Wilderness Therapy

MA in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

The Wilderness Therapy degree concentration combines psychological counseling skills with disciplines such as adventure therapy, ecopsychology and wilderness skills training. Including clinical course work, the concentration educates future professionals who value ecology, nature and the outdoors as psychological counseling aids. During training expeditions that may include rock climbing, horsemanship and horticulture—as well as exploration of canyons, rivers and mountains—Wilderness Therapy students will apply counseling strategies to the group dynamics that arise.

In addition to its outdoor component, the Wilderness Therapy degree concentration integrates clinical and theoretical course work in counseling psychology with contemplative practice. This unique combination recognizes the human experience as part of an interconnected web of life and necessarily accommodates a diversity of personal experience and interests. A valued part of Naropa University’s Transpersonal Counseling Psychology Department, the Wilderness Therapy concentration prepares students to become professional counselors with the skills and knowledge needed to work in wilderness settings as well as in traditional clinical settings.

Upon completion of the three-year degree program, graduates will receive an MA in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Wilderness Therapy.