146: Margo Kelly, Course Leader/Therapist at True North
Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors
Release Date: 11/16/2021
300: Wilderness Therapy Is Growing?! What 300 Episodes Reveal
Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors
Wilderness therapy isn’t dying. It’s growing. In this milestone 300th episode of Stories from the Field, host Dr. Will White sits down with guest host Jake Weld to reflect on nearly a decade of conversations exploring wilderness therapy, outdoor behavioral healthcare, and the evolving relationship between mental health and the outdoors. Drawing from hundreds of interviews, download data, and personal experience, Will examines why episodes centered on controversy, trauma, and program closures continue to draw the most attention—and what those patterns reveal about public perception of the...
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299: The Most Controversial Wilderness Program? Part 2: Scouting, Faith, and the Roots of the Field
Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors
What do Outward Bound and many wilderness therapy programs have in common? Their shared roots trace back to a movement that believed the outdoors wasn’t just a place to learn skills, but a place to shape moral character, spiritual values, and a young person’s sense of purpose. In Part 2 of this series, Stories from the Field host Will White continues his historical exploration of the influence of the Boy Scouts of America on the early development of many wilderness therapy programs. Drawing on research from his doctoral dissertation, his book, and hundreds of podcast interviews, Will...
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298: Accidental Roots of Wilderness Therapy: A 1901 Insane Asylum Experiment
Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors
How did an early twentieth-century psychiatric institution help shape what would later become wilderness therapy? In this episode, our host Dr. Will White continues Season 26’s exploration of a history of wilderness therapy by examining a little-known moment from 1901 at the New York Hospital for the Insane on Ward’s Island. During a tuberculosis outbreak, hospital administrators moved psychiatric patients into tents on the hospital grounds as a public-health measure—an intervention never intended to be therapeutic. What followed surprised staff: patients living outdoors showed notable...
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297: Where Did Wilderness Therapy Begin?
Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors
Where did wilderness therapy actually begin—and why is it so hard to define? In the opening episode of Season 26 of Stories from the Field, host Dr. Will White launches a season-long exploration of a history of wilderness therapy. Drawing from decades of experience, doctoral research, and nearly 300 podcast conversations, Will reflects on why the field resists a single origin story or definition. From Boy Scouts to Outward Bound to Brigham Young University and therapeutic camping to psychology, education, and cultural movements, this episode explains why wilderness therapy’s roots are...
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296: Is Wilderness Therapy Like Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy? A Conversation with Dr. Sandy Newes
Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors
Does wilderness therapy create an altered state similar to psychedelic-assisted therapy? And what can both approaches teach us about trauma, embodiment, and lasting change?In this final episode of Season 25, Will sits down with Dr. Sandy Newes, a psychologist, educator, and longtime experiential practitioner whose career bridges wilderness therapy, trauma-informed care, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. A 2025 recipient of the Association for Experiential Education Michael Stratton Practitioner Award, Sandy reflects on decades in the field—exploring how experience, embodiment, and...
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295: Wilderness Isn’t the Problem
Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors
What do decades of practice in wilderness therapy reveal about ethics, transport, and change? In this episode, Will talks with Paula Leslie—former Aspen Achievement Academy field guide, therapist, accreditation reviewer, and longtime educational consultant—for a rare and reflective conversation about the evolution of the field. First introduced to many readers through Gary Ferguson’s book Shouting at the Sky, Paula looks back on her formative years, the core lessons that still endure, and the ethical blind spots that only became clear with time. From learning to “do hard things” to...
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294: The Most Controversial Wilderness Therapy Program? (Part 1)
Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors
What is the most controversial program in the history of wilderness therapy? Some might say it’s the very program podcast host Will White was compelled to attend as a teenager. In this deeply personal and historical episode, Will shares—for the first time in full—the origin story that shaped his life and ultimately his 35-year career in mental health treatment in outdoor settings. Sent by his parents at fourteen to a “wilderness therapy program” long before the field formally existed, Will describes how the experience built him, challenged him, and exposed him to both mentorship and...
