Dr. Will White, Co-founder of Summit Achievement in Stow, ME, has completed a four year research study on the history of wilderness/adventure therapy. White's doctoral dissertation is titled, "Stories from the Elders: Chronicles and Narratives of the Early Years of Wilderness Therapy." The completed doctoral dissertation will be available for download on Proquest and other academic research websites in March.
A condensed version of White's dissertation is now available as a chapter in the newly published book, Adventure Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice" by Dr. Mike Gass, Dr. Lee Gillis and Dr. Keith Russell available on Amazon and Routledge Press. The author's acknowledged White's contribution, "While several authors have written about the history of adventure/wilderness therapy, no one else has gone to the level of depth, accuracy, or original sources as Dr. White. We commend him for his diligence in understanding this area and fairly representing both the positive as well as negative elements of the field's evolution."
White will be speaking on the evolution of wilderness therapy on Lon Woodbury's LA talk radio show "Parent Choices for Struggling Teens' in April. He will also be presenting his work at the Independent Educational Consultants Association's Spring Conference in Boston in May.
Summit Achievementis a fully licensed residential treatment center located in the White Mountains region of Maine. Through the process of engaging therapy, classroom academics and challenging wilderness expeditions, students learn to accept responsibility for personal decisions and past behaviors, address individual and family issues, and become invested in their future. Summit's innovative program provides treatment options to adolescent boys and girls ages 13 to 19.