Hey there! It’s been a great season for me, as it stands as the culmination of over a decade of work within wilderness and adventure therapy. This fall I have been fortunate to present at NAOI, gain NCC & DCC credentials, become a certified Master Counselor with NATWC, get a cover story in Counseling Today magazine, and move the wilderness therapy leadership skills series forward. It just goes to show that you need to DO what you BELIEVE. Keep doing it. Eventually, it’ll pan out. Be singleminded in your vision. Take in the good, the bad, and keep MOVING FORWARD!

Here’s a copy of the WOW APU website noting the NATWC Master Counselor certification for DB Palmer:

Alaska Pacific University’s Director of Counseling & Wellness Center has been heating up the scene in Anchorage, Alaska.  DB Palmer’s office is part of the Student Services division of Alaska Pacific University. He recently attained the highest certification, that of Master Counselor, by the National Association of Therapeutic Wilderness Camping (NATWC). Regarding the Master Counselor certification, DB noted,

“The application covers areas such as wilderness skills, primitive skills and crafts, graduate and post-graduate education in allied mental health, licensure, presentation/publication, adventure leadership skills, guiding experience, wilderness medicine, and reflects the culmination of over a decade of service to at-risk youth, young adults, and families. I am honored to have received this credential and to have a career with such diversity and challenge!”

DB has received great press from his Wilderness Therapy Leadership Skills Retreat Series, which is featured on the APU website. These retreats are geared for students as well as specific practitioner sessions. DB is a regular figure at national and regional association meetings such as the Association for Experiential Education (AEE) where he has presented numerous times on the evidence base and other clinical aspects of wilderness therapy, and the Snow Safety Conference of the North America Outdoor Institute (NAOI), where he presented on “Human factors that influence decision making”, specifically focused toward avalanche safety professionals and the public. DB is an Alaska licensed professional counselor as well as a doctoral candidate in Counseling Psychology. His dissertation, which is currently in process, is related to Parent-Factors within Wilderness Therapy.

DB’s current projects include program development at APU, especially in regard to leadership programming for high school graduates of NATSAP, NATWC, and similar programs that choose to attend the university. Here’s what DB has to say to potential freshman and transfer students who are about to graduate from these programs:

“The personal journey that you have taken, or are completing now, involved a lot of soul-searching and work. You will find that at APU, many of us, both students and employees have taken similar journeys. We have taken the time to ask the tough questions. We have looked at the world, our choices, our connection to the environment, and many of us have come to Alaska to seek a mechanism to address these issues.

So whether you are still debating about your university of choice, or you are trying to convince a parent or guardian that APU is the right place for you; I am available to assist in the transition from your school/program. I am available via email and phone, and I would love to meet with you during a campus visit or during orientation. Let me know how we can get you plugged in at APU, and we will see you next semester!

For students, counselors, and anyone seeking to learn more about the latest at APU, or to stay in touch with DB Palmer’s continuing work, you can check out: www.alaskapacific.edu

 

Greta Palmer, M.A. Fitness & Family Life Coach

 

 

 

Well, it’s finally posted on Counseling Today Magazine! A little story with yours truly, featuring Alaska Pacific University and ABC Family Therapy. http://ct.counseling.org/2011/12/getting-off-the-couch-2/

I’ve been chatting quite a bit with Lynne Shallcross, Senior writer for Counseling Today magazine, the publication of American Counseling Association. Our conversation started when Lynne asked me about the nuts and bolts of Active Sessions, something I’ve developed at Alaska Pacific University, as well as in my own private practice.

Now, active interventions (or active sessions) are not new. Outward Bound is what many of us think about when we talk about wilderness therapy, and for good reason. Kurt Hahn, OB founder, began the biggest push toward reconnecting youth with the power of actively engaging youth through their experiences in the wilderness. This model has existed since the 1960s and continues to be refined. But even further back, the great thinkers, such as Socrates, recognized that mental fitness is not separate from physical fitness.

The Child and Nature Network, whom I’ve been involved with for a while now, mostly in shared vision but also in looking at programming, provides a wealth of research addressing the prevalence of Nature Deficit Disorder.

