Supporting clients and families in the process of acceptance and charting a path towards healthier communication We often see a form of grief and loss taking place in times of transition to alternative educational settings. Specifically, we regularly speak with parents and students about letting go of the ideal image they wished they had with respect to neurotypical adolescent development and traditional academic … [Read more...]
Treating Self-Harming Behavior in the Wilderness
At this year’s Wilderness Therapy Symposium in Park City Utah, True North therapist Bo Bicknell MSW joined clinicians Emily Thelan (Chrysalis School) and Kendra Meiklejohn (Outback Therapeutic Expeditions) to lead a workshop presentation on treating adolescent girls who exhibit self-harming behaviors in the wilderness. Their audience included visiting consultants, wilderness guides, clinical directors, and other … [Read more...]
Spectrum of Care and Therapeutic Support for Adolescents
True North Wilderness Program is one of many forms of residential treatment that can guide individuals and families on a path to health and wellness. However, our therapeutic milieu and where wilderness falls on the overall spectrum of care is often unfamiliar and at times overwhelming for families to fully understand. Described here are the varying levels of care, from least to most restrictive and supportive. … [Read more...]
Skills: Building Traps
Outdoor living skills, such as learning how to make traps, are an integral part of the wilderness therapy experience at True North. Our students learn how to make two types of traps, the Paiute Deadfall and the Figure Four. They make a total of four traps and learn how to set them up with flat rocks they find near their campsites. Each trap comes with its own unique set of mechanical challenges, from harvesting trees … [Read more...]
Skills: Map and Compass
The theme of navigation appears regularly in our lives at True North. A student’s arrival is typically discussed as “the beginning of the journey” through True North. As a therapist, I speak with students and parents about “shifting course," or "finding a new path." One often arrives to a program like True North after they “took a wrong turn,” “started moving in the wrong direction,” or “got lost.” We move through … [Read more...]
Skills: Making Fire
The successful completion of True North, like all life adventures, requires the acquisition of new skills and expertise. While the word “therapy” often suggests emotional or cognitive work, the Wilderness requires the acquisition of a set of physical skills as well. These physical skills relate closely to the social and emotional work that takes place at True North. An essential skill at True North is the art of … [Read more...]
Alumni Gathering: Boston 2018
When I made the transition from Administrative Assistant to Research and Alumni Coordinator last fall, I was curious what it would be like to spend more time connecting with True North families after graduation. One of the aspects of my work at True North over the past five years that has been the most rewarding is being able to offer support to parents and family members during the intake process and throughout … [Read more...]
Research: Purpose and Process
Why do we conduct research? Each family at True North has a unique story with their own specific struggles and goals. It is our aim to provide individuals and families the best care and support possible as we collaborate to chart the course toward a successful future. Wilderness therapy has a powerful way of identifying the difficulties families are facing and addressing them in a way that is … [Read more...]
Finding the “Real World” in the Woods: Leaving Behind Social Media and Anxiety
As a student adjusts to life in the woods at True North, the often begin to have discussions about “the real world” and what they do “in real life.” They talk about favorite music, movies, and other media. In particular, they tend to discuss their lives on social media: “What’s your Twitter handle?” “What’s your Insta?” “What’s your Finsta?” (a ‘Fake Instagram,’ typically reserved only for close friends). This is … [Read more...]
“I just want my child to be happy.”
“I just want my child to be happy.” We hear this often from the families that we work with. It is a wish that on the surface, seems heartfelt and harmless. What parent doesn’t want their child to be happy? This is especially true for parents who have children struggling with anxiety, depression, or other personal challenges. For many parents who have been living with the pain of watching their child struggle to … [Read more...]
Snowshoeing in the Wilderness
“Hiking is a bit like life: The journey only requires you to put one foot in front of the other…again and again and again. And if you allow yourself the opportunity to be present throughout the entirety of the trek, you will witness beauty every step of the way, not just at the summit” UNKNOWN It is fortunate that the Vermont wilderness offers a wide array of activities and interesting … [Read more...]
Pack Weight
Pack-weight is an important consideration when hiking long-distances. Typically, aspiring thru-hikers start with heavy packs, and gradually we find ways to reduce our weight along the trail. When I set out on the Appalachian Trail my pack weighed 54 pounds! Little things make a collective difference. Pack weight determines how nimble and how lite we are on our feet, and eventually the most stubborn hikers begin to … [Read more...]
Resilience in the Cold
After particularly cold nights in the Vermont hills, mornings can be noisy. Trees creak and snap as the first sunlight reflects off of the bright snow and starts to melt ice particles. Occasional wind gusts nudge branches at the tops of trees into motion, dropping a bit of snow near the top, which upsets the next snowy branch below, escalating step by step into an avalanche of powder thundering down out of the pines … [Read more...]
Gearing Up: Winter in Vermont
“Dressed like onions” might sound funny when you think about our students and staff in the cold Vermont winters, but the phrase is actually an important principle in the year round outdoor-active community. The idea is to simply layer up when you are cold and layer down when you are warm to always find the most comfortable temperature for the activity you are doing. Whether it’s sitting around the campfire journaling … [Read more...]
New Year’s Neuroscience: Goal Setting
As the calendar year winds down, we acknowledge one of the most widely accepted and practiced ceremonies in cultures throughout the world: marking the passage of time by setting intentions for the coming year. New year’s resolutions are grounded in a belief that growth and maturation are not only possible, but within our grasp. We look to the past, recognize our human imperfections, and then turn to the future, … [Read more...]
Celebrating the Winter Holidays
Just a few days after the longest night of the year, the holiday season acts as a beacon of light to our True North family. This morning, members of our friendly staff worked together in the kitchen preparing a home cooked meal to celebrate the holidays. As they moved about indoors, the final snowflakes from last night’s storm danced their way to the thick white blanket that covers the rolling Vermont hills … [Read more...]
Braving the Wilderness: An Argument for Wilderness Therapy
In her 2017 book Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone, Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW, writes, “What all wilderness metaphors have in common are the notions of solitude, vulnerability, and emotional, spiritual, or physical quest. Belonging so fully to yourself that you’re willing to stand alone is a wilderness – an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching. It … [Read more...]
