The September issue of Rock and Ice Magazine features an article on Catherine Freer, the namesake of Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs, a company that provides therapeutic wilderness experiences to struggling adolescents.
The author of the climbing magazine article, Rock and Ice executive editor Alison Osius, reflects on Freer's experiences and that in the 1980s she was recognized as one of the top female climbers in the country.
Robert Cooley, Ph. D., planned to open a wilderness therapy program with Freer. This didn't come to fruition as she and her climbing partner died when a snow cornice they were apparently camped on collapsed and they fell 5,000 feet, leaving their tent dangling from the edge.
Cooley went on to create an adolescent treatment program and named it after his friend and muse. Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs was established in 1988 and since that time the program has helped thousands of teenagers find sources of internal strength and to use that strength to addresses the issues that are causing them to struggle.
"Catherine would have been the ideal wilderness treatment guide: a rock of strength, a model survivor of a hard life, warm and tender and accessible, incredibly physically competent and also emotionally aware and mature. She would have saved some kids by sheer force of personality, becoming a central beacon in their lives," Cooley explains.
About Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs: Catherine Freer operates wilderness therapy programs for at-risk youth. Each week, three staff members along with up to eight adolescent participants depart Albany for a wilderness therapy backpacking expedition. One staff member is a master's level therapist. During the expedition the adolescents' hike daily, participate in individual and group therapy, and learn new tools and healthy coping mechanisms for addressing emotional and behavioral issues.
Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Programs serves approximately 300 adolescents annually. The employee owned and operated company was founded in 1988 and is licensed by the State of Oregon as both a substance abuse and mental health treatment program. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHCO) accredits the program.
The company also operates Santiam Crossing, an outdoor therapeutic school and Oregon Transition Homes.
For more information, please visit the web site at http://www.cfreer.com or call (800) 390-3983.