Wilderness Therapy Ventures: Outdoor Field Instructors & Youth Counselors • Therapeutic Wilderness Jobs

Wilderness Therapy Ventures

The perfect job: working with kids, being outdoors and making a difference. Here's your chance to brighten young futures with your positive influence. Where fresh ideas and a spirit of adventure is always welcomed, you'll be able to develop your own talents and skills as an Eckerd Youth Alternatives outdoor youth counselor. Job opportunities are available in the Southeast (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee) and the Northeast (New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont).

Work in some of the most beautiful outdoor spots in America. Make a difference in the lives of others. Develop your own talents and skills. Hiking, camping, backpacking, beautiful scenery and dynamic interpersonal relationships all come with the job. Sound good?

In this job channel, you'll explore opportunities as outdoor field instructors, wilderness therapy guides, adventure support staff and residential outdoor youth counselors. You'll become a teacher. You'll become a healthy role model. You'll teach outdoor and survival skills. You'll play an essential role in mentoring and guiding youth and teens looking for healthier trails through physically and demanding challenges. Do what you love while providing insight, direction and hope!

In the Spotlight

Multi-State Jobs more

Now Hiring Outdoor Youth Counselors.
Sometimes the road to success is more like a path through the woods. At Eckerd Youth Alternatives, they work to make a difference in the lives of troubled children and at-risk youth. It's an exciting opportunity for people who know deep down that they're meant for something more. Something bigger. Here's your chance to brighten young futures with your positive influence. You'll work with gender-specific groups of about 10 kids, ages 10-18, in a rustic camp setting. You'll ensure that group members are engaged in productive behaviors and developing effective problem-solving skills. You'll lead your group in hiking, backpacking, canoeing adventures, low and high ropes work, outdoor games and community service projects. Just as important, you'll be a mentor and role model, as you help at-risk kids get back on track. Benefits include a competitive salary, paid training, room and board, time-off housing, a tuition reimbursement program, medical/dental/life insurance, retirement plan, paid vacation and holidays, and so much more. If you are at least 21 years of age, have a professional demeanor, strong leadership skills, love of the great outdoors, and the heart to make a difference, start your journey online at www.eckerdyouth.org.

Outdoor Youth Counselor Jobs with EYA

• The perfect job: working with kids, being outdoors and making a difference. Where fresh ideas and a spirit of adventure is always welcomed, you'll be able to develop your own talents and skills as an Eckerd Youth Alternatives outdoor youth counselor.

Alaska Jobs more

Providing challenge and change through remote wilderness adventures, Alaska Crossings offers 49-day experiential programs for youth (ages 12-18) with behavioral health issues. Field guides play an essential role in mentoring and guiding participants through physically and mentally demanding land and water-based expeditions. These adventures provide the framework for the field team to deliver a curriculum of behavior modification, social and life skill development and mentorship to elicit positive change in each client. Staff must work the entire 46 days, so experience and familiarity with backcountry travel is essential. Benefits include $120-$320 per day, pro deals, medical clinic discounts and retirement after one year. Qualifications differ for each guide level; however, all applicants should ideally have experience working with youth (especially those with behavioral issues), and be skilled in alpine environments, canoeing, mountaineering, multi-day backcountry tripping, and WFR/CPR certified. Flexibility, adaptability and strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential. If you have what it takes to be the change, email your resume and cover letter to Lucy Robinson or call 907.874.2371 for more information.

Alaska Crossings: Wilderness Therapy Expeditions

• Do you have what it takes to venture to rugged remote environments while mentoring and guiding 12 to 18 year-olds? Alaska Crossings field guides lead 49-day therapeutic wilderness expeditions in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska and on the Stikine River in British Columbia, Canada.

Hawaii Jobs more

Pacific Quest: Personal development through experiential education within a Rites of Passage model.

