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Testimonials

Student Testimonials

Enlightening!!! I gained insight, self-confidence, and a better understanding of myself. Second Nature has been a turning point in my life. Being here has saved my life and my relationships.

Sean
Alumni Student, Detroit, MI

Extremely helpful in realizing my problems and working through them. I feel so excited to practice these life skills because I am more confident and I just value myself more now. In other words, it was empowering and enlightening. I am now on the road to success.

THOMAS

Alumni Student, New York

I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for my family. Thank you for not giving up on me. It was a great program that taught me a lot about myself. There were times I felt like giving up. I will be forever grateful.

Attendee 

Alumni Student (May 2024)

Excellent, I worked really hard to find out who I was, and I did better than I planned. I plan on coming back to Second Nature when I am older and becoming a strong, assertive, helpful staff member.

David

Alumni Student, Maine

It’s November 2021 and I’m hiking in a remote Utah mountain range and trying to wrap my head around what I was just told - that we are going to be sleeping outside. Welcome to day one of my stay at Second Nature Family Therapy. How did I get here? Good question.

Middle school was when things started to fall apart. Every day felt like a punishment with no escape. Feeling completely lost and alone, I was struggling academically and socially in a school four times the size of my elementary school. Small of stature and anxious, I was an easy target for unrelenting bullies. Getting to class became an obstacle course requiring endless unsuccessful searches for alternate routes. My self esteem plummeted.

Socializing became awkward and friends didn’t stick. The bullying, lack of any social life and a strained relationship with my parents started to break me down. I began to believe all of my negative assumptions about myself. Lacking self-esteem, I developed unhealthy and self-destructive habits. Behaviors I thought would bring people closer, only pushed them further away. My parents moved me to a smaller school. But old habits die hard, and I sabotaged myself again, which led to a move to yet another school at the start of my sophomore year. I was on all the wrong tracks and the only solution was for my parents to make the gut-wrenching (for both of us) choice to send me away.

The hikes were physical and the daily therapy sessions were mentally overwhelming. But then something clicked. Realizing my life depended on it, I bought-in. I endured, persevered, and gave everything I had. Through both my failures and eventual successes, I began to find the worth and self-esteem I’d been missing.

By the end of my time in Utah I was leading group therapy sessions and helping the new arrivals acclimate to the program. I had evolved from a small boy with no self worth, into a role model people looked to for support. I felt remade, having grown exponentially inside and out.

It’s now been two years since Second Nature. I’ve returned to my school and I’ve flourished. I have great friends, a really good relationship with my parents, and I’ve become the student I always should have been. I’m very clear on how I feel about things and what I need. For a guy who once didn’t want to leave his bedroom, I returned from Second Nature and became the captain of my high school's basketball team and I traveled for service learning projects, which further tested my ability to adapt, persevere, and utilize my new life skills.

College is my next challenge, my next adventure, and I am excited and well equipped for whatever that brings.

 

Alumni Student
Excerpt from College Essay (May 2024)

Expert Testimonials

In my opinion, Second Nature sets the standard for clinical outdoor therapy. They offer an exceptional clinical program for both students and parents. I trust Second Nature's clinical expertise. The therapists are exceptional.

EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT
California

Second Nature was the most supportive and impactful work I have done to this day. It is an experience that has shaped me to be a compassionate leader that can work with all types of people. I will be forever grateful and know that Second Nature will continue to provide excellent care and growth for everyone involved. The greater the challenge the greater the reward! Hard Easy!

Former Team Member

Second Nature, April 2024

Parent Testimonials

The experience at Second Nature is the most important and life changing thing we will ever do.
Alumni Parent

Second Nature helped interrupt my son’s destructive spiral and saved our family. In the program, we began the process of rebuilding trust and mending torn relationships. We learned constructive ways to communicate and hold all members of the family accountable, including us parents. Our only regret is not sending my son to Second Nature earlier. Fast forward to today, my son is working his way through college. A huge thank you to the Second Nature team. 

