Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors

Daniel Fishburn is the Executive Director of SUWS of the Carolina's . Daniel shares his journey into wilderness therapy, which first began in 1987 when he worked as staff at Wediko, a therapeutic summer camp. After college, he did human rights work in El Salvador and went on to get his M.S.W. Daniel shares his remarkable story of service to others in a variety of public and private settings throug...

Madhurii Barefoot, Co-founder, and Co-owner of True North Wilderness in Vermont. Mod was born and raised in Vermont and went to boarding school, where she was first exposed to wilderness expeditions. Mod would pursue the path of wilderness via a gap year at NOLS. She shares her story of meeting her future husband, Ty Maves, at a SUWS of Idaho field staff orientation. They both left SUWS to pursue...

Thom Pollard is an Emmy award-winning Director of Photography and Filmmaker who has filmed from Easter Island to the summit of Mount Everest and everything in between. His adventure photographs have appeared in numerous books and publications, including National Geographic.  Thom shares his fascinating story of why spending time on high-risk wilderness expeditions is a therapeutic process for him...

Anson McNulty is the Operations Director and Co-Owner of Summit Achievement . Anson grew up in New York City, and at a young age, he was diagnosed with dyslexia and sent to boarding school for teens with learning disabilities, where he first experienced the outdoors. Anson shares his unique journey into the wilderness field which includes traveling the world as a teen, working at The Wilderness Sc...

Tim McMahon and Jason Cox are co-owners of Brightstone Transitions , a Young Adult Transitional Program. They met over a decade ago in Georgia when Tim was directing a state-funded wilderness therapy program, and Jason showed up late for a job interview dressed in a suit and tie. Eventually, they connected as they both believed in the value of the connection between field guides and students. They...

Sarah Gallimore is a field guide at Elements Wilderness Therapy .  Sarah grew up in New Hampshire and went to the UNH for college, which is where she learned about wilderness therapy. Sarah shares how helping out with an AEE Accreditation review in Utah was when she realized that she wanted to be a field guide in a wilderness therapy program in Utah. She shares her story of graduating from UNH and...

Samuel Adams, Lead Field Guide at Aspiro Adventures. Sam grew up in the Adirondacks region of New York with a family who embraced the outdoors.  In high school, he became a father and struggled to handle it.  He grew through the struggle and became connected with wilderness therapy in college. His dream in college was to be a wilderness therapy guide. He shares his story of getting a job at Aspiro...

Norman Elizondo is the Family Wellness Counselor at Open Sky. Norman's journey into the wilderness field began when his dying mother encouraged him to leave his finance career and "do something that would really help people." Norman shares his extraordinary journey from being an immigrant from the Philippines to growing up in the Chicago area to working in finance to leaving that to be a field gui...

Doug Dobkowski is a Team Leader at Summit Achievement .  Doug grew up in New Jersey and went on to get a teaching degree in college. Doug worked as a middle school teacher for eight years in Newark. He shares his story of how he began an Outing Club at the middle school, which inspired him to become an outdoor leader. He landed his first job as a wilderness therapy field guide in his mid 30's. He...

Zhenda Glover is a field guide at Evoke Cascades located in Oregon.  She was born and raised in Bulgaria and had never heard the two words "wilderness' and "therapy" put together until she moved to Oregon.  Zhenda became enamored with wilderness therapy after attending a field guide orientation at Evoke and has been committed to the field ever since.  Zhenda was recognized for her outstanding fiel...

Rachel Rollins is a therapist at Juniper Canyon Recovery Center in Utah. She first learned about wilderness therapy when she was enrolled in a program as a teen which is where she first learned to "love self and wilderness." After graduating from the University of Vermont, Rachel traveled the world but felt unsatisfied until she returned to the wilderness field. She shares her fascinating journey...

L. Jay Mitchell is one of the elders in the field of wilderness therapy as he co-founded the School of Urban and Wilderness Survival (SUWS) in Idaho and Alldredge Academy in West Virginia. SUWS was the first for-profit, private pay primitive skills wilderness therapy program in the U.S. and helped spawn the movement of wilderness therapy in the west. L. Jay shares his stunning story of leaving a t...

