Regan Adair, LMSW is a Primary Therapist for adolescent girls at Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness, a wilderness therapy program located in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Georgia. With the support of early, comprehensive assessment, individualized therapeutic interventions, and robust family programming, adolescent students ages 13-18 learn how to navigate the challenges associated with depression, anxiety, trauma, family conflict, and more. 

The adolescent girls in Regan’s group typically face a diverse spectrum of personal and social challenges such as addiction, oppositional behavior, school failure, early childhood trauma, attachment and adoption issues, and more.

Regan shares her approach to working with this population: “Often, when working with teenagers, their parents and providers become so caught up in eliminating problem behaviors that we lose sight of an equally important goal: increasing healthy exploration of passions and interests and developing a stronger and more stable sense of personal identity.” 

To encourage identity development and high self-esteem, Regan offers her students opportunities to tap into their imagination and sense of play. 

“I believe in bringing exploration into the therapy space with tools like art, creative writing, and play,” she says. “I invite my students to direct their energy toward expanding their interests, dreams, and goals for the future. In this way, creativity aids in the development of personal values and strengthens my students’ sense of personal responsibility and agency over their futures.”

Regan explains why creativity is essential to the success of students in her group: “Now more than ever, teenage girls are needing opportunities to fill themselves back up with connection, confidence, and playfulness. While talk therapy is great for some things, integrating experiential therapeutic interventions helps students access their minds and bodies in different ways. Imaginative, tactile activities like creative writing, drawing, and building or sculpting can really help support the work being done in talk therapy. These activities give students permission to discover, dream, develop goals, and think about who they want to be while tapping into and developing different parts of the brain.”

Regan’s goal for the students with whom she works is that they will leave wilderness therapy knowing that they have everything they need inside of themselves to confidently navigate life’s challenges and ask for help when they need it. Regan concludes, “It’s not about getting it right all the time—it’s about trying, being curious, and learning more about yourself along the way.”

To learn more about Regan Adair, LMSW, reach out to the Blue Ridge Admissions team at (888) 914-1050 or admissions@blueridgewilderness.com.

About Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness

Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness offers clinically driven wilderness therapy programs encompassing advanced therapeutic skill, a highly flexible nomadic wilderness therapy model, licensed wilderness therapy assessment and multiple treatment options for struggling teens ages 13-18 as well as young adults ages 18-29 in the Emerald Arrow program. Blue Ridge’s individualized approach, family support, and commitment to service translate to an unparalleled experience and better outcomes for adolescents and families. To learn more about Blue Ridge Therapeutic Wilderness, visit www.blueridgewilderness.com or reach out to admissions@blueridgewilderness.com.