2024 Alumni Parent

Alumni Parent

Our son graduated with honors from high school in the spring and just started college. He has good friends and good family relationships. I wanted you to know how grateful we continue to be for all of you at Second Nature. You not only saved his life, but our whole family as well. I never feel that these words are enough to express our gratitude. But I hope that seeing the good outcome of your hard work is rewarding as well.”

Samantha

Alumni Parent (2024)

My grandson is doing just great. Second Nature changed/saved his life. He is graduating this year from college. I’m very proud of him and proud of his success at Second Nature.

Burt

Alumni Grandparent (2024)

Second Nature transformed our son. We had reached a hopeless impasse. The whole team, in particular our son's therapist, helped our son surpass any expectations we had. He has returned to us a mature, confident young man. We owe Second Nature so much and are grateful beyond words. I hope you never need a wilderness program for your child. Second Nature changed our lives immeasurably. 

2024 alumni Parent
Alumni Parent

If you are reading this, trust me it's going to be okay. As a parent, I can honestly tell you our experience with Second Nature was very positive in every aspect. They take care of the kids, but more importantly, the parents, too. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, positive or negative. I can only tell you from a parent perspective that you found a place that hopefully gets your son, but most importantly, your family, the help it needs. They helped make the unknown tolerable over the most difficult time in my life. Trust me...it's a journey we all could learn from. Best of luck to you and your family. You're gonna be ok.

2024 Alumni Parent

Alumni Parent

Our son has come a long way. He's a wonderful, compassionate person who is extremely smart. I never thought we would be in a place where we can laugh and enjoy each other's company. There's no fighting or blow-ups or drinking or drugs in our house. We are so proud of him and his hard work. He is going to college to be an electrical engineer. We love him very much and we are beyond proud!!!!!

Angela

Alumni Parent (2024)

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This made a huge impact for our son and our whole family…

Dr. Steve DeBois was amazing. So professional, best therapist we have ever worked with. His assignments were so poignant every week. So friendly, helpful. insightful. A great experience for the whole family.

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Janet

Alumni Parent

I am happy to say that my son and I are on the road to recovery…

I am so grateful that my son had the opportunity to be part of this program. I truly think it saved his life. I found it very helpful for me too and the support I received along with the educational webinars and materials has been a huge help for me and our family.

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Peggy

Alumni Parent

I cannot say enough good things about my experience with Second Nature…

Your patience and dedication, and the patience and dedication of the Second Nature staff, paid off with Alex.

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Diane

Alumni Parent

I wept as I recognized the girl that seemed to have been so lost, for so long…

The staff at Second Nature, as cliche as it sounds, were like angels on Earth. It was so obvious how deeply they cared for and knew our daughter in such a short time. It was the first time in years that I remember being able to exhale and hand off a burden that crushed us for too long.

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April 2024

Alumni Parent

Our son was in the Second Nature program for 11 weeks…

In the wilderness our son started to gain confidence in areas that he had previously struggled with and he began to understand how his actions affected his family. He became more centered and he adopted “balance” as his mantra.

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Participant of Dr. Devan Glissmeyer’s Group

Alumni Parent

Very positive experience. Everyone was extremely caring, understanding, and helpful. Made a big difference. Thank you, Second Nature.

Eric

Alumni Parent

We found the experience unbelievable and very powerful. We learned skills that we will be able to draw from moving forward, to keep our family together and our son on the road to health!!

Sandra

Alumni Parent, Texas

The program was exceptional! Life changing. We are forever grateful.

Larry

Alumni Parent

Therapist James Healy was terrific, professional, and helped us, as well as Mike, tremendously. He is a calming and peaceful presence. Mike really liked him. We appreciate all the staff at Second Nature. It's so obvious how caring and supportive everyone there is. We enjoyed the parent seminar in Salt Lake City and have been enjoying the Facebook posts. We have been keeping contact with other parents we meet at the seminar and that's been helpful. The webinars are fantastic too; thank you for providing those!

