Wilderness life coaching is meant to challenge you to step outside of your comfort zone. You will learn various techniques in nature that will help you build trust in yourself, resiliency to tackle challenges, while learning to be competent and confident in areas that you likely have little to no knowledge in. You will have opportunities to learn survival skills that will challenge you to dig deeper and become comfortable in uncomfortable places.
“While on a solo 7 day backpacking trip to the Superior Hiking Trail, I came to a point that was called the Drainpipe. At this point in the day and the trip, I was truly exhausted. I had been hiking in mud for 7 hours in 85 degree weather, and was excited and ready to get to camp, which was about 3 miles away. I looked at the trail ahead and the Drainpipe went straight up. It was less than ideal conditions as it was pouring rain, but I knew this was the way forward. It took me over an hour to climb with a 65 pound pack on my back. Many times within that hour climb straight up I thought, ‘I can’t do this’, but I forged ahead instead. At the top, I was rewarded 10 fold. The skies opened up and sun was abundant and I was drenched. The views that surrounded me still bring me to tears. It was magnificent. I went slow and took my time. This experience and so many others in nature have taught me many lessons about my ability, my strength, my perseverance, and the places where I get in my own way. These are the tools I carry forward with me through life’s continued challenges.”
-Charles Collins
Did you know…
More recently evidence-based research has proven a multitude of physical, mental and emotional benefits:
- Deeper ability to contemplate and reflect.
- Increased cognitive control and replenishment of directed attention.
- Greater awareness towards individual behavior, emotions, values and beliefs.
- Stronger connections towards self, others and the environment.
- Expanded sense of identity beyond the ego and development of the ecological self.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does wilderness based coaching typically involve?
Wilderness based coaching will involve an intentional change of environment. It will immerse participants in the natural environment as part of the coaching process to evoke introspection and facilitate change. This environment helps facilitate self-discovery and personal growth through tackling challenging experiences. We will use natures gifts and learn to identify edible plants that one can eat and create teas from. We will learn bushcraft skills such as carving spoons and creating fire. Once these skills are honed in, if desired, one can participate in a full day camping experience demonstrating the skills learned while all the while supported by your coach. These experiences teach flow, grit, growth mindset, and self-efficacy. While focusing on the development of survival skills in nature, you will be learning lots of healing coping skills along the way.
If you aren’t interested in survival skills, walk and talk eco coaching would be an excellent alternative to tap into the same power that nature holds. We can work together while intentionally using nature in our work together.
“Scientists are quantifying nature’s effects not only on our mood and well-being, but also on our ability to think - to remember things, to plan, to create, to daydream, and to focus - as well as on our social skills.”
The Nature Fix - Florence Williams
What would the first few sessions look like?
After our initial phone consultation, we would have an assessment via video conferencing to assess your needs, desires, and goals. I would then create a customized plan tailored to you. Our first session in nature would be a walk and talk on a paved path with benches to build rapport and to get in tune with your body and what it needs to regulate. I will utilize techniques to help you get in tune with your comfort zone and how you manage going outside of that with new clarity and skills. From there, if you are interested in staying with walk and talk eco coaching, we will continue on at whatever pace works for you. If you are interested in survival coaching, we will make the adjustments needed and move in that direction.
Why would I choose coaching in a natural setting?
The benefits of wilderness based coaching can be grouped into four main categories:
- Improved mental, emotional & behavioral health through learning to use nature to calm the body.
- Development of healthy coping strategies and skills that help facilitate changes in attitude, behavior, academic performance & interpersonal relationships.
- Self-identity Development
- Improved Family Relationships
“Our nervous systems are built to resonate with set points derived from the natural world. Nature neurons are the essential link between our nervous systems and the natural world they evolved in.”
The Nature Fix - Florence Williams
Are traditional or intensive sessions right for you?
- Weekly sessions are a good option if you want to take the healing process at a slower rate.
- They allow you to spread out the cost of care over the course of treatment.
- Sometimes weekly hour-long sessions are more manageable for complex PTSD than half-day, full-day, or weeklong intensive sessions. This will be assessed and discussed during the intake process.
- EMDR work can be hard to pack into a traditional-length session. Once you have a weekly check-in and account for the time needed to close the session, little room is left for actual EMDR work.
- If your distress is significant, meeting for just one hour once a week could mean it takes a long time to heal your pain.
- Committing to a regular time each week in your schedule may be difficult, especially if you are busy or travel frequently.
- I will take stock of your weekly needs and how you would like to utilize your time. If new situations arise that need time to be addressed or processed, we will focus on them as much as you need to. Then we will use the remaining time to utilize EMDR for trauma processing.
- We’ll also need time at the end of each session to make sure you’re able to contain your memories so that you feel relaxed when you’re outside the office.
- You have time constraints in your normal weekly schedule that make it difficult to commit to therapy on an ongoing basis.
- You have traumatic events impacting your daily life in a way that makes it too overwhelming to spread treatment out over weeks, months, and years.
- You wish to process early trauma that is stored in implicit or preverbal memory. This type of EMDR is much more suited for in-person sessions or a multi-day retreat setting due to the nature of the work.
- Intensive are designed to provide longer and more frequent therapy sessions over a shorter timespan in order to accelerate your recovery.
- With intensive work, you can progress at a faster rate than you can with weekly sessions. Imagine the amount of work and healing that can be accomplished in a half day, full day, or three consecutive days (which equates to about 21 hours of highly focused treatment within a three-day period).
- You can address urgent needs in a dedicated manner instead of in a bits-and-pieces approach.
- In the long run, due to the efficiency of intensive sessions, you can save both time and money.
- Scheduling time for a single retreat may be more convenient if you have a busy schedule, kids to plan around, and travel or work commitments.
- Intensives are tailored just for you, so there are many different ways that they can be customized for your individual needs.
- Intensives may not be the right fit for everyone, just as weekly sessions aren’t the best fit for everyone.
- Some people with extreme cases of PTSD may feel overwhelmed by working through their issues for a prolonged period of time. In our assessment together, we can explore your individual needs and goals and see if intensive work feels like the best plan for you.
- Due to the varying options for intensives, they all look a little different. At your intake assessment, we will create an individualized treatment plan for intensive work.
- Generally, each two-hour block of focused work will be followed by a 15-minute break. We will do some resourcing, too.
- In our space, there is also room for trauma informed yoga, qi gong, and other body-based work. If you choose half-day, full-day, or multi-day options, you will be given retreat information about what to expect prior to starting.
- The complexity of your situation would be too overwhelming to process due to high levels of dissociation.
- If you are in an urgent crisis situation that requires stabilization or hospitalization.
- If you struggle with suicidal ideation or self harm.
- If you feel forced into a therapeutic process not of your own volition.
