Wilderness Therapy

My introduction to providing therapy was in the field of Adventure/Wilderness Therapy. This highly engaging method of therapy provides clients with real-life opportunities to learn and practice various mental health skills. Adventure Therapy can be a fantastic tool for children and adolescents who are reluctant to do traditional talk therapy, but has benefits for anyone who chooses to engage in this method. You don't have to be a nature lover to benefit from Adventure Therapy sessions.

I have 9+ years of experience within outdoor education, wilderness therapy guiding, nature connection, and primitive skills. I have worked within a variety of different settings and system configurations to do this work. For example, I have facilitated a weekend of family therapy while camping in the San Juan Mountains and I have guided a day hike for a group of youth activists on retreat in the Sierra Nevada in California.

I wrote my dissertation on wilderness therapy with youth at risk. I believe strongly in nature as a healing modality. I try to incorporate that into the work I do with all my clients.

As a clinician, I offer walk-and-talk therapy in natural settings to clients who express interest in alternative therapeutic modalities. I have often found that clients are able to open up in new and insightful ways when we are walking side-by-side, and I believe that nature holds such power to heal. I only offer these services to folks living in Santa Cruz County.

My research in graduate school focused on the healing powers of being outdoors. I have an extensive background in working in Wilderness Education and have seen the impact of being outside on the mental health of clients and for myself. Wilderness Therapy is one of many modalities that increases our time and experiences in the out of doors which has been shown to have positive impacts on a variety of both Mental health and Physical health conditions.

Work in nature enables us to use metaphor and experiencing to heal and more deeply understand ourselves. Its benefits are innumerable. I offer counseling combined with time in nature to provide you with increased benefit. We will collaboratively design a treatment plan that brings more nature into your life in ways that work for you. This can be accomplished through walk and talk therapy in the forest, sitting in a peaceful setting by the pond, or in almost any way we can imagine!

Whenever possible and appropriate, I find it tremendously helpful to have sessions outside in natural settings. There is a lot of research that shows that time spent in nature helps to settle our nervous system, but beyond that, a primary goal of nature-based therapy is to find points of connection (such as metaphors, patterns, behaviors) with nature. These connections allow reflection about the challenges that brought you to therapy and what solutions might exist in the natural world.

My Masters degree is in Transpersonal Wilderness Therapy. I integrate elements of nature and the outdoors into the therapeutic process in a safe and approachable way for each client. I specialize in working with traumas that are based in nature and working with survivors of the Troubled Teen Industry.