Pacific Quest is excited to announce the addition of longtime wilderness therapist, Will Twombly to its clinical department. Will Twombly will join PQ for a three-month period (to run an adolescent group) during our peak, winter enrollment season! Will will begin accepting students January 19.
Will earned a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Texas, and a M.Ed. in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Oregon. His counseling style integrates a variety of therapeutic approaches, including structural family therapy, motivational interviewing, narrative therapy, and cognitive-behavioral and emotionally focused therapy. Will is compassionate, direct and strength-based in his approach. He has extensive experience working with adolescents and young adults, groups, couples, families, and multi-family groups of varying sizes. Will draws a great deal from more than 14 years of wilderness therapy expedition experience to enhance the process of change, facilitate healing and growth, and set the stage for powerful rites of passage.
Will grew up in Austin, Texas and spent his summers working on a farm and enjoying the mountains and lakes of New Hampshire. Will understands the importance of developing a strong connection to the natural environment, and has spent more than 25 years working with adolescents and young adults in outdoor and backcountry settings. Will has led countless therapeutic expeditions, worked in some of the most beautiful wilderness areas in the country, and is adept at facilitating powerful group journeys and personal transformations.
In addition to leading backcountry expeditions, Will spent five years managing the operations of the New Hampshire Conservation Corps, and helped start and supervise three residential AmeriCorps programs. He has participated in multi-generational indigenous camps and gatherings in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, and organized and led several three-week tall ship voyages on which young adults circumnavigated Vancouver Island on the Lady Washington.
Will’s passion for the outdoors is more recently reflected in his successful thru-hikes of the Appalachian Trail (‘10), the John Muir Trail (‘11), the Pacific Crest Trail (’14), and a successful private raft trip down the Grand Canyon (’13). He strongly believes that expeditions can help us connect to the natural world, strengthen our sense of identity and capability, improve our relationships, and enhance our overall well-being.