In his free time, Dr. Cian Brown enjoys mountain biking, rock climbing and bouldering, despite not being a huge fan of heights. In this episode, we talk about specific activities in adventure therapy, Cian's passion for getting outside with students, and nerd out on a little research. Lots of letters follow Dr. Brown's name! He is a licensed counselor, Certified Clinical Adventure Therapist (CCAT), and Board Certified in Neurofeedback, Fellow (BCN-Fellow) with a Ph.D. in Counselor...

Zoe Jack, LCSW-C is the Director of the Center for Nature Informed Therapy in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the author of the new book Social Work Outside: Evidence Based, Micro and Macro Perspectives. This year, Zoe has been on a "tour" travelling to social work conferences advocating for bringing nature into social work practice. We hope you enjoy the fun episode! For those interested in painting there office like Zoe's, here you go: Laurel Tree Behr Paint Useful Links Social Work...

Gary describes himself as "happily retired," so we knew it was time to rope him in for a fun discussion about his productive and meaningful career as both a social worker and leading contributor to adventure therapy knowledge. Gary is the co-author of many impactful adventure therapy articles and numerous books, including the recent Adventure Group Psychotherapy. In this episode, the team discuss Gary's backyard conversations with Tony Alvarez, his writing, prevention, the experiential...

Before we begin, everyone should head to this link and get professionally connected with Max! Max joins the podcast to share how his international experience in the United States, Scotland, and Spain - as well as many other adventures - informs his work with adolescents in the outdoors. The group talks about field siestas, Camino de Santiago routes, and running individualized expeditions. Max is a representative for Adventure Therapy Europe and brings experience from outdoor education,...

Today we talk with Dr Scott D Miller, the co-founder of the International Center for Clinical Excellence and a leading voice in understanding what works in therapy and how practitioners can get better at doing it. As a practicing psychologist, Scott often provides pro bono services to the financially underprivileged. In this podcast, we discuss Will's average outcomes, how psychotherapy lost its magic, and the role of deliberate practice in highly effective practitioners. Scott provides his...

As you listen, we'd love you to complete this survey!  Welcome Bernie Rupe from Chicago Voyagers to the podcast. This is such a unique program working with youth in the greater Chicago Area. With over 25 years of experience working with at-risk teens, Bernie remains the guiding star of Chicago Voyagers and he joins Daniel and Will to discuss how Bernie has used research to seek funding and grow and evolve this innovative program.  Thanks for a great year everyone. We hope you have a happy...

We have started a GoFundMe so you can all chip in and send us to the Himalayas where we can hang out and learn from Tanya. You'll understand why we must go watch Tanya in action after listening to this episode. Tanya Ginwala is a clinical psychologist and experiential educator from India, and the country's representative on the Adventure Therapy International Committee (ATIC). Tanya has trained in narrative therapy, somatic therapies, and buddhist psychology. Before starting her own practice,...

To stir the pot, Will's mother sent him Alan's book, Natural: How Faith in Nature's Goodness Leads to Harmful Fads, Unjust Laws, and Flawed Science, last year. Alan's book examines the meaning of "natural" and argues that modern Western culture has divinized nature. That seemed like a worthy conversation to unpack. Alan is an associate professor of religion at James Madison University. His work focuses primarily on the relationship between religion, literature, and science, with particular...

We caught up with an icon of our field Denise Mitten as she was driving with her daughter across the US to Will’s homeland of Washington DC! Denise is a widely experienced outdoor adventure guide, leading SCUBA and mountaineering trips in numerous countries. Denise started with the Girl Scouts in the 1960s and brought her passion for sharing the outdoors and adventure with people from all backgrounds, including women survivors of abuse, homeless populations, and maximum-security men’s...

Join us to talk to electronic social emotional entrepreneurs Kendra Bostick, LCSW, PhD candidate, and Bryn Lottig, M.S. They visited Will and Daniel to teach us why we should all immediately download Kikori, the app they have developed that is a digital encyclopedia of experiential activities. This episode goes far beyond adventure therapy because Kikori is a tool that is useful for social emotional learning, experiential education, outdoor education, and any form of experiential learning....

Russell Chamberlain, LCSW, CADCIII brings over 30 years of lived experience to this episode. Russell is a licensed clinical social worker and certified alcohol and drug counselor. He is also a board member of the Parker Bounds Johnson Foundation and a former chair of the Therapeutic Adventure Professionals Group. In this episode, he shares his knowledge and experience in working experientially in the outdoors with a diverse range of populations. Russell's career working therapeutically...

All good research requires a good acronym. Welcome to the ATOM...the Adventure Therapy Outcome Monitoring study. In this episode, we invite you to join a community of practitioners to build more evidence and knowledge about adventure therapy practice and, hopefully, help each other get better at doing it. If you're interested in getting involved...and yes, you are the perfect person to get involved, flick us an email and we can get started! Email: [email protected] “Feedback is the...

