The Healing Nature of the Wild with Justin Swensen | Connecting with the Natural World

Today we talk to a good friend of ours, Justin Swensen. He lives in Kanab, Utah and works in the wilderness therapy realm, working in a number of different ways and using other different methods, which we get into in this episode. Justin tells us about the positive effects that prolonged time in nature has on their clients and how they’re able to go and find that same connection with nature when they return home where you might not think nature or the same peaceful elements can be found. He has been able to see multiple young people experience the healing power that nature can have when prolonged time is spent there. “That cave you fear to enter holds the treasure that you seek.”What drew him to this line of work 2:50The value of being out in nature 9:42An impactful story 14:51How this work has impacted how Justin works and approaches the youth 25:03Making the decision to go on the journey of wilderness survival 33:29Finding good relationships 38:47Music and its influence in therapy 46:16How this has shaped him as a parent 58:13Where he sees himself going from here 62:39“He still struggled with his temper issue after that, but his desire to connect really depended in those moments and he started, when he would get upset, he would start looking for things in the desert that he found interesting and it would help him calm down.” 18:09