Rewarding job but hardly sustainable at least at this company
Pros
You get to be outside all the time and working with youth in stabilizing their mental health in order to move on from wilderness to after care. The staff are some of the best empathetic superhumans who become family and you can grow with. Working in treatment breaks you down as a direct care staff to build you back up stronger- you will see all of yourself and your flaws and learn to accept them as you reflect your humanity toward the students and try to role model and support them in that process. No “guide bots” that don’t act like humans with emotions and feelings! You’re allowed to be a whole human here. The work culture is highly centered on afffirmative and constructive feedback which is awesome for personal development. Free wilderness first responder training with a verbal 6 week commitment thereafter!
Cons
Wilderness therapy is a crisis intervention step in stabilizing clients by removing them from their home environments and providing a ‘sterile" environment to be able to often start their therapeutic journeys. Field guides are put in a situation where they are presumed to be step in therapists during the week in the woods which most all hires are not prepared for — i felt as though the boundaries and expectations of my job weren’t clear at this company. I was not and am not qualified to take on the role of therapizing students especially when the company doesn’t work toward clarifying ethical boundaries within that guide to student relationship. I felt frustrated when the company would say that they care for us staff as humans but when I asked to be removed from an overwhelming situation they did not act on that request and my mental health suffered severely from that lack of response. Overall, I left the company because I was no longer able to work there because of my own mental health had deteriorated so much. The schedule of 6 days off 8 days on was most difficult for me and other guides because for 8 days you work 14-20 hour days working with students in crisis draining yourself emotionally and physically for the students (while the company does not prioritize promoting staff having more than maybe 15 minutes of down time in a day- I recommend 30 min to an hour of down time per day on trail) and then your 6 days off you get to be free and explore Utah and wherever but also work your butt off to be mentally emotionally and physically okay to go back on trail. I pushed myself very hard to work there till 5 months - high turnover rate.