major events that signaled changes in how we think about risk management in various industries, shows how theories have evolved over time and looks at current thinking regarding ways to build a culture of risk management.

Steve Smith has worked in the outdoor industry for over twenty years, specializing in program quality, risk management, and staff training. His career has included administrative leadership roles with national organizations including Outward Bound and The Student Conservation Association. He has served as a board member for the Northwest Outward-Bound School, where he currently serves on the school's Safety Committee. Steve served as the Chair of the Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) for three years (2014 - 2016). He has a master's degree in teaching English, along with years of university-level teaching experience, and earned a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification from the Society for Human Resources Management, all of which help him view outdoor education through a variety of educational and administrative lenses. He understands the outdoor industry and risk management thoroughly, from the students to the leaders, from the staff to the parents, and from the board level to the ground level. He can help you align those different pieces to build a strong risk management culture with supporting tools and systems.

Wilderness After Wilderness: The Journey Continues

Nico Doorn & Connor Bowie

Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare (OBH) providers invest time and resources into the transformational healing experience of the clients they serve. Unfortunately, very few aftercare providers employ OBH

methodologies, which may lead to a jarring transition from the wilderness. We will explore the role of aftercare in the broad context of a client’s spiritual healing journey. Furthermore, we will address how non-wilderness aftercare providers may incorporate OBH philosophies and practices into their program. Attendees will be presented with one example of how an aftercare program incorporates a ceremonial rite of passage in a non-wilderness setting.

Nico Doorn is the Executive Director of Alpha 180, a young adult transitional program for clients seeking to begin or re-enter higher education in recovery. Before relocating to Austin, Prior to opening Alpha 180, Nico served as an Outreach Coordinator for Cumberland Heights Treatment Center in Nashville, TN. Simultaneously, he was completing a graduate degree in Human Development Studies at Vanderbilt University where he served as the graduate assistant for Vanderbilt Recovery Support. During his involvement, this Collegiate Recovery Program grew in its reach and offerings receiving local and national attention. Nico’s addiction treatment experience spans from young adult specific program formulation to ground-up recovery residence development and leadership. He spent the last 3 years serving on the board of the Tennessee Alliance of Recovery Residences, which furthers ethics, standards, and education within the sober living community. Throughout these experiences, Nico has balanced his career with a full-time course load as a college student while fathering a now 11 year-old-son. A recipient of a collegiate recovery program, Nico began his higher education journey with only a ninth-grade education. No longer a student, Nico enjoys spending his free time practicing yoga, trail running, bouldering and hanging out with his wife, son and dog.

Connor Bowie is the Residential Director for Alpha 180, a young adult transitional program for students in recovery based in Austin, TX. Before relocating to Austin, Connor Bowie attended Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) where he earned his Master of Social Work degree. Connor has worked in collegiate recovery and adolescent treatment for the past two years and has developed a passion for helping young people find recovery. He is passionate about helping young people realize that recovery isn’t a chore but a gift that they have been given. Connor believes in helping the clients find the upside of recovery through fostering a healthy community, holding them accountable, and showing them that recovery is truly a lot of fun.

Half-Hour WorkshopsSEX ISN'T A DIRTY WORD, OR IS IT?- A discussion of why talking about sex is important and how to bring the conversation into our programs

Patricia Ruggles & Daryn Reiner

This presentation is intended to prompt a discussion about how to improve the ways we approach our clients' relationship with sex. Sex seems to be a subject that is only addressed during the intake process as a check box and maybe if is it a clear "issue" (i.e. Trauma or risky behavior). Even when it is an treatment concern it is often assessed as something that should be addressed in secondary placement after wilderness. However, sex plays a much bigger role in our clients' lives than as a reason for treatment. Sex is tied to our emotional wellbeing, relationships, self-esteem, and can become Sex is very controversial as a topic among organizations, families, and individuals. This presentation will highlight

several examples of how continuing conversations about sex in the therapeutic process benefited the client. It will also highlight the various struggles that arise when bringing the topic of sex to individual and group treatment. This includes treatment providers own discomfort talking about "IT." Our hope is there will be subsequent conversations in clinical and program meetings in the numerous programs in the weeks following this presentation.

Trish starting working as a guide in a wilderness therapy program in the summer of 2004, just two weeks after graduating from Trinity College with a BS in Psychology. As a child she spent most summers sailing around the wilderness of Penobscot Bay in her home state of Maine. Despite only backpacking/camping twice as teen, Trish fell in love with wilderness therapy and in 2006 pursued a MA in Counseling Psychology at Lewis and Clark College. In the years to follow she would be therapist at three prominent wilderness programs. She was naturally drawn to working with young people who struggle with substance abuse and became a certified drug and alcohol counselor in 2009. Currently, she works as a therapeutic placement consultant with Mason & Associates. She also has a small private practice in Portland, Maine providing group and individual therapy for young women in early recovery.