Active Sessions, as they are being defined, are counseling sessions which involve an active component. These components include: walking, running, nordic skiing, and hiking (as well as other ideas, I’m sure). These sessions engage individuals (and the psychotherapist) in ways that can be incredibly helpful to the therapy process. For some individuals, active sessions are the best possible choice. Almost anyone can be a candidate for active sessions, in fact.

But isn’t this different than sitting in the chair? YES!

The differences are notable for the clinician, and practitioners who are considering adding active sessions into their repetoire must take the time to get properly trained, as in any other specialty or method.

In my conversations with Lynne of Counseling Today, we discussed a lot of these differences… what does it take to offer active sessions? Who can do these? What client issues are appropriate? How do you handle confidentiality? These are great questions, and questions that must be asked well before considering this as a modality for your clients.

To assist counselors and people who are interested in active sessions, I’ll be increasing my offerings of professional workshops and classes, usually only offered for university functions and my own clients.

So… be on the lookout! I’ll be adding techniques, tips, and ideas for implementation. I’ll also be adding schedules for workshops, conversation points, and other tidbits.

Get active, keep thinking, and stay fit, mentally and physically!

DB

The Chronicle of Higher Education, to which most of us academics subscribe, has released an article on the anti-depressant effect of physical exercise. What’s most surprising, so far, is that there are NO detracting statements in the posts that follow. I mean… in the world of academia, and certainly within this site (CHE), the strings of posts that desparage the contributing writer tend to go on and on, ad nauseum…

Regular, Brief exercise is shown to improve mental health.

In a show of good taste, and apparently, (insert shocked tone) in consensus, the academics have weighed in of one voice.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/exercise-and-the-life-of-the-mind/35727?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

In the months to come, I will be focusing on transitioning to winter exercise, mental health aspects, and our upcoming adventure options.

 

Stay healthy and active!

DB Palmer

While I generally deplore major media’s discourse on anything to do with mental health, counseling, and psychology as pop psychology, at best, and blatant marketing by the psychopharma industry; there are infrequent moments of clarity in major medicine and media. In the continuing saga of the slowly awakening medical community, the Washington Post has released an article noting that

The Green Prescription

Medical Doctors are now, in part, recognizing the inherent and curative power of wilderness and green space.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-parenting/post/doctors-orders-get-outside/2011/05/18/AFQ5li6G_blog.html

They note:

“Forget Tylenol. Your pediatrician might prescribe a walk in the woods.

 The National Park Service initiative called “prescribing parks.”may soon arrive locally.  “The idea is to involve the medical community in encouraging families to spend time outdoors,” said Dr. Robert Zarr, president of the D.C. chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is in the early stages of developing the program here.
(Melissa Cannarozzi – The Washington Post) Zarr is working to create a database and rating system for local parks that doctors can use to match the right parks to the right families.

From a health perspective, Zarr said there are valid reasons for prescribing nature. His top three: To combat asthma, which is often exacerbated by indoor pollutants; to lessen some of the symptoms of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which has been shown to respond well to outdoor play and, of course, to combat the modern scourge I wrote about last week, childhood obesity.

If you don’t want to wait for a prescription, join Zarr and parks advocates this Saturday in one of their other joint projects: The First annual National Kids to Parks Day . It’s a nationwide effort spearheaded by The National Park Trust to explore national, state or local parks.

The kickoff on the National Mall tomorrow might be soggy. The weather is expected to clear by Saturday, when families in the region are invited to Mason Neck State Park in Fairfax from 9 a.m. to noon for ranger walks, canoe demonstartions and other activities.

For those of us who can’t make it to Mason Neck, Zarr and his colleagues want us to get our families outside, somewhere green as soon as possible. Doctor’s orders.”

Oh, and here’s two posts from The Huffington Post on a similar use of wilderness: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/healthy-living-mind/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leslie-davenport/link-between-nature-and-depression_b_943728.html

From ABC Family Therapy, Kudos to you all for reinvesting in our natural resources and our children.

 

Cheers!

I’ve long been a proponent of getting outdoors for sessions, and was happy to see the article in WebMD supporting our practice. Take a moment and read the WebMD article, if you like.

http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/walk-and-talk-therapy

Life isn't a walk in the park, so it helps to take walks in the park...

