Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors Podcast (available on Itunes, Google, etc) is dedicated to demystifying outdoor therapy provided by mental health professionals and is hosted by Dr. Will White. In this podcast, Will interviews various outdoor therapy researchers, program founders, writers, executive directors, guide staff, clinicians, critics, and more. He educates the listener on the long history of the field and different trends related to this evolving treatment option.
Resources
Will has worked in the Outdoor Therapy Field for over 30 years
Will White is a nationally recognized researcher and speaker on the history of adventure and wilderness therapy. He received his Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver and his Doctorate in Leadership from Franklin Pierce University. His dissertation is the first in-depth chronicle of the history of wilderness and adventure therapy. He contributed a history chapter to the book Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice. He is the author of Stories from the Field: A History of Wilderness Therapy. He is also the host of the podcast, Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors.
He has presented at numerous conferences, including the Wilderness Risk Management Conference, the Wilderness Therapy Symposium, and Association for Experiential Education Conference. Will has been invited to present at universities on the history of wilderness and adventure therapy, including the University of New Hampshire, Unity College, and Plymouth State University (where he teaches Wilderness and Adventure Therapy). He has also been invited to consult several organizations including Patagonia, Rippleffect, Outward Bound, Gould Academy, Mountain Valley Treatment Center, and Mansfield Hall.
As co-founder of Summit Achievement, Will helped establish Summit Achievement as the premier adventure therapy program in the Northeast. In his twenty-six years at Summit Will has served as a Primary Therapist, Clinical Director, Clinical Supervisor, and CEO. He is no longer part of Summit Achievement.
He is a passionate advocate of Outdoor Therapy.