Note: Bio needed for Daryn

The Role of Interventions and Challenges in a Relational Therapeutic Model

David Puhl & David Mosse

The clinical model of a program helps to define the way in which a program aims to promote positive change in students. Relational-based programs can find it challenging and feel stuck when working with students who seem to have no intrinsic motivation for change. Students who are particularly resistant to engaging in the relational process with treatment staff or making program/parent-defined ‘heathy choices’ can cause a drain on staff who are working to engage students. This presentation will discuss the difference between student-led therapeutic challenges and program-led therapeutic interventions, how each of these processes can be a part of a trauma-informed relational-based treatment model and discuss case studies that demonstrate how an individualized approach with these methods can improve student therapeutic journeys. This presentation aims to provide a path forward for working with challenging youth who are resistant to relationship-building with treatment teams.

David Puhl studied Wildlife Ecology and German at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. After graduating David spent two years in West Africa with Peace Corps Senegal; as an Environmental Education volunteer he spent much of his time working with local teachers on techniques to adjust their lesson plans to make subjects more applicable to the students’ lives. He also helped with the annual regional youth leadership camp, and in his second year acted as the lead coordinator and liaison between Peace Corps and local volunteers on the project. David enjoys spending time in nature and has a passion for encouraging that in others. In the winter cross country skiing is one of his favorite ways to spend time outdoors, David is also trying to find more time to climb and enjoys spending time on his bicycles when possible.

David Mosse has been a member of the Discovery Ranch for Girls team since May of 2016. David has always viewed the therapeutic process as being multi-faceted with adventure education being at the heart of the process of change that clients embark on while at DRG. In 2009 he completed his Master’s degree which focused on the impact of adventure and challenged based programming on the ability of adolescents to overcome diverse and challenging experiences. As Recreation Director David’s goal is to continue to enhance the effectiveness of programming through extensive collaboration with the clinical team as well as developing exciting adventure programming to such as skiing, snowboarding, winter sports, outdoor survival skills, extended river trips, climbing, and canyoneering trips. When David is not leading groups of youth into the backcountry or facilitating activities, he enjoys rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, canyoneering, skiing, backpacking, and canoeing. David, his wife, and their dog – in the fall of 2016 – paddled 2300 miles from the source of the Mississippi in Northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.

Music Wilderness therapy

Miles Spiker

Over the past several years I've been studying and experimenting with techniques on combining the healing power of music and the wilderness. I will be presenting based on my experience with working in the wilderness therapy setting but focusing on how playing music and the process of making primitive instruments can help accompany and enhance the wilderness therapy journey.

My name is Miles Spiker. I was born outside of Philadelphia PA and I am 26 years old. I have been working in wilderness therapy for the past 7 years. I am a former student of Wilderness therapy and decided after it changed my life I wanted to dedicate my own life and energy to making it as empowering of an experience as possible. Both Music and Nature has helped shape who I am and helped me find an identity for myself. I am always learning and ever curious on how to utilize music and nature to better the world and myself.

Relational–Cultural Theory: The Power of Connection to Transform Client Lives

Ace Saltzberg & Ryan Blivas

What if the ultimate goal for psychotherapy evolved into creating space for widespread participation in 'growth-fostering relationships'? Relational Cultural Theory guides us to view treatment beyond the relief of individual symptoms, to the promotion of reconnection with others. Reconnection is made possible by transforming the social conditions causative of the individual pain and disconnection. Utilizing the tenants and core principles of Relational Cultural Theory, we seek to examine how cultural and social norms must be shifted to promote connection, authenticity, and vulnerability, where asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness throughout the entire continuum of care and after. RCT is a theory that has many implications for clients and clinicians, counselors, and program aids alike that encourages us to embrace our innate need for connection in a world where isolation and self-sufficiency is often valued over collaborative healing

A native of West Los Angeles, Arthur ‘Ace’ Saltzberg attended Crossroads school and ultimately graduated Cum Laude from Northeastern University with a degree in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Throughout Arthur’s high school career, he was an active volunteer at Teen Line, a crisis hotline for struggling teens and a counselor at Camp Harmony, a sleep away camp for homeless adolescents. After college Ace worked in client services at the advertising agency TBWA/Chiat Day and then as a commercial real estate agent at Cushman & Wakefield. Through his own personal struggles as a teenager and young adult, Arthur found his calling by combining his love for helping others with his expertise in marketing and began his work in the therapeutic industry. Ace headed up outreach for Beit T’Shuvah's Prevention Program, a non-profit organization that speaks to teens across LA regarding substance misuse and the struggles that teens face on a daily basis Ace has spoken to thousands of teens across LA and the country about his own struggles and eliminating the stigma around mental health and addiction. He is currently a candidate for a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University.

