Preview Mode Links will not work in preview mode

Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors

Dec 15, 2021

Tami Ann is the author of the new book, "A Wilderness Journey: The Story of a Teen’s Road to Healing" which is a heartfelt memoir about her son's and her family's wilderness therapy journey at a primitive skills-oriented wilderness program. Tami describes the writing of the book, the influence of Joseph Campbell on...


Dec 7, 2021

What happens after a young person discharges from a wilderness therapy program? Do they transition home, therapeutic boarding school, or to a traditional school environment? This episode discusses aftercare planning at wilderness therapy programs for teens and how it has changed over 20 years, with more young...


Nov 30, 2021

Wilderness therapy programs have evolved over the last twenty years to better help those with learning differences that impact mental health. Many young people who enroll in wilderness therapy programs have undiagnosed learning differences, including dyslexia, ADHD, etc., that need to be addressed for a healthy change...


Nov 16, 2021

Margo Kelly, MSW, MEd (they/them/theirs) is a course leader/therapist at True North in Vermont. Their journey to wilderness therapy began on a backpacking trip on the Long Trail when they came upon three different people who pointed them in the direction of True North. Margo was intrigued with an offer to be a therapist...


Nov 9, 2021

Jamila Minnifield is a therapist at First Light Wilderness in Georgia. Jamila shares the story of her unusual journey to becoming a wilderness therapist, from her serendipitous learning about wilderness therapy on a backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail to being a field guide for over two years, although having...