#troubled teens program

The team at Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness is growing and continues to strengthen their wilderness therapy program and propel the movement forward with their vision of weaving together the inherent healing of a nomadic wilderness experience with advanced clinical skill. As part of our continuing commitment to healthy growth and robust family support, they have strengthened their family services component with Ashley Green, LCSW moving from her Primary Therapist role with Footsteps into the full-time role of Family Services Therapist.

This is a steadfast enhancement to Blue Ridge’s clinical programming and the company is proud to offer this supportive service to parents with a child in the wilderness therapy program. We believe that addressing family dynamics and improving communication between parents and children throughout the process is paramount. Both the Primary Therapist and the Family Services Therapist work closely together to individualize treatment for each student and tailor family services to each family in a way that is consistent with their needs. We continue to offer weekly, parent-to-parent mentoring in the form of a group call facilitated by Ashley. In addition to a call with the Primary Therapist, Ashley, as the Family Services Therapist, will offer a supplemental individual call with parents each week.

Ashley runs Parent Workshops on a monthly basis and parents are invited to attend once or more throughout their child’s time at Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness. Workshops provide direct experience with clinicians, field instructors, other parents, and experiential activities. The goal is to educate parents on healthy parent-child relationships while connecting parents to helpful tools and encouraging therapists to walk through this process well. The is thrilled to announce the addition of Jeremy Nunnelley, LPC, as the new Primary Therapist for Footsteps. By bringing Jeremy on board, Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness is expanding the unique programming for co-ed, middle school aged students, who are often called “Footsteppers”. This group will continue the use of the hybrid basecamp model, which is developmentally appropriate for these particular students, ages 10-14, to spend time regrouping and working on experiential activities and art projects.

Jeremy joins us with 16 years of experience helping children and adolescents in various therapeutic settings. Having significant experience in outdoor therapeutic programs, wilderness programs, therapeutic boarding schools, and a public school district, Jeremy has a well-developed understanding of the emotional and behavioral problems with which many children and adolescents struggle. With a calm and compassionate presence, Jeremy is effective at challenging students to examine their behaviors along with the underlying thoughts and emotions. In working with younger students, Jeremy emphasizes emotional regulation and the development of strong therapeutic relationships. Once these important elements are in place, students invest in therapy and discover their capability for growth and change.

Jeremy has extensive experience treating adolescents who struggle with oppositional and disruptive behaviors, anxiety, depression, anger, trauma/abuse, attachment issues, and mood dysregulation. Having privately taught effective parenting for several years, Jeremy is also skilled at coaching parents on how best to address their child’s challenges while promoting the development of strong family relationships. He has received training in and effectively employs many therapeutic approaches including Motivational Interviewing, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and EMDR. Through active involvement in continuing education, Jeremy maintains an up-to-date awareness of developments in neuroscience and its application to clinical practice. Jeremy is a Licensed Professional Counselor who earned his Master’s degree in Professional Counseling from Georgia School of Professional Psychology/Argosy University Atlanta. He will begin taking Footsteps students, ages 10-14, as of May 9. Jeremy can be contacted at [email protected] or 828-301-0304.For more information on our Family Services Support please visit Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness Family Work or contact Ashley Green at [email protected].

Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness focuses on offering the most effective and individualized programming possible for its clients and their families. It provides the best programming by employing the best therapists and tenured field staff in the industry. During the extensive work that happens in the field, the field staff are the eyes and ears of the therapists, providing support as needed. The Administration at Blue Ridge painstakingly work to make certain that each student is perfectly matched to their therapist, field staff and group culture to produce the best possible outcome for the student’s individual needs. The highly experienced and trained staff work diligently to ensure Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness is the most clinically sophisticated program.

Over the past year, the leadership at Blue Ridge recognized that change is necessary to meet the needs of its clients and continue to improve its program offerings. At times that has meant making carefully considered program changes to better meet the needs of a particular group or population of clients. Other times, it has meant resisting fads in the industry that offer minimal benefit to Blue Ridge’s proven model which is rooted in providing clients the ability to explore themselves with great depth and a distraction free environment.