Ryan Blivas grew up locally in Brentwood, CA. He was recruited to play division 1 tennis at UNLV where he majored in Hospitality Management. While attending college, Ryan developed a mentoring program for inner city youth living in Las Vegas that provided support with tutoring and college prep. After college, Ryan helped open the doors of a nationally recognized treatment center as the Director of Marketing. Ryan currently serves on the board of the United Jewish Federation’s Brentwood division. He is also Event Chair for Safe Place for Youth. Ryan is certified in Trauma Response by Trauma Resource Institute and is a CADAC.

The Nirim Model: An Educational/Therapeutic Intervention for Youth at Extreme Risk in Israel

Amy Werman

This presentation will introduce participants to Nirim in the Neighborhoods, a unique application of Wilderness Therapy for youth at extreme risk in Israel. A significant problem in Israel is the disenfranchisement of adolescents living on the socioeconomic and geographic periphery of society. Often children of immigrant parents, these youth are caught between acculturation and family tradition, are caught in the cycle of poverty, have dropped out of school, and are involved in criminal activity. Israeli citizens must serve in the army. Fulfillment of that requirement affords individuals opportunities for employment, education and general integration into Israeli society. Eligibility for service includes a clean legal record and a high school diploma - - two criteria that these marginalized youth cannot achieve on their own. Nirim in the Neighborhoods is an educational-therapeutic approach that uses “instructors,” young men and women who served in elite units of the Israeli Defense Forces, who are role models, mentors and advocates to these youth. The adolescents get assistance in school and participate in group activities in the Nirim clubhouses in cities around the country. Weekly wilderness therapeutic activities and 3-4 survival treks every year are vital and a transforming experience for the teens, most of whom return to school to get their diplomas and complete a meaningful army service. Ultimately, Nirim in the Neighborhoods enables these troubled youth to rewrite the story of their lives.

Amy Werman is a full-time lecturer at the Columbia University School of Social Work where she teaches Research Methodology, Program Evaluation, Clinical Case Evaluation, and Direct Practice courses in both the residential and online programs. She is passionate about teaching social work students and is

continually integrating new technologies and pedagogical approaches into her courses. Dr. Werman has had a private psychotherapy practice for eighteen years, applying her training as a family therapist to her clinical work with individuals, couples and families. She also has a therapy dog – Gussie the Pug – that is certified by Pet Partners to do friendly visits and by HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response to provide stress relief and comfort to individuals who have experienced natural and manmade disasters. Amy has a strong connection to Israel. Since her first trip in 1974, she has been involved in helping to strengthen Israeli society through her volunteer work with UJA Federation NY. It was on an evaluation mission in the summer of 2007 that Amy met Shlomi Avni and learned about Nirim in the Neighborhoods. She signed on to support the important work he is doing and never looked back!

Recreation Therapy: The Role and Benefits of a Recreation Therapist in Wilderness Therapy

Emily Fritz & Kaci Sapinski

Recreation Therapy is one of the fastest growing health care and human services occupations in the country which focuses on improving and maintaining the social, emotional, physical, cognitive and spiritual functioning of individuals served in order to ensure full participation in life. This session will explore the foundations of recreation therapy, what it means to be a CTRS (Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist) and the role of a CTRS in behavioral healthcare, specifically wilderness therapy. Participants will leave this session with a deeper understanding of what recreation therapy is and how they can benefit from hiring Recreation Therapists.

Emily is an Iowa native that now calls the north woods of Wisconsin home. As an undergrad, Emily double majored in exercise science and human performance and fitness, then went on to pursue her masters in recreation, park and tourism administration with an emphasis in therapeutic recreation. Emily fell in love with working outside during graduate school, while she managed a high ropes course and climbing tower. Emily's graduate course work also led her on a variety of other adventures including backpacking and sea kayaking. After completing her internship in a hospital setting at an inpatient psychiatric unit, Emily knew she needed to get back outside. New Vision Wilderness was the perfect fit for working with the population she loved and being outside. Emily is a certified therapeutic recreation specialist and is excited to share her knowledge with the kids in the woods. In her free time, Emily enjoys reading, adventuring and hanging out with her dog Diesel.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, Kaci worked in health care for 15 years in Emergency Medicine and Cardiology. As her two sons entered High School, she began looking for a deeper connection to the service industry. Honored to be part of the development of a new University of Wisconsin collaborative program, Kaci continued her education in Community Health and Wellness. With her extensive knowledge of the medical environment and passion for the outdoors, wilderness therapy became the perfect fit. Finding New Vision Wilderness has allowed her to bring her outdoor adventures to work right in the north woods of Wisconsin where she calls home.

3pm-3:20pm Closing Ceremony

Please join us for a short closing ceremony which will be the final event of the Park City Symposium.