Come explore Hawaii in a different way! Based in a camp-like setting on an 8-acre working, organic farm on the Big Island of Hawaii, Pacific Quest facilitates an environment for students (ages 13-17) to recognize a desire for change. In addition to working with a counseling and treatment team to achieve weekly outcomes, a typical day consists of working the land while learning about permaculture, sustainability, basic living skills and Hawaiian life, with outings twice a week. The treatment team consists of four to five field staff: 1-2 Leads, a Health & Safety Instructor, a Support Instructor and an Apprentice. Each staff member will work eight-days on, six-days off from Thursday to Thursday. Benefits include a salary as well as room and board during the working period (on your week off, accommodations are not provided). At minimum, applicants must have a bachelor's degree in psychology, farming or outdoor education. If you can make a one-year commitment and have experience and enthusiasm for working with teens in an outdoor therapeutic setting, email your cover letter and resume to Human Resources.

Pacific Quest: Learning Survival Skills in Hawaii

• Blending a wilderness therapy model on an organic farm, Pacific Quest facilitates an environment for students to recognize a want for change while learning about permaculture, sustainability, basic living skills and Hawaiian life.

Nevada Jobs more

Do you have an intense desire to help troubled youth along with a passion for being in the outdoors to the point where seven days in a remote wilderness area sounds like heaven? Eagle Quest is now recruiting Field Specialists to empower disadvantaged youth in becoming happy, healthy and productive citizens. You will empower your group to reflect on life without adverse distractions in remote areas of southern Nevada. You will provide intense physical activity and outdoor skill development through backpacking, hiking, climbing, knot tying, orienteering and first-aid skills. You will teach a rigorous academic curriculum in writing and reading through journals, creative writing, stories and articles. You will assist students to shed their old identity and begin to build a new one by teaching lessons in choice, accountability, teamwork, trust, responsibility, decision-making, self discipline, leadership and more. This is a full-time position paid at $200 per day for days in the field; and a one-year, or longer, commitment is preferred. Applicants must have a love for working with troubled, disadvantaged youth. A bachelor's degree or higher in a human services related field (education, counseling, recreation therapy, psychology, social work, criminal justice, etc.) is required. A military background is helpful. www.eaglequestofnevada.com

Eagle Quest of Nevada: Field Specialist Jobs

• The field staff at Eagle Quest drive its success, and they're always looking for the right people to join their team. People who are talented, smart, committed to excellence. Is that you? Explore the opportunities and discover why Eagle Quest is the right career choice.

New York Jobs more

Are you willing to challenge yourself physically and emotionally? Flexible and adaptable to changing situations? Comfortable in a wilderness setting? Eager to guide students down a path of increased self awareness? As a character development wilderness program for troubled teens, Adirondack Leadership Expeditions (ALE) promotes personal growth through a focus on insight-oriented experiences. Seasonal and year-round Wilderness Field Instructors assist the lead instructor in carrying out therapeutic outcomes for each student while using primitive survival skills, 4-5 day backpacking expeditions and outdoor experiential education techniques as tools for emotional and spiritual growth for their group. Instructing for ALE is not only a wonderful opportunity to help change the lives of teenagers, but also a chance to challenge your self and grow. Field instructors work 8-day shifts, with 6 days off in between, spending 24 hours a day with the students while on shift. In addition to a competitive wage and outdoor gear pro deals, you'll have continuous opportunities for personal and professional growth. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; detailed information can be obtained by connecting with Patricia Williams.

Adirondack Leadership Expeditions: Personal growth through Yoga

• While helping to change lives in a beautiful Adirondack mountain setting, wilderness field instructors with Adirondack Leadership Expeditions also have a chance to professionally and personally learn and grow in new ways.

North Carolina Jobs more

SUWS of the Carolinas, Phoenix Outdoor and SUWS Seasons: Adolescent Outdoor Programs

With three unique programs in North Carolina, SUWS of the Carolinas, Phoenix Outdoor and SUWS Seasons empower at-risk students to rediscover their strengths while preparing them to become more self-reliant, sustain meaningful relationships and possess a higher level of personal integrity. Using the outdoors as an alternative to conventional treatment environments, wilderness field instructors co-lead groups of adolescents in the backcountry, accounting for 24-hour safety and supervision. Duties include teaching primitive outdoor skills, facilitating therapeutic activities and treatment goals and empowering students to take responsibility for their actions and make healthy choices. Positions are offered year-round, during the summer or seasonally, and most staff works an 8-day on, 6-day off rotation (although there is flexibility in scheduling). Competitive wages start at $116 per day, with benefits that include a $300 signing bonus, health insurance, paid time off, 401k and prodeal purchases. Applicants must be at least 21 and have comfort in the backcountry and working with adolescents. A college degree in the outdoor or psychology field is a plus; WFR or WFA is recommended but not required. To begin the application process, email your cover letter and resume to Taylor Woods or call 828.668.7590.

