Emma is one of our amazing field staff here at Summit Achievement and Summit Traverse. She is hardworking, kind, and a valuable member of our community! Emma was recently nominated for the prestigious Ember Award through the OBH Council (Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare). The Ember Award honors those who are exemplary in their role as field […]
Summit Achievement has a new Marketing Director! Lily Wilkinson Jocham has worked in outreach and admissions for therapeutic programs since graduating from college. She has collaborated with Summit’s leadership several times over the past few years on marketing projects such as the new website launch in 2020 and various events and communications. Now she is […]
The following Summit Blog Post is the lightly edited transcripts of the Autism and Neurodiversity Podcast hosted by Jason and Debbie Grygla. This episode is with Nichol Ernst, our executive director, in which he talks about how Summit Achievement works with young people with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Non-Verbal Learning Disorders. To listen to this episode titled click “Safe […]
by Will White, DA, LCSW, MLADC CSW, MLADC Over 25 years ago, I was part of the team that started Summit Achievement, the country’s first hybrid model wilderness therapy program. Before joining Summit, I practiced as a licensed mental health professional in various organizations, including an outpatient mental health clinic, boarding school, hospital, public […]
By Caitlyn Cook, LCPC, ATR-BC, Clinical Director of Summit Achievement Read the below blog post or watch this new video with Caitlyn talking about the benefits of wilderness therapy for teen girls. When you find your adolescent daughter struggling with anxiety and depression, your first thought might not […]
In this video Nichol Ernst, LCSW, Executive Director, Co-Owner of Summit Achievement reviews the value of our model. Watch the video or scroll below for a summary. We are an owner-operated residential treatment program with a wilderness component that has been continuously operating since 1996. Here is a link for more about our history. Our community of […]
By Mike DeLuca, LCSW Since the days of vision quests in the wild by First Nation youth, or much later in the 1960s when the Colorado Outward Bound School first started using wilderness to foster resiliency, character, and compassion in American youth, humans have sought out wild places for catalysts for change and transformation. Why does […]
By Mike DelucaLCSW, Therapist – Summit Achievement Ever since I entered the “helping profession” I have heard the mantra “You can’t adequately care for others if you haven’t cared for yourself.” I remember learning this mantra when I was 15 years old while training for my first job as a lifeguard. It made sense to me […]
I work for a program located in Maine, but I am not from New England. I’m a southerner, born and raised in North Carolina. In the summer of 2014, I packed up my things (and family) and moved from North Carolina to the White Mountains of New England for the very purpose of working for […]