Stories from the Field: Demystifying Wilderness Therapy Will White

In this special episode, we dive into the sudden closure of SUWS of the Carolinas by Acadia Healthcare and the impact it had on families, employees, and the field as a whole. Our guest, Kevin Green, shares his experience with the program, as his son was attending SUWS when they received the shocking news of its closure. Kevin explains how his son was making progress in the program after participating in SUWS for eleven days and how his family had to quickly find an alternative placement after receiving a phone call that the program was closing on a Friday afternoon. He goes on to reveal the process he and his wife went through and the emotional toll the abrupt closure had on them and their son. Kevin also discusses the support he received from the SUWS of the Carolinas staff while expressing his frustration in dealing with Acadia Healthcare. This multi-billion dollar behavioral health company owned and operated the SUWs but did little to assist Kevin during the closure process. This special episode sheds light on the impact of sudden program closures on families and how behavioral healthcare can do a better job in this challenging process.

In this episode, we talk with Majka Burhardt, a professional climber, social entrepreneur, author, mother of twins, filmmaker, and so much more. Majka has just written a new book titled, "More: Life on the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood," which is an intense and authentic memoir written in a unique style that combines letters to her children, reflections on motherhood and daughterhood, adventure, career, marriage, and so much more. 
Majka shares the story of writing "More," including the challenges of being a professional climber, digging into her family's past, and society's expectations of women pursuing a unique adventure path. She also talks about the mental health impacts of being a high-risk adventurer and how that has changed as she ages. Majka shares her journey into the outdoor field, including several pivots. She discusses the origins and purpose of the Legado Initiative, her most recent social entrepreneur project, and other organizations she has developed over the years. 
Overall, Majka's story is inspiring and thought-provoking. Her dedication to her passions and ability to create meaningful connections is remarkable. You are going to enjoy this story!
Season 16 is focused on how high-risk adventure impacts mental health and is underwritten by wmai.org
Majka's bio from her website: 
Majka Burhardt has a passion for creating unusual connections. As a professional climber, social entrepreneur, author, mother of twins, and filmmaker Majka has spent more than two decades leading multi-stage international ventures focused on current issues of environmental and cultural significance spanning Africa, Europe, South, and North America.
Majka is the Founder and Executive Director of Legado, an international organization that helps secure Thriving Futures for both people and the places they call home. Legado originated in 2011 during a pioneering climbing and conservation research expedition to Mozambique and is supported today by some of the world’s most influential social change funders and decision-makers.
Majka is the author of More: Life at the Edge of Adventure and Motherhood (Pegasus Books '23), a Next Big Idea Club Must Read. More is an intense and emotional journey born at the confluence of motherhood, adventure, career, and marriage. Raw, candid, and galvanizing, the book is a passionate and poignant testament to the enduring power of love and our lifelong journey to understand ourselves as we strive to always pursue more.
Majka’s first book Vertical Ethiopia: Climbing Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa (2008) was short‑listed for the Banff Book Award. Her second book, Coffee Story: Ethiopia, was released in August 2011 and featured by Starbucks in 2013, and re-released as a second edition in 2018.


 In 2010, Majka produced Waypoint Namibia and the film was featured at international film festivals and shown on NBC’s Universal Sports. Majka was nominated for an EPIC Emerging Artist Award for her work as the Executive Producer.  Her 2016 film Namuli was released to acclaim at over 50 international film festivals and across the US on PBS. Namuli tells the story of Majka’s climbing and conservation research Mount Namuli, Mozambique’s second highest mountain and a critical target for conservation in southeast Africa— and of the origins of Legado.
As a keynote speaker, Majka addresses a diverse group of organizations and companies. Her clients have included Google, Nespresso, the Commonwealth Club, Banff Film and Book Festival, Colorado Environmental Coalition, universities and colleges throughout North America, and many others.
Her work and projects have been featured in The New York Times, The Economist, Outside Magazine, The Weather Channel, NPR and many other major international media outlets. Majka’s articles have appeared in publications including Afar, Men’s Health, Skiing Magazine, Backpacker, Patagonia, Alpinist, Women’s Adventure, The Explorer

In this episode, we are joined by Michael Wejchert, author of "Hidden Mountains: Survival and Reckoning After a Climb Gone Wrong." Michael's writing about adventure has been featured in various publications, including the New York Times, Adventure Journal, Climbing, Ascent, Alpinist, and more. He shares the fascinating story behind "Hidden Mountains," which recounts a harrowing climbing expedition in a remote Alaskan mountain range that took a dangerous turn, leading to a difficult rescue attempt and the high cost of survival. Our conversation includes a deep dive into several topics, including the impact of high-risk adventure on mental health, the challenges of writing about traumatic experiences, and the writing mentorship Michael received from the late Dave Roberts, a famous author and climber. We also explore the early days of Outward Bound in the United States and Michael's time with New Hampshire's Mountain Rescue Service. Don't miss this gripping and enlightening discussion with Michael Wejchert.
Season 16 is focused on how high-risk adventure impacts mental health and is underwritten by wmai.org
Michael's bio from his website: 
Michael Wejchert has lived in New Hampshire for ten years. He will never leave. He’s guided off and on since 2012, in between trips to Newfoundland, Alaska, Patagonia, Peru, and the Canadian Rockies, often with fellow CMG guides, including his fiancée Alexa Siegel.
He loves all forms of climbing, from sport clipping to multi-day suffer fests in the mountains. His favorite guiding days usually involve goggles, whiteouts, and cursing over a whisperlite stove. (It’s all about that bivouac). He has guided 5.10, WI5, and many successful Presidential Traverses.
Michael is a certified SPI, an AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide, a Wilderness First Responder, has his AIARE Level II Avalanche certification, and is a board member of New Hampshire’s Mountain Rescue Service.
He is an award-winning essayist who wrote for Alpinist, Appalachia, Ascent, Rock & Ice, Gripped, and The New York Times. He and Alexa live in a small off-the-grid cabin surrounded by piles of climbing gear and Alexa’s filthy, mismatched socks.

