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 engaged in some kind of Wilderness Therapy for 20 years, assisting teenagers and young adults get a brand-new viewpoint on the abundant opportunities of life, opportunities that are readily available to them when they really think about it. Aside from the important life experience he got hiking when growing up from his dad, a devoted outdoorsman, he has also obtained accreditations in lifeguard exercises, EMT-B, and also EMT-I, National Ski Patrol - OEC (Outdoor Emergency Care), and WFR (Wilderness First Responder). Currently, he works as a wilderness professional and a WFR teacher for Solo Schools.
However, he believes that his real claim to fame is his ability to tie better knots and build better traps than anyone he has ever met.
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 just how transformative the wilderness experience can be for a teenager who had never spent much time in nature and he talked about the transference of lessons and skills from the wilderness back to civilization. It is, in essence, like the hero's journey described by Joseph Campbell where a person begins a quest as a troubled soul but returns with new-found gifts of character.
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 engaged in some kind of Wilderness Therapy for 20 years, assisting teenagers and young adults get a brand-new viewpoint on the abundant opportunities of life, opportunities that are readily available to them when they really think about it. Aside from the important life experience he got hiking when growing up from his dad, a devoted outdoorsman, he has also obtained accreditations in lifeguard exercises, EMT-B, and also EMT-I, National Ski Patrol - OEC (Outdoor Emergency Care), and WFR (Wilderness First Responder). Currently, he works as a wilderness professional and a WFR teacher for Solo Schools.
However, he believes that his real claim to fame is his ability to tie better knots and build better traps than anyone he has ever met.
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 just how transformative the wilderness experience can be for a teenager who had never spent much time in nature and he talked about the transference of lessons and skills from the wilderness back to civilization. It is, in essence, like the hero's journey described by Joseph Campbell where a person begins a quest as a troubled soul but returns with new-found gifts of character.
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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