SUWS of the Carolinas: Field Instructor teaching outdoor survival skills

• Teach primitive outdoor skills in the Pisgah National Forest. Facilitate wilderness therapy activities. Empower students to make healthy choices and become more self-reliant. This and so much more working as a wilderness field instructor for SUWS of the Carolinas, Phoenix Outdoor and SUWS Seasons.

Utah Jobs more

Ready to begin your journey with a new wilderness therapy organization while shaping the lives of adolescents in the outdoors? With a field area located in Utah's spectacular Manti-La Sal National Forest and the San Rafael Swell region, Elements Wilderness Program is looking for dedicated, hard working, passionate, caring, and eager-to-be-challenged mentor instructors. With the help of the great outdoors and a licensed therapist, you will support, endure, join, and guide students through a safe, stable and healthy environment for each to find a safer, healthier and enriching life. You will live, eat, and work together as a group and also help process and guide the students to more appropriate decisions in their life. While in the field, you will teach outdoor living skills, use problem solving techniques to maneuver through environmental challenges and lead daily personal reflective activities. A commitment of six months to one year is preferred (8-day-on, 6-day-off shift); the pay rate begins at $105/day, with most mentors earning $145/day within six months. By joining Elements in its infancy stage, you will have the unique opportunity to help structure and mold both the program and organization while developing your professional skills in the outdoor field. www.elementswilderness.com

Mentors blend community, nature, well-being and therapy into every wilderness experience

• Elements Wilderness Program mentor instructors blend the four key elements of community, nature, well-being and therapy into every wilderness experience for students seeking a better way of life.

Camping. Backpacking. Bow drill fires. Oh yeah, and teenagers. All in southern Utah's spectacular backcountry. With RedCliff Ascent you'll make your living helping troubled teens and conquering yourself while you do it. You'll get paid for being outside with a whole bunch of people who love the outdoors as much as you do. RedCliff is unlike anything you've ever experienced. It's work without walls, without limits. This job makes you better, stronger—more sure of who you are and what you want. It's an experience you'll never forget. If you're tough enough to take it, call 'em. They're not in the office. Prospective field instructors must attend a 1-week training session in the field, which are scheduled every month. www.wildernesswork.com

Employment Alert: The next training session begins on January 7th, 2010.

Redcliff Ascent: Field Instructor with Walkie-Talkie

• Few roles are more fulfilling in life than the role of mentor, and few jobs offer the wide range of opportunities which RedCliff offers to its field staff. Hiking, camping, backpacking, beautiful scenery and dynamic interpersonal relationships all come with the job. Add to this the chance to tone up the physique and improve your level of self confidence and personal character, and you have a job that is hard to beat.

Looking for an office with a view, a meaningful career in the outdoor industry, and being part of a community that cares? Share your outdoor passion and skills with Second Nature Entrada in the Red Rocks of Southern Utah! As a year-round licensed therapeutic wilderness program, Entrada uses the wilderness to assist adolescent and adult clients in their journey toward healthy behaviors and rewarding relationships. Working in a group with three to four other staff members, Field Instructors keep eight to ten clients safe while backpacking in the high desert of Southern Utah. In addition to implementing the Entrada program philosophy, other responsibilities include role modeling as well as teaching backpacking, communication, and wilderness survival skills. Instructors work a rotating schedule of eight days on and six days off, and a 1-year commitment is necessary. Pay starts at $115/day and progresses up to $195/day, plus bonuses. Benefits include full health and dental insurance, medical and professional training stipends and a variety of professional gear deals. First aid and CPR certification is required (although WFR, EMT or WEMT certification is preferred). Detailed info and application materials are available online. Prospective field instructors must attend a 1-week training session in the field, which are generally scheduled once per month. www.2nentrada.com

Second Nature Entrada Instructors showing off their strength

• Wilderness field instructors for Second Nature Entrada become teachers and positive role models for adolescents and adults looking to build their confidence and self-esteem in the Red Rocks of Southern Utah.

