Often, when speaking to prospective field instructors or parents of new students, the subject of sleep comes up in some fashion: “How will my child sleep out there?” “Are there tents?” and “How do you keep the [insert name of big scary creature] away?” are all common questions. I always look forward to these sleep-related queries because they allow me to highlight our risk management, the natural beauty of the high desert at night (truly my favorite time of day out there), and talk about just how good the sleep in the field can be. The truth is that there are no scary monsters lurking out in our field area and the weather typically allows for us to sleep out under the stars without tents. (We teach our students how to create primitive shelters in case of inclement weather.) It is this last piece, the importance of good quality sleep, that I want to touch on in this post.
Posted by Sara Malas on June 29, 2022 | 4 comment(s)
A little less than two years ago, I had just completed my master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling. It was the midst of the pandemic: I was seeing more than 20 clients on zoom for hours at a time, constantly staring at a screen, and wondering when life would allow me to hold in-person sessions again. I thought to myself, “How could I have just started my journey as a therapist and already feel this burnt out?” I was exhausted and in need of a change.
Posted by Ian Dempsey on June 22, 2022 | 3 comment(s)
When I first heard about wilderness therapy, I just knew it was for me. I thought, “That exists?! I’m doing that.” Being from the heavily wooded sprawl of the New York suburbs, when I saw the Evoke website, I immediately imagined doing therapy among sparse scrub, cactus, and red rock, with everything but what was absolutely necessary stripped away. And yet, when I began working wilderness (as this line of work is called by field staff), nothing felt more difficult or unnatural.
In August of 2019 I packed up my life and boarded a plane to Namibia. I was finally on the way to achieving my long-term dream of serving in the US Peace Corps. Little did I know that a mere seven months later I would be on a plane again headed right back home. Everyone has a story of how COIVD-19 affected their lives. This is mine about how the insanity that was 2020 brought me to Evoke.
Posted by Sara Dobish on May 26, 2022 | 0 comment(s)
Here I sit, starting to write a blog that I knew for months was due today. This was a date I had chosen, and this isn’t my first go around. I wrote a blog a couple months ago too, unfortunately in the same familiar fashion for me, last minute. I remember thinking to myself then, “Why do I procrastinate these tasks and create all of this unnecessary stress for myself. If only I had started this a few weeks ago, then I wouldn’t be trying to figure out how to have this done an hour ago. Next time I won’t wait so long to get started.” And yet here I am, in the same position I have been in many times before, down to the wire.
Posted by Kirk Sweet on May 18, 2022 | 4 comment(s)
“Do you know what this is all about, why we’re here? To be “out,” this is “out.” And to be “out” is one of the single most enjoyable experiences of life” - Jerry Seinfeld
Posted by Elinor Priest on May 11, 2022 | 0 comment(s)
A question I often get asked is some version of, “Why does my kid keep lying/exaggerating?” This question crops up when parents are relaying what has been so hard at home, in the midst of hearing a story their child told me in therapy, or when they hear about interactions in the group. This question is often accompanied by some level of frustration or anger and bewilderment born of betrayal, sadness, and--at times--hopelessness that this new habit can shift.
Posted by Sara Carroll on May 04, 2022 | 0 comment(s)
This past week, I began writing a blog speaking to how some of the current humanitarian crises, such as the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Yemen, affect even those of us living far away from these complex situations. I was only a couple of hundred words into it but I thought it had great potential. I was planning to finish it today but, unexpectedly, my dog was hurt and had to have emergency surgery. My whole day's “to-do list” was turned upside down. I didn’t accomplish any of the things I’d hoped to. For example, I wasn’t able to visit the two Intensive programs that were starting today. And I wasn’t able to provide a new employee the training that I had promised. And I missed a couple of meetings.
Posted by Phil Bryan on April 27, 2022 | 0 comment(s)
I like basketball. Recently, while looking at some news on ESPN, I saw a rumor that the Los Angeles Lakers were considering a trade package to send Russell Westbrook out to the Hornets in exchange for a package that centered around the acquisition of Gordon Hayward. As a Celtics fan who lived through the disappointing Gordon Hayward/Kyrie Irving era, I feel confident in reiterating the title here: Gordon Hayward is not the answer to your problems.