“It’s Thanksgiving morning, we’re stuck in the woods, and you’re making us hike!?”
“It will be worth it! I promise.” I replied, hoisting my day-pack over my shoulders.
The group of adolescent guys converged at the trailhead to wait for the day’s venture. Their boots were worn. There was ash tarnishing the fabric of their jackets and patchy beards forming on their grim faces. Continue reading
Let me paint you a picture of wilderness therapy. We are sitting in the forest along a mountain trail. The sun is high in the sky, casting golden beams through the green foliage. Within one of those beams sits a young man of 16 years. He sits by himself atop his backpack, boots placed firmly on the ground, elbows on his knees, and his gaze pours out upon the horizon. We walk up and take a seat in the dry dirt beside him.
“Are you alright?” Continue reading
Student at wilderness therapy program: “Does Miss Tammy own this company?”
Wilderness therapy instructor: “Why do you say that?”
Student: “Everyone’s always saying that she’s the most important person here.”
Instructor: “Well, that’s because she is.”
Wilderness therapy is the ultimate Hero’s Journey dance; a cyclical pattern of communication, efficiency, and passion. It is a process that is always brought full circle, whether it be in reality or by metaphor. Continue reading
I was lying naked on a broad flat rock. My legs were sprawled out in front of me and my feet rested at the edge of the river. The water flowed steadily downstream inches from my toes. Continue reading