Read what NY Social Worker, Clay Cockrell, LCSW has to say, or rather what The Times, WebMD, Jersey City Reporter, am New York, The Wall Street Journal, and Good Morning America have to say about Outdoor Psychotherapy: http://www.walkandtalk.com/media.html

 

Cheers from the folks at ABC Family Therapy!

 

In addition to our “standard options”, which is a strange thing for an adventure-based counseling entity to say… we offer customized treks for individuals, couples, families, and groups. These often take place with the support of a local outfitter for logistics, unless the trek is a co-designed option in a case where outfitters are not required by law.

So, what is a custom trek?

Well, here are a few examples of our Customized Adventure-Based Counseling treks:

Dogsledding in Ely, MN.

Rafting the Rogue River in Oregon.

Alaskan Adventure Treks.

We work with you to determine the course timeline, location, level of difficulty, and goals; including preparation and follow-up work. These treks represent the most intimate excursions into both the landscape and our own therapeutic processes. We are hands-on for every aspect of these treks.

More and more couples and families are deciding to utilize these treks and we’re honored to be invited to share a small part of your life’s journey.

Cheers,

DB Palmer

Alaska Counseling Association (AKCA)

Ethics: The Game Show
3 Ethics CE Hours

This workshop is a repeat of the popular ethics offering from the 2010 Annual Conference held in Fairbanks last October. Participants will consider problem scenarios in a fast paced and interactive learning environment. Ethical codes of conduct from the various helping professions will be explored. This workshop was previously approved during the conference for the Alaska 2010-2012 licensure renewal for social workers. It will count towards LPC renewal. Questions about CE requirements should be directed to the Division of Occupational Licensing.

Friday, September 16, 2011
9 am to Noon
Alaska Pacific University Campus
Carr Gottstein Building Room 221

Training Fee: $35 for non-members, $25 for members and students
Cash and checks ONLY accepted at the door (parking is free)

Presenter: Anne Henry has been practicing counseling in Alaska since 1992 and is the proud holder of LPC license #1. She has worked in Juneau and Anchorage, in mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities and for the State of Alaska in the Division of Behavioral Health as the Special Projects Coordinator and Legislative Liaison. She is the current Vice President of AKCA, and past chair of the LPC Licensing Board.

To sign up for the class email: rgeorg@alaskapacific.edu, or call Renee Georg at 564-8290. Registration will begin at 8:30. Please RSVP as space will be limited.

AKCA Annual Meeting with FREE LUNCH for members directly following the workshop at Noon. Contact Renee to participate in the annual meeting via distance interface.

After ten years of working in wilderness and adventure-based counseling, DB Palmer took a position with Alaska Pacific

finding the humor in life's situations, as best as we can.

University as the Director of the Counseling & Wellness Center. One stipulation, when he began, was that he’d wait a year before opening up his private practice in Alaska.

Well, kiddos, the time has come, and after a meeting with the Dean of Students at APU; ABC Family Therapy – Alaska- is ready to open it’s doors!

ABC Family Therapy is a limited practice model, as we operate based on best practices rather than strict financial constraints. We believe that ethics and practical theory are paramount within the field of ABC, and traditional business models often drive enrollment numbers at the expense of treatment outcome and individual needs. Our limited practice model allows us, in our opinion, to offer services which we can support, rather than services which are designed to support a business.

Give us a call or send us an email.
206-427-0931
abcfamilytherapy@hushmail.com

I’ll be opening spots for a selected group of students to join me for ABC Family Therapy’s winter series of adventures, called, Winter Adventure Therapy.

What is this?

Well, WAT is a weekly group therapeutic adventure group that meets together to have fun, work through personal and group based tasks, and process these with a Licensed Professional Counselor (DB Palmer) and adventure leaders.

We work on a range of issues, and primarily are a fit for students who are:
-beginning to act out in class, but not in trouble… yet.
-having trouble paying attention in class.
-having a hard time with boundaries and behavior at home or in class.
-Good kids who need some work in order to get back on track.

Know anyone who fits this description?
If so, contact us at either our phone line (206)427-0931 or via email at abcfamilytherapy@hushmail.com

We’ll get this going forward pretty soon. Stay in touch, and get outside!