WORDS FROM THE WOODS
October 2016
In This Issue
Dear ,             
   
Hello, and thanks for reading the October edition of Words from the Woods. This month we have some exciting updates to share with you, and we hope you enjoy the content. This month's publication brings us stories from the NATSAP conferences in Kennebunkport, Maine, and Asheville, North Carolina. We'll also fill you in on some exciting changes in the Seasons program.  In addition, there are some interesting trainings for our staff we want to share with you, and there is an uplifting story about three daring ladies hiking on the Appalachian Trail to raise money for wilderness therapy scholarship funding.  As usual there is plenty to be excited about around SUWS, thanks for being a part of the magic!



Seasons Welcomes Liz Lucarelli as the Primary Field Supervisor



Liz Lucarelli joined the SUWS clinical team in October. 
She is currently taking clients in the Seasons program.
 



Monday October 10th marked a new era for the Seasons program. Elizabeth (Liz) Lucarelli stepped in as the Lead clinician for the middle school aged group at SUWS of the Carolinas. Liz comes to us with a wealth of experience, and we couldn't be happier to have her with us. Kelly Dunbar shared her thoughts by saying: " I had the privilege of getting to know Liz a few years ago when we worked together.  Liz is not only is a skilled therapist with this population, she is a hard-working and authentic human being.  She is creative and humble and when you watch her with these kids, you can see the joy she feels when she interacts with this group. Here is a bit more about Liz:
Liz's goals as a therapist are to help her clients discover that they have the internal resources, power, and capability to manage life hardships and challenges. This in turn builds a sense of competency, resiliency, and empowerment. Liz assists her young clients in developing personal and relational awareness, responsibility, and emotional regulation. Liz enjoys working with pre-teens who struggle with peer and family relationships, anxiety, depression, oppositional behaviors, emotional regulation, ADHD, negligent self-care, and students who have experienced a developmental trauma such a death of a parent/loved one, divorce, adoption, birth of a sibling, and/or neglect.
Liz has extensive experience working with preteens and adolescents in their families in wilderness and residential settings. Her journey began as a Senior Field Instructor at Second Nature, Blue Ridge in 2005. After leaving Second Nature to further her education and experience, she set a personal goal to work specifically with pre-teens and served as a primary therapist at Lake House Academy and Greenbrier Academy. She has also led international adventure travel trips and worked as both a program director and lead instructor for an all-girls wilderness leadership program. Prior to joining the SUWS team, Liz was a primary therapist at Footsteps at Second Nature, Blue Ridge.  Liz earned her Master's degree from Western Carolina University in Community Counseling and a Bachelor of Arts in Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education from Brevard College. Liz is a Licensed Professional Counselor and National Certified Counselor. She is certified in Brainspotting, NLP, and is a Wilderness First Responder. She is currently working towards becoming a Registered Play Therapist through the Association of Play Therapy.
Liz is capable of building strong relationships with students and families. This is due to her honest, yet compassionate, kind, and easygoing nature. Liz also possesses a wonderful sense of humor, an adventurous spirit, and a true love for being in the wilderness. Liz utilizes a variety of experiential and play based treatment modalities such as games, initiatives, artwork, and sand tray to create a richer and more in-depth therapeutic process. Liz understands that a play-based approach is crucial because pre-adolescents lack the insight, self-control, and verbal capabilities to express and manage what is troubling them. A strong relational and experiential foundation has allowed Liz to build a clinical approach that emphasizes the client-counselor relationship, which creates a safe space for healing and personal transformation.
Liz is passionate about challenging herself both mentally and physically, especially when it comes to long distance trail running. She will complete her third 100 mile trail race in the spring of 2017. When Liz is not playing outside, she can be found baking a variety of sweet treats, reading, teaching water fitness at the local YMCA, learning how to ride a unicycle, traveling, or planning her next adventure with her husband. She is a native of New England but currently resides in Asheville, North Carolina.
 
 
  If you don't know Liz, feel free to reach out to her.  Her email address is Elizabeth.lucarelli@suwscarolinas.com
 

SUWS webinar series: Alice Cennamo presents: Molding Minds with Metaphor



Field Supervisor Alice Cennamo delivered a webinar on October 21st. Her presentation: Molding Minds with Metaphor, discussed the benefits of engaging adolescents with the use of applicable metaphor in treatment. 



SUWS webinar series: Alice Cennamo presents: Molding Minds with Metaphor
Adolescents are constantly looking at the world through a comparative lens. Who am I in relation to my peers, parents, and those in my community? Often, addressing touchy subjects head on can cause teens to shut down, or tune out. When practitioners can grasp the attention of a teen, and build investment through metaphor, we can often drive home the message while provoking insight and thought from the adolescents we serve. Join Alice Cennamo for a free webinar to uncover strategies used to build investment for teen in treatment through the use of metaphor.
To listen to Alice's presentation,  click here


Girl Power!  Three Courageous Ladies Take on a Section of the AT for a Worthy Cause




Alyson Smith-Davis, Deara Ball, and Louise Slater on the Appalachian Trail in September.
-Photo courtesy of Alyson Smith-Davis