Like camping? Like food? The two join forces in today's podcast with backcountry food guru Stephen Javorski. Stephen brings over 20 years of experience working with youth and young adults to the ATC podcast. He currently teaches Child and Youth Care at  Vancouver Island University. Stephen has worked in a range of settings including schools to challenge courses to multi-week canoe expeditions in Canada’s North. The nearly Doctor Javorski is wrapping up a PhD in Outdoor Experiential Education...

Did you know our guest, Dr. Terry Williams, has traveled over 15,000 miles by bicycle, 8,000 miles running cross-country, and has earned the ear of U.S. presidents, politicians, and community leaders? The foundation she founded has helped numerous non-profit's build sustainable adventure-based practices across the United States. Terry joins Daniel and Will to discuss her passion for leadership, thoughts on collaborations and important milestones across her amazing journey. If you want to...

Happy new year everyone...wait it's already February?! We hope you enjoy the podcast - full of belly laughs - with our great friend Margaret Kelso. Margaret began in wilderness therapy in 2011 as a field guide at a program in southeast Alaska. After receiving her W-EMT in 2013, she continued her wilderness therapy journey holding roles in the medical, case management, program management, and beyond. She has particularly loved the work of developing judgment and decision-making skills with...

“Therapy was a dirty word” for Doug until an external evaluation of his wilderness therapy program found he was delivering a service that was, in fact, therapeutic. Doug joins Will and Daniel to discuss his private practice, Gippsland Adventure Therapy, and how extensive engagement in his community has helped the practice thrive in such a short period of time. LINKS Gippsland Adventure Therapy Adventure Works (Australia) Graham Pringle’s Training Visit Gippsland Australian Association for...

Senior Constable Mark Cartner is a police officer of more than 20 years. Most of that experience was dedicated as a child abuse detective of a major investigations unit before transitioning to school-based policing. Upon doing so, Mark put in the grassroots efforts to develop a highly recognized adventure therapy program for disengaged, traumatized youth. Daniel and Will talk with Mark about connection to country, how trauma impacts the brain, the metaphors he brings to his adventure therapy...

What if we told you adventure therapy, despite being more experiential or maybe outdoors, has more in common with every other therapy than you think? Join Daniel and Will for an overview of research, the best available evidence, and the debunking of some common myths around psychotherapy research. Make sure to let us know on social media what you think! What challenged you? What seems common sense and not that revolutionary? Let's engage!  Happy Episode 10! Thanks for your continued support!...

In today's episode, Daniel sits down with adventure therapy field expert, Dr Maurie Lung. Dr. Lung wears many hats; educator, clinician, supervisor, consultant, mom, author, and program developer. She is the founder and CEO of Life Adventures Counseling, a community organization that provides adventure-based mental health therapy and consulting. Dr. Lung is also Associate Faculty at Prescott College teaching graduate courses in mental health counseling and overseeing the Adventure-based...

This week's episode is a conversation with adventure therapy training experts Kim Sacksteder and Nick Magle-Haberek. Kim and Nick are the co-owners and founders of www.adventure-therapist.com which is an organization that offers online and in-person adventure therapy training, consultation, and supervision. In addition to their work at adventure-therapist.com, Sacksteder and Magle-Haberek both work as clinicians and administration in adventure therapy programs. They have also both been...

Today's guest is psychologist Alexander Rose. Alexander is a trailblazer for adventure therapy in Spain, recently publishing the first adventure therapy book to be written in Spanish! The book is titled: Terapia a través de la aventura: Cuando la montaña nos hizo grandes. He is one of two representatives for Spain in the Adventure Therapy Europe network. Along with Will and Dan, Alexander shares his passion for adventure therapy and how he implements Gestalt and Experiential therapies into...

Dr Lee Gillis, co-author of Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice (2nd Ed.; 2020) and whose research has contributed to the foundation of outdoor, wilderness, and adventure therapy research, joined Daniel and Will for an awesome discussion. Take a listen to hear about the promise of future adventure therapy research, Lee's experience with adventure-based group work, and more!  Huge thanks to Adventure Therapist LLC for sponsoring this episode! Check them out at...

This episode is an interview with Tuesdey Spangler who is the chair of the Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group (TAPG). Tuesdey is a clinical social worker with many years of experience using adventure therapy techniques. She has worked at Camp Mary Orton in Columbus, in private practice, and in other settings. Tuesdey came on the ATC podcast to tell us about TAPG, the TAPG preconference at AEE, and her experiences working in adventure therapy. If you don't know about TAPG, you definitely...

In this episode, Daniel sits with Jessa Lytle and Kallie England from the University of Michigan's Adventure Leadership/Social Work program to discuss university education in adventure therapy techniques. Together they explore their use of high and low ropes course initiatives, how to conduct adventure-based field supervision for social work students, and their unique model for training practitioners to work in the outdoors. This episode offers a glimpse of one of the few graduate-level...