Monday, November 5, 2012
Interview by Lon Woodbury
Cliff Stockton, Wilderness Programming Consultant, was recently interviewed by Lon Woodbury on L.A. Talk Radio about just how wilderness therapy can provide a transformational change for at-risk youth.
About Cliff Stockton
Cliff has been involved with some form of wilderness therapy for 20 years, helping adolescents and young adults get a new perspective on all the rich possibilities of life available to them when they really think about it. Other than the invaluable life experience he gained growing up when hiking with his father, an avid outdoorsman, he has also acquired formal certifications in lifeguard training, EMT-B, and EMT-I, National Ski Patrol -OEC (Outdoor Emergency Care), and WFR (Wilderness First Responder). Currently, he works as a wilderness consultant and a WFR instructor for Solo Schools.
However, he believes that his real claim to renown is his ability to tie far better knots and build far better snares than anyone he has ever met in his life.
The Hero's Journey
Cliff began the interview by drawing a picture for the listener. He said that a wilderness experience was comparable to discovering a light switch in a dark room. While a modern-day teen is unfazed by a light appearing when a switch is pressed, an indigenous person would certainly be surprised. Similarly, a juvenile is amazed by all the life lessons learned by a long trek in the wild with a group. While the teenager might often start a team hike unwillingly, forced by parents or worried guardians to register for the program, they soon find themselves appreciating the wilderness experience and return to base camp with a revived zest for life.
Cliff described exactly how transformative the Wilderness Therapy could be for a young adult who had never ever spent much time in nature. He also discussed the transference of skills and abilities from the wilderness back to civilization. It is, in essence, like the hero's journey explained by mythologist Joseph Campbell where a person begins a quest with a heavy heart yet returns with new-found gifts of personality.
A well-structured wilderness therapy experience may lead to life-changing choices due to the fact that it educates teens on valuable life lessons ranging from discovering ways to get along well with others for mutual survival to knowing exactly how to do small things consistently to achieve a valuable reward.
Interview by Lon Woodbury
Cliff Stockton, Wilderness Programming Consultant, was recently interviewed by Lon Woodbury on L.A. Talk Radio about just how wilderness therapy can provide a transformational change for at-risk youth.
About Cliff Stockton
Cliff has been involved with some form of wilderness therapy for 20 years, helping adolescents and young adults get a new perspective on all the rich possibilities of life available to them when they really think about it. Other than the invaluable life experience he gained growing up when hiking with his father, an avid outdoorsman, he has also acquired formal certifications in lifeguard training, EMT-B, and EMT-I, National Ski Patrol -OEC (Outdoor Emergency Care), and WFR (Wilderness First Responder). Currently, he works as a wilderness consultant and a WFR instructor for Solo Schools.
However, he believes that his real claim to renown is his ability to tie far better knots and build far better snares than anyone he has ever met in his life.
The Hero's Journey
Cliff began the interview by drawing a picture for the listener. He said that a wilderness experience was comparable to discovering a light switch in a dark room. While a modern-day teen is unfazed by a light appearing when a switch is pressed, an indigenous person would certainly be surprised. Similarly, a juvenile is amazed by all the life lessons learned by a long trek in the wild with a group. While the teenager might often start a team hike unwillingly, forced by parents or worried guardians to register for the program, they soon find themselves appreciating the wilderness experience and return to base camp with a revived zest for life.
Cliff described exactly how transformative the Wilderness Therapy could be for a young adult who had never ever spent much time in nature. He also discussed the transference of skills and abilities from the wilderness back to civilization. It is, in essence, like the hero's journey explained by mythologist Joseph Campbell where a person begins a quest with a heavy heart yet returns with new-found gifts of personality.
A well-structured wilderness therapy experience may lead to life-changing choices due to the fact that it educates teens on valuable life lessons ranging from discovering ways to get along well with others for mutual survival to knowing exactly how to do small things consistently to achieve a valuable reward.
About the Author:
Lon Woodbury created Struggling Teens to help families. He has the recorded this interview on his L.A. Talk Radio show for easy access at any time.
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