First Light Wilderness Therapy is pleased to announce the appointment of Jennifer Cooper, LPC NCC RPT CPCS to the role of Clinical Director. Jennifer joins the First Light team with a wealth of knowledge and experience providing trauma-responsive care to adolescents and families, as well as a passion for utilizing the natural world as a context for healing.

Jennifer earned her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Mercer University and has spent the past decade specializing in child / adolescent development, as well as in expressive arts therapies. She has provided therapeutic treatment services in a variety of settings including private practice, community mental health services, in-home treatment, schools, outdoor settings, and residential adolescent treatment programs. In addition to her role providing direct services to youth and families, Jennifer has held multiple leadership roles including Program Manager and Deputy Clinical Director. For the past five years, Jennifer has owned and managed her own private practice, within which she also developed relationships and facilitated treatment services at several residential group home settings. Jennifer has a passion for being a part of the growth journey of other clinicians in the field, and is a Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor.

Jennifer brings a prescriptive and thoughtful therapeutic approach to her clinical and leadership style, with a strong focus on relationship as the primary agent for growth and change. Jennifer believes in meeting people where they are — whether that is a client, family or supervisee, and collaboratively developing a plan of support. Her goal is to provide a space where others can be heard, feel empowered, experience playfulness and find joy during some of life’s hardest seasons. Jennifer has extensive training and experience in a number of therapeutic modalities including EMDR, CBT, Sand Tray Therapy, Play Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy, TBRI and Child-Parent Relational Therapy. Her focus is to ensure that she is always operating from a trauma-responsive lens and supporting others in doing the same. After spending years working on a 220-acre ranch, Jennifer is delighted to expand her wilderness treatment playground to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Georgia in her work with the First Light team.

Personally, Jennifer is the mother to three children, a marathon runner and a lover of the outdoors. She enjoys simply being outdoors practicing mindfulness or sitting in her hammock reading a good book. 

For more information or to learn more about Jennifer and the First Light Clinical team please contact Aleshka Szypulski, Director of Business Development, at aleshka.szypulski@firstlightwilderness.com.

First Light Wilderness Therapy is a trauma-responsive wilderness treatment program based out of Dahlonega, Georgia. Serving adolescents ages 12-18, First Light’s goal is for every student to achieve meaningful change by creating an environment where joy is re-discovered and nurtured, where the adventure leads to self-discovery, and where relationships heal and grow. Set in the serenity of the Blue Ridge Mountains, our field area is nestled in the Chattahoochee and Oconee National Forest and is sprinkled with miles of clear-running streams and rivers, making it an ideal setting for evidence-based outdoor behavioral healthcare. Learn more at www.firstlightwilderness.com.