JAN
Alumni Parent

We have been very pleased with the whole program. It certainly helped Daniel go on to his new school in Texas. We are now able to communicate many feelings and understand each other better. This will always be a cherished experience and the best gift I could have ever given my child.

Jenny

Alumni Parent, New Hampshire

Wonderful. We were referred to Second Nature because of its sophisticated and clinical therapeutic approach, and our expectations were not only fulfilled, but exceeded.

Stacy

Alumni Parent, California

My overall experience with Second Nature was incredible! Second Nature took our family from a place of despair to one of tremendous hope. Our son has gained so much maturity and insight during his time here. We are forever grateful to the amazing Bryan Lepinske and all of the field staff for challenging our son to do great work-and for propelling him to a bright future! Thanks for everything!

Father of Matthew

Alumni Parent

My overall experience at Second Nature was great. We were really impressed with Chase's progress and the Therapists (Dr. Devan Glissmeyer and Jared Alston and the entire staff. There was the right balance of ruggedness and safety and every task had a purpose. It was great on so many levels. Everything was so well thought out and the staff were well trained and enthusiastic.

JAY

Alumni Parent

Our primary contact was with therapist Dr. Steve Dubois with whom we couldn't be happier. Everyone else was terrific as well. Transport/logistics, Nurse Jeanne: everyone was responsive and kind. Matty [field instructor] was terrific on our day in the field as was Jon [Logistics coordinator] coordinating.

Alumni Parent

This was our second wilderness experience with our son. From the very beginning it was a pleasure to work with everyone. Admissions was quick and easy to work within our time constraints. I cannot speak more highly about Primary Therapist David Pagels. His passion for his work with these kids is profound. There is magic happening here. My son is on a much more positive track and excited about his future.

Alumni Parent, July 2024

This was such a scary, unknown, big step for us. From the very first phone call Shahara was AMAZING and put our minds at ease. We received several phone calls the first few days John was there and that was so helpful. My overall experience at Second Nature was excellent. I can't say enough about this program. My nickname for your staff is 'Angels on earth.' Thank you for working with Michael.

JANE

Alumni Parent

I'm very grateful my son was part of Second Nature. I can tell Jeremy has changed for the better and I'm beyond grateful for this gift. I'm feeling so overwhelmed with happiness, but I'm sending him to an aftercare, so I'm sad he's not coming home with me. Second Nature is an amazing and wonderful program.

SHARON

Alumni Parent

Second Nature was amazing! I feel like everyone understood my son's needs and focused on exactly what he needed. They made us feel very comfortable throughout the entire time he was there. We are so grateful to everyone at Second Nature.

ADAM

Alumni Parent

Coady understood Makenzi's needs and uncovered the challenges she has struggled with right out of the gate - which was impressive. Very positive - have seen a tremendous amount of growth in Makenzi.

SHERYL

Alumni Parent

I can say without a doubt that Second Nature was a game changer for our son. As parents it was the hardest decision we've ever had to make, but it was the right choice and it changed his life for the better. He entered Second Nature with suicidal ideation, depression and anxiety and the inability to process the emotions and feeling that come with those issues. Returning from Second Nature, I immediately noticed he had mentally and physically changed. His accomplishments since returning from wilderness:

  • Made lasting friendships in high school with a good group of guys.
  • Senior year was captain of the Varsity Basketball team
  • Graduated high school with a 3.75 GPA
  • Was accepted to a number of great universities

I am happy to be a reference for Second Nature.

Alumni Parent
May 2024

My overall experience with Second Nature was excellent. We believe that Mia now has a really good foundation to build upon when she moves to her next program. The support we received from Coady was outstanding and we would be pleased to provide references to other families.

MOTHER OF MIA

Alumni Parent

Re: admissions and intake:
Very efficient and timely. Everyone we encountered were very friendly and helpful. Our therapist was fantastic and was a huge part of our son’s and our growth. He was extremely insightful. All the staff were very efficient and friendly- always willing to help. Re: our field visit: The staff are amazing. We were well taken care of and had a great experience. Exceeded our expectations on many levels.