To support the goals and continued growth of Blue Ridge the staff has undertaken the difficult, but necessary task of examining every aspect of the program. One of the fundamental changes as Blue Ridge concludes a most transformative year is to discontinue to operate the SPARK program after this current group of students have completed their stay. The SPARK program was one of, if not the only true wilderness program designed specifically for young boys struggling with neurodevelopmental issues. SPARK therapist, Carla Shorts, steadfast dedication and expertise to serving this group of youngsters, is evident within the SPARK program. Thank you to Carla Shorts for her tremendous work with clients, parents, and staff over the last year.

Going forward, it is critical to focus more energy on other areas of the program that are better aligned with the vision. Blue Ridge will continue to build upon its core values and offerings by focusing on outcome-oriented programming and the addition of staff to support this focus. Blue Ridge is proud to announce the addition of Clinical Therapist, Emily Miranda to the team. Through transformative power and passion for wilderness therapy, Emily is deeply engaged with her clients. Her approach is integrative; combining feminist multicultural values with an interpersonal emphasis, focusing on building the clinical relationship and teaching mindfulness practices.

It is important that a strong and healthy foundation is created moving forward and that all of the programs conform to the vision of offering the highest quality clinical support to students and families. Emily works with adolescent girls who are clinically complex and often have experienced trauma, depression, anxiety, self-harm, substance abuse, eating disorders and emerging personality disorders. Emily’s therapeutic approach both with parents and their children is first to focus on establishing a relationship. She views the teenager and their family through a holistic lens; considering environmental, community, family and individual factors in assisting with change. She also incorporates concepts of mindfulness, DBT, art, multicultural sensitivity, and LGBTQ affirmative therapy, when appropriate.

Emily will be starting a second adolescent girls group in early January.

Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness offers clinically driven programs encompassing advanced clinical skill, a highly flexible nomadic wilderness therapy model, ceremony, metaphor, licensed wilderness therapy assessment and multiple treatment options for troubled teens and pre-teens ages 10-18 years old. Our clinically-integrated approach, family support, and commitment to service translates to an unparalleled experience and better outcomes for adolescents and families. To learn more about the programs and staff at Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness, visit www.blueridgewilderness.com or contact Jason York, Managing Director and Admissions at (817) 776-0189 or Dave Brannan, Admissions at (706) 982-0110.

The traditional backpacker’s diet is known for dried meat, pasta, beans, and grains. Not exactly a rainbow of colorful fruits and veggies! At Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness our pursuit of the best possible nutrition for our students is constantly evolving. We work alongside a nutritionist to identify the optimal combination of calorie density, nutrients, protein, and carbohydrates to support the activity of backpacking without loading up on sugar and processed foods. This is challenging, because we also have the concern of weight as well as traditional foodie favorites of our staff and students. Would you be surprised if I told you THIS is the food our students are eating this week?

Twice a week, “resupply” bins head to our groups in the field loaded up with food for the next three to four days. These bins are packed with perennial favorites like beans and rice, summer sausage, and torts, but they are also loaded with seasonal produce. We greatly minimize our use of big box food suppliers or grocery stores, because our produce is grown locally and delivered by August Produce, a local farm-to-table purveyor. For meat and cheese, we head to Andy’s Market in town. If we need to restock our oats or custom blended trail mix, we head about fifteen minutes up the road to our friends at Room Full of Nuts, where they have been providing granola, oats, and both regular and nut-free “GORP.” 

Choosing local food means our students are getting the freshest food possible, and we are supporting the community and region in which we live. Local food is already known for reducing waste and costs (both fiscal and environmental), but we go a step further in reducing packaging by making sure fruit boxes are returned to the farmer to be used again instead of sending these boxes out to the recycle. While these practices are not seen by students in the woods, they mirror the principles we are modeling day in and day out to care for your body with fresh nutritious food, learning to cook over an open fire, caring for the community in which we live, and becoming mindful of our environmental impact. Food matters for the body, for promoting mental health, and for community!