As one of the industry's most sophisticated wilderness therapy programs, Second Nature Uintas provides insight, direction and hope to troubled teens and their families. With the aid of the wilderness, licensed therapists and experienced staff, adolescents from the ages of 13-17 embark on a journey to make healthy choices and rewarding relationships. Field Instructors work eight days on, six days off. The eight-day shift is spent in the Uinta Mountains and high desert of Utah, hiking and camping with students and helping to keep them physically and emotionally safe. Pay starts at $115/day, and there is no cap to Field Instructor salaries. Benefits include full health and dental insurance, performance bonuses, participation in a 401k plan and a variety of professional gear deals. Applicants must be at least 19 years old, have a high school diploma or equivalent, current CPR and first aid certification, and make a minimum commitment of one year. Prospective Field Instructors must also attend a week-long training session in the field, which are usually scheduled every month. www.snwp.com

Second Nature Uintas: Field Instructor Jobs

• As a field instructor for Second Nature Uintas, you'll become a teacher and healthy role model, you'll backpack and camp with students in beautiful places and you'll keep them physically and emotionally safe.

Be a part of an incredible adventure with a brand new wilderness therapy company in Utah's pristine red rock territory. With a stunning landscape of southern Utah providing a powerful backdrop for life-changing experiences, WinGate Wilderness Therapy is always looking for top quality individuals to work as field staff members. Commonly known as Wind Walkers to the students, you will use the principles from your in-depth training on the trail by modeling it, living it and teaching it to them. By using the wilderness and primitive living skills as metaphors, you will enable an environment that invites change out of each student as opposed to telling him or her that they need to change. You will also have the opportunity to walk a path that promotes growth in your own life. Preference will be given to those who have wilderness first responder certification and can commit to one year. Compensation starts at $105/day, with the opportunity to make up to $195/day (daily rates will gladly be matched if you are coming from another company with wilderness experience). Health and dental benefits are also provided after 90 days. If you are looking for a unique opportunity to help create and build something great, check out Wingate. www.wingatetherapy.com

WinGate Wilderness Therapy: Wind Walkers with students on the path of life in Utah's pristine red rock territory.

• WinGate Wilderness Therapy uses the wilderness and primitive living skills as metaphors to enable change of heart in the students.

Blending the best of ancient cultural systems with a wilderness therapy program, Outback Therapeutic Expeditions provides a powerful setting for real change in troubled teens. The elements of a wilderness experience, individualized treatment, family counseling, and peer interaction combine to help students turn negative habits and behaviors into positive change. Wilderness Field Guides empower adolescents by focusing on the their self-esteem, team building, and positive decision-making skills. They act as mentors in building relationships of trust as well as teachers of primitive and survival skills. Guides work a 1-week-on, 1-week-off schedule. The annual salary starts at $19,000-$21,000 and goes up to $36,400. Health, dental and vision benefits kick in after 90 days. Applicants must be at least 21 years of age and CPR/first aid certified (WFR preferred); preference is given to those with at least six months of experience working with teens. If you are a person who can establish relationships fast, loves adventure, and is outgoing, active, and can work well in a team environment, check out www.outbacktreatment.com. Watch the online video, and if you are interested in applying for the most rewarding job you will ever have, email your resume along with 3 work-related references to Sara Troutman or call 801.319.3981 for further information.

Outback Therapeutic Expeditions: Wilderness Therapy Jobs

• Working for OutbackTherapeutic Expeditions is not just a job, it's a journey. It is an experience that will challenge and reward you in countless ways as you touch the lives of the students in your care. It is emotionally, physically and mentally challenging—and will probably become the most memorable and most fulfilling job you'll ever have.

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