• 087 John Karren - Wilderness Therapy - Why Does it Work?

  • Nov 16 2023
  • Length: 29 mins
  • Podcast

087 John Karren - Wilderness Therapy - Why Does it Work?

Listen for free

View show details

  • Summary

  • John Karren is the owner and co-founder of Elements Wilderness Program in Utah. John helps run two therapeutic wilderness programs: Elements is for boys thirteen to seventeen, and Traverse is all gender, young adults eighteen to twenty five.

    Today, John joins the show to discuss ‘non-traditional’ therapies and how the outdoors can be such a great benefit to everyone.

    Key Takeaways

    01:03 – Shay Butts welcomes John Karren to the show to discuss wilderness therapy and other ‘non- traditional’ therapy options

    10:08 – How Elements Wilderness Program works

    14:42 – Dealing with the negativity surrounding outdoor therapy

    18:51 – Striving for excellence

    23:40 – The role parents play in Elements Wilderness Program

    26:53 – Shay thanks John for sharing his story today

    Tweetable Quotes“I think the biggest thing for us is that if the client doesn’t buy in, there will be no change. If we’re punishing them or consequencing them, they’re going to do it until the consequence has been lifted. So, really the focus for us is to get them to buy into themselves - to get them to understand what I’m feeling.” (10:29) (John)“For us - the clinical approach - we think of ourselves as a high-intense therapeutic intervention. And so, it’s a deep dive into what’s going on for me, for my family, for everything in my life, and then working through that in different ways.” (12:09) (John)“That’s the hardest part for me, it just tears at me knowing the value of what can happen with [outdoor therapy], and the change that can occur, and the excitement, and then to hear people just bash it and speak negatively about it. It’s hard.” (17:32) (John)“When people think about Wilderness, they think it’s just sending their child off. And I tell parents all the time, ‘You’re not sending your child away. You’re going on the journey with them.’” (23:50) (John)Resources Mentioned


    JFlowers Health Institute – https://jflowershealth.com/

    JFlowers Health Institute Contact – (713) 783-6655

    Subscribe on your favorite player: https://understanding-the-human-condition.captivate.fm/listen


    John’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnkarren/

    Elements Wilderness Website – https://www.elementswilderness.com/

    Shay Butts’ LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/shay-butts-8963b217/

    **The views and opinions expressed by our guests are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of J. Flowers Health Institute. Any content provided by our co-host(s) or guests are of their opinion and are not intended to reflect the philosophy and policies of J. Flowers Health Institute itself. Nor is it intended to malign any recovery method, religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

    🎙️🎙️🎙️

    Podcast Production & Marketing by FullCast



    This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:



    Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
    Show More Show Less
Show More Show Less

What listeners say about 087 John Karren - Wilderness Therapy - Why Does it Work?

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com.au reviews

Amazon Reviews
No Reviews are Available
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.