Safe Struggle with Nichol Ernst

We are delighted to have Nichol, the Executive Director of Summit Achievement wilderness therapy program in Stow, ME, on our show. He is truly someone who “gets it” and does great work with autistic and neurodivergent clients. Nichol shares some great nuggets of insight and approaches like the concept of “safe struggle” from his experience working with this population that you will want to start using.

If you are unfamiliar with what wilderness programs are, this is a great introduction to one of the best for serving our communities’ young people. We discuss when a wilderness therapy program is appropriate for neurodivergent young people, especially when an outpatient clinical or residential setting isn’t working.

Listen in this week on our discussion and learn from Nichol’s great perspectives from years of experience and passion for his work.

What You'll Learn from this Episode:

• The benefits of working through “safe struggle” to overcome challenges.
• Why the “outdoor effect” accelerates results.
• Why we don’t change when were comfortable.
• The advantage of wilderness therapy for neurodivergent young people.
• How the Summit hybrid wilderness model helps clients take what is learned outdoors and apply it in real life settings.
• Teaching “tone, tact and timing,” improving executive functioning skills and handling transitions.
• Why pot vaping can be attractive to neurodivergent young people

Featured on the Show:

• Nichol Ernst, LCSW
• Visit Summit Achievement to learn more about Nichol’s wilderness treatment program and Summit Traverse to learn more about their short-term therapeutic boarding school program.
• Link for Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare (OBH)
• Link for National Association for Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP)
• Visit NeuroDevMentoring.com to learn more about out our specialized program for neurodivergent young adults.
• Follow Debbie on Instagram!

👉 If this episode resonated with you, we’d love for you to leave a quick 5 star review sharing your favorite takeaway. It helps us create more meaningful content for listeners like you.

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🔵 For deeper support, consider joining our NDM Circle Community at NDM.Circle.so—a space for parents and professionals navigating the complexities of parenting neurodivergent young people.