Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Council (OBHC) is pleased to announce the call for workshop proposals for the 2019 Spring Wilderness Therapy Symposium in Asheville, NC. The Symposium will take place on April 3rd-5th, 2019 (Wed-Fri) at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Asheville,NC.

If you are interested in presenting a workshop for the 2019 WT Symposium in Asheville, please read the instructions below and then you may fill in the proposal form online on our WTS website. Please remember to keep your proposal clear and concise.

Deadline for submitting a proposal for the 2019 Asheville Symposium is:
Thursday, November 1st, 2018.

All proposals will be thoroughly reviewed by our WT Symposium committee during the process of selecting the 2019 workshops. We generally receive between 60-80 proposals per conference and our proposal review process therefore takes several months.

We hope to have an update for you regarding your proposal by January 15th, 2019, and thank you in advance for your patience with this selection process.

Workshop Proposal Instructions
The Wilderness Therapy Symposium (WTS) consists of interactive presentations, speakers and outdoor workshops. It brings a diverse cross-section of professionals under one roof to share theories, insights and best practices in an open spirit. The Symposium offers a place to explore, inform, and educate one another on a diverse range of topics all centering on various concepts and applications of wilderness therapy.

Tracks
The purpose of including track labels is to make it easier for participants to choose from the workshop choices to select workshops that might be most appropriate for their professional interests. Please select the one or more track labels that you feel best fits your workshop topic.

Resumes
You must submit a resume for ALL presenters that are associated with your workshop. Resumes are needed for our CEU certification process and your proposal will not be considered complete until we receive all resumes.

Workshop Length
We will continue in 2019 with the four different time-lengths for workshops (1/2 hour, 1.5hr, 3hr, and 6hr formats). The new half-hour format was introduced in 2017 to create something similar to a "TED talk" approach, allowing presenters to present in a shorter format, using either a power-point or any other style within the allotted time. 30 minutes will be the maximum length and will be strictly monitored to keep us on schedule, and that time may include time for Q&A or discussion (so typical format might be 20 min presentation, 5-10 min Q&A/discussion).

Depending on how many 30-minute proposals we receive we will group these all together into either 1.5hr sessions or 3hr sessions. You are still welcome to present with co-presenters during your 30 minute time-slot.

We will also continue to primarily feature workshops that are 1.5, 3 and 6 hours long. This year's conference will follow a Wednesday to Friday schedule, with the majority of the workshops scheduled on Thursday and Friday (April 4th and 5th).

1.5 hours: This presentation length is a perfect opportunity to allow participants exposure to various concepts, research, and ideas. These presentations occur indoors.

3 hours: This longer, three-hour time frame is ideal for experiential interactive presentations. Presenters will have enough time to share in-depth information and allow for extensive participation by the attendees. These presentations can occur indoors or outdoors on the hotel grounds.

6 hours: The majority of the 6 hour workshops will occur OUTSIDE on the lawns, trail and outdoor spaces that are part of the Crowne Plaza resort, or other wilderness areas nearby. Crowne Plaza offers several outdoor options that you might consider integrating into your workshop (including a mountain biking course, a zip-line course, tree-top adventure course) and hiking trails. You can also bring your workshop offsite to a nearby wilderness area if you know of a good location nearby, car-pooling would be required.

Presenter Registration Discount
6 Hour Workshop - one (1) Symposium registration fully compensated; up to two (2) additional presenters will be discounted by 15%

.5hr, 1.5hr and 3 Hour Workshops - up to three (3) presenters will be discounted 15%

We look forward to seeing you at the Spring WT Symposium in Asheville in 2019. Your participation–be it as a presenter, attendee or volunteer–is valued immensely.



If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact us at info@wildernesstherapysymposium.org

Hope to see you there,
Jim Lavin
Administrative Manager, OBH Council

Submit Your Proposal Today