Cohen and Schrunk Join WinGate Wilderness Therapy

WinGate Wilderness Therapy is pleased to announce the addition of two new therapists to the growing WinGate team: John Cohen has worked with adolescents for much of his career having spent 18 years working in the juvenile prison system providing assessment and counseling services to adolescents and their families. Recognizing his love for the outdoors, John started as a wilderness therapist back in 2007 at Wilderness Quest, and most recently spent time at Open Sky Wilderness, before joining WinGate Wilderness Therapy.

John has worked with the full range of behavioral and emotional challenges youth struggle with including: mood disorders, grief, attachment, trauma, substance abuse, and attention / impulsive and learning disorders. He has assisted countless young people in developing stress management strategies and improving social and life skills. John has worked extensively with families in helping to improve family communication and relations. John was adopted and enjoys any opportunity to work with adopted young people. Professionals who work with John note his commitment and dedication to his clients and their families.

Also joining WinGate is Tracy Schrunk, LCSW. Tracy has been working with adolescents and emerging young adults for the past 11 years as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She started assisting young people to recover from trauma and find their purpose in college as a rape crisis counselor and moved into working with adolescents in residential treatment before obtaining her Master's Degree in Social work from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, TX. Her gifts lie in her ability to see past the walls and assist youth to re-awaken to their purpose and begin to live an authentic life. In doing so, she assists them in their journey by teaching them to take ownership of their lives and seek out their vision.

Tracy brings a wide range of skills to Wingate as she has been a therapist, clinical director, and executive director over the past 11 years. She utilizes a no-nonsense, non-pathological approach in meeting youth and young adults where they are currently at in the process of their lives. She also utilizes CBT approaches, DBT, strengths perspective, family systems, metaphors, experiential activities, and other approaches as needed by the individual and family she is working with. Tracy is known for her out of the box thinking, sense of humor, compassion, and the relentless pursuit in assisting others to seek out the truth about themselves and the world around them. While Tracy has a passion for working with girls and young women, she has been able to work with both genders with the following struggles: personality issues, addiction, trauma, learning issues, identity issues, adoption, grief/loss, self-esteem, depression, bipolar, anxiety, sexual identity crisis, and relational struggles.

Tracy received her BA in psychology with honors from the University of Iowa where she also competed for the volleyball team.