On a warm Sunday September 18th, SUWS Program Director, Alyson Smith-Davis, former Marketing Director for SUWS, Deara Ball, and Louise Slater of the Price Group Started at Fox Creek trailhead on the Appalachian Trail.  The purpose of this hike was raising awareness and fundraising for the Sky's the Limit Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing scholarships for families seeking wilderness therapy for their children. They covered a few miles that day before making camp. "As soon as we were done with dinner, the rain started and I knew it was going to be a great trip!" said Alyson. A little rain couldn't keep these strong ladies down for long.  They pushed ahead the next day and every day after.
Alyson went on to describe the week's events as follows: "We averaged around 9 miles each day with varied terrain.  Sometimes we were crossing cow pastures, sometimes we were scrambling over rocks, and sometimes we were in a dense forest.  It was all beautiful in its own way.  We camped each night, got our water from creeks, and carried our homes on our back.  It's truly freeing when you realize just how little you actually need.  We arrived in Damascus on Friday 9/23 and enjoyed our first meal back in civilization - big juicy cheeseburgers!  As much as we were excited for a hot shower, our comfortable homes, and familiar faces, there was a bit of melancholy as we drove back to Asheville.  Life was simple on the trail.  The path was clear - even if a bit challenging.  There was no option other than being mindful." Sounds great, Alyson, but what about the fundraising? Just over $14,000 in funding was raised for the Sky's the Limit Fund, all of which will benefit families in need. Way to go ladies!



NATSAP Northeast and Southeast: Autumn Brings Color and Fellowship to Regional Conferences



The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs held their northeastern regional conference on September 27th and 28th in Kennebunkport Maine. The event was highly attended with representation from schools and programs nationwide. SUWS was well represented by Kelly Dunbar, Director of Business Development, and two of our lead clinicians, Karyn Kaminski and Blake Smith.
Karyn, who works as one of the primary field supervisors in the Phoenix  Outdoor program, presented in the first breakout session with:  "There is No Miracle Cure: Understanding and Shaping the Role of Family in Adolescent Recovery."  Karyn brings the focus to Families, who often enroll their child in treatment hoping for a miracle cure, but sometimes overlook the systemic roots of problematic substance use. Many times parents see their child as "the problem," but therapeutic work often uncovers family secrets and family system challenges. This presentation addressed finding the delicate balance of educating families about long-term substance abuse work, highlighting the systemic roots of problematic substance use. The audience seemed to dig into the material and one therapist reported: "I went thinking I never like how people talk about substance abuse with adolescents, but I was surprised at the compassion and understanding she (Karyn) had."
Blake Smith, primary field supervisor for group Bravo, co-presented with Kris Brightbill from Turning Tides Transitions, based in West Chester ,PA. Blake and Kris teamed up to deliver: " The Times They Are a Changin': How Programs and Professionals Can Work Together to Adjust to Industry Trends and Demands." This was a fun and interactive presentation with...wind-up toys??? The focus of this presentation was centered on the challenge that every mental health professional faces, balancing the goals and outcomes for the individuals they serve, as well as maintaining a healthy therapeutic relationship, while constantly adjusting to the changing best practices and research driven data to support their work. Blake began the presentation with an interactive activity where participants were given different wind-up toys. The participants were asked to think of some therapeutic outcomes they have for some of their clients. As they thought of these outcomes Blake placed a "finish line" several yards away from the participants and asked them to wind their toys up and let them go toward the finish line. When the toy reaches the finish line, the goal has been achieved. Simple enough, right? What the participants found, was that like many clients, some simply were not designed to go the distance by themselves, some weren't even designed to go in a straight line, thus achieving the goal with one modality was not an option. After processing, Kris stepped in and discussed different options in the care continuum where, therapists, schools, consultants, and programs, can partner to support a client reach the treatment goals and outcomes they desire.  Blake Smith summed up the presentation by saying," I could tell  there was some skepticism at first, but once we got into it, you could see people were getting a lot out of this presentation if not having a little fun." Kelly Dunbar later reported that she was proud of Karyn and Blake after their presentations, stating that they were
informative and interactive.   She went on to add, "The conference is always well attended and we had fun.  The location is amazing, and I really enjoyed the view from the Colony Inn hotel.  My only regret is not taking more time to explore Kennebunkport."  Maybe next year Kelly, the views are only part of the fun this time of year in Maine, Karyn seems to be enjoying one of the key benefits of a fresh Maine lobster dinner, in the photo below.


After presenting to a roo m full of colleagues, Karyn Kaminski enjoyed a lobster dinner in Kennebunkport, Maine 



Roughly two weeks after the NATSAP Northeast conference, it was time to return to our home of Asheville, North Carolina to kick off the Southeast event. We enjoyed perfect weather and the Solid Gold Party that SUWS co-hosted was a blast.  A highlight of this event was a team effort from Karyn Kaminski, and Louise Slater of the Price Group Educational Planners, based in Columbia, SC. The presentation, titled,
I Can't Just Fix Your Kid: Working with families with problematic substance use. Focused on the importance of family involvement for success in adolescent recovery, and was highly attended with standing room only. Karyn reported that it was fun collaborating with Louise and thanked the Price Group for their support in gathering video footage and testimonials from families to use in the presentation. 
We are grateful for the community in our industry, and always look forward to the NATSAP conferences. Kelly Dunbar summed it up well by saying: "What
I love the most about both the NE and SE NATSAP is the comradery and the willingness of the programs to build relationships with one another.  It takes on a feeling of being with friends (rather) than a marketing event.  If you missed Karyn or Blake present, stay tuned.....I'm sure you'll be seeing more of them."

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SUWS of the Carolinas is a therapeutic wilderness program in Old Fort, NC. It is an integrated strengths based program that addresses the biological, psychological and social needs of adolescents with mental health, substance abuse and behavioral challenges.  Learn More