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293: The Parallel Process Updated: What Parents Need to Know
Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors
How can parents grow alongside a struggling teen or young adult without getting pulled into their anxiety, shutdown, or refusal? In this episode, Will welcomes back Krissy Pozatek to discuss the updated edition of her influential book, The Parallel Process: Growing Alongside Your Adolescent or Young Adult in Treatment. Krissy explains how the mental health landscape has shifted—more anxiety, school refusal, neurodivergence—and why parents can no longer rely on old models of detachment or over-involvement. She outlines her expanded five principles, including her new emphasis on reframing...
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292: The Anti-Program Approach: Belay Life’s Immersive Adventure Model
Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors
What happens when a wilderness guide, therapist, and seasoned mentor decides that traditional treatment programs no longer fit the needs of young adults? In this episode, Will speaks with Andrew “Chappy” Chapman, an innovator who has blended decades of guiding, wilderness therapy work, and young adult mentoring into something entirely new: one-to-one immersive adventure model. Chappy traces his path from SUWS of Idaho to the early days of True North Wilderness Program and later to New Summit Academy in Costa Rica, each step shaping his understanding of how young adults learn, struggle,...
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291: Rethinking Therapeutic Consulting: A Conversation with Amanda Thomas
Stories from the Field: Mental Health and the Outdoors
What if “consulting” in mental health meant more than just placement? In this episode Will speaks with Amanda Thomas, founder of , about how she and her team are reimagining therapeutic consulting for families navigating complex emotional and behavioral challenges. Their clinically informed, team-based approach blends therapy, coaching, and systems navigation to meet families where they are—often before residential or wilderness treatment becomes necessary. Drawing on her deep background in wilderness therapy and outdoor leadership, Amanda shares how Cobalt bridges the gap between...
info_outlineMargo Kelly, MSW, MEd (they/them/theirs) is a course leader/therapist at True North in Vermont. Their journey to wilderness therapy began on a backpacking trip on the Long Trail when they came upon three different people who pointed them in the direction of True North. Margo was intrigued with an offer to be a therapist for the all-gender team and took the job.
Margo shares their gender journey, their recommendations for treatment with trans and non-binary youth, and why wilderness therapy works so well.
Margo's bio from the True North Website:
Margo (they/them/theirs) was born and raised in Chicago. They spent their childhood swimming in Lake Michigan, road tripping with their family, and camping throughout the Midwest. They received a bachelor’s degree from University of Washington in Seattle, studying Early Education and Anthropology. Margo then traveled to Romania to work with children living in group homes, gaining insight in how environments influence children’s resiliency and practicing a strength-based approach within a different worldview. Margo returned to Seattle and spent 8 years working in public schools to build students’ social emotional skills and provide wrap-around services for families.
Margo went on to work with clients in crisis who were experiencing sexual assault or domestic violence. This work propelled Margo to earn their Master of Social Work and Master of Education in Human Sexuality from Widener University in Philadelphia, PA. In graduate school, Margo gained valuable experience at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia within the Gender and Sexuality Clinic and Adolescent Health fellowship. They have experience supporting adolescents and young adults with anxiety, depression, disordered eating, gender variance, relationship health, and neurodiversity. Margo specializes in gender and sexuality development, identity formation, and sexual and relationship health.
Margo approaches therapy from a relational, trauma-sensitive, and strengths-based perspective and believes the wilderness offers experiential learning that cultivates growth within the mind, body, and spirit.
Throughout all their work, Margo maintained a strong connection to the outdoors in their personal life, backpacking throughout the pacific northwest, west coast, and now the northeast. Margo continues to enjoy the outdoors through hiking, camping, biking, or snowshoeing. They can also be found puzzling, dancing, rollerblading, cooking, or stooping on their front porch.
For more information about Margo and their group at True North, please take a moment to watch this brief video.