Mentoring Services

Mentoring is different than therapy. Only a licensed mental health clinician can legally assess, diagnose and treat mental illness. Mentors are not licensed mental health clinicians and therefore do not assess, diagnose, or treat mental illness. However, mentors are trained in facilitation, coaching and counseling skills. Mentoring relationships are similar to therapeutic relationships in the following ways: 

1. Mentors protect the confidentiality of their Mentees while also serving as Mandated Reporters.
2. Mentors help Mentees define self-directed goals.
3. Mentors utilize basic counseling skills such as active listening, validation, reflection, mirroring, and open-ended questioning.
4. Mentors coach students to cultivate their strengths and problem solving skills.
5. A mentoring relationship is about the Mentor and Mentee developing trust through shared adventures, teamwork, mindfulness and gratitude.
6. Mentors are outdoor guides with Wilderness First Aid (WFA) or Wilderness First Responder (WFR) and CPR ertifications. 

Mentors encourage students to move towards the life they want to create while role modeling positive leadership qualities, risk management skills, compassionate communication, and environmental education.

Group Mentoring supports young people to develop their identity and social connections simultaneously. Group mentors foster positive communication between participants and facilitate inclusive social norms. Groups are also more affordable, because parents can share the cost!

Individual mentoring is great for students who are either:

1. singularly focused and motivated to learn a particular skill (i.e., surfing, mountain biking, kayaking, skateboarding, plant identification, fire making, etc.)
2. yearning for quality time with a caring, compassionate adult who can inspire them and relate to them as a uncle, cousin, or coach might be able to do.
3. more introverted and do better with individualized care, or who are working towards overcoming social anxiety.