Introduction to Wilderness and Adventure Therapy
The use of the outdoors as a therapeutic catalyst for change is as old as time itself. In the modern era, it has been referred to as wilderness therapy, outdoor therapy, adventure therapy, ecotherapy, and has been growing all over the country and the world for the last 25 years. The growth has accelerated since the pandemic began with more people acknowledging and using the outdoors for its restorative and recuperative impact on the mind, body, and soul. This two-hour experience will teach participants ways to use the outdoors to accelerate the therapeutic benefit whether a multi-day solo adventure or a twenty-minute walk in the woods as well as a brief history of the field.
This talk and walk will be facilitated by Jackson local, Will White a nationally recognized practitioner, researcher, and speaker on adventure and wilderness therapy. His 2011 doctoral dissertation traced the history of the field which resulted in the book Stories from the Field: A History of Wilderness therapy as well as the weekly podcast Stories from the Field: Demystifying Wilderness Therapy. In 1996 he co-founded Summit Achievement a wilderness therapy program for teens in Maine. He just opened White Mountain Adventure Institute (wmai.org) to provide the highest quality experiences in adventure training, consultation, and therapy.
This will take place in the Dundee Community Forest project area in Jackson. Space is limited; reservations required. Please email info@usvlt.org to register.
Photo: Jerry Monkman, courtesy of The Trust for Public Land