SHELLY

Alumni Parent

I couldn’t have asked for a better experience for my son and our family. Our therapist and the staff were kind, empathetic, experienced and gave wise counsel (homework and advice). They love and believe in what they are doing and it emanates from them in their behavior and words. I believe the students sense this authenticity and feel safe and trust them. I feel this in my interactions with our therapist and staff. They care about your child and your families well being and health.

SUSAN

Alumni Parent

We are huge fans of the program and so impressed and amazed with [our son's] transformation. My experience with Second Nature has been fantastic. We could not be happier.

Alexa
Alumni Parent, April 2024

Regarding academics:
This is an important part of the program in my opinion. Our son was able to continue an academic focus while working on his emotional well being. The program is well organized and well staffed. Everyone is professional and committed to the process. Therapist Bryan Lepinski is great at what he does.

KELLY

Alumni Parent

Excellent in every aspect, our therapist - Dr. Steve DeBois was great. I think every young person should be able to experience Second Nature. We had a wonderful experience.

Member of Dr. Steve DeBois’ Group

Alumni Parent

Excellent experience! I am grateful for the help my son and I have received. Thank you for everything you have done for us!

Member of Dr. Devan Glissmeyer’s Group

Alumni Parent

My overall experience with Second Nature was very positive. I really feel like Second Nature was the right place for Hudson and that he achieved as much as possible on his anxiety and confidence issues. The therapy calls were really helpful. Dr. Steve DeBois did a great job with us and our son. We also really liked talking one week with Josh, a field instructor, who was with Hudson from the start and could really be insightful about his growth.

FATHER OF HUDSON

Alumni Parent

Our experience with Second Nature was excellent. Everyone was reassuring, well-informed, and helpful. Our therapist Bryan Lepinske was great for Jake. Terrific customer service, excellent informational resources. I felt Jake was safe and in good, competent hands from the very start. All staff were very responsive to our needs.

B.

Alumni Parent

Bryan Lepinske is an extraordinary therapist...and humanizing. I can't say enough about how well this company is run. My experience with Second Nature was better than I could have imagined. Every person I dealt with was professional, kind, compassionate, helpful, and informed.

W.

Alumni Parent

We sent you a child clouded in anger and darkness.You are giving us back a son who radiates light and life from his eyes and smile. IT is not lost on us that it takes an army of individuals to run Second Nature. We wish we could hug each of you in person: THANK YOU!! Thank you for washing his clothes. Thank you for bringing him food and water. Thank you for listening to him talk and hanging around for his silence. Thank you for investing in us. Thank you for running the payroll and changing the light bulbs. Each of you played a vital role in his future. With our deepest gratitude.

July 2024
Alumni Parent

Everything was handled in a caring, professional manner. My son has been in therapy since he was 10 years old and James Healey was by far the best therapist he's ever had and above and beyond my expectations. James is the first therapist to really connect with our son and to get him to talk about his feelings. He was great support for me too and I have learned so much in this process. I appreciate the books he gave to our son to read and was able to get through to him on his core issues surrounding abandonment. James has a very caring and calming manner which I really appreciate.

STUART

Alumni Parent

My overall experience with Second Nature was very positive. We felt that he was receiving the necessary feedback for his behaviors. It was also very reassuring to know he was safe throughout his whole stay.

S.A.

Alumni Parent

Dr. Coady Schueler was a great resource for me and a great therapist for our daughter. She rocks. The overall experience was excellent. The responsiveness and care shown by all of the people from the transport staff to the therapy team. All were well coordinated and informed. Coady was very responsive to calls and emails. I was impressed by the quality of people I met. The program was very effective for my daughter.

MARY

Alumni Parent

Second Nature offered my son what he needed to transition to a better life. We are Very Happy!

D.W., Dr. Steve DeBois’ Group

Alumni Parent