Feb 9, 2022
Dr. Madolyn ("Maddy") Liebing is the Clinical Director of
Legacy Outdoor
Adventures and Juniper Recovery Center for Women. Maddy is a
historical figure in wilderness therapy and has worked in the field
since the 1970s. She was the first licensed psychologist to work in
a primitive skills-oriented wilderness therapy program and helped
develop many accreditation standards. She shares several stories,
including the co-founding Wilderness Academy (later known as Aspen
Achievement Academy) in 1988 and the challenges she has faced as a
professional and a woman in the field. Maddy shares how Legacy and
Juniper Canyon have been working with insurance companies to get
reimbursement for services and her thoughts on where the wilderness
field is heading. Bio from Legacy Website:
Dr. Madolyn (“Maddy”) spent her childhood traveling and moving
throughout The West. Her family spent time in many of the western
states before settling in Southern Utah. Dr. Maddy grew up
appreciating the outdoors and spending as much time as possible
outside.
She grew up to become an educator, teaching both English and history at a high school in Utah. She loved getting to know her students and was inspired to become a school counselor. While working as a high school counselor, Dr. Maddy started leading short wilderness trips as a drop-out prevention program in 1978. She was struck by the powerful experience her students had in the wilderness and while earning her Ph.D. wrote her dissertation about these “survival trips,” noting the positive impact they had on adolescents. What she might not have realized at the time, was that she was developing and shaping what would become the field of Wilderness Therapy.
In 1988, Dr. Maddy was part of the team that founded Aspen Achievement Academy. She was integral in establishing that program and went on to advise the State of Utah as they created systems and regulations for the emerging field of Wilderness Therapy. Over the course of the next several decades, Maddy continued her work in the field, only taking time off to raise her own family.
Dr. Maddy still finds time to get outside herself, and enjoys being with her children and grandchildren.