Keeping Clients Safe in the Outdoor Therapies

Join Margaret Asher for an engaging discussion about how risk mitigation strategies from other industries can inform outdoor therapy work and keep clients safe. While all adventures bring some risk, the strategies for critically analysing near misses and critical incidents can help practitioners and adventurers keep their outdoor programming safe, fun, and effective.

Margaret Asher, Director of Operations in Wilderness Therapy

Margaret is currently the Director of Operations at Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness and based out of Asheville, NC. Prior to that she started her wilderness therapy journey in 2010 at Alaska Crossings as a Field Guide and moved to many roles as Field Mentor, Case Manager, Medical Officer, and Assistant Program Director and at Open Sky as a Medical Case Manager and Health Director. She also serves as a Blue Ridge representative on the Outdoor Behavioral Health Council. She has been a Wilderness EMT since 2013, trained through the San Juan Ambulance in Silverton, Colorado where she was also able to volunteer with their local SAR. Having attended an experiential high school on the Minnesota Zoo property her love of the wilderness and learning through experience began. She loves being a part of growing the industry and creating systems and culture for both clients and employees to thrive. Her preferred method of transport is by canoe.

Hosted by Will Dobud, Charles Sturt University

Will Dobud has worked predominately with adolescents in the private and public sector. Coming to Australia from the United States in 2009, Will built True North Expeditions, a non-profit program in Adelaide, SA, providing adventure therapy experiences and social work services for adolescents from all over the country. In 2015, Will was awarded the Australian Postgraduate Award for research promise and conducted his PhD focusing on client experiences in outdoor therapy. Will’s ongoing research and publications focuses on participant experiences of care in a variety of settings and exploring what works to deliver more effective social work services. Will is particularly interested in Feedback-Informed Treatment, the Outdoor Therapies, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy – basically asking the questions, how can we get routinely better at delivering better outcomes for those who seek our counsel.