John Conway  was the chair of the Outdoor Behavioral Council during a time of rapid growth. He grew up in Illinois and wanted to work in wilderness therapy but thought he would have to move away from Chicago to get a job in the field. John tells the story of how his first job offer after getting his MSW was at a state-funded wilderness therapy program in Illinois. John shares the story about being...

Emily (Jonesie) Jones spent every summer of her childhood living at a summer camp that her parents worked at.  After college, she worked at a farm and traveled all over, including South America. Jonesie shares the fascinating story of being in Peru and participating in a ceremony that changed the course of her life. She followed her path of service to Open Sky, where she has been a field guide for...

Meaghan Farrell is a field guide at Elements Traverse in Utah. Meaghan shares her journey into the wilderness therapy field and how she worked all over the country in different outdoor education programs until she found Elements Traverse. Meaghan has been a field guide for two years and talks about the pros and cons of being a field guide and the challenges of a week on week off schedule. Meaghan...

Phil Bryan is a clinical assistant at Evoke Entrada.  Phil shares his story of working as a field guide for almost 20 years in various programs, including Aspen Achievement Academy, Summit Achievement, Outward Bound Voyager, Elements Wilderness Therapy, and Outback. Phil shares his experiences of being on the "Brat Camp" television series and why he decided to get a dual master's degree at the Uni...

Jory Hanselman is the director of BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy , located in Colorado.  BaMidbar is the first Jewish wilderness therapy program in the United States. Jory shares her inspiring journey from her teenage years when she asked her parents to send her to a wilderness therapy program to being a camp counselor at a Jewish summer camp to being a field guide at wilderness programs. She shares...

Chris Luchesi is a field guide at Legacy Outdoor Adventures .  Chris grew up outside of Boston but had not even heard of wilderness therapy until he was in his 30's.  Chris was on a career track working for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston when he "heard the call" of working in wilderness therapy after learning about Outward Bound and Legacy. He shares his remarkable story...

Guy Dumas is a coach of graduates of wilderness programs ( guydumas.com ).  Guy joined the wilderness therapy field in 1996 direct from the Army where he was a graduate of West Point and the Army's Ranger School. He began working at Aspen Achievement Academy and found a new mission.  Over 1000 days in the field. Over 500 days carrying a survival pack. Over 10,000 hours of practice.  He shares stor...

Dr. Christine Norton is a leading researcher, practitioner, and teacher in the field of wilderness therapy.  She is an associate professor of social work at Texas State University, a researcher at the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Center, and was field staff at Outward Bound and the Dallas Salesmanship Club Camp. Christine shares her journey into wilderness therapy from being raised as an evangeli...

Shannon Palentchar is the Director of Admission of Summit Achievement in Maine.  Shannon grew up in North Carolina and went on an Outward Bound course right after high school and it changed the direction of her life.  She became a river guide which helped her to pay her way through college.  Shannon was a field guide at SUWS of the Carolina's in the early 2000's.  She would then go onto work at St...

Emily Fernandes is co-founder and executive director at Open Sky Wilderness Therapy. Emily grew up in Vermont and went to college in Maine. Emily started working in the field in 1995 at The Wilderness School in Connecticut and went onto work at Aspen Achievement Academy in Utah. She co-founded Open Sky Wilderness in 2005 with Aaron Fernandes who would later become her husband. She shares her stori...

Hilary Moses, Co-Owner of Solutions Parenting Support, has worked in the wilderness field since 2001. She has been a field guide and a therapist at SUWS of Idaho as well as therapist and clinical director at Pacific Quest.  Hilary journey into the field began as a young person when traveling to wilderness programs with her mother who is an educational consultant.  Hilary's story includes being on...

Joanna Lilley is the founder of Lilley Consulting, which is a therapeutic consulting practice that specializes in helping young adults (ages 17 plus) and their families. Joanna's journey into the field started as a young person when she would accompany her father to his work at a group home for adolescent boys. Her father would take the boys camping, which inspired Joanna. After college Joanna int...

Karen Scrafford is co-founder and program director of Elements Wilderness Therapy located in Utah.  Her journey into the field began when she went to school at Indiana University.  After graduation, she headed to Utah and began to work first as a field guide, assistant field guide, then admissions at Second Nature.  Karen shares how she was approached by the other co-founders of Elements to start...