outBACK Therapeutic Expeditions (OTE) is thrilled to announce that Jessie Brunelle, MSW, LCSW is set to transition into the role of Primary Therapist on April 1, 2021. Jessie’s extensive experience with adolescents in the wilderness setting at outBACK, as well as her own personal experiences, has informed her belief in the power of nature as a therapeutic outlet. Her approach as a Primary Therapist is to address students’ needs for connection and belonging, help them navigate the concepts of acceptance and commitment, and empower them to discover their potential through a strengths-focused lens. She believes that the meaning human beings assign to their experiences influences their attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, and relationships.  

Since receiving her Master of Social Work at Boise State University, Jessie has accrued an array of professional experience spanning from helping clients with substance abuse issues in a correctional facility to serving as a Primary Therapist at Cherry Gulch Therapeutic Boarding School, to ultimately working on the clinical team at OTE. Jessie has been a member of the outBACK team for years: her first position being an Associate Field Therapist. In this role, she lived and worked with outBACK students in the Utah desert. Since then, Jessie has stepped into the position of Clinical Services Specialist, where her priority has been to recruit, train, and support other Associate Field Therapists. Jessie’s blended background at outBACK and beyond makes her a knowledgeable, experienced, and compassionate fit for the role of Primary Therapist.

Jessie is set to launch the second adolescent group for students who have been assigned female at birth. Jessie works well with students struggling with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, individual/family trauma, poor social skills that lead to interpersonal difficulties, internalized emotional distress, and those having a hard time navigating and/or knowing how to express their needs and pain. Jessie works to help clients reconnect their mind and body, ultimately moving towards repairing the relationships her students have with themselves and their families in a curious, non-judgmental and supportive way. 

About outBACK Therapeutic Expeditions 
outBACK Therapeutic Expeditions is a highly effective, clinically informed treatment program dedicated to bringing families BACK together. Utilizing the wilderness as an alternative to traditional treatment settings, we guide students (13-17) and families in their process of reconnecting to Self, re-engaging with Family, and recommitting to Purpose. outBACK provides an innovative clinical structure designed to yield the highest clinical value for students and their families by providing access to multiple therapists for each student; Primary Therapists who oversee treatment plan and Associate Therapists who are in the group daily. outBACK is a licensed wilderness therapy program in the state of Utah and helps teens with various areas of difficulties such as depression, anxiety, trauma, family conflict, engagement in dangerous behaviors, neurodiversity, ASD level I, electronic and gaming addiction and more.