Phil works well with adolescents and young adults who are depressed, anxious, manipulative, intelligent, and sensitive. Often their view of themselves and their own abilities is skewed. Phil excels at breaking things down to their basics to address past negative patterns and start planning for the future, as well as challenging thinking errors. These clients often feel that they have not measured up to their own or the world’s expectations of them, and thus feel pressure to be different and have turned to maladaptive patterns such as substance abuse, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and lying and manipulating to cope. Phil also sees coaching clients who want to work on their own parenting challenges and deepen their relationship to their child.

Education & Prior Work Experience

Phil has been working in the wilderness since 2001 when he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of New Hampshire. He followed up by getting two Master’s Degrees, a Masters of Social Work and a Masters of Science in Adventure Therapy, from the same institution. He initially worked with youth in Utah and Maine as field staff for four years. For 10 years he served in a variety of positions from intern to Program Manager at the Voyageur Outward Bound School. After that, he was a Field Director and recruiter/trainer at another wilderness program, where he worked to refine a process that would find the best field staff. In the months leading up to graduate school, Phil was a Field Guide at Evoke. Phil also enjoys doing research on wilderness therapy and has an article that will be published soon.

Strengths

Phil believes in the concept of insularity; that while a person can experience struggles, those struggles do not define them. He utilizes a strengths-based, logical approach and works to help clients identify goals and values. He believes in using the wilderness to examine and highlight how their behaviors at Evoke relate to or are not in line with their own perception of themselves. Phil excels at helping young people see how their actions today have impacts on their goals and future. He loves seeing young people practice and become proficient in new skills they develop in the wilderness and explore how those skills will impact the rest of their lives. Phil believes that clients grow and learn through this struggle.

Interests

In his spare time, Phil enjoys snowboarding, camping, hiking, live music, collecting vinyl records, and riding his motorcycle. He is often joined on hiking trips, and in the field by his youthful and exuberant German Shepherd Cirrus. He purchased an old house a few years ago and typically has a project wanting attention on the weekend. He is also an avid fan of Boston baseball and basketball and will try to catch a couple of Jazz games a season when they play the Celtics.