Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors

Will interviews Lynette Spencer and Ryan Bromberek from Adventure Works, a non-profit, community based, accredited outdoor behavioral healthcare program located in DeKalb, Illinois.  Lynette and Ryan share their journeys into the field and why they feel community based programs are the next growth area for the field.

Will talks with Lynn Smith, Co-Founder and Director of Family Services of Elements Wilderness Program.  Lynn shares his journey from growing up in California to joining Aspen Achievement Academy in 1994 to co-founding Elements Wilderness in 2008. 

Will talks with Rochelle Bochner and Lani Dorff, Co-founders of Sky's the Limit Fund.  Skys the Limit Fund is a non-profit that provides grants and support to young people and their families in attend wilderness therapy programs.  Rochelle share what inspired her to take this mission on and how Lani joined in.     

Will visits with Greta Lutman, Family Services Director at Greenbrier Academy.  Greenbrier Academy is  an emotional growth boarding school for girls.  Greta has been a clinician and clinical director in many wilderness programs in the Southeast region of the United States.  Although not an "outdoor person" Greta tells how she fell in love with wilderness therapy and how it helped her see how chang...

Will visits with Leah Madamba, Director of Vive Family Services, a family support program that operates throughout the country.  Leah elaborates on her long history in wilderness therapy in a variety of positions including clinician, guide and program director.

Will interviews Krissy Pozatek, author of the book "The Parallel Process," about her journey from growing up in New England to working as a field guide at Aspen Achievement Academy in Utah.  Krissy recounts going back to school and getting her MSW and returning as a clinician at Second Nature.  She would leave that position and return to the New England to write "The Parallel Process" a book that...

Will talks with Nichol Ernst, Executive Director and Co-Owner of Summit Achievement, a hybrid wilderness therapy program in Maine. Nichol shares his unique journey into wilderness therapy including his time as a concert pianist, world class sailor and his challenges when getting an ivy league education.  Nichol reveals how he first found out about Summit Achievement and went from being a field gui...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In this episode Dr. Will White does a brief synopsis of his background and what motivated him to create the podcast, Stories from the Field.