Trails Carolina, a wilderness therapy program for young people ages 10-17, is excited to announce that Primary Therapist Sarah McGahran, LCSW-A will be expanding her role this month by working with Charlie group, teens that primarily identify as female ages 14-17.

In Charlie group, students typically struggle with challenges related to issues such as adoption/attachment, trauma, depression, anxiety, gender identity, and autism. Before leading Charlie group, Sarah worked with families and a variety of Trails student groups, providing therapeutic support and guidance.

Years ago, Sarah first learned about wilderness therapy through a magazine article in Outside Magazine. Ever since that day, she knew that working in wilderness therapy was her dream job. 

Sarah has spent the last few years working with teens and families in numerous therapeutic settings including a youth advocacy group and as a Primary and Family Therapist at Trails Carolina. “I am looking forward to helping students develop a healthy sense of identity and celebrate who they are,” comments Sarah. “My clinical focus has been working with individuals struggling with attachment issues, resistant behaviors, rigid thinking, and anxiety. Additionally, my graduate studies were focused on attachment issues, which inspired my passion for working with adopted students and their families.”

In Charlie group, she plans on incorporating a variety of art mediums into the therapeutic work with students.

“Art and other forms of immersive therapy are an incredibly helpful way for students to express what’s going on inside,” says Sarah.”When we go beyond talk therapy, it can be a powerful way for students to feel comfortable sharing their emotions. For example, one art assignment that I’m excited to share with students is the mask assignment. Students create tactile masks that express how they show up in the world on the outside versus the way they actually feel internally.”

About Trails Carolina

Trails Carolina is a wilderness therapy program based just outside of Asheville, North Carolina that offers a multi-dimensional wilderness therapy model to troubled adolescents, ages 10-17. Trails capitalizes upon the profound effects of a student’s wilderness experience and then combines that experience with strong clinical assessments and therapy. For additional information about Trails Carolina, please call 800-975-7303.