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

Ryan DeLayna shares his life experiences and the journey that led him to co-write his memoir with his father, "Without Restraint." Ryan shares how he spent most of his academic career in therapeutic schools due to behavioral challenges where he experienced various medications and restrictive interventions, including regular physical restraints. After voluntarily committing to a psychiatric hospital, his parents were advised to place him in a group home until adulthood. However, his father began to question the authorities overseeing Ryan's care, and everything changed when they discovered Ryan's dream of becoming a professional ski mountaineer. Ryan shares the mental health impacts of high-risk adventure has been for him and the turning points in his life. He also shares how he and his father co-authored their remarkable book, "Without Restraint: How Skiing Saved My Son's Life," and how he transformed to become a well-known ski mountaineer known as "Extreme Ryan."
Season 16 is focused on how high-risk adventure impacts mental health and is underwritten by wmai.org
Here is Ryan's bio from his website: Ryan DeLena is currently studying Outdoor Education at Northern Vermont University. For years, he’s posted content as “Extreme Ryan” – a nickname given to him by his father, after he became obsessed with skiing. A decade later, Ryan is believed to be the youngest person to ski tour in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, having completed expeditions in Antarctica (2018) and Svalbard (2022). 
Ryan was featured on the cover of Backcountry Ski Maps, and he’s climbed and skied peaks in Oregon, Washington, Utah, California, Nevada, and Wyoming, while also conquering many of the world’s signature runs including Super-C Couloir in Chile, Little Couloir in Montana, and Tuckerman Ravine in New Hampshire.
When he’s not on skis, Ryan is an enthusiastic rock climber, ice climber, and avid hiker, summiting the Grand Teton twice and completing the “Hundred Highest” hiking peaks in New England.
He plans to ski and rock guide professionally and has earned advanced certifications from the American Mountain Guides Association and the Professional Ski Instructors of America.
If you are unfamiliar with Ryan’s struggles as a boy, here is an excerpt from Without Restraint…
If I was offered the chance to have my childhood over again, growing up like a normal kid, I’d say no thanks. Despite all the pain and hardship, I now appreciate that I’m strong enough to handle anything. I bet there are not too many eighteen-year-olds who feel that way. So, in a weird way, maybe I am lucky. But, if you ask me whether another child should go through what I went through, I will say no way. In fact, the only reason that I wanted to work on this book with Dad was to help parents learn from my story, so they wouldn’t make similar mistakes with their children.
If your son or daughter is different from other kids, that is okay. For some reason, we are taught to admire men and women who challenge the status quo, yet, when a child acts differently, parents instinctively try to change them. They even seek out doctors and experts to help break the misbehaving child. Well, take it from me, if you do that, you will not only break your child of bad behavior—you will break them entirely.
I came as close to that breaking point as a person can experience. Had Dad decided to take me to Home Depot on January 2, 2009, instead of skiing at Nashoba, I’d be sitting right now in my room at a group home, bloated by medication, staring out a window, watching the world go by. Instead, the world will spend a lifetime watching me go by, as I bring people with me to ski, climb, and explore every inch of this amazing planet.
 
 
 
 

In this special episode, we discuss the recent announcement that two long-standing and accredited Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Council member programs - SUWS of the Carolinas in North Carolina and Aspiro in Utah will soon close. We will dive into the potential impacts of these closures on the greater field and the historical significance of the events. We'll examine the reasons behind the closures, the implications for the field, and what this means for the individuals and families seeking help from these types of programs wilderness/adventure programs.
We will also explore the challenges and opportunities wilderness therapy programs face in today's rapidly changing healthcare landscape. Whether you're a staff, clinician, referring professional, parent, or simply curious about the world of wilderness therapy, this episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of mental health and outdoor adventure.
Listen to this special episode and join us as we navigate the latest developments and historical trends in this evolving field.

Tammy Marks is the parent of a former wilderness therapy student who enrolled in a program at 12 years old. Tammy shares her family's story of how her son struggled with his mood and behavior from an early age and how they tried to help him. When her son was in his later elementary school years, he was often suspended from school for oppositional behavior toward teachers and coaches. He brought her son to numerous mental health professionals with different treatment strategies, but nothing seemed to help. One clinician informed Tammy about wilderness therapy, and shortly after the pandemic started, she decided that something had to change as her son really struggled. Tammy and her husband brought their son to a wilderness program in North Carolina, and things began to improve. Tammy shares what she learned about parenting style while her son was in wilderness and "how to hold boundaries lovingly and compassionately." Tammy reveals what she thinks parents should know about wilderness therapy and what she wants everyone in the field to understand.  
Season 15 of Stories from the Field is focused on parents' stories and is underwritten by Other Parents Like Me (OPLM.com). We are grateful for all OPLM.com does to support parents whose children are struggling with mental health and substance use disorders. We want to thank OPLM.com for underwriting Season 15!